God’s glory in Salvation through Judgment: A Biblical Theology is written by Dr. James M. Hamilton Jr., Associate Professor of Biblical Theology at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary.  The purpose of this book is to do for biblical theology what Kevin Vanhoozer has done for hermeneutics and David Wells has done for evangelical theology (page 38).

Dr. Hamilton begins the book by asking, “Can the Center Hold?, by exploring how others have treated the topic of the metanarrative of the Bible. The part in this chapter one, I appreciate the most is how he handles the various options regarding the metanarrative of the Bible, and yet he still makes the time to recognize that these options have contributed to his own understanding of the metanarrative of the Bible. The author does not just stop at what others have contributed though, but advances the discussion in my opinion in a significant way.

The book then protrudes out to look at God’s glory in Salvation through Judgment in the Torah, the Prophets, the Writings, the Gospels, Acts, the Letters of the New Testament and Revelation. The second to last chapter looks at objections to the centrality of God’s Glory in salvation through judgment, and concludes by looking at how God’s Glory in Salvation through Judgment in Ministry Today.

Having read Dr. Wells series on evangelical theology and Dr. Vanhoozer’s book, and now Dr. Hamilton’s, I can say with confidence that Dr. Hamilton’s book accomplishes what it seeks to do and then some.  The part that I appreciate the most about this book is not only is it biblical but it is also practical. At the end of each section, Dr. Hamilton offers a “theology of” each book of the Bible as well as the major divisions of the Bible (Torah, Prophets, Writings, Gospels, Acts, Letters of the New Testament, and Revelation).

The most interesting part of this book was the last chapter titled God’s Glory in Salvation through Judgment in Ministry Today where Dr. Hamilton applies his biblical theology to Church Ministry, Evangelism, Discipleship, Corrective Church Discipline, Personal Spiritual Discipline and concludes the book.

God’s Glory in Salvation Through Judgment is an academic book that is not overly academic. By that, I mean this book has all the footnotes and references you would expect from a world-class scholar, but it is not boring. Dr. Hamilton has written a masterpiece a book that should be read by laymen, Pastors, seminary students, missionaries, Sunday school teachers, Bible College and Seminary Professors. I encourage you to read this book and learn from Dr. Hamilton on this vital topic.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the Crossway book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”