Knowing God as He Has Spoken
Theology is the study of God. The word joins two Greek terms: theos, God, and logos, word or reasoned account. Put simply, theology is ordered, faithful speech about God, drawn from what God has said about Himself.
Everyone has a theology. The person who says God is love, the person who says God would never judge anyone, and the person who says there is no God at all are each making claims about God. The question is never whether we will think about God, but whether our thoughts about Him are true. Christian theology seeks to think God's thoughts after Him by listening carefully to the Bible.
The study of God as He has revealed Himself in Scripture, and of all things in relation to Him: His works, His ways, His creation, and His saving purpose in Jesus Christ.
Theology has a wide reach. It begins with God Himself: His nature, His attributes, and His triune life. It then studies everything in relation to God: Scripture, creation, humanity, sin, salvation, the church, angels, and the last things. That is why a course in systematic theology moves through a series of doctrines, each one a window onto the same God.
Theology is learning from God's Word who God is and what He has done, so that we may trust, worship, and obey Him.
Three convictions shape the approach taken here. First, God has truly spoken, and the Bible is His Word. Second, Scripture is our final authority, and it is sufficient for everything God requires us to believe and do. Third, theology is never an end in itself. Its goal is a life of worship and obedience before the God who has made Himself known.
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For Deeper Study
- The Knowledge of the HolyAmazon A. W. TozerA devotional classic on the attributes of God and why right thoughts about God matter.
- Lectures in Systematic TheologyAmazon Henry C. ThiessenA clear evangelical survey, revised by Vernon D. Doerksen; non-Calvinistic on election.
- Basic TheologyAmazon Charles C. RyrieAn accessible one-volume systematic theology from a premillennial, pretribulational perspective.
- Christian TheologyAmazon Millard J. EricksonA thorough Baptist systematic theology with a helpful opening section on theological method.
- Living by the BookAmazon Howard G. Hendricks and William D. HendricksA practical guide to observing, interpreting, and applying Scripture for yourself.
- Foxe's Book of MartyrsAmazon John FoxeThe classic Protestant record of those who died for the faith, from the early church to the English Reformation.
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The Gospel, the Whole Counsel, and Liberty
No biblical doctrine is unimportant. Scripture distinguishes the Gospel that must be believed to be saved, the whole counsel of God that disciples must believe and obey, and the matters where God grants liberty.
Open Doctrine