After 20 years of ministry, I think reading systematic theologies has been one of the greatest helps to my understanding of the Bible as well as my ability to preach and teach the Bible. A good systematic theology gives you just that – a systematic way of thinking about theology, guardrails for interpreting difficult texts, and vocabulary for communicating the truth of God’s word. In no particular order, here are my “top” systematic theologies.

1. Herman Bavinck, Reformed Dogmatics (Volumes 1-4), Reformed Ethics (Volumes 1-3), and Reformed Social Ethics … This is my “go big or go home” recommendation. Reformed Dogmatics is the systematic theology “proper,” and Reformed Ethics and Reformed Social Ethics are volumes that focus on anthropology. John Bolt edited these volumes. The English reads like it was written in English, not Dutch. The format – summaries up front, detailed chapters following – is incredibly helpful. There’s a lot of material here, and it’s hands down my favorite systematic theology … except for maybe …
2. Herman Bavinck, The Wonderful Works of God … This is the single volume summary of the above eight volumes, and it’s really, really fantastic. In fact, this is my favorite single-volume systematic theology. If you don’t have the funds or the reading time to “go big or go home” with all eight volumes of Bavinck, go with The Wonderful Works of God. This volume is very readable and very clear.
3. Louis Berkhof, Systematic Theology … I read Berkhof before Bavinck – and at that point, Bavinck was my favorite single-volume systematic theology. This book is detailed, structured, thorough, and a tremendous resource.
4. Gerald Bray, God Is Love … I bought this book and let it sit on my shelf for years before reading it. Something about the title gave me pause – I supposed I assumed it would be a sappy, sentimental version of systematic theology. It is anything but. Bray’s book does focus on God’s Trinitarian love as a defining center for theology. One may disagree with his organization framework, but the perspective is good to have alongside other more traditional approaches to systematic theology.
5. John L. Dagg, Manual of Theology and Manual of Church Order … AND / OR … James P. Boyce, Abstract of Systematic Theology …Dagg and Boyce offer a classic reformed Baptist take on systematic theology. Both were founding faculty of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, and both wrote systematic theologies that have stood the test of time. Dagg’s first volume is systematic theology proper, and his second volume focuses on ecclesiology (with a Baptist bent). Neither of these is the most thorough, detailed, in-depth systematic, but both are quite helpful.
6. John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion … It’s hard to overstate the impact this work has had on Protestant theology in general and reformed theology in particular. Calvin was without question a great theologian – but many will be susprised at how pastoral Calvin can be in the Institutes. Great theology combined with pastoral passion.
7. Wayne Grudem, Systematic Theology … A certain brand of seminary student will turn his nose up at this volume, which is unfortunate. There’s a reason Grudem has sold so many copies. He writes clearly. He references the Bible constantly. He answers questions directly. There are parts of Grudem’s theology that some may debate – but this volume stands as a solid single volume systematic theology and a great introduction to systematic theology. This was actually the first systematic I read, and I read it as an undergrad student.
8. James Montgomery Boice, Foundations of the Christian Faith … Boice was a master teacher. His “commentaries” reflect his ability to synthesize information and communicate information. Foundations does both of those things. There are major holes in this book compared to most systematic theologies – meaning, Boice skips a lot of topics that one may want to read about in a systematic theology. Still, the content serves as a great introduction to Christian doctrine.
9. Millard Erickson, Christian Theology … When I was a student at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary we were given a choice – read Grudem or Erickson. I had already read Grudem, so I chose Erickson. There’s a lot of Erickson that I question, but he is really a fair writer when describing the theological views of others – even when he disagrees with them. His historical and comparative theology is a unique and helpful part of his book.
10. Joel Beeke and Paul Smalley, Essentials of Reformed Systematic Theology … I haven’t made it all the way through this summary volume. Our elders at Immanuel are currently reading Essentials, and so far it has served as good discussion material for our elders. This volume is the single-volume of the four volume Reformed Systematic Theology.

Honorable Mention:

• RC Sproul, Everyone’s a Theologian … Short, concise, and accessible as a summary of systematic theology.