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What is Theology?

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People often hear pastors and Bible teachers talk about theology, but they want to know, “What is theology?”

Well, here is one definition of theology:

What is theology?

Did that definition of theology help any?

I didn’t think so.

If you are like me, you are probably more confused (and bored) now than you were before you read that definition of theology. If you are asking, “What is theology?” the only thing you really learned from that definition of theology above is that theology is confusing and boring. But take heart, theology doesn’t have have to be this way.

When properly taught, theology is not confusing and is never be boring. When properly studied, theology sets the heart on fire and opens up the mind to imagination and wonder. Let me show you how.

What is Theology?

Here at Till He Comes, my goal is to Bring Scripture and Theology to Life. I not only desire to write about these subjects in ways that are interesting and engaging, but also write about them in a way which shows how they affect your life right now.

So when people ask, “What is theology?” I not only seek to answer the question and provide a definition of theology that makes sense, but also to show how theology matters and how it makes a difference in your life today.

What is theology? Here is the basic definition of theology: Theology literally means “the study of God.”

But theology is so much more than that. When theology is truly studied, it ushers you into a deep relationship with God. Theology is not simply the study of God, but an interaction with God, a conversation with Him and with others about the deep mysteries of divinity. Theology is thinking God’s thoughts after Him. It is tracing the mind and heart of God, and learning to see the world through the eyes of God.

What is theology? Theology is entering into a lifelong conversation with God about Himself, ourselves, and how He wants to live life with us.

What is theology? Theology is learning to make God your best friend.

That sounds more exciting than the boring definition of theology provided in the image above, right?

Learning Theology

I suppose my answer to the question, “What is theology?” needs some examples.  If theology is ultimately an adventure with God, then theology cannot really be taught, but must be experienced. However, learning theology is the first step in experiencing theology. So below I provide some basic instruction about theology, the various categories of theology, and some of my own thoughts about theology.

You may notice by looking through the posts below that this is a work in progress. But that again is a truth about theology. When we ask, “What is theology?” we cannot expect to learn theology in an afternoon. Learning theology is a life-long process, which I believe will be continued in eternity. Just as God is infinite, so learning about God requires infinity.

In the post below, I seek to answer the question “What is theology?” by sharing with you some of what I have learned about theology over the years, and by asking some of the questions I still have.

There are two types of posts below. Some contain summaries of my seminary class notes. I know this might sound boring, but I do my best to summarize them in an interesting way.

However, after I summarize my notes, it is then that things really get lively. I take the theology I was taught, and then challenge, question, and critique it in a way I was not able to do in seminary (at least, not if I wanted to graduate).

Eventually, there will be hundreds of posts on this page, so you may want to Subscribe to the Blog so that you get new posts as they are published.

The posts are divided into the traditional categories of Systematic Theology:

What is theology? Click on a link to jump to that section of the page
|  Introduction  |  Bibliology  |  Theology Proper  |  Anthropology  |  Hamartiology  |  Christology  |  Soteriology  |  Pneumatology  |  Ecclesiology  |  Eschatology  |  Angelology  |


What is Theology

Introduction to Theology


Bibliology

Bibliology

Theology Proper

Anthropology

Hamartiology

Christology

Soteriology

Pneumatology

Ecclesiology

Eschatology

Angelology

Books that Help with the “What is Theology?” Question

If you are eager to learn more about theology and cannot wait for me to finish the posts above, here are a few theology books that I recommend which will help answer your questions about theology. If you still want to know “What is theology?” the books below will help.

If you have any questions about theology you want me to answer, please out the form below, and I will try to answer it in a future blog post.

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    What is Blasphemy Against the Holy Spirit?

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    blasphemy against the Holy Spirit I receive a lot of emails and Google search hits about blasphemy against the Holy Spirit and the unpardonable sin.

    One of the more popular search strings has been “Is adultery the unpardonable sin?”

    Let me answer that question quickly:

    NO. Adultery is not the Unpardonable Sin

    And while I’m at it, neither is suicide.

    But please, don’t do either of these things. If you are thinking about doing either, and fear of hell is the only thing keeping you from doing it, please contact me through the contact form on my About page.

    Here is a link to a short paper I wrote on the subject:  The Unpardonable Sin and Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. Below is an excerpt from this paper:

    If you, or your friend or relative is not a Christian [and are worrying about having committed the sin], then be encouraged. Almost nobody who commits the blasphemy against the Spirit wonders if they have. They don’t care about such things anymore. The unbeliever who commits this sin has become so morally and spiritually blind that their heart is hardened to the point that they no longer care about spiritual things and will never believe in Jesus.

    But nevertheless, some people are afraid they have. To them, I would simply say, “Worrying about it pretty much proves that you haven’t. So in order to make sure you never will be able to, believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved. Whatever sin you may have committed, you are still being convicted by it, which is good. God’s grace will cover over that sin, and all other sins if you will just believe in Jesus for eternal life.”

    Are you afraid of committing blasphemy against the Holy Spirit or the unpardonable sin? Don’t be.

    God isn’t out to get you, or set traps in your way so He can shout in triumphant glee, “Aha! Another one who will never experience my grace! Off to hell you go!”

    No.

    That is not the God of the Bible. That is not what Jesus was teaching in Matthew 12:31-32. That is not the message of Hebrews 6:1-8. God’s grace and what Jesus accomplished on the cross is greater than anything you can say or do. It is only when you come to understand the perfect love of God that all fear vanishes and you can start living for God out of love for Him, rather than fear about Him.

    So what is the Unpardonable Sin or the Blasphemy Against the Holy Spirit? I have a series of about 20 emails that shares more:

    Do you fear that you have committed the Unforgivable Sin?

    Fear not! You are forgiven. You are loved.

    Fill out the form below to receive several emails from me which explains how you can know that you are loved and forgiven by God.

    (Note: If you are a member of RedeemingGod.com, login and then revisit this page to update your membership.)

     

    Crucifixion – The Spiritual Suffering of Jesus

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    Aside from the great physical suffering and pain that Jesus went through, He also experienced great spiritual suffering.
    Olive Tree

    In the Garden

    The first hint we get that Jesus went through spiritual agony is revealed in a physical manifestation. Jesus, on the night of His arrest, went to the Garden of Gethsemane to pray, “And He took with Him Peter and James and John, and began to be very distressed and troubled. And He said to them, “My soul is deeply grieved to the point of death…” (Matthew 26:37-38).

    Interestingly, “Gethsemane” means olive press. Near the garden was an olive grove, and it was probably in this garden that the olive oil was pressed out of the olives. It is here that Jesus prays for God to let this cup pass from Him. He prays so fervently, and is in such deep anguish, that drops of blood came out of His skin. He was being pressed like an olive. Physicians tell us that this is entirely possible when a person is under extreme amounts of stress and pressure.

    Bearing Sin on the Cross

    Jesus sufferingThough we can never know the spiritual agony that Jesus experienced on the cross, we see hints of it in what He says. For example, His fifth statement from the cross is “My God, My God, Why have you forsaken me?” Jesus, as the second person of the Trinity, has had constant fellowship with God the Father for all eternity. What must it have been like for Him now to have that relationship severed and broken? What must it have felt like for Jesus when our sin separated Him from God? Our sin broke the eternal fellowship of the Godhead!

    Whereas always before, Jesus had always prayed to God as “My Father,” He now referred to Him as “My God” the way other humans did. Sin had now separated Jesus from God. Where for eternity past there had been warm fellowship and a loving relationship, there was now only broken fellowship, a sense of deep and agonizing loss, a hopeless despair, and the blackness of depravity.

    Being the sinners that we are, I think we do not understand the pain that this caused Jesus. We were born in sin, and are numb to it, and do not fully know that deep and intimate connection with God that we were made for. But even then, many of us experience deep guilt and regret over things that we have done. And yet few of us are murderers or rapists.

    Imagine now being Jesus, never having sinned, never having known the pain and fear of guilt, never having felt hate or lust, now having the torrential flood of all the sins of the whole world placed upon Him in a few short hours. Every bad thought that has ever been thought, every adulterous affair, every hateful word, every act of theft or bribery, every whisper of gossip, every murder, every profanity, every act of disloyalty to wife, husband, or boss, every disobedient act of children toward their mother, father, or teacher –- all sin, of all the world, of all time was placed on Jesus Christ all at once.

    Jesus took it all. He who had never experienced the pain of sin, took it all at once in a torrential downpour. It was beyond anything we can describe or understand.

    But at least it was only for a few hours, right? Wrong.

    The Eternality of Jesus

    We’re going to delve into a little theology here.

    Jesus, being God, is eternal. If we understand eternality correctly, then there are aspects of Jesus which are outside of time, and therefore, experience time not in a sequence, but in a constant “now.” This means that whatever Jesus experienced on the cross, He is always experiencing this in some sense. While it seems to us that Jesus only spent a few hours on the cross, in His experience, He is on the cross forever.

    Of course, Jesus is not just experiencing His suffering on the cross, but also His death and victorious resurrection.

    Suffering in the Grave

    Lake of FireScholars widely disagree about what happened to Jesus after He died. Some believe He spent three days in hell. But based on a variety of reasons, I don’t believe so. Among other reasons, He told the thief on the cross, “Today you will be with me in paradise.” At most, Jesus went to a place called “Abraham’s Bosom.” There is also a whole study that could be done tracing the steps of the High Priest on the Day of Atonement, which I think Jesus followed in the “heavenly” temple.

    So when we speak of Christ as spending three days in the grave, it was actually His body that was in the grave while He was spiritually in heaven before God presenting His sacrifice. After three days, He rejoined His body and rose from the dead. This, of course is what happens to all Christians as well. When we die, we spiritually go to heaven. Our bodies remain behind until the resurrection.

    So while I don’t believe Jesus suffered in hell, this still does not diminish the great spiritual suffering that Jesus experienced as a result of taking on all the sins of all people in all the world throughout all history. But how thankful we can be that He did so, for it was only in this way that we can receive the righteousness of God (2 Cor 5:21).

    The cross of Jesus is CENTRAL to everything!

    Transform your life and theology by focusing on the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus:

    Fill out the form below to receive several emails from me about the death and resurrection of Jesus.

    (Note: If you are a member of RedeemingGod.com, login and then revisit this page to update your membership.)

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    Acts 29 with Dr. John Hannah

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    Acts 29I recently attended a regional Acts29 church planting event. It was the second one I have been to. You can read about the one I attended last year here.

    The guest speaker was Dr. John Hannah from Dallas Theological Seminary. He spoke about spiritual formation, and specifically, how to overcome sin in our lives.

    A few things he said rang so true in my life that it was like the dawn rising in my life. Below are these things. Matt Chandler spoke as well, which was excellent. Although he is a Calvinist, he may be one of the most creative and thoughtful mega-church pastors of this generation. I will make a post tomorrow about what he said.

    But here is some of what Dr. Hannah said:

    A Popular Christian Lie

    He said, “Someone once told me—and if I could remember who it was I would shoot them—that the longer you are a Christian, the easier it gets.”

    Dr. Hannah is right. That is an outright lie. If we are really making progress in the Christian life, it gets harder and harder. Spiritual attacks become more frequent. Temptations become more powerful. The unanswered questions become more numerous.

    Sure, there are a lot of positives and benefits to following Jesus, but we should never tell someone that becoming a Christian will solve all their problems. It won’t. Sure, it solves some, but in many ways, being a Christian introduces more problems than it solves.

    The Christian’s Nine Lines

    Second, generally, when people draw the progress of the spiritual life, they put a cross on the left side, and heaven on the right side, and a squiggly line between the two that goes up and down, hopefully trending upward.

    discipleship chart

    Dr. Hannah said that in his observations, there should be nine lines, one each for love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Gal 5:22-23).

    Notice the things that are not on this list: Bible reading, church attendance, tithing, etc.

    Sure, these things may be present as a result of some of these nine areas, but the truth is that someone can read through the entire Bible every day, give 100% of their income to God, and attend church every day of the week, but be failures in all nine of the things on this list.

    So where are these nine things on your chart?

    Clearings in the Rain Forest

    Dr. Hannah likens the Christian life to a rain forest. When you first become a Christian, and you fly over the rain forest of your life, it is thousands of square miles of impassible and inhabitable jungle, full of twisted vines, rotting leaves, and deadly predators. But as you make progress, and continue to fly over your life, you begin to see clearings appear.

    You are not sure why those clearings are there, or what they will be used for, but they appear, and over time, get bigger and bigger. Then organized buildings and roads appear. And areas of the jungle become useful, habitable, and productive.

    Is the rain forest ever completely cleared? No. There will always be areas of jungle that remain. Also, everyone’s jungle is quite different. Just because a clearing appears in a certain area of my life does not mean that same clearing will appear in the lives of others. That area of their life may never get cleared in their entire lives. But that is because the master planner knows what he is doing, and knows what he needs.

    Waiting for a Fall

    Finally, he said that when you grow in your mental knowledge of truth, but not in your participation of that truth, it’s just a matter of time until you fall into grievous sin.

    Yes and Amen.

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    What if you spent one year obeying the entire Bible? A. J. Jacobs did exactly that

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    year of living biblicallyJennie Yabroff reported in Newsweek that “After A. J. Jacobs spent a year reading the Entire Encyclopedia Britannica for his book “The Know-It-All,” he figured he had the yearlong experiment thing down. How much harder could it be to follow every rule in the Bible? Much, much harder, he soon discovered, as he found himself growing his beard, struggling not to curse, and asking strangers for permission to stone them for adultery.”

    What I found most interesting about the article is some of the comments Jacobs makes in the interview. When asked how his life is now that he can sin again, he says, “I miss my sin-free life, but I guess I was never sin free. I was able to cut down on my coveting maybe 40 percent, but I was still a coveter.” Jacobs sounds a lot like the Apostle Paul, when he wrote, “But sin, taking opportunity by the commandment, produced in me all manner of coveting” (Rom 7:9). Jacobs, like Paul, realized that nobody can perfectly obey the entire law, and trying only makes you recognize your sin more.

    When asked if there were any rules he was still following, Jacobs focuses on the Sabbath. He says, “I love the Sabbath. There’s something I really like about a forced day of rest.”

    Interesting, isn’t it, that this is what Jesus tells us: “The Sabbath was made for man, and not man  for the Sabbath” (Mark 2:27). God knows that we need to rest from our work, and life is better when we take time to rest.

    The entire law, really, is to help us live life better with God and with each other. The great deception of sin is that we think it helps us live life to the full, but in reality, sin only gets in the way of truly living life.

    Naturally, Jacobs found many of the laws and rules impossible to obey. For example, there’s a funny story in the interview about when he stones a man for committing adultery, but he doesn’t really stone him to death as commanded in Scripture. Of course, if he did, in our culture, he would be a murderer, which would be breaking other Biblical commands. This leads Jacobs to admit that “One of the lessons…[is that] there is some picking and choosing in following the Bible, and I think that’s OK.”

    In other words, since God’s standard of righteousness is too high for us to realistically follow, we can lower the standard by picking which commands and rules to obey. How much better would it be to say, “We can’t come close to obeying all these laws, and since God demands perfect righteousness, I need to get it from somewhere else. Jesus lived in perfect righteousness, and tells us that if we believe in Him, He gives that righteousness to us” (John 3:16; 5:24; 6:47; 2 Cor 5:21).

    I pray that Jacobs comes to this conclusion. It is evident that the Spirit is working on him, for now that he is without the law, he admits that he feels “unmoored, overwhelmed by choice.” Paul did tell us that the law is a tutor, to bring us to Christ (Gal 3:24-25). Jacobs lived under the tutor for a year, and we can pray it will lead him to believe in Jesus for everlasting life.

    If you want to read more about this, you can get his book: The Year of Living Biblically.

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