05/09/2026
https://store.ligonier.org/esv-reformation-study-bible-genuine-leather-black
Ligonier Ministries sent me a copy of “The Reformation Study Bible” (Genuine Leather, Black) in exchange for an honest review.
Have you ever found yourself reading the Bible and wondering what the heck the author is getting at? Have you ever wished that someone had taken the difficult passages and made it understandable for the average reader. When done well, a study Bible does just that. The Reformation Study Bible (henceforth RSB) is Ligonier’s attempt at doing this from a distinctly Reformed perspective. The result is one of the finest Bible study tools in the English language.
Let’s start with the aesthetics. The presentation is simple, but appealing. The cover is black with gold gilding on the spine and page edges. There are three ribbon bookmarks. For the size of the Bible, I would personally like to see one more bookmark, but that’s a pretty small complaint. The leather is nice. The website simply says it’s “genuine leather,” which usually means some sort of pigskin. However, it doesn’t feel like any pigskin I’ve ever handled. If I recall correctly, older editions said it’s some sort of cowhide. So I don’t know what exactly it is, but it looks and feels really nice. As for the interior, they cram a lot of information in. It has cross-references on the inside column, a single-column text, and study notes at the bottom of the page. There are also theological blurbs, pictures, and maps throughout. This is all mostly good. There are only two things I would change about the interior presentation if I could. First, the section headings in the text should be in bold text. As is, they blend in with the rest of the text as your eye is scanning the page. Second, I would make the sidebars and maps colored. As is, they are black and white. I have my serious issues with the ESV Study Bible, but that is something I think that Bible does well. It helps to add some visual variety to the study Bible. Those are improvements that could be made, but make no mistake, those would be improvements on an already great Bible.
As for the content, it’s simply fantastic. This should be a mainstay for every Christian family that takes Scripture seriously. The study notes are very helpful and insightful. The articles in the back are helpful. I also appreciate having the creeds and confessions in the back. There are three things that should be changed about the material in the back. First, they should add the Athanasian Creed. They include the Apostles’ Creed, Nicene Creed, and Definition of Chalcedon. However, Chalcedon isn’t technically a creed, and the Athanasian is explicitly received and affirmed by the Reformed confessions (pp. 2386, 2406). Second, they should remove the 1689 Baptist Confession from this Bible. It strikes me as a bizarre inclusion in a study Bible that explicitly affirms infant baptism (pg. 41 and elsewhere) and contains confessions explicitly condemning Baptist theology (pp. 2413, 2446). The rejection of infant baptism is not Reformed. In fact, it is explicitly condemned by the Reformed churches. The RSB ought to stick to its guns of being a Reformed study Bible. Third, they should include the proof texts. We confess that “The whole counsel of God concerning all things necessary for his own glory, man’s salvation, faith and life, is either expressly set down in Scripture, or by good and necessary consequence may be deduced from Scripture” and “All things in Scripture are not alike plain in themselves, nor alike clear unto all: yet those things which are necessary to be known, believed, and observed for salvation, are so clearly propounded, and opened in some place of Scripture or other, that not only the learned, but the unlearned, in a due use of the ordinary means, may attain unto a sufficient understanding of them” (pg. 2434). If we take these claims seriously, we should do as those who penned the confessions did and show where each confessional claim can be found in Scripture. That way, people can read a claim and simply flip to the corresponding place in their RSB that validates the claim. All three of those would be beneficial changes to the RSB going forward.
Altogether, this is a fantastic study Bible. It’s the finest I own and the finest I’ve yet had the pleasure to come across. Pick this one up. It will be your faithful companion for a lifetime studying God’s Word.
