robus(t)heology

What belongs in the Bible and what does not belong? Since the words of God in the Bible are important (Deut. 32:47), it is important to know which writings belong in the Bible. The canon of Scripture is the list of all the books that belong in the Bible. We should not add or subtract from God’s words for it would prevent God’s people from obeying him fully. (Deut. 4:2) The canon is important in that if we are to trust and obey God absolutely, we must be able to trust in the certainty of God’s own words. A. The Old Testament Canon Scripture itself bears witness to the historical development of the canon. Throughout Israel’s history, this collection of absolutely authoritative words from God grew in size. Moses wrote words to be deposited in the ark of the covenant (Deut. 31:24-26; Ex. 17:14; 24:4; 34:27; Num. 33:2; Deut. 31:22). Joshua added to the collection of written words of God. (Josh. 24:26) Those who fulfilled the office of prophet wrote additional words from God...

The phrase “the Word of God” refers to: The Son of God, Jesus Christ (John 1:1; Rev. 19:13) Speech by God God’s words come in several forms: God’s decrees God’s decrees cause events to happen or come into being (Gen. 1:3, 24; Ps. 33:6) God’s decree includes the continuing existence of all things (Heb. 1:3) God’s words of personal address God sometimes communicates with people on earth by speaking directly to them (Gen. 2:16-17; 3:16-19; Ex. 20:1-3; Matt. 3:17) The words of God’s personal address in Scripture are also “human” words The fact that these words are spoken in human language does not limit their divine character or authority God’s words of personal address are uncommon, even in Scripture God’s words as speech through human lips Frequently in Scripture, God raises up prophets through who he speaks (Jer. 1:7, 9; Ex. 4:12; Num. 22:38; 1 Sam. 15:3, 18, 23; 1 Kings 20:36; 2 Chron. 20:20; 25:15–16; Isa. 30:12–14; Jer. 6:10–12; 36:29–31) God’s words spoke...

Definition of systematic theology Systematic theology is the study on what the whole Bible teaches about any given topic. This is discovered by collecting, understanding, and summarizing relevant teachings passages in the Bible regarding each topic. Relationship to Other Disciplines Systematic theology is different from historical theology, philosophical theology, and apologetics in that systematic theology interacts directly with the biblical text to understand what the Bible itself says about various theological subjects Systematic theology makes Scripture the final authority on what we are to believe…not history, philosophy, or logic Systematic theology is different from Old Testament theology, New Testament theology, and biblical theology in that these three disciplines organize their topics historically and in the order the topics are presented in the Bible Biblical theology focuses on the historical development of the biblical authors, original hearers and reade...

I'm avid collector of books and ebooks. Since my favorite subject is theology, most of those books are systematic theologies. I've read and studied from some great ones. One of the best and my favorite by far would be Wayne Grudem's "Systematic Theology". It's clear, sound, detailed, well-organized, and very accessible. One needs not to have gone to seminary to instantly benefit from it. Being that Dr. Grudem's theology lines up with my own personal theology and seeing that there isn't a historic confession or statement of beliefs that holds to that theology (the exception being John Piper's former church's Elder Affirmation of Faith ...which is excellent), I'll be undertaking the task of presenting Dr. Grudem's Systematic Theology. This may take a year or so but I feel it will yield lifelong spiritual benefits for readers (as well as myself). I recommend purchasing a copy for your own collection. "Systematic Theology" is s...