Contend: Defending the Faith in a Fallen World - Softcover

Armstrong, Aaron

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1936760606 ISBN 13: 9781936760602

Publisher: Cruciform Press, 2012

Synopsis

Christians in every generation are called, as Jude put it, to "contend for the faith once for all delivered to the saints." If we are not to fail in this calling, we must understand what contending for the faith looks like in our day and age. The mainstream cultural air we all breathe celebrates tolerance and pressures us to embrace perceived unity as the highest good. In this climate, any sort of division is seen as hateful and wrong. Yet to humbly explain and demonstrate the gospel of Jesus Christ to believer and unbeliever alike is the greatest kindness and the most loving act possible.The ultimate question about Jesus today is the same as when he walked the earth: is he or is he not who he claimed to be? He said, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me" (John 14:6). With the entire Christian faith standing or falling on the validity of such an utterly exclusive and uncompromising claim, doctrine that truly aligns with Jesus will cause division. When we represent our faith honestly, it is simply inevitable: at times we will be at odds with others -- friends, relatives, perhaps even other Christians.Yet we are called to contend, in obedience to and for the sake of the most divisive person in history. And the challenge is to do it in the way Jude describes: as an act of mercy toward those who doubt and those who have been deceived, regardless of whether they claim faith in Christ.

About this title

About the Author

Aaron Armstrong is the author of Awaiting a Savior: The Gospel, the New Creation, and the End of Poverty, and a writer for an international Christian ministry focused on caring for the needs of the poor. He is also an itinerant preacher and blogs at BloggingTheologically.com. He and his family worship and serve at Harvest Bible Chapel in London, Ontario.

Review

"Contend, by one of evangelicalism's most promising young writers and thinkers, is exactly the kind of book the church needs in our moment...Armstrong's gospel-saturated writing, coupled with deeply instructive practical examples, will equip the church to be as bold as a lion, and to roar as Luther, Calvin, Spurgeon and Machen before us."
Owen Strachan, Assistant Professor of Christian Theology and Church History, Boyce College; author, Risky Gospel

"At a time of great theological confusion and emotional calls to content-less 'unity,' a time of politically-correct 'can't-we-all-get-alongism,' here is a balanced and passionate appeal to take seriously their commitment to Jesus in all areas of life, both individually and in community... May this call be heard far and wide."
Dr. Peter Jones, Executive Director, truthXchange

"Contend is a fine combination of concise biblical exposition, down-to-earth examples, contemporary illustrations, and challenging practical application. I've already made a list of people I want to give this to...as well as another list of areas to work on in my own life and ministry. It's not only an ideal book for discipling a new believer, but also for shaking the more mature out of dangerous complacency and passivity."
David P. Murray, author, Jesus on Every Page

"This is a book the Church desperately needs, for it matters not merely that we contend, but also how we contend and that we contend for the right cause: namely the name of Christ. Contend not only calls us to defend orthodoxy, but gives us a biblical blueprint for doing it."
Daniel Darling, author, Real: Owning Your Christian Faith

Edition details

• Publisher: Cruciform Press
• Publication date: 2012
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1936760606
• ISBN 13: 9781936760602
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 108