Nijay K. Gupta

For People Like Us

Biblical Studies & Commentaries

“Luuk van de Weghe reminds us that some of the most important parables in Jesus’s teachings are about the heart of the gospel—love from the heavenly Father and belonging in the kingdom family. The essential religious questions are ‘who is god?’ and ‘what is god like?’ The Gospel of Luke presents a clear answer: God is for us. Exegetically insightful, theologically rich, and spiritually nourishing, For People Like Us is a big gift packed into a short book.”

God and Human Wholeness

Theology

“‘Be perfect’ (Matt 5:48)—this little command in the Bible has always perplexed me. Who can be perfect? Yinger has convincingly argued that here, and elsewhere in the Bible, ‘perfection’ language is not about obeying God without mistakes or errors, but rather about wholehearted love and loyalty to God. All students of the Bible will benefit from Yinger's important book.”

God Behaving Badly

Apologetics

“What is the book about? In a nutshell, it addresses some of the most common problematic stereotypes of the OT God: angry, sexist, racist, violent, legalistic, rigid and distant. In about two hundred pages, Lamb treats these topics in a well-informed, accessible and humorous way. The book is very persuasive overall, easy to read and extremely well-written. . . . So, for me, God Behaving Badly is the perfect textbook.”

God’s Acts for Israel, Gentiles, and Christians

Theology

“Joshua Jipp has distinguished himself as a trusted expert on the book of Acts. In this academically rigorous and wide-ranging set of studies, the connecting theological thread is Jipp’s view of Acts as a narrative of the living God revealed in Jesus Christ and the Spirit-gifted church. In Jipp’s telling, Luke invites readers to discern and respond to divine activity—activity that is evident in Acts and also in readers’ everyday lives. Jipp has offered a weighty book on a weighty topic. Highly recommended.”

Heaven, Hell, and Hope

Theology

“Between one group pronouncing the damnation of most of the world’s population and another preaching salvation for everyone, Kugler says, ‘Come, let us reason together.’ This book boldly enters the ‘Hell’ conversation, but it does so with patience and thoughtfulness. Ultimately, you won’t walk away with easy answers. But the value of Kugler’s work is in reminding us that the Holy Bible and Christian theology are about a personal God in relationship with flesh and blood creatures; theology is not a mathematical formula we are trying to get right. This book urges us to recognize that we need more than a concordance to think biblically and theologically about judgment and salvation. Kugler will comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable, all in about a hundred pages.”

Holiness in the Letters of Paul

Biblical Studies & Commentaries

“All too often scholars neglect the topic of holiness in the study of Paul, and yet it is clearly a fixture in his thought and vocabulary. Adewuya fills an important gap in scholarship by carefully examining Paul's holiness language in the context of each of his letters. Both Adewuya's exegetical and synthetic work offer clarity and fresh insight. Given his career-long dedication to this topic, Adewuya serves as the perfect guide.”

Honor, Patronage, Kinship, and Purity

Biblical Studies & Commentaries

“Reading the New Testament is a crosscultural experience. Thankfully, David deSilva is an expert guide, offering insight into four key areas of the wider world of the early Christians. When students ask me how they can learn to read the New Testament with deeper understanding of the context, this is a textbook I am always quick to recommend. A new, expanded edition is very welcome, offering more insight and reflecting the latest scholarship.”

Hopeful Lament

Counseling, Grief & Mental Health

“Lament and sadness go together, but they are not the same thing. Terra McDaniel poignantly shows how Christian lament is about disciplined sadness, holy prayer, formative practices, and believing in the possibility of hope without rushing to joy prematurely, all because of Christ. We will all grieve, there is a way to learn to grieve well, and this is a faithful guide and companion.”

How Then Shall We Read?

Biblical Studies & Commentaries

“It is immediately clear that How Then Shall We Read? draws deeply from Botner’s rich classroom experiences. This is far more than a mechanical how-to guide for exegesis. Botner shows how love—of God, neighbor, and text—belongs at the heart of faithful interpretation. This well-rounded textbook will serve students well and thus is a gift for teachers.”

Humility Illuminated

Christian Living

“Edwards points out that Christian humility is not episodic but a whole way of life, a vital necessity for the life of discipleship. Humility is much misunderstood and misapplied as self-hatred, as 'humble bragging,' as passivity. Edwards strikingly paints a picture of Jesus-centered humility as singular devotion to God, a posture of peacemaking with others, and the quiet power to seek justice for everyone made in God's image. By the end of the book, it dawned on me, humility is maturity.”

Introducing the New Testament, 2nd ed.

Biblical Studies & Commentaries

“I eagerly devoured the first edition of Introducing the New Testament when I was in graduate school. I am delighted to see an updated second edition that reflects the same excellence of scholarship and utility, now for a new generation. This is a resource every student of the New Testament should have close at hand.”

Jesus Behaving Badly

Biblical Studies & Commentaries

“Many people have the view that Jesus was basically a friendly and warm teacher. Those who have read the Gospels closely recognize, though, that Jesus said and did things that upset this rosy portrait. Jesus Behaving Badly engages the hard 'sayings' and 'doings' of Jesus, not by merely explaining them away, but by representing a fullness of Jesus in the three dimensions of a real historical figure and in the fourfold portrayal of the Gospels. If the aim of this book is to reckon with the whole Jesus and not a mere caricature, Strauss has accomplished this with sense and wit.”

John

“Thompson has written a richly rewarding theological commentary that reads the Fourth Gospel first and foremost as a story of Jesus. No one is better qualified today to write such a commentary, and Thompson’s work does not disappoint. Both pastor and scholar will be greatly rewarded by giving this work their attention.”

La Santidad en las Cartas de Pablo

Biblical Studies & Commentaries

“«A menudo, los eruditos ignoran el tema de la santidad en sus estudios de Pablo, aunque es evidente tanto en su pensamiento como vocabulario. Adewuya está llenando un hueco importante dentro de la academia con su estudio del vocabulario de la santidad en cada una de las epístolas paulinas. Tanto la exégesis como la síntesis del trabajo de Adewuya ofrecen una perspectiva fresca y clara. Dada su larga trayectoria, Adewuya es el guía perfecto».”

Matthew, Disciple and Scribe

Biblical Studies & Commentaries

“Readers of the Bible often recognize the role the Gospels play as the bridge between old and new in Scripture. Schreiner gives the First Gospel special attention as he convincingly argues that Matthew is a disciple and scribe elucidating the relationship between old and new as he himself learned it from his teacher, Jesus. From this perspective, Schreiner sheds fresh light on what makes Matthew tick.”

Offer Yourselves to God

Biblical Studies & Commentaries

“I have long believed Gordon Fee’s writing pen bleeds gold ink. He proves himself again a master biblical interpreter, incisive theologian, and passionate teacher. Pastors will benefit greatly from Fee’s many insights on vocation, work, and ministry, but his reflections here are relevant to all believers.”

Participating in Christ

Biblical Studies & Commentaries

“Gorman is America's leading Pauline theologian. I have been following his work on Paul for over fifteen years. Each installment of his research adds fresh and stimulating ideas to the conversation, and Participating in Christ is no exception. This is more than just a book on a narrow topic called 'participation'; rather, Gorman both addresses this master concept and draws in many other key topics in Paul, such as justification, reconciliation, covenant, and mission.”

Paul and Imperial Divine Honors

Biblical Studies & Commentaries

“Imperial divine honors were everywhere in the Roman Empire, but Burnett demonstrates that they were not everywhere the same. Burnett’s meticulous research is crucial for scholars like me who are prone to overgeneralizations. He corrects common misconceptions about the Roman imperial cult with the precision of a surgeon, but also a good surgeon’s grace and gentleness. Clergy will benefit from Burnett’s broad insights, scholars from his encyclopedic knowledge.”

Paul and the Miraculous

Biblical Studies & Commentaries

“Modern Western biblical interpreters tend to view Paul primarily as an academic--a theologian and writer. Twelftree reminds us that he was far more than a writer, and his religious world was not only philosophical but also experiential. Twelftree collects and examines occasions where the historical Paul mentions and experiences the miraculous. Perhaps most valuable of all, this book attempts to explain how one might integrate Paul's theology of weakness with his experience of the empowering Spirit. Well researched, fresh, engaging, and appropriately cautious about drawing tempered conclusions, this examination allows a neglected area of New Testament study to be brought into the forefront. While the reader may not agree with every part of Twelftree's historical reconstruction of Paul, it is nearly impossible to reject his main hypothesis that the miraculous played an important role in Paul's ministry and theology.”

Paul’s Corporate Christophany

Biblical Studies & Commentaries

“Many people have studied Paul's Damascus road experience in order to better understand the apostle's so-called ‘conversion.’ But Fringer opens new vistas in the study of Paul's Christophany by examining why and how he talks about this in the context of a letter's particular rhetorical argument. Among Fringer's many interesting discoveries is the fact that Paul often refers to his Christophany to encourage and instruct his readers in faith, spiritual growth, and unity. Fringer models careful exegesis and penetrating synthesis.”