Credo: Believing in Something to Die For

225 Pages·2005·0.79 MB·English

by  Ray Pritchard

Other Crossway Books by Ray Pritchard
The Road Best Traveled
Man of Honor
What a Christian Believes
Discovering God’s Will for Your Life
The Incredible Journey of Faith
CROSSWAY B OOKS
A PUBLISHING MINISTRY OF
GOOD NEWS PUBLISHERS
WHEATON, ILLINOIS
Credo
Copyright © 2005 by Ray Pritchard
Published by Crossway Books
a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers
1300 Crescent Street
Wheaton, Illinois 60187
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a
retrieval system or transmitted in any form by any means, electronic, mechanical,
photocopy, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher,
except as provided by USA copyright law.
Cover design: Josh Dennis
First printing, 2005
Printed in the United States of America
Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations are taken from The Holy Bible:
English Standard Version®. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing
ministry of Good News Publishers. All rights reserved. Used by permission.
Scripture quotations indicated as from KJVare taken from The King James Version.
Scripture quotations indicated as from NIVare taken from The Holy Bible: New
International Version®, copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible
Society and are used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights
reserved. The “NIV” and “New International Version” trademarks are registered in
the United States Patent and Trademark Office by International Bible Society. Use
of either trademark requires the permission of International Bible Society.
Scriptures indicated as from NKJVare taken from The Holy Bible: New King James
Version, copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc., and are used by permission.
Scriptures indicated as from NLTare taken from The Holy Bible: New Living
Translation, copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers,
Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.
To
TOM AND CAROL
MIKE AND BETSI
TOM AND FAY
who understand
the true meaning
of friendship

Contents
Acknowledgments 9
The Apostles’ Creed 10
Introduction 11
11 You Are What You Believe: 17
Why the Apostles’ Creed Matters
12 The Greatest Risk You’ll Ever Take: 27
“I Believe in God”
13 Who’s in Charge Here? 35
“God, the Father Almighty”
14 Not by Chance: “The Creator of Heaven and Earth” 43
15 The Incomparable Christ: 51
“Jesus Christ, His only Son, Our Lord”
16 Why the Virgin Birth Matters: “Conceived of the 61
Holy Spirit, Born of the Virgin Mary”
17 The Man Who Killed Jesus: 73
“Suffered Under Pontius Pilate”
18 The Day God Died: “Crucified, Died” 85
19 God’s Scapegoat: “Buried” 95
10 The Strangest Part of the Creed: 105
“He Descended into Hell”
11 Going All In: “The Third Day 115
He Arose Again from the Dead”
12 A Friend in High Places: “He Ascended into Heaven 125
and Sits at the Right Hand of God the Father Almighty”
13 Here Comes the Judge: “He Shall Come to Judge 137
the Living and the Dead”
14 When God Comes Near: “I Believe in the Holy Spirit” 149
15 God Has a Big Family: “The Holy Catholic Church” 157
16 All One Body We: “The Communion of Saints” 171
17 The Positive Power of Forgiveness: 179
“The Forgiveness of Sins”
18 The Hardest Doctrine to Believe: 189
“The Resurrection of the Body”
19 We’re Not Home Yet: “Life Everlasting” 201
Notes 211
Acknowledgments
I am grateful
to Marvin Padgett who first had the vision for
this project. Bill Jensen helped sharpen my focus, and Ted Griffin exer-
cised enormous patience while waiting for this manuscript to be fin-
ished so he could begin editing it. I am thankful also to Lane, Ebeth,
and Geoff Dennis for their continued encouragement and support. I
have been privileged to serve as pastor of Calvary Memorial Church in
Oak Park, Illinois, since 1989. The congregation journeyed with me
through the Apostles’ Creed over a six-month period in 2004. Their
prayers sustained me as we studied the Creed together. Finally, I am
thankful for my wife, Marlene, and to my three sons—Josh, Mark, and
Nick. No man could ask for a better family.
When William Barclay wrote on the Apostles’ Creed, he noted his
debt to the multitudes who have written on the Creed over the cen-
turies. I share in that debt, and I will be glad if this book helps ground
a new generation in the essential truths of the Christian faith.
9