Dan Hult

“The Staff and Hammer” Blog | Leadership | Theology | Biblical Counseling

Theology

The Glorious Truths of Scripture for Every Believer

Contents

  1. Contents
  2. What is Theology and Why is it Important?
  3. Systematic Theology Topics Every Christian Should Know
    1. Scripture
    2. God, Man, and Sin
    3. Jesus Christ and Salvation
    4. The Church
    5. The Spiritual Realm and Eschatology
  4. Where to Go From Here
  5. Theology Blog Posts

What is Theology and Why is it Important?

Simply put, theology is the study of God and the things of God. In this way, every Christian should be a theologian because we all must be continually studying God. We often think of theology as purely the realm of seminary professors and academics, but if we don’t engage in theology, we will not properly understand who God is…or who we are for that matter. And if we don’t properly know who God is, we are actually committing idolatry by worshipping a god of our own making rather than the One True God as revealed in Scripture. Therefore, some study of theology is vitally important for all Christians.

There are many areas of theology in which genuine Christians may disagree even after much honest and thorough study of Scripture, but there are some doctrines where genuine Christians cannot disagree. These include the Trinity, the divinity and humanity of Jesus Christ, the nature of sin, the completed saving work of the life, death, and bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ, and the fact that salvation is by the grace of God alone through faith alone in Jesus Christ alone. Any deviation from what Scripture clearly teaches about these primary doctrines is heresy. Furthermore, any person or church that outright rejects any of these primary doctrines is guilty of apostasy, having rejected the faith. But differences in secondary and tertiary doctrines are not heresy or apostasy. Christians must contend for the faith in the case of primary doctrines, even if it means being divisive in a church that is compromising them. Conversely, Christians have a duty to not cause division over secondary doctrines.

NOTE: With this in mind, I have written this page in a way that is clear on what Scripture teaches regarding primary doctrines while highlighting areas of debate on secondary doctrines. Still, I am writing from a generally Reformed perspective and do not highlight all of the valid differing views.

Theology is comprised of the following areas:

  • Canon: This is the whole of the Bible, meaning the 66 books of the Old and New Testaments, which is the source of truth and the foundation of all theology.
  • Exegesis and Hermeneutics: Scripture is the foundation of all theology, so proper exegesis and hermeneutics are vital.
    • Exegesis brings the meaning out of the text through a proper understanding of not only the words themselves, but their proper context, author’s intent, audience, and how they fit into the rest of Scripture. The opposite of this is eisegesis, where we bring our own meanings and context to the text. Eisegesis is incorrect and detrimental to proper theology, and therefore must be avoided. We cannot shape Scripture, Scripture must shape us.
    • Hermeneutics deals with how we interpret the passage, such as literal vs. allegorical. Scripture contains many genres, so proper interpretation must take those genres into consideration. There is some debate over the specifics of hermeneutics, but what is clear is that any interpretation of any passage must align with what is clearly taught throughout the rest of Scripture. It is also true that when one passage of Scripture interprets another, that interpretation must be correct. In order to correctly interpret Scripture, we must always bear in mind what the original author intended and what the original audience understood. This is about what the passage means, not what it means to us. We must interpret it correctly before we can apply it to our lives.
  • Biblical Theology: Proper exegesis and hermeneutics applied to Scripture at large produces biblical theology, which when applied to particular passages views them in their proper context within redemptive history. Biblical theology resources are therefore arranged historically.
  • Systematic Theology summarizes what the whole of Scripture teaches about a particular topic. Systematic Theology resources are therefore arranged topically. I have organized this page much as systematic theology resources are typically arranged.
  • Historical Theology is the study of how the Church has approached a topic throughout history. Since there is nothing new under the sun and new ideas tend to be heresy, study of how different theologians throughout church history have viewed theological topics can be helpful in grounding and bounding our study of them. While understanding how various church fathers, ancient theologians, and denominations have addressed certain issues can be helpful, we must always remember that these are still the result of fallible humans and may be heavily impacted by their historical context.
  • Practical Theology is the application of systematic theology to our daily lives and the situations we face. A proper understanding of what Scripture teaches about any particular topic is vital to obeying Scripture regarding that topic. Biblical counseling is therefore a form of practical theology.
  • Apologetics: While not technically a field of theology, apologetics (the defense of the faith) is closely related to it. Apologists seek to answer objections to Christianity through study and logic. These objections usually focus on the existence of truth, existence of God, the exclusivity of the Gospel, the validity and reliability of the Bible, the essence of morality, and the relationship between Christianity and science. In addition to the proper study of Scripture, the books of Josh McDowell, Lee Strobel, Frank Turek, and other apologists are very helpful in equipping the Christian to answer various objectives people raise against Christianity.

Systematic Theology Topics Every Christian Should Know

Scripture

All good theology starts with an understanding of Scripture, which is the only completely reliable source of knowledge about God. The Bible is first of all inspired by God, which is to say that while written by various authors over several centuries, the 66 books of the Bible are the very words of God, meaning that the Bible is inerrant (without error). Therefore, the Bible is not only completely true but the source of truth, being the final and utmost authority on everything it addresses, making it the highest authority for both everything the Christian must believe and how the Christian must act. The Bible must be the lens through which the Christian views the world and the standard against which all sources of “truth” must be tested before they can be trusted. For the Christian, Scripture is also sufficient, providing all essential knowledge for the Christian such that no other message from God is needed in order for the Christian to know how to be saved and live in obedience to God. The Bible is one unified story tracing God’s plan throughout history with the following themes:

  • Creation: God created everything good, especially mankind.
  • Fall: Mankind sinned against God, bringing about the curse of God on creation in general and mankind in particular, ultimately producing all the wrong we see.
  • Redemption: God redeems mankind through the work of Jesus Christ and begins to reverse the curse of the Fall.
  • Restoration: God will ultimately destroy sin and restore both creation and all who trust in Christ to a state untarnished by the Fall.

The 66 books of the Bible are divided into the Old Testament (before Christ’s coming) and the New Testament (during and after Christ’s coming). The books are arranged by genre rather than chronologically. The Old Testament is comprised of:

  • Pentateuch (also known as the Torah): Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy tell the history of the world from Creation until the nation of Israel is ready to enter the Promised Land. They also lay out the Mosaic Law.
  • History: Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1 Samuel, 2 Samuel, 1 Kings, 2 Kings, 1 Chronicles, 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, and Esther tell the history of Israel from the time they entered the Promised Land until just after the exile to Babylon. These are roughly chronological, though 1 and 2 Chronicles contains a parallel account to 1 Samuel through 2 Kings. The latter contains a more general history of both kingdoms of Israel, while the former focuses on Judah in general and the Temple in particular.
  • Poetry and Wisdom: Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Song of Solomon (sometimes called Song of Songs) are books of poetry and wisdom literature from various times in Israel’s history, especially from David (about half of the psalms) and Solomon (most of the proverbs, and all of Ecclesiastes and Song of Solomon).
  • Major Prophets: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations (by Jeremiah), Ezekiel, and Daniel are considered the major prophets due to their size. They prophesied before and during the exile to Babylon.
  • Minor Prophets: Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi are considered the minor prophets due to the smaller size of the books. They prophesied at various times before, during, and after the exile to Babylon.

The New Testament is comprised of:

  • Gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John are the Gospels, which tell the story of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus from various perspectives and emphasizing different themes: Jesus as King, servant, man, and God respectively.
  • History: Acts is the only book of history in the New Testament, telling the story of the early church from the time of Jesus’s ascension to the ministry of Paul.
  • Pauline Epistles: Romans, 1 Corinthians, 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 1 Thessalonians, 2 Thessalonians, 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, Titus, and Philemon are the epistles (letters) written by Paul to various churches and people, arranged primarily by size. Among these, 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, and Titus are known as the Pastoral Epistles, being written directly to pastors.
  • General Epistles: Hebrews, James, 1 Peter, 2 Peter, 1 John, 2 John, 3 John, and Jude are epistles written by people other than Paul, so they are named for their authors rather than recipients. Note that it is possible that Paul wrote Hebrews.
  • Prophecy: Revelation is the only book of prophesy in the New Testament, written by the apostle John. While the specific meaning of the visions depicted in the book is disputed, it is clear that Revelation is ultimately about the final victory of God.

While the Bible is a collection of works from over forty different authors writing over a period of more than 1,500 years, it is one story ultimately inspired by the Holy Spirit, and it is all about Jesus Christ. This means that every word of both the Old and New Testaments is relevant for Christians, though different passages are relevant in different ways. A great resource to help you see Christ in every book of the Bible as well as to understand its general themes is The Bible Project.

The authenticity of the Bible is often attacked by opponents of Christianity (and even some churches). Objections can usually be grouped into the categories of textual differences, the trustworthiness of translation, and apparent contradictions. These are the subject of various books, so I will only briefly cover them here:

  • Textual differences: It is true that there are differences between manuscripts in some passages. This has led skeptics to claim that the Bible is full of errors. Instead, the vast majority of these “errors” are really just spelling and grammar differences. For the rest, Bible translators add footnotes to point out the differences. The most notable of these are the story of the woman caught in adultery in John 8 and the “long ending” of Mark that do not appear in the earliest manuscripts. There are also “missing verses” in various places due to the fact that they either do not appear in certain manuscripts (which Bible translators will denote with footnotes as well). These are due to the fact that we have much better quantity and quality of manuscripts available to us today than the translators had in the sixteenth century when verse numbers were added. The truth is that none of these differences impact key doctrines in any way and do not detract from the trustworthiness and authenticity of the Bible. We can trust that the Bible we read today is what was written down thousands of years ago, and what was written down thousands of years ago is the true Word of God.
  • Trustworthiness of translations: The Bible was originally written in Hebrew (the majority of the Old Testament), Aramaic (small portions of the Old Testament) and Greek (the New Testament including New Testament quotes of the Old Testament). Some claim that the original Bible texts were trustworthy but errors have been introduced through the translation process. It is true that Hebrew, Greek, and Aramaic do not translate directly into English and therefore require choices on the part of translators. These choices are the main we have so many modern translations. The other major reason is that while the truths of Scripture do not change, our languages do. This means that it is appropriate to regularly update our translations to that they can continue to communicate timeless truth to changing cultures. But this in no way undermines the trustworthiness of translations. In any version, translators use the manuscripts we have in the original languages to make their translation, thus avoiding the propagation of errors by a string of translations (eg. Hebrew to Greek to Latin to English).
  • Apparent Contradictions: There are several passages in Scripture that seem to contradict each other, making them a favorite target of skeptics. However, none of these are actual contradictions. In most cases (such as in the Gospels), they are merely different perspectives of the same event. It is also possible that they may be describing different but similar events. Others, such as differing timelines, may be explained using cultural understanding. The bottom line is that every apparent contradiction of Scripture is explainable and is therefore not an actual contradiction.

Helpful blog posts: Theological Illiteracy: Scripture, Getting Through the Old Testament Doldrums

God, Man, and Sin

God is first of all Triune, meaning there is only one God who is three distinct yet perfectly unified persons–God the Father, God the Son (Jesus Christ), and God the Holy Spirit. God created everything and is eternal, perfect, holy, all-powerful, all-knowing, just, righteous, and many other attributes.

Man: God created mankind as male and female in His image, who being at first righteous were in a perfect relationship with God. While equal in value, men and women are distinct in their roles. God created the first man from the dust and the first woman from the first man, thus establishing marriage, with the man as the head called to lovingly lead and the woman as the helper called to support, so that together they could obey God’s command to be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth, subdue it, and have dominion over it (known as the Cultural Mandate). Therefore, these distinct roles are binding across all cultures at all times, which is described as the complementarian position as opposed to the egalitarian position that rejects these distinct roles. Being in the image of God, mankind has both a physical body and a spiritual soul. However, the first man and woman succumbed to temptation and rebelled against God, breaking that relationship and tarnishing the image of God in man. This event is known as the Fall.

Sin in essence is rebellion against God by acting contrary to His commands. All sin is idolatry in that it values something or someone else more than God. Sin includes actions, words, thoughts, motives, and desires. It is not only doing what God has commanded us not to do but also not doing what God has commanded us to do. Since the first man and woman sinned, all people inherit a sin nature, so not only do all people sin constantly but all are also stained by that sin nature. All sin is an affront to the infinite worth of God and therefore deserves His infinite wrath. Only God can remedy this problem, which He does through His plan of redemption.

Helpful Blog Posts: Theological Illiteracy: God, Theological Illiteracy: Man and Sin, If God is For Us, The Fall, Restoring the Fear of God,

Jesus Christ and Salvation

Jesus Christ, being truly God as the second member of the Trinity, added humanity to His divinity and came to earth as a man to accomplish redemption. He lived a perfect life, died on the cross to take on God’s wrath for sin, rose from the dead to show His victory over sin and death, and ascended into heaven. In all of this He was both truly divine and truly human.

God redeems people to Himself, reconciling the relationship broken by sin, through salvation in Jesus Christ. Salvation is the work of God that is received by faith that produces repentance, not by any human effort, relying instead on the finished work of Christ. It is not an event but a process, commonly referred to as the ordo salutis (order of salvation), listed below. Note that some of these events happen simultaneously. When combined with God’s nature and man’s predicament of sin, this is the Gospel (good news).

  • Foreknowledge and Predestination: God chose to whom His work of salvation would be applied before He created the world. Therefore, some people were predestined from eternity past to salvation while others were predestined to eternal damnation by the sovereign Will of God apart from anything that they would do or not do.
  • Calling: Through the preaching of the Gospel, God calls people to salvation. While this call goes out to everyone who hears the Gospel (the general call), the effectual calling that is part of salvation leads the person to respond to it with faith and repentance.
  • Regeneration is the work of the Holy Spirit to transform the called person, basically resurrecting the heart that was dead in sin and opening it to receive the Gospel with faith and repent of sin. Part of this is also the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, in which the Spirit, being the third person of the Trinity and thus fully God, comes to dwell inside the believer, empowering faith and obedience.
  • Conversion describes the person’s response to the effectual calling of God, involving faith and repentance. It is important to note that while faith and repentance at conversion mark the beginning of the Christian life, they must be constant throughout the Christian life as well. Though conversion is a human response, it is still the work of God in that it is impossible for anyone to have faith and repentance without God working in them to bring it about.
    • Faith is trusting in Christ and His finished work alone. This includes knowledge of the Gospel and ascent to that knowledge, but it also implies a knowledge that leads to the action of trust. Saving faith relies on Christ such that if God does not keep His promises, we are doomed and without hope. Faith is the vehicle through which God’s work of salvation reaches us. This makes salvation the work of God by His grace (and therefore apart from any work of ours) that can only be received through faith.
    • Repentance is closely linked to faith, being knowledge of sin, ascent to what Scripture says about sin producing hatred of that sin, and commitment to turn away from that sin to obey God. Saving faith must be accompanies by repentance, meaning that a lack of repentance indicates a lack of saving faith.
  • Justification is where God, apart from any human effort, legally declares the regenerated person to be righteous in His sight through double imputation. God imputes our sin to Christ, who paid the full penalty for it on the cross and also imputes Christ’s perfect record of righteous living to us. God therefore counts our sin as Christ’s and Christ’s righteousness as ours, allowing Him to save sinners while still justly punishing sin.
  • Adoption is where God makes the regenerated and justified person His child and heir of eternal life, thus guaranteeing our inheritance of all the blessings Christ earned for us.
  • Sanctification is the process through which God makes believers holy, conforming them to the image of Christ. Unlike other parts of the ordo salutis, it is ongoing, being a process rather than an event. God declares us righteous through justification but makes us righteous through sanctification. In sanctification, the Holy Spirit gradually conforms believers to the image of Christ by convicting us of sin, empowering us to fight that sin, and refining us through various trials. It begins at conversion and doesn’t end until death. Also unlike the rest of the ordo salutis, we cooperate with the Holy Spirit in our sanctification by diligently studying Scripture, obeying what it says, and actively making use of the means of grace He provides. But while we participate in our sanctification, it is still ultimately the work of the Holy Spirit.
  • Perseverance describes how those who are regenerated will continue on in faith and will not fall away or reject the faith. Scripture is clear that God will complete the work of salvation He started and that salvation is His work not ours, which no one can thwart. This means that anyone who does fall away was actually not saved even if they appeared to be saved. This does not mean that genuine Christians will not experience periods of backsliding, persistent sin, doubt, or even temporary rejection of the faith, but that genuine Christians will always return to Christ.
  • Death is a part of the ordo salutis in that physical death is the end of the believer’s sanctification in which the believer is finally done fighting sin and in the presence of God.
  • Glorification is the completion of God’s work of salvation in which He reverses the corruption of the Fall, finally conforming believers perfectly to Christ’s image, complete with resurrected and glorified bodies.

Helpful Blog Posts: Theological Illiteracy: Salvation, Great Sin and Greater Savior

The Church

The Church describes all those who have trusted in Jesus Christ throughout the world and throughout time, including men and women of all ages and ethnic backgrounds. That is the catholic or universal church. When the Apostles’ Creed and Nicene Creed use the term “catholic”, they are referring to the universal church and not the Catholic Church as a denomination. Within the universal church is the invisible church since only God knows who are truly His. The visible church then is what we see, comprised of both believers and unbelievers. The Church is the people of God rather than any particular place, made up of various local churches that meet in particular places. These local churches meet corporately to hear the reading and preaching of the Bible, worship God together primarily with songs, and participate in the sacraments of baptism and communion. A sacrament is a physical act that symbolizes a spiritual reality. (Note that some churches refer to the sacraments as ordinances done in remembrance of the spiritual realities.) These people also minister to one another, encourage and admonish one another, and proclaim the Gospel through word and deed to those around them outside of these weekly gatherings. The Christian life must be lived in the context of this community. Being those who are redeemed by Christ, the Church is described throughout Scripture as His Bride, Temple, Household, and Body. Churches obeying Scripture practice and teach the following:

  • Baptism: The sacrament of baptism signifies initiation into the church. There is legitimate disagreement between churches on whether infants of believers should be baptized. Churches that rightly practice infant baptism see it as a sign of entrance into the visible church, whereas churches that rightly refrain from practicing infant baptism see it as a sign of entrance into the invisible church. In either case, to be a valid baptism it must be performed with water in the name of God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The act of immersion, sprinkling, or pouring water on the person is ineffective for salvation in and of itself but points to the Holy Spirit’s work of regeneration that applies Christ’s atoning work to us to cleanse us.
  • Communion: Also known as the Lord’s Supper, communion is the sacrament that represents Christ’s atoning work for us and how we rely upon Him daily just like food and drink. We eat bread that represents how Christ’s perfect body was broken for us and drink wine (or grape juice) that represents Christ’s blood that was shed to atone for our sin. The meal also signifies fellowship with God and with each other, proclaiming Christ’s death until we feast with Him in heaven. Christ’s body and blood are not physically or mystically present in the elements but are signified by them.
  • Means of Grace: God has given various means of grace, some of which are to be partaken of individually while others (including baptism and communion) are to be corporate. These include reading, studying, and meditating on Scripture, prayer, listening to the preaching of the Word, fellowshipping with one another, and making use of our various spiritual gifts. These acts do not cause God to owe us grace–as grace is the free gift of God apart from works–but are means through which God has chosen to give His grace to us.
  • Church Discipline: Churches obeying Scripture also practice church discipline, progressively admonishing members who persist in sin, starting with private rebuke and ultimately ending with excommunication from the church if required. As with all discipline, church discipline is done for the good of the sinning member with the objective of spurring him or her to repent, reconcile, and be restored. Church discipline also protects the unity and joy of the church while serving as a warning to others and therefore a restraint against sin.

Because of doctrinal differences, churches have divided into various denominations, which are formalized groups of churches united by their doctrinal stance. Here’s a helpful guide, but below are the basics:

  • Roman Catholic: The largest denomination worldwide, Roman Catholicism is marked by an emphasis on the Pope and church tradition alongside Scripture. The Catholic Bible also includes additional Old Testament books (Baruch, Ecclesiasticus, Judith, Tobit, 1&2 Esdras, Wisdom of Solomon, 1-4 Maccabees) and additions to Esther and Daniel. Collectively, these are known as the Apocrypha, which while sometimes useful historically are uninspired and therefore not Scripture. Many Catholic beliefs deviate from primary doctrines enough that it is considered by many Protestants to be an apostate Church. Yet many Catholics do not believe all of those doctrines, so it is my belief that there are many genuine Christians within the Catholic Church. It is important to note that there are Catholics such as the Maronites who are Catholic in theology but are not Roman Catholic and therefore not under the Pope.
  • Eastern Orthodox: Orthodoxy became distinct from Catholicism following the Great Schism between Rome and Constantinople in 1054. Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches therefore share some similarities but are still quite distinct. Doctrinally, they see no distinction between the invisible and visible church and salvation as a process within the context of the church.
  • Protestant: All other denominations are considered Protestant. Beginning withe Luther in 1517, churches began to break away from Rome as part of the Protestant Reformation. Protestantism as a whole is marked by a return to the supremacy of Scripture. There are numerous Protestant denominations that could be categorized in any number of ways. Broadly we can divide them based on baptism. Those that baptize infants include Lutheran, Anglican/Episcopal, Presbyterian, and Dutch Reformed. Those that do not are baptistic, including Baptist, Methodist, Reformed Baptist, and most non-denominational churches. Within this category are also charismatic churches which emphasize spiritual gifts, especially tongues. Assemblies of God would fall into that category.

These are distinct from cults, which deviate from primary doctrines enough that they cannot be considered Christian. Cults are marked by a denial of the authority of Scripture (often denying Scripture’s authenticity), the addition of exclusive revelation available only to cult members, and the elevation of certain people and their teachings above Scripture. There are many examples, with Mormons and Jehovah’s Witnesses being the most well-known, but sometimes the line between a legitimate denomination and a cult can be difficult to determine. Similar to cults are false churches that depart so much from primary doctrines that they likewise cannot be considered real churches. Some of the most prolific false churches in our day teach the Prosperity Gospel. These churches emphasize material blessings, calling people to “name and claim” blessings from God and work (mainly through giving) in order to be healthy and wealthy. This “gospel” is contrary to Scripture so those who believe it cannot be considered Christians. Similarly, Unitarian Universalists deny the Trinity and salvation through Christ and therefore cannot be considered Christians either.

Like all organizations, churches must be governed in some way, which is church polity. According to the presbyterian model, local churches are led by a plurality of elders. Churches can be organized into groups (presbyteries), but the head of the presbytery serves in more of an advising role, meaning that most of the authority remains with the local church. In the episcopalian model, elders lead local churches but answer to bishops who have authority over groups of local churches. In this model, more authority rests with the bishops than the local church elders. Note that these polity structures are not to be confused with the denominations by the same names. A church can be presbyterian or episcopalian in polity but not in doctrine. Under the congregational model, authority rests with the congregation, who elect a board of elders and deacons to run the church.

Biblically, there are two ordained officers of the church: elders and deacons. The office of elder can be divided into elders and pastors, but since the Scriptural qualifications are the same, we will consider them together for our purposes. These officers are publicly set apart for ministry, so while many people can be involved in these ministries, they may not hold the office.

  • Elders (including pastors) are men who are charged with preaching the Word and leading the church. The office began with the apostles and then continued throughout the growth of the early church as the apostles and others commissioned by them appointed elders for every local church. Their roles and responsibilities are seen most in the “pastoral epistles” (1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, and Titus) as well as 1 Peter. In addition to preaching, elders are responsible for administering the sacraments and church discipline as well as maintaining oversight over all of the church’s ministries and resources. Their qualifications are found in 1 Timothy 3:1-7 and Titus 1:5-9. While some churches hold that women can be elders, this would be contrary to all but the most liberal interpretations of 1 Timothy 2:12. The vast majority of faithful churches therefore restrict the office to men.
  • Deacons are charged with caring for the practical needs of the congregation, be they physical, financial, emotional, or spiritual to promote the unity of the church and the joy of its members. This enables the elders to focus on preaching and leading the church. In many churches, this involves managing the church’s finances and facilities as well as leading various ministries, but the office is not restricted to this. The office was instituted in Acts 6 to ensure widows in the congregation were adequately cared for, thus resolving a critical cause of division in the church that threatened the joy of the believers. Their qualifications are found in 1 Timothy 3:8-13. There is debate among faithful churches as to whether women can hold the office of deacon.

Helpful Blog Posts:

The Spiritual Realm and Eschatology

The Holy Spirit and spiritual gifts: The Holy Spirit is the third person of the Trinity and is therefore co-eternal and co-equal with God the Father and Jesus Christ as God. The Holy Spirit indwells believers and empowers then to understand Scripture, obey God, and grow in the faith. The Holy Spirit applies Christ’s finished work of salvation to believers by working regeneration as well sanctification. He works to exalt Christ, so persistent rejection of Christ is blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, which Jesus says can never be forgiven. Part of the Holy Spirit’s work is to provide believers with various spiritual gifts to be used together for the edification of the Church. In the early church, this included miraculous gifts such as prophecy, performing miracles, and speaking in tongues. The Spirit also gave non-miraculous gifts, including teaching, serving, leadership, and generosity. He still gives the non-miraculous gifts, but there is debate about whether He still gives the miraculous gifts at all. Regardless, Scripture is clear that the Holy Spirit gives various gifts to people as He chooses for the edification of the church. While there is often a distinction made between spiritual gifts and natural talents, we must remember that all talents are gifts of God.

Angels and demons are spiritual beings created by God. Angels continue to obey God and serve both God and the Church in various ways. As created beings, they are subordinate to God, meaning Jesus is far superior to them. Demons are angels that rebelled against God and were thus cast out of His sight, with Satan (the devil) as their leader. Unlike mankind, God works no plan of redemption for demons, so they cannot be saved. Satan and demons continue to rebel against God by trying to thwart His plans, primarily by tempting people to sin. Unbelievers cannot escape their dominion, but believers have been freed from them. While having no dominion over believers, demons do have the ability to influence and tempt believers. Though they are immensely powerful, they are still subordinate to the sovereignty of God. In the triad of enemies the Christian faces (the World, the flesh, and the devil), the flesh is primary, being enticed by the World and devil to sin, so we must focus on fighting our sinful flesh rather than the fighting the demonic.

Eschatology is the part of theology that deals with the End Times through interpretation of the various Old and New Testament prophecies dealing with the subject. Different hermeneutics have produced different views of eschatology. Some interpretations see the events described in Revelation and Jesus’s Olivet Discourse as yet to come, while others interpret these events as having already been fulfilled for the most part. Regardless, it is clear from Scripture that in the end, Jesus wins. In the end, God will triumph, sin and death will be destroyed, God’s people will enjoy His presence and the perfection of glorification forever (heaven), and all who are not God’s people will be punished under God’s wrath for their sin forever along with Satan and the demons (hell).

Helpful blog posts: Miraculous Gifts and the Sufficiency of Scripture

Where to Go From Here

Obviously, this barely scratches the surface on these topics, so here’s a summary of how anyone can delve deeper along with some resources I use.

  1. All study of theology needs to begin with, rely upon, continually return to, and be constantly tested by the Bible, so start there. A good study bible with cross references can be extremely helpful along with trustworthy commentaries. Here are some helpful bible apps that I use frequently:
    • Olive Tree Bible Software has various free and paid bibles and resources, many with helpful footnotes and cross-references. Free versions include ESV, NIV, KJV, and NKJV. It is available on PC, Mac, iPhone/iPad, and Android.
    • The Literal Word app for iPhone/iPad and Android allows you to view the original Hebrew or Greek word that was translated into the NASB, ESV, King James, and Legacy Standard Bible in any passage. This is helpful when studying how a word is used throughout Scripture to better understand the author’s intent.
  2. Concordances (which describe how various words are used throughout Scripture), biblical dictionaries and lexicons (to define the original words), and commentaries can also be quite helpful to properly interpret Scripture.  Dictionaries, such as the Dictrionary of Bible Themes are also very helpful.
  3. Since theology has been studies for two thousand years, various creeds and confessions from church history are very helpful in summarizing theological concepts.
    • Creeds: The Apostles’ Creed, Nicene Creed, Chalcedon Definition, and Athanasian Creed all summarize the vital doctrines of Christianity, particularly regarding the Trinity and the nature of Christ. You can read them all here.
    • Confessions summarize all of the important believes of Christianity. Two of the best are the Westminster Confession of Faith and the London Baptist Confession. These and the Belgic Confession and Canons of Dort can be read for free on the Relight web app.
    • Catechisms often accompany confessions and re-package their doctrines into short statements in question-and-answer format to aid in teaching these doctrines to others. Examples would be the Westminster Shorter Catechism (originally for children) and Westminster Larger Catechism (originally for adults). Both of these and the Heidelberg Catechism can be found on the Relight web app.
  4. A good systematic theology book is also very helpful in not only learning the theological concepts themselves but also the various historical views of those concepts and the conflicts about them in church history.
    • Wayne Grudem’s Systematic Theology is thorough while also being approachable by the non-academic.
    • Louis Berkhof’s Systematic Theology is quite good for the more academically-inclined.
    • John Calvin’s Institutes of the Christian Religion could be considered the first true Reformed systematic theology. It can be read for free on the Relight web app.
  5. Numerous good books exist on various theological concepts (far more than I could ever hope to list here). While modern books can be helpful, some of the best books are from the Puritans. Many books in the Banner of Truth‘s Puritan Paperback series are a great place to start. Another great resource is Chapel Library
  6. Numerous websites exist to help people understand and apply theology. Here are a few good ones:
    • Ligonier Ministries has numerous resources on theology.
    • Desiring God has much in the way of practical theology in both a very helpful blog and various books (some available for free).
  7. Theology is best learned in community, in the context of the local church. Therefore, your pastors, deacons, small group leaders, and other wise people within the church can help you to better understand theology.

Theology Blog Posts

Personal Study

The Church and Pastors

Practical Theology