Below is a list of our favorite theological books - across all categories - from 2025. A special thanks to our contributors who submitted titles, wrote summaries and full reviews for these books and more throughout the year.
The Well that Washes What it Shows: An Invitation to Holy Scripture by Jonathan Linebaugh (Eerdmans)
The Well That Washes What It Shows derives its title from the seventeenth-century writer, George Herbert. The original poetry line and Linebaugh’s title are intended to convey that the Scriptures are not merely an ancient, sacred book on a table waiting for us to interpret. Rather, God’s Word interprets us. Linebaugh’s expertise in explaining both the historical and theological contexts of Scripture, especially the epistles of Paul, shines as he introduces the Word of God to clergy and laity alike, offering each a concise yet clarifying method for understanding its divine intent.
Linebaugh gives the law-gospel hermeneutic a colloquial and visual language that breaks free from typical Lutheran-speak and invites any reader from any background to view Scripture through the illuminating power of God’s two words. This little volume goes a long way in remedying biblical illiteracy, even among churchgoers, in our culture largely disconnected from the narrative of the Holy Scriptures.
Promissio: The Reformational Turn in Luther's Theology by Oswald Bayer, translated by Jeffrey G. Silcock (Lutheran Quarterly)
First published in German in 1971, Silcock’s painstaking labors will provide English readers with the first translation of this important (perhaps even once-in-a-generation important) scholarly work in the field of Luther studies.
While most academic discussions concerning Martin Luther’s Reformational turn have generally centered on justification by grace through faith, in Promissio, Bayer focuses the discussion more precisely on Luther’s understanding of God’s word of Promise as distinct from his word of Law. It is the public, oral, and external word of Promise that creates what it indicates and is both certain and makes us certain. In other words, “Reformation” was not the doctrinal or exegetical discovery of justification by faith; it was hearing God’s promise of absolution.
Bayer analyzes and juxtaposes the early and later Luther’s understanding of Promise and especially how this understanding impacted his theology of the sacraments of Penance, the Eucharist, and baptism, alongside Christology and eschatology. This truth revealed to Luther the difference between law and gospel, and made justification by faith the eventual result of the "efficacious word." The implications of this discovery for history, theology, and the practice of ministry are great.
The Lord’s Supper: A Guide to the Heavenly Feast by John Kleinig (Lexham Press)
With a devotional and pastoral approach, Kleinig presents the Lord’s Supper free from typical polemical, defensive, or overly rationalized arguments. The author’s beliefs as a confessional Lutheran pastor are clear, and yet he successfully allows Scripture to guide his presentation of the Holy Sacrament. Through his deep engagement with the Old Testament, Kleinig provides a rich backdrop to the Lord's Supper and shows how Christ is the fulfillment of these texts. No matter their denominational backgrounds or familiarity with Scripture’s illumination of the Lord’s Supper, readers will be pointed again and again to Christ’s body and blood for the forgiveness of their sins in this concise volume.
Sinner Saint: A Surprising Primer to the Christian Life by Luke Kjolhaug (1517 Publishing)
We would be remiss not to include at least one work from our own publishing house, and Kjolhaug’s Sinner Saint checks all the boxes when it comes to representing 1517’s mission. Written with gold-standard prose and rich biblical insight, Kjolhaug explains why the Christian life often feels like an inner civil war, why the fight against sin never seems to let up, and wrestles with the age-old question of whether we are saints, sinners, or somehow both.
The Big Relief: The Urgency of Grace for a Worn-Out World by David Zahl (Brazos Press)
Relief is Zahl’s more easily digestible term for grace. Like his previous book, Low Anthropology, it delivers this grace in heaping handfuls that are a balm for the soul. This is a book for people who have known the gospel since they were children and people who have yet to discover it in middle age. Zahl uses accessible language, a gracious tone, and stories that blend pop culture and raw insight to keep the reader engaged. This is the first book to give to anyone who needs the relief of God’s grace, whether they believe in him or not.
The Body God Gives: A Biblical Response to Transgender Theory by Robert S. Smith (Lexham Academic)
In this thorough, academic analysis, Smith traces the development of modern transgender ideology, explores how evangelical Christians have reacted to it, and conducts a Scriptural deep dive to establish what the Word of God has to say about the meaning of the human body. It is three separate tasks in one book, but Smith handles them all well, showing grace toward those with differing views and striving to present their views correctly. This will likely be the go-to academic volume on the topic among evangelical Christians for years to come.
The Quiet Ambition: Scripture's Surprising Antidote to Our Restless Lives by Ryan P. Tinetti (IVP)
Tinetti combines compelling storytelling, incisive cultural diagnosis, and a deeply moving portrait of divine love. Based on 1 Thessalonians 4:11-12, Tinetti explores what it means to live the Christian life free from the pressure to world build or fruit check. With clarity and charity, this book exposes the lies that drive our restless ambition and repeatedly calls us back to a quiet, faithful life of listening to God, humble service, and love of neighbor.
Lest We Drift: Five Departure Dangers from the One True Gospel by Jared Wilson (Zondervan Academic)
Wilson’s latest book offers a snapshot view of the history and trajectory of the “Gospel-Centered Movement” of the last two decades in American Christianity, cataloguing current evangelical departures from the movement, which ultimately, he argues, are departures from the gospel itself. While many 1517 readers may be unfamiliar with the movement Wilson details, Lest We Drift offers an insightful look at threats to both the good news of Christ crucified and the necessity to keeping Christ at the center of theology and the ministry of the church, regardless of one’s denominational preferences.
The High Hallow: Tolkien's Liturgical Imagination by Ben Reinhard (Emmaus Road Publishing)
Tolkien's Catholic religion was, at its heart, a liturgical affair. To be religious and Catholic in the Tolkienian sense is to be rooted in the prayer of the Church. The High Hallow: Tolkien's Liturgical Imagination takes this claim seriously: The Lord of the Rings (and Tolkien's myth as a whole) is the product of an imagination seeped in liturgical prayer. In the course of its argument, Reinhard examines the liturgical pieties that governed Tolkien's life from childhood to old age, the ways in which the liturgy colored Tolkien's theory of myth and fantasy, and the alleged absence of religion in Middle-earth. Most importantly, he shows how the plots, themes, and characters of Tolkien's beloved works can be traced to the patterns of the Church's liturgical year.
Full of Grace and Truth: The Biblical Roots of Christmas by Robert Solberg
Some can write moving meditations on Christmas or trace its historical roots. Others can unfold the Incarnation’s biblical depth, explore its hymns, or offer wise guidance for Christian family celebrations of Christ’s birth. With remarkable skill, Robert Solberg does all of this—and does it with an eloquence and warmth that make every page a delight.
