God's Two Words

It is with great joy that I recommend this book on the law and the gospel to all. I have tried to preach it for 56 years, have taught it in my seminary classes, and am still learning. I wish I had obtained this book from the beginning. Dr. Hicks has done a superb job of clarifying law-gospel theology throughout the book. All roads lead to Christ in this work. But his pastoral application of its truth will be most helpful to pastors to learn how to preach it and to every Christian to learn how to live it out in life. It is both theologically correct and devotional in tone. I have learned much from my former intern and now senior pastor. Please read it. 

This book on the law and the gospel addresses both theology and application. It is a necessary and needed treasure for Christ’s church in our generation. I do not believe I am exaggerating when I say that it is rare for a book to be theological and practical in this way. Dr. Tom Hicks, in his book God’s Two Words: Mediations on the Law and the Gospel, provides a timely work in the service of Christ’s beloved church. Dr. Hicks holds up the diamond of the Bible’s law/gospel theology to the radiant light of Holy Scripture, and, with great precision, he brings different aspects and angles of God’s two words to the mind, heart, and hands of the reader. With clear and extraordinarily engaging language, Dr. Hicks applies God’s two words, law and gospel, to various aspects of the reader’s life. I would commend this work to all Christians to read and re-read for their growth in a faith that works through love, as well as to get copies to share with others for their eternal joy in the thrice-holy God. It will be a resource that I plan to use well into the future to continue to grow in seeing God’s glory in His two words. 

In a day when so much confusion clouds the church’s understanding of how God’s Word works, Tom Hicks has given us a clear, warm, and deeply biblical guide to the classic Protestant distinction between the law and the gospel. With pastoral wisdom and devotional depth, Tom not only shows the necessary distinction between what God requires (law) and what God graciously provides (gospel) but also explains how the law and the gospel complement each other in the lives of all Christians. Every chapter is short enough to read in one sitting yet rich enough to reward slow, prayerful meditation. I’m grateful for God’s Two Words: Meditations on the Law and the Gospel and will recommend it to everyone I know for years to come.

The proper distinction between the law and the gospel is a subject where confusion abounds and clarity is sorely needed in our day. Tom Hicks has served the church well with this doctrinally robust but pastorally warm treatment from a Baptist perspective. Demonstrating that the law-gospel distinction is not just an isolated theological category, Hicks constructs a comprehensive biblical framework that begins with the holy character of God, examines both law and gospel in light of the major heads of doctrine, then applies these truths to the individual, the family, and the church. I found this volume unique in how accessible it is to the average churchgoer, devotional enough for family worship and personal study yet rigorous enough for pastors and elders and church leaders. This is an outstanding introduction to this most essential doctrine, and as a pastor, I plan on ordering boxes for my congregation.

Martin Luther once wrote that the “difference between the Law and the Gospel is the height of knowledge in Christendom.” Few subjects are more vital to a healthy Christian faith and life than the biblical doctrines of the law and the gospel, and few are better suited to guide readers through these topics than my dear friend, Dr. Tom Hicks. Writing from a historically informed and reformed perspective, he combines theological precision, pastoral sensitivity, and practical clarity to a topic that lies at the very heart of scripture. In 31 brief and accessible readings, this devotional will help Christians better understand the unity of God’s Scripture, the believer’s relationship to the law, the nature of sin and Christian freedom from it, and the glory of Christ’s redemption secured for His people in the new covenant. I warmly commend this clear, edifying, and trustworthy resource for thoughtful Christian reflection.