A Guide to the Best Free Grace Study Bibles

The following Study Bibles are some of the best Free Grace and Free Grace–friendly options I've found:

1. The Thompson Chain-Reference Bible

First Edition: 1908 

Revised Editions: 1917, 1929, 1964, 1982, with full layout redesigns in recent years.

Publisher: Zondervan

Compiled and edited by Dr. Frank Charles Thompson.

Comments: The Thompson Chain-Reference Bible is my personal favorite! The vast amount of "chain-references" allow the reader to see what the Bible itself says about a topic instead of some editor's commentary on it. For the record, my top three favorite Study Bibles are: 1) The Thompson Chain-Reference Bible, 2) The Ryrie Study Bible, and 3) The Scofield Reference Bible. 

2. The Scofield Reference Bible

First Edition: 1909

Revised Edition: 1917

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Edited by C. I. Scofield

Comments: The Old Scofield Study Bible is hard to beat. My only critique is that it doesn't have as many notes and cross-references as The Thompson Chain-Reference Bible and The Ryrie Study Bible. That's the only reason (or at least the main reason) why I rank The Scofield Reference Bible as my third favorite behind the other two.

3. The New Scofield Study Bible

Publication Year: 1967

Details: An extensive revision of Scofield's original notes using updated English and modern marginal references, overseen by a committee of evangelical scholars.

General Editor: E. Schuyler English

4. Thru The Bible's KJV Reference Bible

Publication Year: 1976

Updated Editions: Late 1980s thru today

Details: Features Dr. J. Vernon McGee's Guidelines for Understanding the Scriptures, as well as Dr. McGee's Notes and Outlines for each book. The text is printed in 14-point font for easy reading.

Publisher: Thomas Nelson

Compiled by J. Vernon McGee and available on the Thru The Bible website.

5. The Ryrie Study Bible

First Edition: 1978

Expanded Edition: 1994 and 1995

Details: Released in 1994 for KJV and NIV (followed by the NASB updated edition in 1995), this expanded version added over 2,000 new study notes, expanded book introductions, updated charts/timeline diagrams, and enhanced cross-references while retaining Dr. Ryrie's signature dispensational and Free Grace-friendly framework.

Publisher: Moody Publishers

Edited by Dr. Charles C. Ryrie

6. The Nelson Study Bible

Publication Year: 1997

Publisher: Thomas Nelson Publishers

General Editor: Dr. Earl Radmacher

7. The NKJV Study Bible

Publication Year: 1997 / 2007

Details: Originally published in 1997 under the title The Nelson Study Bible, it was rebranded and formally retitled The NKJV Study Bible in 2007 (with a 2nd edition in 2008).

Edited by Dr. Earl Radmacher alongside Ronald B. Allen and H. Wayne House.

8. The Scofield Study Bible III

Publication Year: 2002

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Details: Updated formatting, added cross-references, and expanded historical/archaeological notes while maintaining Scofield's classic theological framework.

9. The Life Principles Study Bible

First Edition: 2005

Second Edition: 2019 / 2020

Publisher: Thomas Nelson Publishers

Details: Compiled by Dr. Charles F. Stanley, focusing heavily on devotional application, his "30 Life Principles," and practical Christian-living notes. Available across major translations including KJV, NKJV, NASB, NIV.

10. The Jeremiah Study Bible

First Released: 2013 (NKJV edition by Worthy Publishing)

Subsequent Translation Releases: NIV edition in 2014 and ESV edition in 2019

Compiled by Dr. David Jeremiah

11. The Swindoll Study Bible

Publication Year: 2017

Publisher: Tyndale House Publishers

Compiled by Dr. Charles R. Swindoll

12. The Free Grace Study Bible

Publication Year: Currently in Progress

Details: An ongoing translation and study project featuring the Free Grace Translation and notes, prioritized around strict formal equivalence and grammatical precision without text-critical adjustments.