What is Systematic Theology?
Systematic theology is a method of studying the
Bible founded on the principle that the
Scriptures reveal a single God-ordained,
well-ordered, coherent, and unchanging system of
doctrine.
The discipline of systematic theology looks at
the Bible topically, collecting and organizing –
not capriciously, but according to sound
principles of interpretation – all the
Scriptures pertaining to a particular question.
For example, what does all of Scripture say
about the nature of God? What does all of
Scripture say about the nature of Scripture
itself? What does all of Scripture say about the
way of salvation? What does all of Scripture say
about the marriage and divorce? And, how are those
doctrines progressively revealed as we move
through God's Word from Genesis to Revelation?
Systematic theology, properly practiced, does
not impose a human system upon Scripture, but
rather seeks to understand and articulate the
system of doctrine that the God-breathed
Scriptures already contain.
Vital to Preaching & Teaching
It is vital for preachers and teachers of the
Word to carry out their precious task with this
system of doctrine always in their minds, and to
inculcate a systematic view of the doctrines of
Scripture in the minds of the people of God.
The fact that Scripture contains
a God-breathed system of doctrine, consistent
from Genesis to Revelation, must be one of the
Bible believer’s key guiding principles. But
today we are witnessing massive
ignorance of the system of doctrine contained in
Scripture within Christian academia and the
Evangelical church.
Today: Systematics Neglected or Openly Rejected
The Evangelical church has come under the
influence of postmodern theologies that either neglect or
openly reject systematic theology, substituting
man-centered approaches. This leads to
dangerous notions about the Bible. For example,
many ministers today are trained to believe that
God's Word contains contradictions or paradoxes, or that the
Bible contains no essential doctrines. This kind
of thinking leads to the problems of unbelief,
sinful living,
and un-Biblical inclusivism that we see in many
Evangelical churches today.
Abandoning systematic
presentation of Bible doctrine through
chapter-by-chapter, verse-by-verse preaching of
the Word results in a focus on purely topical
preaching. When preaching is purely topical,
there is a danger that doctrinal subjects will
be treated, if at all,
in an isolated and narrow fashion. This can
easily lead to un-Biblical treatment of them,
commonly producing one of three results. History
shows us that this is how most cults are born.
It is also how some churches and movements come
to focus on
narrow points of doctrine, drawing the circle of
fellowship around those narrow distinctives, and
neglecting to teach the whole counsel of God. It is
also how, on the other extreme, churches fall
into the trap of an un-Biblical inclusivism that leads
eventually to the growth of a visible church composed mostly
of unbelievers, because the church has no
Biblical doctrinal standards to speak of.
This is not to say that there is
no place for topical preaching. But topical
preaching must always be done with the Bible's
single, coherent system of doctrine as the
backdrop. Topical preaching must never
ignore or contradict what God's Word says elsewhere
on the same or related topics.
There is
no substitute for the immersion of all
Christians — college
and seminary professors and students, church
leaders and church members
— in the systematic study of the Word of God
itself, and in an ever more intimate knowledge
of the Living Word, Jesus Christ. That is the
way the people of God will come to think God’s
thoughts after Him.
Is the New "Biblical Theology" Superior?
During the twentieth century a
so-called "Biblical theology" movement arose in
Christian academia and spread to the churches,
which is not Biblical at all. This movement
claims to be superior to systematic theology,
but has proved itself a grave danger to the
church. This new "Biblical theology" movement is
also sometimes called "redemptive-historical
theology." The movement’s adherents include many
closet liberals posing as conservatives, who
hold positions on the faculties of
historically conservative Bible colleges and
seminaries. They insist on studying "theologies"
in the plural and in semi-isolation — the
"theology of Paul" — the "theology of Peter" — the
"theology of John" — the "theology of James" —
or even the "theology of Jesus."
This new movement relegates the
doctrine of the Holy Spirit’s primary authorship of
all Scripture, through His supernatural
inspiration of its very words, to secondary
status. Human authorship is its primary focus.
In such an atmosphere, theologians can stand in
judgment of the Scriptures rather than
submitting to the judgment of the Word.
Dialectical theology
— the false idea
that the Bible contains contradictions that have
to be synthesized and resolved through human
reason — flourishes
in this environment. Advocates of the new
"Biblical theology" implicitly, and ever more
frequently explicitly, deny the overall unity
and coherence of Scripture. From there they take
only a small step to the false conclusion that
there is no single, God-articulated, uniquely
valid system of doctrine in the Bible — but
rather multiple, humanly-articulated systems of
doctrine that can each rightfully claim to be
valid even though they contradict one another.
In marked contrast, the legitimate discipline of
Biblical theology looks at the Bible "as it
comes" — book by book, chapter by chapter, verse
by verse, to answer questions regarding the
message of a particular book of the Bible and
its relationship to the rest of Scripture. Both
Biblical theology and systematic theology are methods of studying God's Word founded on the principle that the
Scriptures reveal a single God-ordained,
well-ordered, consistent, and unchanging system of
doctrine. The two ways of
studying the Bible must go hand-in-hand, because
when we separate true Biblical theology from
systematic theology we begin looking at the
Bible in ways that lead to false teaching. (For
a more detailed discussion of these points,
please see the links to articles on systematic
theology and Biblical theology at the end of
this article.)
God's Word: Alive, Powerful, Complete, Univocal
Academia
and the church must not erect man-centered
approaches as barriers between the people of God and His
Word. It is the
Word of God that is the sword of the Spirit, not
the words of men. It is the Word of God that is
forever settled in Heaven. It is the Word of God
that is alive and powerful. It is the Word of
God that is the discerner of the thoughts and
intents of the heart. It is the Word of God that
we are instructed to commit to memory so that we
might not sin, and so that we can discern truth
from error. It is the entrance of the Word that
gives light and understanding. It is the Word of
faith preached, heard, and believed, that
saves sinners by bringing them to the knowledge
of Christ.
Christian academia and the
church must continually remind the people of God
that the best thing men can do is to understand
and believe the system of doctrine revealed in
Scripture, and submit to its authority in every
area of life. They must also remind God’s people
that the best confession or doctrinal statement
that men have ever devised is a
moon having no glory of its own, which merely
reflects the blazing sunlight of Scripture.
Christian academia and the church must
always practice two key principles concerning
God’s Word: It is complete, and it is univocal.
These principles underpin
both systematic theology
and the legitimate discipline of Biblical
theology.
Employing these principles means that Scripture
must be approached and understood as a whole,
not as a collection of disjointed parts. The
believer’s interest can never be merely in what
Moses, Isaiah, Paul, James, or Peter has to say
about a given matter of doctrine in a particular
book or passage, because not a single word of
Scripture is the mere word of man. In and of
themselves, each of the human writers had
nothing authoritative to say; but the Spirit of
God spoke through every one of them, and
therefore they wrote with one voice, without
contradiction or paradox, from Genesis to
Revelation. God the Holy Spirit gave one, and
only one, system of doctrine to His people.
Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter
times some will depart from the faith, giving
heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of
demons, speaking lies in hypocrisy, having their
own conscience seared with a hot iron (1 Timothy
4:1-2).
For a bishop (overseer) must
be...holding fast the faithful word as he has
been taught, that he may be able, by sound
doctrine, both to exhort and convict those who
contradict (Titus 1:7-9).
(The Bereans)
received the word with all readiness, and
searched the Scriptures daily to find out
whether these things were so (Acts 17:11).
Be mindful of the words which were spoken
before by the holy prophets, and of the
commandment of us, the apostles of the Lord and
Savior (2 Peter 3:2).
All Scripture is
given by inspiration of God, and is profitable
for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for
instruction in righteousness, that the man of
God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for
every good work. I charge you therefore before
God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who will judge
the living and the dead at His appearing and His
kingdom: Preach the word! Be ready in season and
out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with
all longsuffering and teaching. For the time
will come when they will not endure sound
doctrine, but according to their own desires,
because they have itching ears, they will heap
up for themselves teachers; and they will turn
their ears away from the truth, and be turned
aside to fables. But you be watchful in all
things, endure afflictions, do the work of an
evangelist, fulfill your ministry (2 Timothy
3:16-4:5).
Recommended Resources
Articles on our website:
Printer-Friendly Page
