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Join us as we go over what theology is and how it differs from religion
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Welcome to the Reform Rookie and our video doctrine series on Reform Theology. In our last session we learned what the word
Reform meant, and now in this session we'll learn what Theology is and why it matters.
Remember in these sessions we like to go over three questions. First, what is it? Second, where is it in scripture?
And third, why does it matter? Then we like to summarize the lesson. So let's talk about Theology first.
What is it? Well, Reform Theology is just that. It's a theology, not a religion.
Theology is the study of God. Its focus is on God as revealed to us in the scriptures.
God is the center and the focal point of theology as opposed to religion. Theology is about God and from God.
Religion is the study of certain human behavior as it relates to God. It focuses on how humans perceive, worship, and act towards God.
The subject matter of theology proper is God while the subject matter of religion is man.
So theology is theocentric, religion is anthropocentric.
The word theos is a Greek word and it means God, anthropo is a Greek word that means man.
The difference between religion and theology is ultimately the difference between God and man.
Hardly a small difference, R .C. Sproul says. Again, theology is theocentric, centered on God, while religion is anthropocentric.
It's centered on man. So, is this in the scriptures?
Where is it? Well, there's three scriptures that come to mind immediately. Genesis 1 .1,
John 1 .1, and Colossians 1 .15 -17. In Genesis 1 .1, we read,
In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. So the scriptures start off with God.
Next, in John 1 .1, it reads, In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the
Word was God. This is referring to Jesus' relationship with God the Father. Again, the
New Testament begins with God. Finally, in Colossians 1 .15,
speaking of Jesus, it says, He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.
For by Him all things were created in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or domains or rulers or authorities.
All things were created through Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together, that in everything
He might be preeminent. So the scriptures begin with God. The Apostle John begins with God.
And the Apostle Paul says God is before everything. Jesus is preeminent. That word preeminent means first in rank or superior status.
So the scriptures bear witness to God being the first thing we should be studying in theology.
So, why does this matter? This has incredible implications on all of our theology.
In fact, I'll rely on R .C. Sproul once again. He says, Perhaps no doctrine has greater bearing on all other doctrines than the doctrine of God.
How we understand the nature and character of God Himself influences how we understand the nature of man, who bears
God's image, the nature of Christ, who works to satisfy the Father, the nature of salvation, which is effected by God, the nature of ethics, the norms of which are based on God's character, and a myriad of other theological considerations, all drawing on our understanding of God.
When we understand God, it has implications to all other doctrines. Again, I'm going to rely on Sproul here.
He says, Reformed theology is first and foremost theocentric rather than anthropocentric.
That is, it is God -centered rather than man -centered. This God -centeredness by no means denigrates the value of human beings.
On the contrary, it establishes their value. Reformed theology has often been characterized as having a low view of mankind due to its insistence on humanity's fallenness and radical corruption.
Reformed theology has the highest possible view of humanity. Because we have such a lofty view of God, we care so much about the ones created in His image.
Reformed theology maintains a high view of the worth and dignity of human beings.
Again, we are made in His image and have infinite value. But this is because we come from an infinitely valuable
God. Last, with Sproul, I'll rely on him once again.
The most distinctive aspect of Reformed theology is its doctrine of God. How can this statement be true?
Though Reformed doctrine of God is not all that different from that of other confessional bodies, the way this doctrine functions in Reformed theology is unique.
Reformed theology applies the doctrine of God relentlessly to all other doctrines, making it the chief control factor in all of theology.
Okay, so let's quickly summarize this lesson. First of all, theology is the study of God, not man.
Next, God is the starting point and center of theology. It's theocentric.
Religion is focused on man, how man relates to God, as opposed to theology.
Knowledge of God influences how we understand everything else. Reformed theology applies the doctrine of God to all other doctrines, making it the chief controlling factor of all theology.
Well, that's it for this lesson, folks. Thanks again for joining us. Please look us up on the web at www .reformedrookie
.com. On the website, you can go to our blog, where we put up articles weekly about things pertaining to Reformed theology.
And if you're interested in listening to a podcast, you can also look that up on the website. Subscribe to the podcast, and you'll hear weekly interviews with Reformed pastors and teachers going over the doctrines that we talked about today.