What Christians Ought to Believe by Michael F. Bird examines the Apostles’ Creed and guides readers step-by-step through this important document.
In chapters 1 and 2, the author highlights the importance of creeds. He notes:
“The creeds constitute an attempt to guide our reading of Scripture by setting out in advance the contents and concerns of Scripture itself. The creeds provide a kind of ‘Idiot’s Guide to Christianity’ by briefly laying out the story, unity, coherence, and major themes of the Christian faith. In that sense, a creedal faith is crucial for a biblical faith and vice versa!”
The author highly commends the Apostles’ Creed and notes that it contains the essential elements of the Christian faith:
“If you ask me, the Apostles’ Creed is probably the best syllabus ever devised for teaching basic Christian beliefs … The Apostles’ Creed is basically a bullet-point summary of what Christians believe about God, Jesus, the church, and the life to come.”
Michael Bird brilliantly not only sets for the case for the Apostles’ Creed; he does so in a winsome and understandable way. The author teaches the Creed, line by line, drawing the attention of the learner to our final standard of truth – sacred Scripture.
While much of the book is encouraging and worthy of commendation, the chapter which unveils the atonement is disappointing. Bird rightly introduces readers to the various views of the atonement and provides a basic definition for each view. However, he stumbles by not advocating penal substitutionary atonement. Bird writes, “My exegetical-theological intuition is to gravitate toward the victory theory (Christus victor) as the integrative model for the atonement since it effectively combines the motifs of recapitulation, representation, ransom, sacrifice, and triumph.” I urge readers to study Pierced For Our Transgressions, edited by Steve Jeffery, Michael Ovey, and Andrew Sach for a better look at this matter.
Overall, however, this work is a wonderful look at the Apostles’ Creed and should be welcomed by evangelicals. Teachers will find this resource to be a helpful tool in the classroom and parents are encouraged to use this book in discipleship for budding disciples.
Dr. David Steele has been in pastoral ministry since 1991. He holds BS and MA degrees from Multnomah University and Multnomah Biblical Seminary and a D. Min from Bakke Graduate University. Following graduation from Multnomah University, he served eight years as Pastor to Students at Lacey Chapel. In 2000, he became the Pastor of Theology at First Baptist Church in La Grande, Oregon where he served for over eleven years. In 2012, he became the Senior Pastor at Christ Fellowship in Everson, Washington.
He is the author of Bold Reformer: Celebrating the Gospel-Centered Convictions of Martin Luther, A Godward Gaze: The Holy Pursuit of John Calvin, and The White Flag: When Compromise Cripples the Church.
At Christ Fellowship he leads the staff, serves as the Pastor for preaching and vision casting, and oversees Veritas (adult theological education) and Iron Men (men’s leadership development).
His personal mission is to positively influence people, impact the world one person at a time and to glorify God by enjoying him forever. His passion in ministry is preaching, teaching, and leadership development. Specifically, his aim is to educate the mind, engage the affections, equip the whole person, and encourage God-centered living that treasures Christ above all things.
He and his wife, Gerrene were married in 1991 and they have two children.
