This We Believe [Paperback]

John N. Akers (Editor), John H. Armstrong (Editor), John D. Woodbridge (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 1, 2000

What Every Believer Should Know

As we Christians embark on the third millennium, we face more than ever the need to define our faith. In a world that resists truth and pays the price in escalating evil, Jesus says we are the salt of the earth—people of truth advancing the Gospel of peace. But how well do we understand what we preach?

A group of prominent church leaders and scholars did more than just ask that question. They drafted a clear, definitive statement of the essentials of the Gospel titled “The Gospel of Jesus Christ: An Evangelical Celebration.” Leaders from across the denominational landscape have endorsed it, and the list of names, already impressive, continues to grow. This remarkable show of unity affirms the core beliefs about our salvation that evangelicals hold in common. In the face of our differences, these are what bind us together as the church of Jesus Christ and make the Gospel the Good News of Great Joy.

This We Believe helps you understand the statement’s key points. If you want to know exactly what the Gospel is, this book tells you. Sponsored by the statement’s drafting committee, it includes contributions from such well-known communicators as J. I. Packer, Joseph Stowell, Lee Strobel, Joni Eareckson Tada, and Ravi Zacharias. With clarity and passion, they help you understand the Gospel’s simple, profound, and priceless message.

The book concludes with a copy of the actual statement and a place for you to sign your name in affirmation. It is your invitation to celebrate the tremendous gift of God’s grace to us through Jesus, and our unity as the body of Christ.

Editorial Reviews

Review

The idea behind the Gospel Statement, then, was to reconcile these warring parties. Had the document been limited to that end alone, no harm would have been done. Instead, the statement, drafted by a committee dominated by Reformed figures and deformed by its origins in an intramural dispute, has been put forward as a "remarkable show of unity" that "affirms the core beliefs about our salvation that evangelicals hold in common."

While I am proud to count Jim Packer and Timothy George as friends, I can only conclude that they and others on the drafting committee cannot see how this purportedly unifying document is in fact an attempt by one faction of evangelicalism to impose its identity on the entire movement. After it was published in Christianity Today, seven evangelical thinkers--Gerald R. McDermott, Nancey Murphy, Alan G. Padgett. Cornelius Plantinga, Jr., John G. Stackhouse, Jr., Jonathan R. Wilson, and Nicholas Wolterstorff--sent the magazine a letter saying the statement "serves to needlessly marginalize oralienate fellow evangelicals." Its understanding of the gospel, they wrote, "is not truly representative...of many forms of the evangelical tradition, including Anabaptist, Methodist, Holiness, Pentecostal, charismatic, and yes, Reformed varieties."

The published volume does not even acknowledge the existence of such friendly dissent. "You don't like it?" the document seems to be saying. "Make my day."

(Beliefnet, Aug. 2000) -- From Beliefnet

From the Back Cover

What Every Believer Should Know

As we Christians embark on the third millennium, we face more than ever the need to define our faith. In a world that resists truth and pays the price in escalating evil, Jesus says we are the salt of the earth—people of truth advancing the Gospel of peace. But how well do we understand what we preach?

A group of prominent church leaders and scholars did more than just ask that question. They drafted a clear, definitive statement of the essentials of the Gospel titled "The Gospel of Jesus Christ: An Evangelical Celebration." Leaders from across the denominational landscape have endorsed it, and the list of names, already impressive, continues to grow. This remarkable show of unity affirms the core beliefs about our salvation that evangelicals hold in common. In the face of our differences, these are what bind us together as the church of Jesus Christ and make the Gospel the Good News of Great Joy.

This We Believe helps you understand the statement’s key points. If you want to know exactly what the Gospel is, this book tells you. Sponsored by the statement’s drafting committee, it includes contributions from such well-known communicators as J. I. Packer, Joseph Stowell, Lee Strobel, Joni Eareckson Tada, and Ravi Zacharias. With clarity and passion, they help you understand the Gospel’s simple, profound, and priceless message.

The book concludes with a copy of the actual statement and a place for you to sign your name in affirmation. It is your invitation to celebrate the tremendous gift of God’s grace to us through Jesus, and our unity as the body of Christ.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 18 and up
  
• Paperback: 252 pages
• Publisher: Zondervan; First Edition edition (August 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0310236355
• ISBN-13: 978-0310236351
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.5 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.1 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #301,055 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

John H. Armstrong is founder and president of ACT 3, a ministry for equipping leaders for unity in Christ's mission. He is former pastor and church-planter, of more than twenty years, and the author/editor of 12 books. He has also authored thousands of magazine, journal, and Web based articles. Besides his writing ministry Dr. Armstrong is an adjunct professor of evangelism at Wheaton College Graduate School, teaches in various seminaries and colleges as a guest lecturer, and is a seminar and conference speaker throughout the United States and abroad. John and Anita, his wife of thirty-nine years, have two adult married children. Anita assists John as an editorial associate and uses her gifts widely to help the ministry. Their son Matthew is engaged in a ministry of evangelism and discipleship and is a church planter in Streamwood, Illinois. Their daughter Stacy is an administrative assistant for ACT 3 and assists her husband in teaching the martial arts. John and Anita have two grandchildren, Gracie (12) and Abbie (8).

John was born in Lebanon, Tennessee (March 1, 1949). He is the youngest of two sons of Dr. Thomas H. and Marie F. Armstrong. John's dad was a dentist and the editor of the Tennessee State Dental Journal. He also served on the faculty of the University of Tennessee Dental School in Memphis for nearly fifteen years. John's mom, deceased in November 2008, was his most important influence in hearing God's call upon his life and in learning how to teach the Scriptures. His brother Thomas is a family physician in Huntsville, Alabama. John attended Castle Heights Military Academy in Lebanon, Tennessee, where he was an ROTC cadet officer and graduated cum honore in 1967. He attended the University of Alabama from 1967-1969, studying journalism and history. In 1969 he transferred to Wheaton College, were he received the B. A. in history (1971) and the M. A. in theology and missions (1973). He did further study at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, Deerfield, Illinois, and Northern Baptist Seminary, Lombard, Illinois. He earned the D. Min degree (1979) at Luther Rice Seminary, Atlanta, Georgia. John is an ordained Minister of Word and Sacrament in the Reformed Church in America.

John is the author of Your Church is Too Small: Why Unity in Christ's Mission Is Vital to the Future of the Church (Zondervan, 2010), Five Great Evangelists (Christian Focus Publications, 1997), The Catholic Mystery (Harvest House, 1999), True Revival: What Happens When God's Spirit Moves (Harvest House, 2000), and The Stain That Stays: The Church's Response to the Sexual Misconduct of It's Leaders (Christian Focus, 2000). He is the general editor of Understanding Four Views of the Lord's Supper (Zondervan, 2007), Understanding Four Views on Baptism (Zondervan, 2007), Roman Catholicism: Evangelical Protestants Analyze What Unites and Divides Us (Moody Press, 1994), The Coming Evangelical Crisis (Moody Press, 1996), Reforming Pastoral Ministry (Crossway, 2001), The Glory of Christ (Crossway, 2002). He has contributed single chapters, theological and historical introductions, and forewords to more than two dozen volumes, and has been published in Christianity Today, Christian History and other Christian periodicals.


John is a member of several professional societies including the John Calvin Society, the Karl Barth Society and the Abraham Lincoln Forum.

John's hobbies include baseball, with a love for the Atlanta Braves that goes back to the 1957 Milwaukee Braves who won the World Series. He is also a hometown fan of the Chicago White Sox (World Series Champions 2005) and an avid book collector who enjoys reading great literature, watching film and walking/biking. He remains an avid college football fan, following his beloved Crimson Tide of the University of Alabama. John and Anita have a special place in their home for Neo, the Armstrong's miniature dachshund. John and Anita's grandchildren, Gracie and Abbie, also bring very special joy to their busy lives through regular visits.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Every Christian should personally affirm this statement..., September 20, 2000

By 

"discerningreader" - See all my reviews

This review is from: This We Believe (Paperback)

In a world that resisits truth and pays the price in growing irrationality, fragmentation, and evil, Jesus says we are to be "salt" and "light"--- radiating centers of Gospel light amidst a world utterly consumed by darkness.

But how well do we understand the Gospel? A group of prominent church leaders and scholars did more than just ask that question. They drafted a clear, definitive statement of the essentials of the Gospel titled "The Gospel of Jesus Christ: An Evangelical Celebration." Leaders from across the denominational landscape have endorsed it, and the list of names, already impressive, continues to grow. This remarkable show of unity affirms the core beliefs about our salvation that evangelicals hold in common. In the face of our differences, these are what bind us together as the church of Jesus Christ and make Gospel the Good News of Great Joy.

___

OUR OPINION:

Every Christian should read and commit themselves wholly to this profound affirmation of the Biblical Gospel. The fact that the reviewer at BeliefNet takes issue with it simply underscores that organization's committment to "the broad way that leads to destruction."

And that is a great tragedy... one that should move us to tears.

And to pray...

-- The Discerning Reader (@Amazon zShops)

3 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars beliefnet review is useful, November 23, 2000

By 

tinwing (Hong Kong) - See all my reviews

This review is from: This We Believe (Paperback)

i think the beliefnet review is very useful. i think there are wide diversity within evangelicalism. somehow the american types and the british type are already not exactly the same. and beyond the evangelical tradition, the Christian Church has even more diversity. to me the bottom line being all of us confessing christians who participate in the life of the church share the same faith.

to be honest, i haven't read through the whole book. but as an editor of the publisher who will publish the book's chinese version, i'll rate it 4-star. and i am looking forward to read kevin vanhoozer's piece on jesus. he is a theologian that has depth.

2 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Point out some mistake in the book, April 4, 2003

By 

"peerwork" (Yau Ma Tei, Hong Kong, SAR, PR CHINA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: This We Believe (Hardcover)

First, I am a non-denominational Christian. I am not a Mormon who goes to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Therefore, I am not writing to defend LDS' doctrine. Don't be misled. I am just writing to point out some error in this book.

In "This We Believe" on page 289 in Chapter 11 which titled "The Evangelical Family: Its Blessings and Boundaries", Joseph M. Stowell wrote:

"Sometime ago, a friend was telling me about her Mormon neighbor. She rejoiced in their friendship and said how much she appreciated the times they prayed together. She asked me, "Have you ever prayed with a Mormon?" The inference was that she and her friend were wonderfully one in prayer. While one could cultivate a friendship with Mormons, praying with them would be quite another issue. Because they deny the doctrine that Christ is God, spiritual oneness with them is not only wrong but impossible, according to the Bible. Historically the church has persistently held to the fundamental realities of truth about Christ as a test of faith: his virgin birth, divinity, resurrection, and return."

The phrase "[Mormons] deny the doctrine that Christ is God" is blunt falsehood. LDS affirms that Christ Jesus is God. They might have their Trinity doctrine varied from the one confessed by the mainstream churches but they DO affirm the deity or "Godship" Christ. This is what I'd term "unchristian apology" - affirming the importance of truth on one hand but telling "untruth" on the other (not necessarily lying but by, perhaps, a big careless mistake).