Best Books on Doctrine of Man
The doctrine of man considers humanity's creation in God's image, our original righteousness, and the corruption of human nature that resulted from Adam's fall. Reformed theology teaches that all people inherit Adam's guilt and a thoroughly sinful nature, yet still bear the defaced but real image of God as his creatures.
Start Here
basic
Respectable Sins
Top pickJerry Bridges · 2007
Names the ordinary sins Christians excuse in themselves, in plain, pastoral language.
The Enemy Within
Kris Lundgaard · 1998
A modern, readable distillation of Owen's teaching on remaining sin in believers.
Who Am I? Identity in Christ
Jerry Bridges · 2012
A short booklet unpacking what Scripture says a Christian actually is in Christ.
Willing to Believe: The Controversy over Free Will
R.C. Sproul · 1997
Traces the free will debate from Augustine onward in accessible terms.
Go Deeper
intermediate
Created in God's Image
Top pickAnthony Hoekema · 1986
The standard Reformed textbook on humanity as image-bearer, sinner, and redeemed.
The Mortification of Sin
John Owen · 2004
Owen's classic call to daily, active warfare against remaining sin.
Indwelling Sin in Believers
John Owen · 2004
Companion volume exposing how sin still operates even in the regenerate.
The Imputation of Adam's Sin
John Murray · 1959
A focused study of Romans 5 and how Adam's guilt is reckoned to all humanity.
For Study
advanced
Body, Soul, and Life Everlasting: Biblical Anthropology and the Monism-Dualism Debate
Top pickJohn W. Cooper · 2000
The definitive academic defense of holistic dualism against materialist anthropology.
Reformed Dogmatics, Vol. 2: God and Creation
Herman Bavinck · 2004
Bavinck's classic treatment of man's creation in God's image within his dogmatics.
Adam, the Fall, and Original Sin: Theological, Biblical, and Scientific Perspectives
Hans Madueme and Michael Reeves, eds. · 2014
Leading scholars defend the historicity of Adam and original sin against modern challenges.
The Bondage of the Will
Martin Luther (trans. Packer and Johnston) · 1525
The foundational Reformation argument that fallen man's will is enslaved to sin apart from grace.
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A tiered reading guide of the best books on Doctrine of Man.