In February of this year, I spent 8 days in one of the poorest countries of the world, Niger Africa. Without costing you anything but a few minutes each week, you can help support an orphanage I visited there. If you go to www.linkniger.com you can find under Projects & Partnerships more information about this home to parentless children. Niger is one of the poorest countries in the world. In fact, it is a fourth-world nation. Never heard of fourth-world? Me too until a friend told me how Niger was too poor for third-world so a new global classification has been created.
How can you help? I recently started writing for an online editorial of sorts, www.examiner.com where I will be contributing twice each week. Funds are generated simply by the number of views. 100% of what is generated is going to support this orphanage in Niger. I hope you help! Simply by going to the Examiner website, then to the link Meet The Examiners, you will see all the examiner categories. Select Religion & Spirituality. You will find me there in the Norfolk group. Open my page and then you can subscribe by entering your email. As long as you don't check the box for other updates, the only emails you will receive will be to notify you of my articles posting. Each time I post, if you take just a few minutes to open the article, a page view is generated which translates into funds for orphans! If you don't find the articles are worth the read, you can simply unsubscribe...but if you do, I'd ask you to invite your friends to join.
We all see the commercials on television, print ads in magazines, headlines...about poverty in the world. This is a real opportunity to make a difference. Much of the worlds poverty remains due to a lack of links between the under-resourced and families like yours and mine. Between working for The Christian Children's Fund and living in the inner-city of Richmond, I spent 15 years working directly to help improve the conditions of the lives of impoverished people. During that time I always heard people say the same thing..."I just don't know how to get involved." If you could translate a few minutes each week into real dollars for orphaned children in one the poorest nations of the world, why wouldn't you, why not get involved?
If you have any questions, please feel free to let me know! I won't be posting to this blog for a while since I'll be focussing on the Examiner articles...thanks for your help!
Pastor Fred
Friday, August 28, 2009
Thursday, July 23, 2009
All Inclusive
Some 2000 years ago, when Jesus left heaven and came to earth, He made some astounding promises. He promised hope, healing, purpose, destiny, power, perseverance, adventure, suspense, authority...but there was one, if we possessed that promise, we would possess them all. He promised eternal life.
I remember researching for our honeymoon destination twelve years ago, learning all sorts of new terminology in the resort industry. The one that I remember most was "all inclusive." It meant that with that package, for that price, everything was included. You got it all, access to every restaurant, every dish, as many times a day...needless to say the feeling of hunger was elusive that week! All the amenities of the resort were ours to enjoy.
Eternal life is all inclusive. Once we posses this, so too do we possess every other promise Jesus made, every one. This promise of eternal life was not some fine print promise that only the spiritually savvy have any hope of possessing. Jesus puts it out there plainly, for everyone.
He teaches that eternal life is both now and forever. For centuries, mankind had suffered in the myth of believing that eternal life was only found in the after life, that eternal life was limited to the eternity that began after our last breath. Jesus shattered that myth. He taught that, yes, eternal life is the promise of forever with God in an existence that is reminiscent of Eden, but it begins now, in this life. If we are waiting for something to come, Jesus says, we are missing what God intended for today! Eternal life is both now and forever.
Jesus wants us to possess His all inclusive promise of eternal life. I wonder if one reason so many people rejected Him was because He just made it seem too simple. Come on, shouldn't something priceless, something so vastly desired be at least a little intricate to possess? In our secular thinking, exclusivity is synonymous with desirability. A godless value system says, "If just anyone can have it, maybe I don't want it." One of Jesus' favorite words is "whosoever."
He says a vow of devotion to Him, pursuing intimacy with God, embracing care of other, having an appetite for personal transformation, and diligence in service will usher "whosoever" out of just existing and into eternal life. And if that's not simple enough, just in case you think you can't, that you don't have what it takes, that any of these are just too much to ask, He says, yes, you're right so I'm going to send some to help you, the Holy Spirit. Are you kidding me? He makes it that plain and also gives us an Advocate to work on our behalf 24/7? Yes.
Do you have cravings? I do. I'm having one right now for some white coconut chocolate I had last week. It is at the store, I can see the isle in my imagination...I may not finish this blog without satisfying that craving...but alas, I endure! Did you know that you also have spiritual cravings? Every person does. That is the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives, every life.
We charismatic, pentecostal, evangelical followers of Jesus proclaim our commitment to bring Jesus to the world! I think the Holy Spirit is deeply offended by that kind of attitude. Are we commissioned to go, most certainly, but let us never forget that the Holy Spirit is already wherever we are commissioned to go and let our attitude be, "Holy Spirit, how can I join in what you are already doing."
There are innate desires in every human being, spiritual cravings, for scripture, prayer, gathering, generosity, rest, stewardship, worship, relationship, fasting, accountability, reaching, and service. Sure we all have different ways of saying them but they are all there, longing to be expressed, experience, pursued, satisfied in every one of us. Why, because that is the work of the Holy Spirit in all our lives, moving us, prompting us, leading us, imploring us, convicting us, inspiring us towards these, what I call, pathways. You show me a person that is actively incorporating these pathways into their lives and I'll show you a person who is devoted to Jesus, experiencing intimacy with God, enjoying the care of others, feeding their appetite for personal transformation, and being diligent in service...possessing eternal life, full today and confident of a fullness to come.
Craving something? Of course you are. Don't deny yourself what Jesus came all the way from heaven to earth to show us, to die for us, to possess all His many promises in one, all inclusive, eternal life.
Pastor Fred
I remember researching for our honeymoon destination twelve years ago, learning all sorts of new terminology in the resort industry. The one that I remember most was "all inclusive." It meant that with that package, for that price, everything was included. You got it all, access to every restaurant, every dish, as many times a day...needless to say the feeling of hunger was elusive that week! All the amenities of the resort were ours to enjoy.
Eternal life is all inclusive. Once we posses this, so too do we possess every other promise Jesus made, every one. This promise of eternal life was not some fine print promise that only the spiritually savvy have any hope of possessing. Jesus puts it out there plainly, for everyone.
He teaches that eternal life is both now and forever. For centuries, mankind had suffered in the myth of believing that eternal life was only found in the after life, that eternal life was limited to the eternity that began after our last breath. Jesus shattered that myth. He taught that, yes, eternal life is the promise of forever with God in an existence that is reminiscent of Eden, but it begins now, in this life. If we are waiting for something to come, Jesus says, we are missing what God intended for today! Eternal life is both now and forever.
Jesus wants us to possess His all inclusive promise of eternal life. I wonder if one reason so many people rejected Him was because He just made it seem too simple. Come on, shouldn't something priceless, something so vastly desired be at least a little intricate to possess? In our secular thinking, exclusivity is synonymous with desirability. A godless value system says, "If just anyone can have it, maybe I don't want it." One of Jesus' favorite words is "whosoever."
He says a vow of devotion to Him, pursuing intimacy with God, embracing care of other, having an appetite for personal transformation, and diligence in service will usher "whosoever" out of just existing and into eternal life. And if that's not simple enough, just in case you think you can't, that you don't have what it takes, that any of these are just too much to ask, He says, yes, you're right so I'm going to send some to help you, the Holy Spirit. Are you kidding me? He makes it that plain and also gives us an Advocate to work on our behalf 24/7? Yes.
Do you have cravings? I do. I'm having one right now for some white coconut chocolate I had last week. It is at the store, I can see the isle in my imagination...I may not finish this blog without satisfying that craving...but alas, I endure! Did you know that you also have spiritual cravings? Every person does. That is the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives, every life.
We charismatic, pentecostal, evangelical followers of Jesus proclaim our commitment to bring Jesus to the world! I think the Holy Spirit is deeply offended by that kind of attitude. Are we commissioned to go, most certainly, but let us never forget that the Holy Spirit is already wherever we are commissioned to go and let our attitude be, "Holy Spirit, how can I join in what you are already doing."
There are innate desires in every human being, spiritual cravings, for scripture, prayer, gathering, generosity, rest, stewardship, worship, relationship, fasting, accountability, reaching, and service. Sure we all have different ways of saying them but they are all there, longing to be expressed, experience, pursued, satisfied in every one of us. Why, because that is the work of the Holy Spirit in all our lives, moving us, prompting us, leading us, imploring us, convicting us, inspiring us towards these, what I call, pathways. You show me a person that is actively incorporating these pathways into their lives and I'll show you a person who is devoted to Jesus, experiencing intimacy with God, enjoying the care of others, feeding their appetite for personal transformation, and being diligent in service...possessing eternal life, full today and confident of a fullness to come.
Craving something? Of course you are. Don't deny yourself what Jesus came all the way from heaven to earth to show us, to die for us, to possess all His many promises in one, all inclusive, eternal life.
Pastor Fred
Friday, July 17, 2009
Psalm 126
...parphrasing verses 5 and 6...
When we sow sorrow into the soil of God's heart, we reep a harvest of joy in time.
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Freedom
I hope you live every waking moment with an unshakable belief that God still speaks today and wants to speak to you!
This morning I heard Him speak to me. I have never heard His audible voice but I like to say I feel His voice. I sense His voice deep within, moments like this morning remind me of the reality of eternity. Feeling the voice of God resonates in the eternal part of who I am, deep. So, this morning I am about to read some in Psalms, reading through the Bible in the year puts us at Psalms according to the reading plan our church is using. I am a little behind in Psalms and was considering picking up with Psalm 31 or in the teens and trying to catch up. God spoke to me about beginning with Psalm 31...and now I know why!
Earlier in the morning I was praying about my sermon for this Saturday, July 4. We are having an abbreviated service, just one hour and then two hours of picnicking and gaming on the grounds to celebrate July 4 and create a wonderful opportunity for those who call TCLC their church home to invite a friend who may not attend church. I knew I wanted to talk about what it means to be truly free, spiritually free...in spite of all the others kinds of freedoms we enjoy, especially those at such a great cost to our men and women in uniform, for many, there is still a freedom they have yet to come to have, the freedom of the heart.
So, this morning in prayer, I remembered something I saw years ago when I was outside. I saw a wasp get caught in a spider's web. The wasp was strong enough o create quite a disruption in the web but not quite strong enough to get free. The spider stayed back assessing the situation. It was clear that if the wasp was allowed to continue, the web would be destroyed. The spider quickly moved into action. The spider approached the wasp with such speed that at first I thought it was going to attack...wow, what a fight this is going to be! But instead, the spider came to an abrupt stop just out of reach of the wasp. With it's long front legs, the spider began tapping the wasp multiple times, as if it were attaching something to the wasp. Then, the spider backed up and began to cut the wasp free...had the spider determined the wasp was too strong for it? Was it now cutting the wasp loose to save its web?
When the wasp fell free, it did not fall very far! The wasp flapped its wings with every expectation of flying away but was then surprisingly forced into an abrupt turn. The spider had tethered the wasp to one of the main supports of the web. Picture a person dangling by a rope attached to a bridge above spanning a canyon. The wasp was dangling below to the web, free to fly as fast and as long as it wanted, but in a circle, about an 8 inch circle. After several minutes, the wasp was completely exhausted. The spider then came, and well, you know the rest!
So I sit down this morning to read Psalm 31 at the leading of God and what words do I find there? Verse 4..."You will free me from the net that is secretly set for me..." Can you believe that! Do you think God knows how to speak to us today or what! I can't wait to preach this Saturday...I know there will be some who think they are fee but are really tethered to destruction. Psalm 31 verse 14 says, "But I trust in You, Lord; I say, You are my God!"
So many people believe that God exists but we are not set free from the "web" of Satan until we surrender our heart to Him, our Creator, and say to Him..."You are my God!"
I hope you find a freedom this July 4 that you have never before known, a freedom of the heart...that too came at a great sacrifice...His Son, Jesus.
"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life."
Be free!
Pastor Fred
This morning I heard Him speak to me. I have never heard His audible voice but I like to say I feel His voice. I sense His voice deep within, moments like this morning remind me of the reality of eternity. Feeling the voice of God resonates in the eternal part of who I am, deep. So, this morning I am about to read some in Psalms, reading through the Bible in the year puts us at Psalms according to the reading plan our church is using. I am a little behind in Psalms and was considering picking up with Psalm 31 or in the teens and trying to catch up. God spoke to me about beginning with Psalm 31...and now I know why!
Earlier in the morning I was praying about my sermon for this Saturday, July 4. We are having an abbreviated service, just one hour and then two hours of picnicking and gaming on the grounds to celebrate July 4 and create a wonderful opportunity for those who call TCLC their church home to invite a friend who may not attend church. I knew I wanted to talk about what it means to be truly free, spiritually free...in spite of all the others kinds of freedoms we enjoy, especially those at such a great cost to our men and women in uniform, for many, there is still a freedom they have yet to come to have, the freedom of the heart.
So, this morning in prayer, I remembered something I saw years ago when I was outside. I saw a wasp get caught in a spider's web. The wasp was strong enough o create quite a disruption in the web but not quite strong enough to get free. The spider stayed back assessing the situation. It was clear that if the wasp was allowed to continue, the web would be destroyed. The spider quickly moved into action. The spider approached the wasp with such speed that at first I thought it was going to attack...wow, what a fight this is going to be! But instead, the spider came to an abrupt stop just out of reach of the wasp. With it's long front legs, the spider began tapping the wasp multiple times, as if it were attaching something to the wasp. Then, the spider backed up and began to cut the wasp free...had the spider determined the wasp was too strong for it? Was it now cutting the wasp loose to save its web?
When the wasp fell free, it did not fall very far! The wasp flapped its wings with every expectation of flying away but was then surprisingly forced into an abrupt turn. The spider had tethered the wasp to one of the main supports of the web. Picture a person dangling by a rope attached to a bridge above spanning a canyon. The wasp was dangling below to the web, free to fly as fast and as long as it wanted, but in a circle, about an 8 inch circle. After several minutes, the wasp was completely exhausted. The spider then came, and well, you know the rest!
So I sit down this morning to read Psalm 31 at the leading of God and what words do I find there? Verse 4..."You will free me from the net that is secretly set for me..." Can you believe that! Do you think God knows how to speak to us today or what! I can't wait to preach this Saturday...I know there will be some who think they are fee but are really tethered to destruction. Psalm 31 verse 14 says, "But I trust in You, Lord; I say, You are my God!"
So many people believe that God exists but we are not set free from the "web" of Satan until we surrender our heart to Him, our Creator, and say to Him..."You are my God!"
I hope you find a freedom this July 4 that you have never before known, a freedom of the heart...that too came at a great sacrifice...His Son, Jesus.
"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life."
Be free!
Pastor Fred
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
Catch of the Day
Three things I look for in a restaurant as I'm entering for the first time are a full parking lot, fat cooks, and retirees! I'm not talking about a spot for your next anniversary or where you might take your business clients. I'm talking about the place where you go when you are ready to give way to avarice, need a bib for your shirt, and leave the hand wipes at home because you have every intention of an unashamed finger-licking culinary event!
If Friday and Saturday nights aren't full-lot-nights, then you know the people who live in the area aren't excited about eating there...chances are, you will not be overly excited about the food either. Heavy kitchen staff you ask? Give me employees who just can not stop eating every time the owners turn their heads; I want them plump and hopeful of their next bite! Retirees may be the ultimate measure. Lots of hair the color of a pure driven snow not only says family friendly but great value. If you are on a fixed income, as many retirees are, you look for healthy servings at a great price. Find the convergence of these three factors, and you've just caught yourself a great restaurant for the day. Hampton Roads is filled with local spots just waiting to be discovered. I hope you make that part of your summer fun.
This idea of criteria that are portents of coming satisfaction, I believe, was God's great motivation in giving us the Holy Scriptures. I want to invite you to read three chapters of the Old Testament book Nehemiah (8-10). You find a profound picture of a city rediscovering the wisdom of God's commands and statutes, ulitmately culimating into the rebirth of a nation. At first they weep, not just because they feel guilty for not having followed God's ways but out of sorrow for all the years they had lost, all the years they had forgone the glory of living in exchange for mediocrity. Then, as you read further, chapters nine and ten, you find them coming to moments of great celebration. Why, because they first confessed their own personal culpability for a life not well lived and also how their lives had led others astray, ultimately leading to the downfall of their nation. They then vowed (covenants) in their hearts and publicly in their assembly to no longer forsake His statutes but rather to forsake a life void of God's direction and embrace a life defining relationship with their Creator, their Heavenly Father. This practice of confession and covenant only and always lead to rejoicing! (As you read, don’t get bogged down in the unique Hebraic practices that comprised their covenant commitments but rather ask God to reveal to you what you have personally forsaken.)
God wants you and I to discover the wonders and splendor of this existence, life this side of eternity. All of Scripture is designed to teach us the evidence that needs to be present in each of our lives if we have any hope of the greatest "catch of the day" -- possessing a life lived well, full. I hope you gleaned from your reading too that an entire nation was reborn through the efforts of two people in the stories of Nehemiah, both he and Ezra. Want to see change in our city...our world? Grasp the life He promises, an idyllic life within all our reach.
Pastor Fred
If Friday and Saturday nights aren't full-lot-nights, then you know the people who live in the area aren't excited about eating there...chances are, you will not be overly excited about the food either. Heavy kitchen staff you ask? Give me employees who just can not stop eating every time the owners turn their heads; I want them plump and hopeful of their next bite! Retirees may be the ultimate measure. Lots of hair the color of a pure driven snow not only says family friendly but great value. If you are on a fixed income, as many retirees are, you look for healthy servings at a great price. Find the convergence of these three factors, and you've just caught yourself a great restaurant for the day. Hampton Roads is filled with local spots just waiting to be discovered. I hope you make that part of your summer fun.
This idea of criteria that are portents of coming satisfaction, I believe, was God's great motivation in giving us the Holy Scriptures. I want to invite you to read three chapters of the Old Testament book Nehemiah (8-10). You find a profound picture of a city rediscovering the wisdom of God's commands and statutes, ulitmately culimating into the rebirth of a nation. At first they weep, not just because they feel guilty for not having followed God's ways but out of sorrow for all the years they had lost, all the years they had forgone the glory of living in exchange for mediocrity. Then, as you read further, chapters nine and ten, you find them coming to moments of great celebration. Why, because they first confessed their own personal culpability for a life not well lived and also how their lives had led others astray, ultimately leading to the downfall of their nation. They then vowed (covenants) in their hearts and publicly in their assembly to no longer forsake His statutes but rather to forsake a life void of God's direction and embrace a life defining relationship with their Creator, their Heavenly Father. This practice of confession and covenant only and always lead to rejoicing! (As you read, don’t get bogged down in the unique Hebraic practices that comprised their covenant commitments but rather ask God to reveal to you what you have personally forsaken.)
God wants you and I to discover the wonders and splendor of this existence, life this side of eternity. All of Scripture is designed to teach us the evidence that needs to be present in each of our lives if we have any hope of the greatest "catch of the day" -- possessing a life lived well, full. I hope you gleaned from your reading too that an entire nation was reborn through the efforts of two people in the stories of Nehemiah, both he and Ezra. Want to see change in our city...our world? Grasp the life He promises, an idyllic life within all our reach.
Pastor Fred
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Third Base Coach
Our two sons ventured into the world of baseball this year...wow, what memories this brings back! Growing up in Varina, a rural community just east of Richmond, VA, baseball was big in the summer. And just as it was 30 years ago, the concession stand is the main attraction! Here in Newport News however, they load up a golf cart and travel around to all the fields, what modern day conveniences!
However, some things are still the same, the game. Especially the aspect of players learning to follow the direction of the coaches, regardless of their own personal inclinations. When the coach says to keep running, you keep running. When the coach says get down, you slide. When the coach says...you..., simple isn't it? Who's your coach in life? I know that I often have my own personal inclinations, they may be right or they may be wrong or they may just be mediocre when excellence is within my reach. I want to know that just as it is for my kids running the bases, there is someone actively involved in my life who knows exactly what I should and shouldn't do next. And unlike a coach, The Coach always makes the right call!
In 2 Chronicles 16, we find a story of Judah's King Asa being attacked by Israel's King Baasha (this was during the years of civil war among the 12 tribes divided among Judah and Israel). King Asa seeks a neighboring kingdom's king, Ben-hadad of Aram to ally with Judah by attacking Israel from the north forcing King Baasha to fight on two fronts. The plan is successful, King Baasha withdraws his attack and Judah safety is secured...or is it?
Hanani the seer comes to King Asa and on behalf of God, rebukes him for seeking the King of Aram's aid instead of first seeking God's help. King Asa was cruising around the bases and he never looked up to the Third Base Coach for direction. Let us not misunderstand God's anger. He is not jealous that King Asa did not need His help. Certainly King Asa's plan from a military standpoint was a stroke of genius. However, God is trying to help us gain a greater victory, one over the inclination of our human nature to be self-reliant. We will never fully reach our potential in life apart from God and His constant, abiding direction giving voice.
Even when the path forward seems clear, stop. Look up. What is your Coach telling you to do? Trust Him...
Trust in the LORD with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding;
in all your ways acknowledge Him,
and He will make your paths straight.
Do not be wise in your own eyes...
(Proverbs 3:5-7a)
Pastor Fred
However, some things are still the same, the game. Especially the aspect of players learning to follow the direction of the coaches, regardless of their own personal inclinations. When the coach says to keep running, you keep running. When the coach says get down, you slide. When the coach says...you..., simple isn't it? Who's your coach in life? I know that I often have my own personal inclinations, they may be right or they may be wrong or they may just be mediocre when excellence is within my reach. I want to know that just as it is for my kids running the bases, there is someone actively involved in my life who knows exactly what I should and shouldn't do next. And unlike a coach, The Coach always makes the right call!
In 2 Chronicles 16, we find a story of Judah's King Asa being attacked by Israel's King Baasha (this was during the years of civil war among the 12 tribes divided among Judah and Israel). King Asa seeks a neighboring kingdom's king, Ben-hadad of Aram to ally with Judah by attacking Israel from the north forcing King Baasha to fight on two fronts. The plan is successful, King Baasha withdraws his attack and Judah safety is secured...or is it?
Hanani the seer comes to King Asa and on behalf of God, rebukes him for seeking the King of Aram's aid instead of first seeking God's help. King Asa was cruising around the bases and he never looked up to the Third Base Coach for direction. Let us not misunderstand God's anger. He is not jealous that King Asa did not need His help. Certainly King Asa's plan from a military standpoint was a stroke of genius. However, God is trying to help us gain a greater victory, one over the inclination of our human nature to be self-reliant. We will never fully reach our potential in life apart from God and His constant, abiding direction giving voice.
Even when the path forward seems clear, stop. Look up. What is your Coach telling you to do? Trust Him...
Trust in the LORD with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding;
in all your ways acknowledge Him,
and He will make your paths straight.
Do not be wise in your own eyes...
(Proverbs 3:5-7a)
Pastor Fred
Friday, May 8, 2009
Systematic Theology
My good freind Corey Doise shared this with me recently...enjoy!
The Value of Systematic Theology
Systematic theology gets a bad bit of press these days. It is often associated with being hardheaded, arrogant, and more concerned about theology than the Bible. While there may be examples of these faults in people, these are not inherent virtues in systematic theology. Systematic theology is a necessary effort to understand God's revelation as a whole. The attempt is to give us greater insight in what God has revealed to us.
Mike Horton writes a helpful and instructional article on the value of systematic theology. He begins with the inherent liabilities before pointing out the value.
[W]e must be careful to keep our systems open to correction by accurate exegesis, that is, by accurate interpretation of biblical passages. And we must beware of equating our confessional and systematic theologies with Scripture itself. No responsible evangelical theologian has ever attributed final authority to any system. In fact, the Protestant scholastic successors of the great reformers especially stressed the splendid distinction between archetypal theology (God's own knowledge) and ectypal theology (our knowledge). Creatures will never attain a God's-eye view of anything, not even of themselves, but will always possess only a finite version of "the way things are." Our older theologians used to call this "ectypal theology" theologium viatorum-the theology of pilgrims on the way-to contrast it with the theologium beatorum -the theology of the glorified in heaven. All believers living today are equally pilgrims....
Good systematic theologians, regardless of their differences, always strive to approach Scripture as students rather than as masters. They also seek to gather together whatever Scripture says anywhere on the same topic and thus interpret the particular parts in the light of the whole, even as they once again test their conclusions about the whole in the light of what they find in Scripture's particular parts-and so on. This dance never ends on this side of Glory....
Systematic theology gives us a better understanding of what Scripture teaches in the whole and gives us an important larger context of the whole to read specific passages.
Every believer needs at least some "big picture" grasp of the doctrinal teaching of Scripture. While most readers would not come away from a Bible study with the sort of refinement exhibited in the Creed of Chalcedon, at least those trained through the teaching, the liturgical ascriptions of praise, the hymns, Sunday school, and catechism classes and sermons can get the most out of their inductive reading of Scripture precisely because they are already engaged in making deductions based on the whole system of Christian theology as they know it.
A well-trained believer will come to particular passages that stress the humanity of Christ and yet recall the conclusion that our forefathers have reached by examining all of the relevant biblical data and, thus, interpret those passages in the light of the hypostatic union. This does not impose a system on the Bible but, rather, interprets particular passages in the light of the whole teaching of Scripture.
In the end, all Christians engage in systematic theology-not at the professional level, necessarily, as those who study full-time to serve the ministers of the Word in their preaching-but as "the faithful." The question is never whether we will have a systematic theology but what kind of systematic theology we will have. Will it be a tangled ball of yarn? Will we merely inherit it without much questioning or investigation on our part? Will it be based on Scripture as its normative authority or will it rely more on reason, experience, and tradition than on solid exegesis?
Many of those who most vociferously denounce "systematic theology" as obscuring the plain reading of Scripture end up being among the most guilty of imposing their own system on the Bible precisely because they do not realize that this is what they are doing. Their unawareness that they have, in various ways, inherited a tradition and been formed by certain communal readings of Scripture keeps them unconscious of their own "big picture" ways of organizing the Scriptures into a systematic whole.
The Value of Systematic Theology
Systematic theology gets a bad bit of press these days. It is often associated with being hardheaded, arrogant, and more concerned about theology than the Bible. While there may be examples of these faults in people, these are not inherent virtues in systematic theology. Systematic theology is a necessary effort to understand God's revelation as a whole. The attempt is to give us greater insight in what God has revealed to us.
Mike Horton writes a helpful and instructional article on the value of systematic theology. He begins with the inherent liabilities before pointing out the value.
[W]e must be careful to keep our systems open to correction by accurate exegesis, that is, by accurate interpretation of biblical passages. And we must beware of equating our confessional and systematic theologies with Scripture itself. No responsible evangelical theologian has ever attributed final authority to any system. In fact, the Protestant scholastic successors of the great reformers especially stressed the splendid distinction between archetypal theology (God's own knowledge) and ectypal theology (our knowledge). Creatures will never attain a God's-eye view of anything, not even of themselves, but will always possess only a finite version of "the way things are." Our older theologians used to call this "ectypal theology" theologium viatorum-the theology of pilgrims on the way-to contrast it with the theologium beatorum -the theology of the glorified in heaven. All believers living today are equally pilgrims....
Good systematic theologians, regardless of their differences, always strive to approach Scripture as students rather than as masters. They also seek to gather together whatever Scripture says anywhere on the same topic and thus interpret the particular parts in the light of the whole, even as they once again test their conclusions about the whole in the light of what they find in Scripture's particular parts-and so on. This dance never ends on this side of Glory....
Systematic theology gives us a better understanding of what Scripture teaches in the whole and gives us an important larger context of the whole to read specific passages.
Every believer needs at least some "big picture" grasp of the doctrinal teaching of Scripture. While most readers would not come away from a Bible study with the sort of refinement exhibited in the Creed of Chalcedon, at least those trained through the teaching, the liturgical ascriptions of praise, the hymns, Sunday school, and catechism classes and sermons can get the most out of their inductive reading of Scripture precisely because they are already engaged in making deductions based on the whole system of Christian theology as they know it.
A well-trained believer will come to particular passages that stress the humanity of Christ and yet recall the conclusion that our forefathers have reached by examining all of the relevant biblical data and, thus, interpret those passages in the light of the hypostatic union. This does not impose a system on the Bible but, rather, interprets particular passages in the light of the whole teaching of Scripture.
In the end, all Christians engage in systematic theology-not at the professional level, necessarily, as those who study full-time to serve the ministers of the Word in their preaching-but as "the faithful." The question is never whether we will have a systematic theology but what kind of systematic theology we will have. Will it be a tangled ball of yarn? Will we merely inherit it without much questioning or investigation on our part? Will it be based on Scripture as its normative authority or will it rely more on reason, experience, and tradition than on solid exegesis?
Many of those who most vociferously denounce "systematic theology" as obscuring the plain reading of Scripture end up being among the most guilty of imposing their own system on the Bible precisely because they do not realize that this is what they are doing. Their unawareness that they have, in various ways, inherited a tradition and been formed by certain communal readings of Scripture keeps them unconscious of their own "big picture" ways of organizing the Scriptures into a systematic whole.
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