Theology

Basic Christian Doctrine 2

 

1.   Theology is the Science of God.

 

The word “theology” comes from two Greek words: THEOS  (God) and LOGOS  (word, idea, thing, study, science).  Theology is the science or study of God, just as biology is the science of life, anthropology is the science of mankind and zoology is the science of animals.  Theology was once commonly called “divinity”, meaning the science of divine subjects.  Theology is concerned with God, His Word and His works.  True theology is based on the Word of God.  Theology, then, is simply serious Bible study.

 

2.   Biblical Theology is the Theology of Individual Parts of the Bible.

 

The term “Biblical Theology” refers specifically to the study of the individual books and authors of the Bible.  It is based on Exegetical Theology – the study of individual words and sentences.  Each book has a distinctive contribution to the Bible, and can usually be summed up in  single sentences  (e.g., Mark 1:1, John 20:31, Romans 1:17).  Even the four Gospels, which overlap in much of what they say, have distinctive emphases (Jesus as King of the Jews, Messiah, Son of Man, and Son of God).  All these are links in the great Bible chain.  All complement each other; there are no contradictions.  Biblical Theology is also concerned with the chronological progression and development of God’s revelation and work in history, culminating in Jesus Christ  (Heb.  1:1-2).

 

3.   Systematic Theology is the Organization of Bible Doctrines into Categories.

 

Systematic Theology deals with the Bible as a complete entity.  Just as a deck of cards can be dealt out numerically, it can also be categorized by suits.  The “whole counsel of God”  (Acts 20:27) concerns the entire message of the Bible, and is more concerned with God as the one author than with the individual human authors.  Serious study of Scripture shows that certain topics are repeated and developed, For example, Jesus engaged in systematic theology  in Luke 24:27 when He took His apostles through the Bible on the theme of the Messiah and His work.  The Bible contains a system of truth, sometimes called “that form of doctrine”  (Rom. 6:17) or “the pattern of sound words”  (2 Tim.  1:13).  This explains the harmony of all the parts, and shows the many inter-relationships of individual doctrines.  God is a God of order  (I Cor.  14:33, 40).  Among the categories are Christology (science of Christ), Soteriology (salvation), etc. 

 

4.   Historical Theology is the Development of Theology in Church History.

 

Just as Biblical Theology deals with the progression of revelation in history, so Historical Theology deals with the progression of the study of revelation among Christians.  But the two are not equal in importance.  Church history deals with Christians, events, dates, places, churches, etc.  Historical theology deals with the theological controversies, theologians, books, councils, etc.  Few heresies are really new.  Truth and error have been debated repeatedly on a host of fronts.  Certain truths were discussed and challenged at specific times in particular: the one true God (up to AD 200), person of Christ and Trinity (300-400), justification by faith (1500-1600), etc.  Similarly, each Christian engages in his own personal historical theology as he grows in the study of the Bible.

 

5.   Practical Theology is the Application of Theology to Christian Living.

 

This form of theology shows the relationship between Biblical principles to personal practices.  It explains the underlying reasons behind Biblical commands and examples.  Thus there is a theology of evangelism, prayer, church life, and many others.  It is also called Theology of Spirituality. 

 

6.   Tradition Is Oral Teaching.

 

Tradition can be good or bad.  The word PARADOSIS is used in a good sense in 2 Thess.  2:15, 3:6 and possibly 1 Peter 1:18.  The prophets and apostles and even our Lord Jesus spoke many things not written down in Scripture (cf. John 20:31, 21:25).  But we have no authoritative record of that.  The Jews had the idea that Moses passed on divine revelation orally to the elders, who in turn passed it on down orally  to others down to the time of Jesus.  But Christ rebuked their placing tradition on the same level as Scripture  (Matt. 15).  This Jewish tradition was later written down as the Mishnah.  The Catholic Church repeated the same mistake.  Oral tradition may be useful for a short time, but it easily becomes rumor, opinions and “the traditions of men” in contrast to the commandments of God (Col. 2:8, 22).  Tradition, therefore, is not a solid foundation for theology.  Only the Bible is.

 

7.   Religion is the Practical Theology of Worship.

 

Again, the word “religion: can be good or bad.  James 1:26-27 gives both.  The good sense is that Christianity is the true religion in that it alone provides the true way of worshipping God.  All other religions are false.  But religion, or the practical exercise of worship, must be based on theology and not the other way around.  Christianity is more than rituals and ceremonies.  Moreover, the elaborate Old Testament worship ceremonies were replaced with two simple ceremonies (baptism and Communion), and now the emphasis is more spiritual.  True religion is neither magic nor superstition, but the worship of God in Spirit and in truth (John 4:24).

 

8.   True Theological Method is Important.

 

Both the content and method of theology are important.  There is a right way to “do theology” and many wrong ways (such as basing it on tradition, religion, philosophy, etc).  True theology must be based on the Bible alone.  And that is the basic principle of theological method.  True theology presupposes the total truth of the Bible.  Theology is received by revelation of God, not conceived by the mind of Man (Col. 2:8).  God is the subject, not the object, of theology.  That is, He Himself teaches us about Himself.  Thus there are both similarities and differences between theological and natural science.  Another important principle is seeing how the NT uses the OT.  The Bible itself uses logic, but logic itself must be subject to the Word of God, else it becomes mere philosophy. 

 

9.   Some Theological Truths are Explicitly Stated in Scripture.

 

The most important truths are explicitly stated, such as “God is love”, “God is light, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth”, “The Lord thy God is one Lord”, etc.  These may be stated in only 2 or 3 words, or longer sentences.  Some are given only once; others, many times.  They are universal and absolute, undeniable and irrefutable (I Tim. 3:16).  They are plainly stated, yet infinitely profound.  They are like axioms, maxims and formulas. 

 

10. Other Theological Truths are Logically Derived from Scripture.

 

By comparing spiritual things with other spiritual things (I Cor. 2:13), we derive other great theological truths.  The Trinity is not stated in any one verse of the Bible, but is the implicit teaching of Scripture, seen when we combine verses such as Deut. 6:4 and Matt. 28:19.  The NT sometimes draws on underlying principles of certain OT verses and develops a new doctrine of practice (e.g., I Tim.  5:17-18).  Thus, principles of theology are important.  But we must be careful to observe the limits of this theological method, and stay close to Scripture and avoid speculation.