keeping an eye on the tree and the forest

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Here’s Something to Chew On

03.14.05

Here is the Statement of Faith I wrote for my Systemtic Theology III class:

A. Theological Orientation
I do not quite fit into one theological tradition because of my orientation toward biblical theology. However, I can be generally categorized as Reformed, baptistic, gently complimentarian, and cautiously charismatic. I do not necessarily embrace Covenant Theology in the traditional sense but lean towards what has been dubbed “New Covenant” Theology.
B. Doctrine of Scripture
a. Revelation. Although God makes himself known generally in creation (Ps.19:1; Rom.1:20ff.) and conscience (Rom.2:14-16), he has chosen to reveal specific details about himself that would otherwise be unknown to humanity in Holy Scripture. This revelation was to people chosen by God through dreams, visions, prophecy, signs, and providence. In Scripture, he has revealed things about his personhood and plan that are essential to believe in order to be in a favorable relationship with him.
b. Inspiration. God inspired holy men, prophets, and apostles to write the sacred Text in various literary forms to say exactly what he wanted to say using the authors’ own circumstances and personalities (2 Tim.3:15-16; 2 Pet.1.20-21). Thus we find covenantal forms, prophetic oracles, psalms/songs, wisdom literature, poetry, historic narrative, expository discourse, and apocalyptic literature each equally guided by the Spirit of God, whether consciously or unconsciously, in its original autograph, accurately portraying the heart of God (in human terms).
c. Canon. The inspired Scriptures are comprised of the portions contained in the Hebrew Bible and Greek Testament traditionally understood as the 66 books of the Old and New Testaments. God has sought fit to offer everything necessary for salvation and sanctification (see below) in these writings alone, as much as they reflect the original autographs and communicate their message.
d. Inerrancy. Since the Scripture was inspired in its writing, it was without error in its first inscripturation into Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek, and therefore truthful and divinely authoritative in every matter it addresses.
C. Doctrine of God
a. Attributes. God is infinite, eternal, and spiritual in his being. He is infinite in his power, beauty, sufficiency, knowledge, wisdom, holiness, righteousness, mercy, grace, love, justice, wrath, and satisfaction. He is completely and fully devoted to his own pleasure and glory as the chief end of his existence. He is the creator, definer, determiner, preserver, and sovereign over all things and is unrivaled and unchallenged by another being since he created all other beings.
b. Trinity. Although God is alone in his Godhood, he enjoys infinite and eternal fellowship in himself as a triune God, existing as God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. Father, Son, and Spirit are distinguished in role but equal in power, essence, and glory.
D. Creation
a. Purpose of Creation. When we bring the lens of creation as far back as it goes, we can see that everything begins with God. “From Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be glory forever” (Rom.11:36). Thus, God loves God more than he loves anything, and His glory is the driving force behind everything He does. He is infinitely more glorious, beautiful, and desirable than anything that can be imagined. Creation is, then, designed to demonstrate and reflect His glory and beauty in all its manifestations back to Him like a mirror, so that He can receive maximum delight in Himself.
b. Theology of Creation. God spoke the physical and spiritual realms into existence out of nothing by the word of his power, creating the heavens and the earth. He created pure, spiritual, and undying angelic beings to worship Him and serve his creation, as well as perishable and exclusively physical creatures, animals and insects, to rule over the earth. No aspect of the physical world was either deified or evil in its creation, but was good in the sight of God.
E. Anthropology
a. Creation of Man/Women. As the capstone of his work, God created man in his own image, dignified and reflective of God’s creative fiat, from the dust of the earth. Man was created as both a physical and spiritual being to rule over the creatures and fill the earth with his offspring. God created woman from a rib of the man in order to be a helpmate suitable to the man for his duty and become bearer of future offspring. Thus, man and woman are distinct in their roles, but equal in their covenantal standing before God.
b. The Fall. God created the man and women, Adam and Eve, and placed them in the temple-garden Eden, commissioning them as kings and priests, to rule and guard the garden. He placed two trees in the garden to test them, charging them not to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, or else they would die. Adam and Eve failed in their duties and transgressed their covenant with God by allowing the fallen angel Lucifer, in the form of a serpent, to enter the garden where he persuaded them to eat from the forbidden tree, subjecting them to immediate spiritual death and imminent physical death.
c. Original Sin. Man’s nature was corrupted by the sin of their first parents Adam and Eve (Gen.3). It is through their fall that this corruption spread to all people (Rom.5:12). Therefore, all human beings from birth (Psalm 51:5) are spiritually dead (Eph.2:1-3), having every part of their being tainted with sin (Rom.1). This renders man incapable of coming to God (Rom.3:10-11; 8:5-7) and helpless (Rom.5:6-8), only to expect judgment (2 Thes.1:6-10; Rev.20-21).
F. The Person and Work of Christ
a. Person of Christ/Two Natures. Jesus of Nazareth was miraculously birthed by Mary who, as a virgin, conceived him by the Holy Spirit. Jesus was born as the only God-man, fully God, and fully man. Thus, he experienced the fullness of life as a man without forfeiting any portion of his divine nature as the incarnate Son of God.
b. The Mission of Christ. Jesus was the fulfillment and consummation of the redemptive plan of God, sent as both the Redeemer of man and the Messiah of Israel. He was the “seed of the women” prophesied in Eden who would judge Satan and his offspring and bring victory to his own offspring. He covenanted with the Father, swearing to keep the law of God and fulfill all righteousness in order to inherit the throne of God.
c. The Atonement. The covenantal allegiance of Jesus led him inextricably to die on the cross of Golgotha. His death was prophesied and typologically prefigured in the Hebrew Scriptures to bear and appease the wrath of God, and thus forgive the sins and the absorb the depravity of people from every tribe, nation, and language. God vindicated Jesus from the shame of the cross by raising him from the dead three days later and seating him at the right hand of his throne. The Cross is the ratification of God’s new covenant with his people and the most precise demonstration of all the glory of God.
G. Salvation
a. Regeneration. In order to overcome the will of man which is hopelessly enslaved to sin, the Holy Spirit graciously reveals the irresistible glory of Jesus Christ to individuals who were determined by God from all eternity. In doing so, the Spirit quickens, recreates, and renews the soul to be alive to God by writing the law of God upon it and generating faith in the person and work of Christ and repentance of sins.
b. Justification/Sanctification. The initial faith that the soul exercises in the gospel of Christ is the means through which God forgives all sins of the individual, past, present, and future, and unites him with the righteousness of Christ, declaring him righteous in the sight of God. Upon receiving this gift of righteousness, the benefactor also receives sonship status as a child of God, standing to inherit infinite blessing and satisfaction from God in their imminent resurrection. The continuing faith of the newly righteous one is instrumental in conforming him to the image of Jesus Christ as future grace leads him to obedience of the law of God.
c. Perseverance. Those whom God has chosen, purchased, justified, and is sanctifying will be preserved by God in their faith all their lives. Only those who persevere in Christ to the end will experience eternal life and prove themselves to have been genuine children of God.
H. The Person/Work of the Holy Spirit
a. The Personhood of the Spirit. As the divine presence of God on earth, the Holy Spirit is the holy enabler of the purposes of God. As the Spirit which empowered many in the service of God in redemptive history, and the Spirit which rested on Christ in his ministry, the Spirit of God was promised by Jesus to be given to his followers as Teacher and Helper in his place.
b. The Fruits/Gifts of the Spirit. Beginning at the feast of Pentecost which followed the resurrection of Jesus, the Father and Son sent the Spirit upon the disciples of Christ, baptizing them all into the body of Christ. The Spirit manifests his work by producing love for God and love for man in all their variations, and he builds up the body by giving different spiritual gifts to each member of the body. Although some gifts are completely supernatural and others are woven into the fabric of one’s personality, all of the gifts, both in speaking and serving, are operative continually amongst the saints for the edification of the body.
I. The Church
a. The Nature of the Church. The local church is a small manifestation of the universal body of Christ which He loved and purchased with His death in order that He might present her holy and blameless to Himself for the glory of the Father (Acts 20:28; Eph.5:25-27). God has ordained her to represent Him in the world and show forth His glory (John 17) as the temple of God, having given them unity and spiritual gifts in the Spirit of Christ (1 Cor.12-14). Therefore, the local church has the responsibility for being a training ground for the people of God (Eph.4:11-14) so that that they might be theologically and spiritually adequate to bring the gospel to the nations (Matt.28:18-20).
b. Church Government. God has chosen to place men uniquely in authority over the church of God as its shepherds (1 Tim.2:12-15), and they, as well as other recognized servants in the church, need to meet the theological and spiritual qualifications necessary to carry out this task (1 Tim.3:1-13; Tit.1:5-14). They are not to lord over the flock of God, but should be examples, encouragers, counselors, rebukers, administrators, preachers, teachers, and servants as they lead and train (1 Thes.5:14; 2 Tim.3:14-4:2; 1 Pet.5:1-4).
J. The Sacraments
a. Baptism. God has ordained that upon confessing faith in Christ, one should be immersed in the waters of baptism as an initiatory covenantal sign, picturing union with Christ in his death and resurrection.
b. The Lord’s Supper. Before his death and resurrection, Jesus instituted the communion meal as a regular covenantal oath-sign to be enjoyed by the church, consisting of the eating of bread and drinking from the fruit of the vine. Because of the oath-sign ramifications, personal and corporate examination is appropriate before participating, giving opportunity for the confession of sin.
K. Eschatology
a. Millennium. The “millennium” is the symbolic period of time between the advents of Christ in which Satan is restricted from affecting the spread of the gospel to the nations, and dead saints reign in heaven with Christ till He returns to consummate redemptive history. Jesus inaugurated His kingdom in a real sense through His first advent to be fully consummated in His second advent (Matt.12; Luke 4; John 12; Rom.14; 2 Pet.3).
b. Second Coming. Jesus Christ will return again to the earth in all of his glory to gather and resurrect his people and gather and judge all those who are unbelieving in his gospel and unrepentant of their sins. For his people, God will renew and regenerate the heavens and earth as the New Heavens and Earth where He will dwell with them and satisfy them forever. For those unbelieving and unrepentant, God will resurrect them only to cast them into the lake of fire where they will suffer torment forever.

17 comments so far

d
HERE’S SOMETHING TO “SIP” ON:

As my Chelsea boys would say: “this is pissah”!
Love this stuff. Great job, kudos! like you, sometimes I’m not sure where I’ll fit in. If you had a sign-up list at the end of this post, my name would appear first! Let’s get it on in ministry…

Having said that, let’s pour the Olde Foghorn, sit down and chat. There is only one thing I would like to discuss in this post. There is ONE single word on this entire post that has attracted just about all my attention. Guess which word it is?
If you get it right, I’ll split my last 3 Olde Foghorn with you…if you don’t, the last 3 are mine!!! Just think, 10 unadulterated, delicious, sweet, taste-bud-rockin ounces of Olde Foghorn Barley Wine on the line…along with some classic ’ship…talk about clutch…the Joepardy theme is a-playin…
Big love, bro
DAO

I LOVE you, and I love your committment to what you see as Biblical Truth and your abandonment of the easy ride; I’m telling you, life is all about the tragic heros dying for Grand Ideals–we’ll be in ministry even if it means no roof, no food, and no blockbuster.

And I keep trying to guess Danny’s word….not that I have any interest in the foghorn…but I’m puzzled…

Danny-I don’t know if you mean positive or negative attention. If it negative, my guess would be that I wrote in the Justification/Sanctification section “the soul exercises”. But other than that, I’m not quite sure, guess I only get 1 foghorn. I agree, though, let’s get in on in ministry. Thanks for the kind words. Let’s get together soon.

Kalila-I love you too, and am excited to see you comment. If you guess the word, let me know, and I can have the foghorn.

dude
as much as i hate to do it…I must anti-up the Foghorn! You are good!
No, its all good, just want to get your take on some of the Greek insights you have that may shed some light on the doctrine of faith.
My query comes from understanding “faith” as a noun (when used in conjunction with justification). This must be the case since we are really justified by “grace”…(through faith)…so whatever faith means, it must be in accords with grace. This is what i really glean most out of both Luther and Calvin. (see Calvin’s definition of faith, as well as Luther’s summary in his Galatians commentary on my blog). You may ask yourself,”is this guy getting old, doesn’t he remember he’s said this to me before”? yes I am getting old, but I would really like to dive into this over a brew and glean from your well. I’m tellin ya…let’s continue together on our faces before God cuz i think somethins-a-brewin!!!
Great post there Dr. C.B.!!
talk tomorrow.
Hey Kalila, thanks for a new Bible! Great hangin!

I’m coming with the armies of Hell for that Bible.

Seriously…I’m off at a pagan institution without the sword of the spirit–I fear the state of my salvation every day. I approximate one week before I become a pot-head relativist.

Wow! Hell of a lot to chew on. Here’s some more to chew on.

Shall we call the Scriptures “inerrant” or “infallible” if they don’t refer to themselves as such? Not that they’re any less valid or inspired or anything.

Just some thoughts I’ve come to on the journey.

And a valiant effort there, Herringman!

thanks James. with regards to your question about the Scriptures referring to themselves in those term: first, if we really wanted to be technical, we could say the Bible never used the word justification/justify because it is an English word. it is merely a translation of a Greek word. so nothing i said in the post is actually in the Bible. but that’s just being technical. second, God never refers himself as a Trinity, but that’s what He is. we don’t always have to use biblical terminology; it’s called christianeze. but i know what you’re saying, lets say what the Bible says. which i obviously agree with. provoking thought though.

Bro,
Thanks for going public with your theology. You are a man of great passion for the supremacy of God in biblical theology. Given our culture at large how do you think we can effectively share/teach doctrine like this? I mean the whole emergent church and their theologians are basically saying that while there is absolute truth that exists but we cannot know it in this life, only until the eschaton. Thots?

Josh,
That’s my biggest fear with the emerging church. We’re starting to get it in so many areas, but if we lose the authoritative and truthful nature of Scripture – the concept of absolute truth, we lose the “war.” So many of the “relevant, emerging” churches I’m reading about seem to be very ineffective for the sake of the gospel, because they are not proclaiming the whole truth. They draw a crowd and they discuss pertinent topics and make use of technology and media, but they seem to fall short in their efforts to lift Christ as the only way to salvation.

However, there are many churches out there reaching hundreds of people while adhering to a strict biblical worldview, teaching sound theology, repentance and forgiveness. The emphasis becomes what does the Bible– over tradition, orthodoxy, and yes, even culture – say is right for my life and what does this mean in the context of Christian community? There becomes a great emphasis on relationship, accountability, and honest authenticity, which naturally breeds evangelism. Check out acts 29 (a29.org) for some examples of these churches

Hey man. I would have to disagree only slightly with the “trinity” “unfallible” thing. You are correct in that the word “trinity” is never used in the Bible. But the attributes contained within the Trinity are clearly represented in the Scriptures, and, at times, refered to as such by Christ himself.

On the other hand, inerrency, is something the Bible never claims of itself. It does claim of itself such terms as “God-Breathed,” “Sharper than any double edged sword,” “trustworthy” etc.

I guess I’m just learning that it may not be a good thing for us to label in the Word in such terms as it won’t label itself.

i guess i would have to disagree with you back. it really is the same thing as the trinity. the idea of the trinity is in scripture as well as the idea of infallibility. like you said, word like “god-breathed”, and spirit inspired would by implication be infallibe. if God is infallible, and all scripture is God-breathed, then it would follow that all scripture is infallible. no? same thing with the trinity. the father is portayed as God, the son is portrayed as God, the spirit is portrayed as God, and there is only one God-bingo, let’s call it trinity. there similar in that it is by way of implication.

This is where we differ then (at least for now). Rather, I have a question. Are all things that are (as Scripture refers to them) “God-breathed” then infallible?

I guess I should say that I don’t equate “God-breathed” with “infallible”

Good topic.

definitely a good topic, let’s discuss over beer tomorrow night. I have to work till 9:30, but I’ll head over after.

Cheers to that. *toasts a pint*

josh-you know, i hate to speak in broad terms about a movement i know so little about. would love to dialog and read more of course

rick-josh knows of acts 29, it’s linked to on his blog. me, him, and danny o plan to visit Missio Dei in portland, me soon



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