This We Believe

APPLICATION WRITTEN BY

Staff Writer

If you want to know exactly what the Gospel is, This We Believe, tells you. It is a detailed look at a statement of the essentials of the Gospel written by a group of well-studied, prominent church leaders. This We Believe 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.

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.

Key Topics or Truths

Evangelical beliefs
The Gospel

This Book is Good For...

This book is good for every disciple. If reaffirms and puts reference under the seasoned Bible scholar. It builds a factual, Biblical foundation under those who are learning to learn. It provides a Biblical standard of the Gospel for the new believer.

How I Use this Book to make disciples

I have disciples read this over the course of two or three weeks, reviewing as we go. When they ask questions, I prompt them to think about verses and truths they have already learned that support or answer their questions. I also create thought vacuums by asking tricky questions about the statements in the book.

Disciples will gain a more full understanding of the Gospel along the way but I also push thinking critically and not just swallowing these truths without evaluation. That is the broader use of this reading.

I love this book because it is a layman’s guide to understanding the Gospel from a Biblical view. It is a scholarly work that is accessible enough for anyone. It puts bricks in the foundation of disciple’s faith.

Real Life Story

“So what do you think about this week’s reading in This We Believe?” I asked. Bob sighed and replied, “Dude, I feel like I am back in school. It is so dry. It is so just like a school book.” Bob’s comment illustrates a problem with modern Christianity. The church focused “disciple making” so much on education, for so many years, until the system broke. Bible studies dropped, and Sunday School became a thing of the past. It was all so dry. The newer churches embraced life groups and life actually came back into groups. But, those groups generally focused on topics and relationships. Bob had grown up in Sunday School and had migrated to life groups. Anything scholarly, just the facts, turned him off because of his past. I pushed Bob to see that though discipleship is about transformation, it is the truth that transforms us. And gathering truth is sometimes simply about becoming smarter about God’s plan. When Bob looked back, he appreciated this book because it firmed up his understanding of what God desires and has done.

Know Issues or Controversies

No known issues

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Akers, Armstrong, Woodbridge

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Book Details

Phase: Discipleship 2
Book Type: Non Fiction
Flair: Instructive
Tags: Christian Living, Theology

Reading Time

Two Weeks