Christian Handbook: A Straight Forward Guide to the Bible, Church History and Christian Doctrine

by Peter Jeffery

Christian Handbook is subtitled "A straightforward guide to the Bible, church history and Christian doctrine." Written by Peter Jeffery (a pastor in the United Kingdom) the book presents a wonderful introduction to the foundations and teachings of Reformed Christianity. The book begins with an examination of the Bible. It first examines how the Bible was written and compiled and then moves to a short overview of each of the Testaments with their settings and teachings. Almost every page contains a quote by a great Christian teacher of the past. The second section of the book examines the church, dedicating a chapter to the first 450 years, the Middle Ages, the Reformation, the Eighteenth-century revivals and finally the nineteenth and twentieth-century revivals. The bulk of the book is contained in the third section which examines the Christian faith. It is a layman's introduction to systematic theology, beginning with who God is and ending with the end times. There is a Reformed flavor throughout and the author quotes heavily from many Reformed pastors and theologians.

Paperback

First published December 31, 1988

About the author

Peter Jeffery was born in 1937. In 1955, at the age of 17, he became a Christian — in spite of the fact that the very day he was converted he vowed, ‘I will never become a Christian!’ Peter married his high school sweetheart, Lorna, at the age of 21 and they had their first child two years later. Nine days after the birth the baby died of spina bifida.

Though Peter had been preaching since he was 18, this incident was used by God to call Peter into his service. He was ordained to the ministry in 1963 and served as the Minister at Ebenezer Congregational Church in Cwmbran, Wales. In 1972 he accepted a call to Rugby Evangelical Free Church where he ministered until 1986.

In 1986 Peter went to Bethlehem Evangelical Church in Port Talbot, South Wales (‘Sandfields’, where Dr Martyn Lloyd-Jones had previously ministered), where he pastored until 1994. Since then he has had an itinerant ministry of preaching and evangelism allowing him to preach at churches and conferences around the world.

Now retired, Peter Jeffery has been preaching for more than 50 years. He has written over forty books, which have been translated into many languages. Many of his works focus on new Christians, the foundations of faith, evangelism and salvation. The Trust has published his titles, Windows of Truth, and Stepping-Stones: A New Testament Guide for Beginners (the latter also in Spanish – De Piedra en Piedra).

Reviews

[Tom James · Rating 5 out of 5]

A short, to-the-point handbook on Christian doctrine and church history (with an emphasis on British evangelicalism). While I would have place the church history at the end of the book, before the doctrinal chapters, the book gives an excellent introduction to the faith.

[Dayo Adewoye · Rating 4 out of 5]

It really lives up to its name. A helpful introduction to Christianity, useful alike to the young christian and the inquiring skeptic.

[Birgit · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting.