Theology Posts

This is the launch page for all theology related posts. These posts are mostly organized as a systematic theology, covering the full range of Christian doctrine. It should be noted that I am not a trained theologian. And, while my background is Baptist, and I generally understand the Bible in union with them, that is not always the case. This is truly a work in progress and grows as I grow in my understanding of God’s word, who he is, and what he is doing in his creation. My prayer is that these posts will be useful to the body of Christ.

Introduction

As its name implies, systematic theology is a comprehensive and systematic view of theology. The goal of an evangelical Christian systematic theology is to develop a theology that is biblically based, that covers the main doctrines of Christianity, and that is cohesive.

Humanity

Who are we as humans? Where did we come from? Why are we here? Does God have some particular reason for creating us? The doctrine of humanity is important to provide answers to those questions.

The Holy Spirit

The Holy Spirit is the third person of the Trinity, one in essence with the Father and the Son, but distinct in the role he plays in our salvation. He brings conviction of sin to the world, enables us to live as believers, and equips us for service in the Kingdom.

Last Things

There are two aspects to the doctrine last things. The first deals with events on a global scale: Jesus return, resurrection, judgement, and his reign. The second is a more personal look; what happens after my death. For both the believer and the unbeliever this includes resurrection, judgement and a final state. But the final state will be dramatically different for the two.

Apologetics

Apologetics is really a spiritual discipline; providing a defense for your faith. All believers should be able to explain to those who inquire, why they believe what they do. The posts below are my attempts at that, and will hopefully be useful to others.

The Bible

From the human perspective, the Bible is a diverse collection of literature written over a long period of time. From a divine perspective, it is the authoritative guide to faith and practice. These posts will examine the Bible from both a human and a divine perspective. The divine perspective includes inspiration, authority and truthfulness. The human perspective will also examine inspiration, but also its transmission and canonization.

Sin

The doctrine of sin is one of the foundational truths of the Christian faith. It describes an aspect of our nature that is in rebellion against God. It also covers the moral failing of our lives, how we fail to live up to God’s expectations. We are a fallen race because of our sin, unable to please God.

Salvation

The doctrine of salvation encompasses our initial salvation experience, our ongoing walk with Christ, and our final deliverance from the fate of this world. Our initial salvation encompasses our calling, conversion, regeneration, union with Christ, justification and adoption. Ongoing salvation includes sanctification as well as continuing in union with Christ. The final aspect of salvation includes both persistence and glorification.

Arminian Soteriology

These articles discuss different aspects of Arminian soteriology. I wrote these to counter the often times false claims made about Arminianism by those in the Calvinist / Reformed camp.

God

Posts on this page will examine both the nature of God as well as his work in creation and providence. They will look at both the communicable and incommunicable attributes of God, his triune nature, his will, and some common questions that people raise about God. They will look at God’s work in creation and his providential work in the creation; including issues of governance, sovereignty and human free will.

Christ

This page will include articles dealing with the nature and the work of Jesus. Who is Jesus? The orthodox position in Christianity on the person of Jesus is that he is fully God as well as fully human. He was God from eternity past and will be into eternity future. But at his incarnation, he took on human flesh and became like one of us. The primary work of Jesus was offering himself as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.

The Church

What is the church? What is its purpose? How does the New Testament picture the church? What functions should define the church today? What form of government should the church have? How about baptism and Lord’s Supper. These are topics addressed by the doctrine of the church.

Off-Site Articles

I am also writing articles for a number of other web sites. These include Christianity.com, BibleStudyTools.com, and DevotableApp.com. This page contains links and synopsis’ for those other articles.