A Passion for the English Bible - Introducing Tyndale from Banner of Truth

Introducing Tyndale will grow your passion for God’s Word.

What do you do to gain some inspiration? 

William Tyndale was a man who lived with a single passion driving his life, and that passion was to translate Scripture from Greek and Hebrew to English so that every Englishman could read God’s Word for himself. Tyndale was willing to go to extreme lengths - even to defy the wishes of the seemingly all-powerful King of England - to accomplish that goal. By and large, he was successful, something like 80% of the King James New Testament are from William Tyndale’s original translation which was widely dispersed around the English speaking world.

This little book, Introducing William Tyndale, is a useful casual read to get acquainted with Tyndale’s work that has three parts. First, John Piper opens up the book with a short essay on William Tyndale’s singular focus - a Bible in the English language. Piper’s essay is worth the cost of the book alone, it is clear that he admires and draws a lot of inspiration from Tyndale’s life and ministry.

Secondly, the introductory essay is followed by an extract from Tyndale’s Answer to Sir Thomas More’s Dialogue in which he defends himself from the Catholic leader’s critiques of his translation and theology. In reading this, you get a good sense of the animosity that existed between the Reformers and leaders in the Catholic church, as Tyndale fiercely holds onto justification by faith. Finally, there is a closing essay on the legacy of William Tyndale that demonstrates the effect he had on the Puritans that would follow in his footsteps in England.

“If God spare my life ere many years, I will cause a boy that driveth the plow, shall know more of the Scripture than thou dost.” This quote is attributed to Tyndale in this book and casts a vision for a future where the lay members of the church, even the child doing manual labor, have a deep knowledge of God’s Word. May our passion to see the God of the Bible exalted match Tyndale’s!

I would recommend this short volume to anyone who gets intimidated by historical works or could use some inspiration to spread the knowledge of God’s Word!

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