A Summary of the Christian Faith by Henry Eyster Jacobs

A Summary of the Christian Faith brings Hutter’s classic Compendium into a readable and easily accessible form. Henry Eyster Jacobs writes: “The book is not a mere compilation, but the matured expression of the convictions of the author, from the time when, as a child he was introduced to many of the problems treated, to the present.”

Included are two essays on election and predestination, one of which is Luther’s Speculations Concerning Predestination.

Level of Difficulty: Primer: No subject matter knowledge needed.

Henry Eyster Jacobs (1844-1932) served as Professor of Systematic Theology and President of the Lutheran Seminary at Philadelphia. He was president of his church’s board of foreign missions, and edited the Lutheran Church Review, the Lutheran Commentary, and the Lutheran Cyclopedia. He wrote and translated many books. A Summary of the Christian Faith has been appreciated by Christians since its original publication for its easy to use question and answer format, its clear organization, and its coverage of all the essentials of the Christian faith.

Contents of the Book

• Preface
• What Does It Mean: “For Many Are Called; But Few Chosen!” (Matt. 22:14)
• Luther On Speculations Concerning Predestination
• 1 Sources And Methods
• 2 The Being And Attributes Of God
• 3 The Trinity
• 4 Creation
• 5 Providence
• 6 Of Angels
• 7 Man As Created
• 8 Sin
• 9 The Grace Of God Towards Fallen Men
• 10 The Preparation Of Redemption
• 11 The Person Of Christ
• 12 The States of Christ
• 13 The Offices Of Christ, Christ As Prophet
• 14 Christ As Priest
• 15 Christ As King
• 16 The Mission Of The Holy Ghost
• 17 Faith in Christ
• 18 Justification
• 19 The Gospel Call
• 20 Illumination
• 21 Regeneration
• 22 The Mystical Union
• 23 Renovation Or Sanctification
• 24 The Word As The Means Of Grace
• 25 The Law And The Gospel
• 26 The Sacraments
• 27 Of Holy Baptism
• 28 Of The Holy Supper
• 29 The Church
• 30 The Ministry
• 31 The Church’s Confessions
• 32 Church Discipline
• 33 The Christian Family
• 34 The State
• 35 Life After Death
• 36 The Resurrection Of The Body
• 37 The Return Of Christ
• 38 The General Judgment
• 39 Eternal Death
• 40 Eternal Life
• 41 The Divine Purpose As Interpreted By Its Contents And Results
• Appendix: On The Spiritual Priesthood Of Believers. By Dr. Philip J. Spener (1677)
• About the Author

Publication Information

• Lutheran Library edition first published: 2018-09-09
• Updated: v6.2021-04-13
• Copyright: CC BY 4.0