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.