The present volume is the fourth in a five-volume study of church doctrine. The multivolume set covers the major parts of church doctrine: Canon, God, Creation, Reconciliation, and Redemption. The first volume begins with an introduction to the entire project on why doctrine matters, which stresses the ecumenical, global, and above all biblical horizons of church doctrine as a primary expression of Christian witness. The purpose of this fourth volume is to celebrate the gospel of Jesus Christ as the treasure of the church and the power of God for the reconciliation of the world. The gospel bears witness to the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, and calls for faith in him as the free gift of forgiveness and new life. The gospel is constantly in motion, tearing down every barrier of human bigotry and prejudice, not only forming a new society, but reforming the church itself. Church doctrine is not a luxury, but a necessity for the living community of faith, by which its witness in word and deed is tested against the one true measure of Christ the risen Lord.
