The Word of God - Part 1

The Word of God is something which is greatly controversial, even among the church. Some people will choose to say that God can speak through many forms, where others will say that God can only speak though his written word (the Bible). Also, people will either believe that God’s Word is perfect in every sense, or that it is full of errors and cannot be completely trusted.

I personally take the stance, and fully believe, that the Word of God is completely inspired and it can be shown through several different ways. I believe that it is perfect and completely infalluable. This stance makes many people quiver. They will feel as if I am stepping too far, and that I am now very dangerous with a stance on God’s Word like this. I don’t see it as something dangerous, actually, I see it as something very beneficial. It helps me not react to my emotions, and turn towards the wisdom of God, therefore, making better decisions when I don’t know what to do.

Through these next few posts we I will be examining the validity of the ways in which we claim that God speaks. As usual this will be following along with Wayne Grudems book title Systematic Theology. If you plan on following along with this series of blogs, I would highly recommend investing in a copy of your own. It is a great book, because it really helps you understand a wide perspective on many different Chritian beliefs.

The first way that God can speak to us, more or less, did speak to us, is through Jesus Christ. We are told from John, in John 1, that, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” If you continue to read this chapter you will find that John is referring to the Word as Jesus Christ. This shows that the entirety of scripture and what we call the Word is contained and represented through Jesus Christ, although, it is clear right here that it is speaking of Jesus, we must remember that Jesus is just one part of the Triune God, therefore, the Father, and the Holy Spirit, contain the entirety of the Word as well. Maybe a better way to think of it would be that the entirety of God is actually represented through God’s Word.

I am going to stop here, but I want you to think about what it is that you belief about the Word of God. Try to figure out where you stumble with it, or where you fail to have complete understanding. Through the next couple of posts we will talk about how God communicates his Word to us. Whether it is through writing, speaking, through other men, or just through God. We will try to investigate these.

If you have any questions or comments (maybe about the new direction of this site) feel free to leave them in the space provide below. Thanks!

Systematic Theology - Part 2

If you have read my last post on Systematic Theology you will be somewhat familiar with what this form of theology is. If you have not, you should first read that post by visiting Systematic Theology - Part 1. After reading that first post you may see that systematic theology is obviously a great way to study the Bible, but you may not really understand why it is that we need to study the Bible in this great of depth.

Well, rest assured if this is what you have been wondering. I too have thought about why it is that we need to take the time to really study the Bible, especially, if you are not in any sort of ministry. First without any scriptural references, because like I said, I’m not a Bible scholar. I want to tell you why I believe it is important that every Christian takes the time to study out the Bible a bit further than just reading it every day.

Sometimes we get stuck in situations where we feel as if we are compromising on God’s Word. In these situations it would be very helpful to understand what the Bible says about what you are doing, and why you are feeling the way that you are. There are a lot of unlearned people who really don’t completely understand the Gospel, so I believe that with going above and beyond simply reading the Bible, by going through some good books like Systematic Theology by Wayne Grudem. People will gain a much better understanding of the Gospel, and they won’t base their salvation upon what they are doing, but instead, upon what God has done for them.

Secondly, I feel that it is important to understand the Word well enough that when some Jehovah’s Witnesses, or Mormons come knocking on your door that you can clearly explain to them where your faith and their faith are different. A lot of people come to this belief that as long as the person at the door says something about Jesus, that they are the same, well, that will be covered here in about nine or ten weeks, so lets save that for later discussion. By understanding the Bible in a more complete sense we will be able to stand more firmly on our beliefs when we are confronted with systems of beliefs which are different.

So now going to scripture. My hope would be that whoever decides to really follow this with me would go ahead and get a copy of Systematic Theology by Wayne Grudem, so that I don’t have to quote the scriptures which he is using. I see that as just biting off of his work, and I really don’t want to do that. So instead I am going to simply quote one scripture which has been very influential in developing my want to understand the Bible in a more complete way. Acts 17:11 says, “…they received the Word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so.” This is talking about how a certain group of Jews responded when they heard the Gospel in it’s completeness for the first time. They didn’t take for granted what they were hearing, and they wanted to make sure that what they were going to believe in was true.

The things which are talked about throughout the Scriptures are often mind boggling. It seems to me like it would be logical to go through the Bible and attempt to understand these things at a deeper level. By doing this we can develop a better understanding which will lead us to knowing the Glory of God in a way that is only possible by the revealing of himself through the Word.

Where do some of you, who study theology often, agree or disagree? I would love to get some conversation going on here… Any one willing to spark it up?

Systematic Theology - Part 1

As I mentioned in my last post, I am going through the book  Systematic Theology by Wayne Grudem. This first week will be a little slow in the sense that there may not be much to talk about, but for the sake for going through the book completely I figured I wouldn’t skip the introducing chapter.

Grudem opens up the book with an “Introduction to Theology.”  In this introduction he basically is talks about what systematic theology is and what advantages it has over other forms of theology. According to this book we can define systematic theology as this, “any study that answers the question, ‘What does the whole Bible teach us today?’ about any given topic.” To me this sounds like it would be the best way to study the Bible.

It doesn’t do us much good to just know what the old testament says about a topic, or even what the new testament has to say. It is best to have a complete Biblical understanding of what God’s word is telling us. Grudem speaks of how undergoing a study of the major doctrines of the Bible, should and will have a significant impact on our lives. I hope this is true, which I know it must, because understanding what the Bible says completely on so many different topics has got to be an edifying experience.

People in general will make claims about the Bible, and in a sense they are doing systematic theology. Grudem uses the example of a person saying, “The Bible says that Jesus is coming again.” He goes on to tell us how this statement is a statement which is taking into account the entire Bible. A huge plus to this form of theology is the organization of it. It is not unorganized, so it makes it very clear when you come to the conclusion which you reach through your studies.

One thing that I find to be most intriguing is the statement that Grudem makes about the accuracy of this form of theology, “In systematic theology, summaries of biblical teachings must be worded precisely to guard against misunderstandings and to exclude false teachings.” In other words systematic theology must be very clear and use as little words as possible so that there may be no room for misunderstanding.

So this takes me to the end of my first post of the three I will be posting this week. What I want to hear from you is any preconceived opinions of this type of theology, your experiences with it, books you’ve read on it, if you’ve read this book, and things you would like to learn. So go for it, I hope to see some good discussion!