Studies in the Doctrines of the Bible - Angelfire

409 Pages·2008·2.4 MB·English

by  John Stevenson

Studies in
the Doctrines of the Bible
By
Dr. John T. Stevenson
© John Stevenson Publications, 2008
All rights reserved
Scripture quotations taken from the New American Standard Bible®,
Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973,
1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation
Used by permission." (www.Lockman.org)
The first edition of this work was penned in 1994 when my
friend, mentor and senior pastor, Dr. Paul Fowler came to me
and suggested that we co-teach a Sunday evening class on the
subject of Systematic Theology. I’ve always tended more
toward Biblical and Exegetical Theology, but I agreed to the
exercise. Within a month, Dr. Fowler announced that he had
accepted a call to what was at that time Knox Seminary West
in Colorado Springs and I was left on my own to teach the
class. It turned out to be an excellent exercise, both for those
who were in the class as well for the teacher.
I am indebted to Dr. Fowler for his contagious encouragement
and enthusiasm as well as to Dr. Robert Reymond under
whom I studied in the days prior to the publication of his own
Systematic Theology. This work is not meant to measure up
against such standards. Rather it is aimed at bringing the
ideas of theology down to the street where we live.
Finally, I wish to thank my beloved wife. Throughout my life
she has been my greatest encouragement, my constant
companion, my partner in ministry, my lover and my friend.
She is my gift from God.
DOES GOD FIT INTO A BOX?
The Question of Theology
Charles Schultz had some tremendous religious insights. One of his “Peanuts” cartoons
pictures Lucy and Linus looking out the window at a steady downpour of rain. “Boy,” says
Lucy, “look at all that rain. What if it flood the whole world?”
“It will never do that,” replies Linus. “In Genesis 9, God promised Noah that it would never
happen again, and the sign of that promise is the rainbow.”
“You’ve taken a great load off my mind,” says Lucy with a relieved smile. Linus replies,
“Sound theology has a way of doing that.”
Everyone has a theology — some concept of what God and man and the universe is all about.
That theology may not be systematized or even clearly stated. But it is still there. The
question is not whether you hold to a theology, but rather whether that theology is sound and
Biblical.
WHAT IS THEOLOGY?
The term “theology” is a compound made up from the joining of two words from the Greek
language:
• Θεος (Theos): This is the Greek word for “God.”
• Λογος (Logos): “Word” or “study.”
Theology then is the study of God and those things that God has revealed. We also ought
to understand what theology is NOT.
 Theology is not about man’s religious experiences which God or his opinion of what
God ought to be like.
 Many people like to speak about God being “real to them.” This often indicates a
false sense of reality in which God is real to one person but non-existent to another.
Theology is the study of God’s revelation of Himself Truth is where God has been.
to man. This definition presupposes that God has Revelation is where God is. -- Tenney.
revealed Himself to man. Were it not for the fact that
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God had revealed Himself, we would know nothing at all about God.
Can you discover the depths of God?
Can you discover the limits of the Almighty?
They are high as the heavens, what can you do?
Deeper than Sheol, what can you know? (Job 11:7-8).
There is a “knowledge gap” between God and man. Man cannot, by his own self effort,
know anything about God. It is God Himself who must bridge the gap if we are to know of
Him. The good news is that God has done this, revealing Himself to man.
There is a Postmodern movement away from the study of theology. It is claimed, “I don’t
need theology, just give me Jesus!” But the question then arises, “Which Jesus?” It is in the
subject of theology that we learn of who Jesus really is.
Those who say they love the God of the universe without knowing facts about Him are in
error. You can know facts about God without knowing Him and loving Him, but it is
impossible to know Him and love Him without also knowing certain facts about Him. It is
like saying that you know and love your wife when you know absolutely nothing about her.
PROBLEMS IN THEOLOGY
1. The Finite Versus the Infinite.
It should not greatly surprise
us when the infinite God of the
God is infinite. Man is finite. We cannot grasp the
universe does not fit in the
concept of the infinite. We do not even have a
space between two eardrums.
separate word for “infinite.” Our word “infinite” is
merely a negation of the positive term “finite.” When
we say that something is infinite, we are merely saying that it is not finite.
A finite mind cannot possibly comprehend an infinite being. This will of necessity
limit our understanding of God. We are like fleas on the back of a dog trying to
understand the psychological makeup of his owner. It is simply beyond our natural
understanding.
2. Holy Versus Sinful.
God is holy and righteous. His holiness and righteousness are infinite. There is no
such thing as being “almost infinite.” Anything less than infinite holiness and
righteousness is separated from God by an infinite degree.
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Man is sinful. This is not just a matter of what he DOES, but reflects what he IS. By
nature, man does not want the things of the Spirit of God.
But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of
God; for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them,
because they are spiritually appraised. (1 Corinthians 2:14).
What is a “natural man”? The phrase is the Greek text is yucikoj anqrwpoj —
literally, the “soulish man.” He is the unbeliever. It takes the miracle of the new birth
to turn a man’s heart to God. This does not mean that Christians are smarter than
pagans. Quite often the opposite is true. What it does mean is that God has worked
faith in the heart of the one who belongs to Him so that we can hear the things of the
Spirit of God and respond in belief.
3. Reality Versus Description.
We must understand that there is a difference between God as He exists versus the
theological descriptions that we give to God. This does not mean that those
theological descriptions are inaccurate, but merely that they fall short of embracing
the God who is there. C.S. Lewis describes it this way.
If a man has once looked at the Atlantic from the beach, and
then goes and looks at a map of the Atlantic, he also will be turning
from something real to something less real: turning from real waves to
a bit of coloured paper. But here comes the point. The map is
admittedly only coloured paper, but there are two things you have to
remember about it. In the first place, it is based on what hundreds and
thousands of people have found out by sailing the real Atlantic. In that
way it has behind it masses of experience just as real as the one you
could have from the beach; only, while yours would be a single
glimpse, the map fits all those different experiences together. In the
second place, if you want to go anywhere, the map is absolutely
necessary. As long as you are content with walks on the beach, your
own glimpses are far more fun than looking at a map. But the map is
going to be more use than walks on the beach if you want to get to
America. (C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity, Chapter 23).
In a similar way, theology is our map. It tells us what God is like. That does not
mean that we ought to be content with the map. The map is not an end unto itself.
It is only a means to help us to understand and to appreciate the
Steve Brown, professor of homiletics at Reformed Theological Seminary, likens our
theology to refrigerator art. When my grandchildren painted a work of art, it often
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ended up on our refrigerator. The quality of the artwork was not particularly adept,
but we put it up there because we love them.
Our studies in theology attempt to tell us what God is like and how He works in the
world. That is a good thing and we are diligent to construct an accurate system of
doctrine. But we also recognize that our best efforts will be less than the sum total of
what God is. At best, our efforts will be His refrigerator art. There will come a day
when we will grow past that artwork to see the Lord face to face.
TYPES OF THEOLOGY
1. Natural Theology.
This is the study that examines those facts concerning God and His universe that are
revealed in nature. This is considered theology by our earlier definition because we
are examining how God has revealed Himself in nature.
2. Exegetical Theology.
This is a study of each of the individual books of the Bible, taking into account the
context of each of those books, the meanings of the original Greek and Hebrew texts,
and the interplay of historical, cultural and archaeological backgrounds as we seek to
understand those texts.
For example, we might do a study of the book of Genesis, noting the internal outline
of the book and seeing how the author uses particular narratives, teachings and
arguments in order to make his point.
3. Biblical Theology.
This is the study that trace’s God’s truth about Himself and His relationship with men
as that truth is developed historically in the individual books of the Bible. It was this
kind of theology that Stephen presented when he preached his sermon before the
Jewish Sanhedrin.
Thus we might do a study of the book of Genesis and ask how God is revealed in that
particular book, understanding that the writer and the original readers did not have the
rest of the Scriptures because they had not yet been written. We would read Genesis
and we would ask what was the concept of God those original readers were derive
from this book.
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4. Systematic Theology.
This is the study that follows an analytically devised scheme to organize into a single
system all of the truth that we have about God and His universe. The Apostle Paul
uses this kind of systematic approach in his study of the Righteousness of God in the
book of Romans.
5. Practical Theology.
Taking all of the previous aspects of theology and putting them into practice so that
my life is different than it previously was. This is the goal of all study of theology.
It is so that my life will be changed so that I love God more and serve Him better.
Natural Exegetical Biblical Systematic Practical
Theology Theology Theology Theology Theology
Draws its Draws its study Draws its study Draws its Draws its
truths from a from a verse by from Exegetical study from study from
study of the verse study of Theology Biblical Systematic
universe. the Bible Theology. Theology.
Sees God Sees God as He Sees the Takes the Takes the
revealed in is revealed in revelation of revelation of truths from
nature the individual God developed God and the doctrinal
books of the historically over organizes system and
Bible the duration of those truths puts them
the writing of into a into practice
the Bible. doctrinal in our lives.
system.
It should be understood that when we approach the organizing of a systematic theology, we
are not trying to “put God in a box.” This is reflected in a poem by Tennyson:
Our little systems have their day,
They have their day and cease to be.
They are but broken lights of Thee,
And Thou, O Lord, are more than they.
We must recognize that God and the Scriptures rule over our theology and not the other way
around. This means that if our theology conflicts with the Bible, we need to change our
theology. As such, we are to follow the example of the Bereans.
And the brethren immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to
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Berea; and when they arrived, they went into the synagogue of the Jews.
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Now these were more noble-minded than those in Thessalonica, for they
received the word with great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily, to see
whether these things were so. Many of them therefore believed, along with
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a number of prominent Greek women and men. (Acts 17:10-12).
Here were a group of noble-minded followers of the Lord. They heard the message being
preached by Paul and Silas and it was different from that with which they were familiar.
Their reaction was to become diligent students of the Scriptures, examining them daily to see
whether that new message was true. It is the Scriptures that drive our understanding of
theology and not the other way around.
DANGERS IN STUDYING THEOLOGY
Though the study of theology is a good and a profitable undertaking, there are some inherent
dangers that must be faced in this endeavor.
1. The Danger of Division.
Theology divides. This should not surprise us. Jesus said it would divide. He said
that He came to cause division. There are times when our theology will necessarily
divide us from others. At the same time, there are areas of theology that should not
necessarily become divisive to the point of bringing contention to the church.
In major things we have unity.
In minor things we have liberty.
In all things we have love.
2. The Danger of Pride.
Paul warns in 1 Corinthians 8:1 that knowledge makes arrogant. It is one of the
inherent dangers of knowledge. It is not long before we begin to become proud of the
knowledge we have and we begin to look down on others.
3. The Danger of Dependence on Knowledge.
This is the danger where we are tempted to substitute relationship for theology. It is
true that knowledge of God is necessary for relationship with God to take place, but
knowledge alone does not equate to that relationship.
You can learn about God’s sovereignty and know all of the facts of His omnipotence
and power, yet it is not until you are under the fire of suffering that you turn to that
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attribute and apply it to your particular situation that you really come to depend upon
the Lord.
4. The Danger of Accepting Man’s False Teachings.
But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there
will also be false teachers among you, who will secretly introduce
destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them,
bringing swift destruction upon themselves. And many will follow
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their sensuality, and because of them the way of the truth will be
maligned; and in their greed they will exploit you with false words;
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their judgment from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not
asleep. (2 Peter 2:1-3).
There are false words and false teachings presented in the world today. These are
brought by false teachers and some of those false teachers are to be found within the
church.
This means we must not blindly follow every teaching we hear. As we noted earlier,
we are called to be Berans in our searching out the Scriptures. We are to test and try
the spirits to see if they really are from God (1 John 4:1).
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