Some will be scared because the term “systematic theology” sounds perhaps a little academic, or a little abstract. Or worse, some view it with some suspicion, as something counterproductive to the Christian life and ministry in the church.
But systematic theology is not reserved for scholars alone, and far from being a bad thing, it actually gives us the opportunity to know more about God and better understand his work in our lives. Whether we like it or not, we all do systematic theology, and we have a responsibility to be the best theologians we can be in order to better serve God in this world that he has created.
What is systematic theology?
Let’s start by clarifying our terminology. What does “systematic theology” mean? First, let’s define the word “theology.” There are many “ologies” out there: biology, anthropology, sociology, etc. The ending “logy” comes from the Greek word logos What does it mean word either speech. Quite literally, biology is about words or a discourse about the bios, which is the study of living organisms. Anthropology is the study of anthropos, the human being Theology is about the study of theosof God.
What an important subject of study, right? But where do we look to study God? The biologist goes out into the field to look for animals or bugs or plants; the anthropologist observes the human being. The theologian, on the other hand, finds the data of his study of God in his revelation. Christian theology should not be based on speculation or imagination, but rather on what God tells us about himself. God reveals himself in two places: in his creation and in the Bible. The most detailed and explicit revelation is found in the Bible, so it will be the main object of our study. We do theology when we study God by studying the Bible.
An important detail: theology is words about God. Whose words? The Bible contains divine words, but we do theology including our words. In systematic theology many times we use vocabulary that comes from the Bible, but we are not left only with biblical quotes. We use everyday language to summarize what the Bible teaches. We will return to this detail shortly.
Let us now analyze the word “systematic”. This speaks to the character of this study. What systematic theology tries to do is to summarize the contents of the Bible according to a well-organized agenda. This ordered agenda consists of a series of doctrines. Doctrines are teachings, so a doctrine is what the Bible teaches about some subject. The agenda of systematic theology includes the doctrines that stand out in the Bible. Here some examples:
- The revelation
- God’s character
- The creation
- The fall of man into sin
- The person of Christ and his work
- The salvation that results from that work
eye! Systematic theology presents these doctrines in a concrete and logical order: we talk about one thing first, then another (for example, we talk about sin first and then about Christ, because Christ’s work makes more sense in light of the need for sinful human being). Systematic theology, then, consists of doctrines explained and logically ordered.
Systematic theology is an orderly summary, in our words, of what the entire Bible says about its major doctrines.
In short: systematic theology becomes an ordered summary, in our own words, of what the entire Bible says about its main doctrines. According to the Bible, who is God? Who I am? How is the world? How can I save myself? What will heaven be like? Systematic theology tries to locate all the passages dealing with these issues, and seeks to understand them, summarize them, and explain what we are to believe about them. It’s extremely important!
Objections to systematic theology
Many people do not believe that systematic theology is necessary. As we have said, some would even say that it is not even good. I would like to consider three objections to the practice of systematic theology, answering them with reasons why it really is essential to living the Christian life well.
Objection 1: We don’t need systematic theology at all
There are people who say that the believer has everything he needs to know God and grow in his faith with the Bible. They say that theology manuals, catechisms, and confessions are not necessary. Such thinking is sometimes manifested in the slogan: “Not creeds, only Christ.” No human books of doctrine are needed. We are left only with the divine Scriptures.
In part, this sentiment reflects an important concern. The truth is that the ultimate authority in the Christian life is the Bible. We do not want to elevate any creed, any system of doctrine above it. We base our faith on what is clear from the Scriptures, not on the ideas of our favorite theologian or preacher. The foundation of what we think and what we believe must always be the Bible, because only it is inspired.
However, whether we like it or not, we are all theologians. We all do systematic theology. If you think or talk about any subject of God and summarize the biblical teaching in your own words (if you say, “The Bible teaches this,” and proceed to give your summary), you are doing systematic theology. We all have our creed, we all have our system. We can even say that the atheist does a certain type of systematic theology, because he thinks and has a series of conclusions about God, even if they are negative. Systematic theology is really inevitable.
I will give you an example. I once ran into a cult leader in the United States. The man held strange doctrines. For example, he said that to be saved it was necessary to be baptized in his church (any other baptism was not valid). This man wanted to be highly biblical, and he did not believe in systematic theology because theology books are not inspired. He quoted the Bible all over the place, even when he referred to the Bible itself he did not use the word “Bible”, but rather said: “Thus saith the Lord”. Why? Because the word “Bible” is not used in the Scriptures to talk about the book we have today. Talking with him, I asked him to explain the relationship between baptism, faith, and salvation. He was forced to stop speaking in Biblical quotes and began to summarize the subject in his own vocabulary. He had to do it because there is no biblical text that answers this question directly; instead, there are many interrelated texts that together provide the answer. So it is with a thousand more questions! So every time we answer questions like, “What does the Bible teach about…”, we do systematic theology.
And nothing happens! In fact, it turns out that the Bible itself forces us to do systematic theology. We can see this in many passages, but one very clear one is Jude v. 3, which says that we have to contend for “the faith that was once delivered to the saints.” With the expression “faith” Judas does not refer to the Bible; Rather, he refers to something similar to when we speak of “the Christian faith.” When we say “the Christian faith”, what do we mean? Actually, we refer to a set of teachings, a summary of the message of the Bible. In order to contend for the faith, we have to know its contents, we have to know the doctrines of Christianity. We have to do systematic theology!
Objection 2: Systematic theology can distort the Bible
Also common today is the idea that systematic theology distorts the true meaning of the Bible. Some say that since the Bible is not systematic, that is, it is not a manual of theology, the theological systems that people develop necessarily impose human ideas on the biblical text. For some, systematic theology is like the Procrustean bed of Greek mythology. This character offered hospitality to lonely travelers. He had for them an iron bed, and if the guest did not fit well, Procrustes forcibly adjusted not the bed, but the guest!, so that it would fit. The accusation of some is that systematic theology does something similar with biblical texts, forcing them to fit into its system.
This objection reflects a real danger. It often happens that the theologian does not handle his preconceived ideas well and ends up imposing other people’s meanings on the biblical text. An example: surely you have ever talked to people (who come in pairs to your door) who do not want paradoxes in their theology. A paradox results from two statements that appear to be contradictory but actually are not. One paradox that we hold is that Jesus is both divine and human. If we want a theology without paradoxes, we are going to have to force several texts. In this case, we are going to have to interpret all the texts that attribute divine qualities and powers to Jesus in another way. We have to put them in the Procrustean bed and adjust them, force them not to say what they really say.
A well done systematic theology does not distort but rather reflects the true meaning of the Bible.
However, a well done systematic theology does not distort but rather reflects the true meaning of the Bible. With the help of the Holy Spirit (who gives us humility and diligence) we can have good theology, in the sense that good theology is possible because God is consistent. In God there is no confusion. We hope, therefore, that we can see the coherence of things in his revelation and synthesize it in systematic theology. And such theology results in greater understanding than would be possible if we only read the Bible.
Why do I say it? On the one hand, we need to systematize to learn. I would say that we always instinctively try to put our ideas in order because God has created us with the concern to see the coherence of things. An example of this is the feeling we get when we work on a puzzle. We like to have the pieces of the puzzle in place, and the more pieces we can fit correctly, the more we enjoy it. The same with our mental life. We all seek consistency and need it to learn.
On the other hand, we learn from the systematization of others. Reading a systematic theology manual, or a confession or catechism, allows us to avoid the need to reinvent the wheel. Isn’t it true that the Trinity is a fundamental doctrine of the Christian faith? Give a Bible to an interested person with no Christian background. How much time will you need to correctly define the doctrine of the Trinity? Or the two natures of Christ? Or the tension between God’s sovereignty and human freedom? Or even the imputation of the righteousness of Christ by faith? A long time!
This happens not because the Bible is not clear, but because it is long and there is a lot to deal with. It is very helpful if someone can take such a person by the hand, or a new believer, and accompany him and teach him what are the…