{Book Review} Navigating Tough Texts

Lexham Press has published a book titled Navigating Tough Texts: A Guide to Problem Passages in the New Testament. This book is authored by New Testament scholar Murray J. Harris. 

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Navigating Tough Texts: A Guide to Problem Passages in the New Testament

I’ll just cut to the chase on this one: you need this book! If you are a student of the Word of God, this will be a most excellent addition to your library of resources for Bible study. Murray Harris is a distinguished New Testament scholar who has written many books on New Testament topics, including biblical commentaries. He not only knows what he is talking about, but he also knows how to talk about it. This book will serve Christians on any level of maturity. New believers? Yes! Pastors and Bible teachers? Yes! This is because he is able to articulate biblical truth in a concise and very understandable manner, and this is perhaps the best part of this book!

Format and Content

I love the format of this book. Harris works through most of the 27 New Testament books, taking difficult verses/passages and explaining them in their context and often from the Greek (the original language of the New Testament). Most of the “chapters” (each difficult text is its own chapter) are 1-2 pages in length (like I said, very concise). Murray is an able and amazing exegete of Scripture. His vast understanding of the Greek New Testament proves to be very helpful in this book. I am amazed at how in depth Murray was able to be while being so concise. 

As mentioned in the preface to this book, most of the “tough texts” that were included contain one or more of these elements: 

1. Verses that have had significance in church history
2. Theologically important verses
3. Evangelistically significant verses
4. Verses that contain apparent contradictions
5. Issues relating to Christian life
6. Key passages that are illuminating for understanding the person of Christ
7. Crucial passages about the Holy Spirit

You will not find every “tough text” or every kind of tough text in this book, but I appreciate the explanation given in the preface about the criteria used for choosing the tough texts that were selected. 

Conclusion

This book covers 66 tough texts in just over 200 pages! A lot of territory is covered in a short amount of space, and I think that is a huge strength of this book. I would recommend this book to be used as a resource while one studies the Scriptures. I have no doubt that a person will greatly benefit from reading this book cover to cover, but it will likewise prove to be an incredible resource to be used over and over again while daily studying the Bible. I can’t recommend this book highly enough!

Tolle lege, take up and read! 

Disclaimer: My thanks to Lexham Press for providing me with a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an unbiased review. The opinions expressed are my own.