I'm about to do an in-depth study of the book of Romans for the next few weeks (or months). Can anyone recommend any good commentaries or resources?

Thanks in advance!

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Henry C. Thompson, II
Member, Church Creek Presbyterian (PCA)
Summerville, SC
Husband of Narniasinger
http://hct2.blogspot.com/

There are very many good ones on Romans but I find that John Murray's is my "go to book" on Romans.

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Bob, elder, RBC Louisville. 1689 LBCF

"... Of such also, or of those who make a credible profession of being such, all those particular churches consist, which constitute our Lord's visible kingdom. ... Consequently, all the subjects of His government must have spiritual dispositions, , and yield spiritual obedience- obedience proceeding from an enlightened understanding, an awakened conscience, and a renewed heart."- Abraham Booth 1788

William Hendricksen's would be good. Also Calvin.

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Rev. Bruce G. Buchanan
ChainOLakes Presbyterian Church, CentralLake, MI


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Henry, for really in-depth you could get Martyn Lloyd-Jones 13 or so volume set, which I've been reading for years and can highly recommend. They are sermons he preached at his church in London over a ten year or so period and edited after he "retired". Sermons by the great preachers of the past are my favorite commentaries, in general. William S. Plumer wrote a one volume Commentary on Romans 150 or so years ago. I've only read parts of it, but can recommend his writings in general (which are very few). He is experimental and very practical. His commentary is 646 pages, so you can decide how in depth he could be in that much space.

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Daniel
Baptist
Oregon

I would go with Moo, in the New International Version Application Commentary; Haldane, in the Geneva series, and Boice's 4 volumes. Also, look up S. Lewis Johnson's lectures at Believer's Chapel.

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Rev. Lane Keister
Teaching Elder, PCA, North Dakota (working out of bounds in a CRC and an RCA church)
http://greenbaggins.wordpress.com
http://brahmsgreenglove.blogspot.com
http://accenttranslation.blogspot.com
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Moo (probably best of the moderns)
Schreiner (close runner up among recent commentators)
Murray (thoroughly Reformed and no slouch as a scholar)
Haldane (great classic exposition)
Calvin (his first commentary written after the first edition of the Institutes)
Cranfield (either the ICC or the one voume less technical one)
Hendrisksen (not his best work, he was dying of cancer at the time of writing but soldiered on anyhow)

If our esteemed Greenbaggins ever finishes his doctoral work and happens to write on Romans, I would buy it in an instant!

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Dennis E. McFadden, Ex Mainline Baptist (in Remission)
Atherton Baptist Homes, CEO
First Baptist Church of Alhambra, Member, Transformation Ministries (CA)

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Kregel prints William Swan Plumer on Romans. A paperback, but still very much worth having. After each discourse he has doctrinal, practical, and homiletical remarks.

Hard to beat John Murray--very good.

__________________
Rev. Todd Ruddell
Pastor, Christ Covenant Reformed Presbyterian Church (RPCGA)
Wylie, TX
www.christcovenantreformedpc.org

Our best marks can contribute nothing to our justification, ...that is proper to faith. Faith cannot lodge in the soul alone, and without other graces; yet faith alone justifies before God.--G. Gillespie

For us low-brows out there, there is Poole's complete commentary in three volumes. I always find it to be enough to bring clarity to the passge, and it even gets into the Greek here and there.

__________________
Kevin, husband of a truly angelic woman, and father to ten.
Zion United Reformed Church of Sheffield
Ontario, Canada

Moo.

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Willie Grills
Trinity Presbyterian Church
OPC
Huntington, WV

Brother Henry,

In addition to those mentioned, I would recommend Dr. Martyn-Lloyd Jones series for a more pastoral commentary (they are based on his preaching). I do not agree with his view on Romans 7, but, otherwise they are a very helpful resource. I imagine your pastor or church library would have a copy - it is a 14 volume series.

Blessings

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~Pastor Chris Powell~
Covenant Baptist Church, Toronto
Church Website: www.covenantbaptistchurch.com
Team Blog:www.ardentcries.com

Charles Hodge is not hard to get a hold of, and is always worth consulting.

__________________
Ruben
Moderator
F.P.C.I.
Indiana

Vanities and disguises have covered us, and thereby we are naked; licenciousness hath inflam'd us, and thereby we are frozen; voluptuousness hath fed us, and thereby we are sterved, the fancies and traditions of men have taught and instructed us, and thereby we are ignorant.
John Donne

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Calvinistas Conversando
Teología en Mexico
The Howling Wilderness

Am I correctly remembering that the Murray commentary was once in the NICNT series but has since been replaced? If so, who is the author of the current Romans volume in that series?

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Tim Phillips
Pastor, Midlane Park Presbyterian Church (ARP)
Louisville, KY
Husband of Scottish Lass
My Blog: Gairney Bridge
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"Wherever the gospel is preached, it is as if God Himself came into the midst of us." ~ John Calvin

Moo is the NICNT author. Probably the best modern commentary on Romans.

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Ben
Chaplain, US Army
Ft. Riley, KS
TE Ohio Valley Presbytery, PCA

That's correct. My version of Murray is NICNT.

Has the Murray commentary been republished apart from the NICNT series?

Karl Barf.

Or Calvin, Robert Haldane, Hodge, Murray, and Moo.

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Nathan Tyler
Reformed Baptist
University of Toronto (Student: Hons. B.A. in Philosophy)
Ontario, Canada

1689'er

http://nathantyler.wordpress.com

Romans, Geneva Commentary Series - By: Robert Haldane - Christianbook.com

Haldane would be my favorite

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Brian
Grace Bible Church;E.Bridgewater
East Bridgewater MA
http://www.gracebiblehome.org

Anyone read Dr. Sproul's commentary?

I have Sproul on my computer but have not had a chance to use it yet. He is good on everything he writes. However, it would be tough to top Moo, Murray, et. al.

AVOID Kasemann and Barth. I would also skip Dunn (too NPP for my taste). Barth is important, not as a commentary on Romans, but as an historical document of the beginning of a rebellion against liberalism and the rise of neo-orthodoxy.

John R. W. Stott's 1994 commentary is quite good, and available in paperback.

__________________
Richard T. Zuelch, M.Div
Ruling Elder, OPC (not currently serving)
Westminster Presbyterian Church, CA (OPC)
www.alexandermaclaren.wordpress.com
www.reiterations.wordpress.com
www.spurgeonswords.wordpress.com

Devout souls do not take offence at the depths and difficulties of God's Word, but are, thereby, drawn to intenser contemplation of them. - Alexander Maclaren (1826-1910)

Martyn Lloyd-Jones

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Paul
No denomination, affiliated with FIEC
"Deliver me from worldly dispositions, for I am born from above and destined for glory" - Valley of Vision
"They think it strange that you do not plunge with them into the same flood of dissipation" - Peter

Yes. Mine is from Eerdman's and is in a similar "style" to my Eerdman's copy of the Institutes.

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Benjamin P. Glaser, M. Div, Licentiate, Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church
Member Fairmount ARP Church
Pittsburgh, PA

Deo Vindice

R.C. Sproul seems to be coming out with another commentary on Romans based on his teachings at St. Andrew's chapel. Does anyone know the difference.

Romans

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Joshua F
Layman
Mountain View Community Church (Missionary Church Denomination)
Johnstown, CO

Agree with others on the excellence of Murray, Hendriksen, Calvin, Henry, and Poole. I've read that Murray used to be the standard until Moo. Some that prefer Moo point out they like everything except his work on Romans 7.

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Rich
PCA, Northern VA
Student, New Geneva Theological Seminary

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Incidentally, the Hendriksen/Kistemaker NT commentary is good all around and very affordable and available on Libronix: Baker?s New Testament Commentary, by Kistemaker and Hendriksen (12 Vols.)

Rich,

I agree with your post about Henriksen/Kistemaker.

For those using other formats . . .

WordSearch has it for $139.95 (yikes!)
eSword has it for $59.99 (wow!)

CBD has the Libronix version for $85.99 and the print version for $99.99.
All Products : kistemaker - Christianbook.com Search

I would encourage those who desire a good Reformed commentary on the NT to begin with Hendriksen/Kistemaker. It is worth $60 to have it in eSword at least. You can hardly find a better modern commentary for $60 that covers the entire NT, 12 large volumes in the print version.

I would second Lloyd-Jones, Moo, Murray, Haldine and Hodge. Lloyd Jones is 14 volumes but the Doctor was a great expository preacher and contributed much to the growth of Reformed theology. One is greatly blessed by his works.

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Stephen Smith
Reformed Baptist
New Zealand

I think it's a tribute to Murray's commentary that, although his commentary was replaced by Moo in the series, Eerdmans has elected to keep Murray in print, regardless.

I like Moo. He is a good response to the NPP interpretations.

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Jon Peters
Member, Reformation Fellowship (OPC) (Roseville, CA)
Folsom, CA

So, Henry... Which commentary did you decide to go with?

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Alex - Orange County, CA - PCA

"I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but
Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by
faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me."
Galatians 2:20

Manton - "The sovereign dominion of God is a great prop to our faith."

Not surprising, but Dr. Carson says Moo's commentary is the best.

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Denton Elliott
Husband of one wife, father of three
Deacon - Christ Community Church
Monroe, GA
Student: Whitefield Theological Seminary M.Div program

Thanks for the information, all!

To answer your question, Alex, I'm going to be using Stott, Murray, Calvin and McGee, and possibly Luther. My pastor has a copy of both the Stott and Murray that he is generously loaning me, and I have copies of Calvin's and McGee's commentaries (the latter of which was a generous gift from a friend). I also planned to use Matthew Henry's Commentary, as he was very helpful to me in my early days of Reforming.

I definitely am looking forward to the study, but more so re-reading the book of Romans again.

I went to my favorite local Christian bookstore today, but he didn't have either Moo or Murray on the shelf...

No way!
Man, do they want business?
Didn't they have "YourBestLifeNow"?
What about the LeftBehindSeries?

Hey, maybe you should just change your reading habits to what they DO have.
After all, if it isn't on the shelf of your local XnJunkSeller, it can't be worth buying...

<GASP!>

I haven't bought more than a handful of books over the past twenty years in "Christian" bookstores....

__________________
Todd K. Pedlar
member, First Congregational Church, (CCCC) Cresco, IA
http://inprincipiodeus.solideogloria.com
http://puritanwisdom.blogspot.com

"As God did not at first choose you because you were high, He will not now forsake you because you are low."
John Flavel in Keeping the Heart



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Oh, you guys -- you haven't been keeping up with my past posts!

We actually have a "real" Christian bookstore here in Louisville. Ask Randy -- I took him there when he came to visit me. It's called the Christian Booknook. The guy who owns it actually has a Banner of Truth bookcase! In his commentaries section, he had most volumes of the NICNT (and OT) series, but not the volume on Romans.

If you ever visit Louisville, I'll be glad to take you there. It's worth it.

Off topic, but Pastor Phillips is right on the money.
I was in Louisville not too long ago and had a couple of hours of free time and got to visit the Christian Booknook. I came out with the new translation of Calvin's Sermons on Acts and The Valley of Vision (a collection of puritan prayers) bonded leather edition. If I lived in Louisville, I would be spending way too much time in that bookstore.

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Chris
Teaching Elder (PCUSA)
West Virginia
"Although the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines; the labour of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no meat; the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls: Yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will joy in the God of my salvation." (Habakkuk 3:17-18)

While desiring not to speak ill of the great teacher, I might suggest not spending the time with Luther's commentary on Romans -- Luther was great, but there are much better things you could spend your time reading than his exegesis of Romans. I would put Luther away, and spend twice as much time with Calvin and Murray. Also, beware of McGee (I'm assuming you are referring to J. Vernon); while I've never heard or read his teaching on Romans, he is certainly not the most reliable guide to the meaning of scripture. Read cautiously.

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Paul Korte
OPC
Flint, MI

They who perceive in themselves discoveries of the divine goodness, so full and absolutely perfect, and who make them the subject of earnest meditation, will never embrace new doctrines, by which the very grace they feel so powerfully in themselves is thrown into the shade. --John Calvin

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Well, that's a first. I've never seen that old fundamentalist dispy J. Vernon McGee (1904-1988) listed with such august company before.

You mean they sell real books in Christian stores? I thought it was where you went for t-shirts, CDs by adulterous "Christian" artists, Joel Osteen stuff, bad paintings on religious themes, and such.

[Although, when I'm in Grand Rapids next month for the Calvin conference, it is my intention to spend some time in the Baker store (particularly its back room with used books! hmmmm hmmmm good!!!)].