A number of terms are used in the study of the Bible.
- Exegesis: the study of a biblical text to determine its meaning
- Exposition: a statement or explanation designed to explain the results of the exegesis of a particular passage
- Doctrines: specific teachings of the Bible
- Theology: the study of God and his relationship to the world and to man
There are several approaches to the study of theology. The two most relevant here are biblical theology and systematic theology. The following definitions are simplified, and much more could be said. However, they do represent reasonable working definitions.
- Biblical theology: the organization of the topics and doctrines of the Bible based on the exegesis and exposition of the biblical texts in their historical order to develop the progress of revelation for those various biblical topics and doctrines
- Systematic theology: the organization of the doctrines of the Bible logically or topically, each into an organic whole without specific attention to the historical progress of revelation on those doctrines
These are the major divisions of sytematic theology:
- Bibliology: the study of the doctrine of revelation and inspiration of Scripture
- Theology proper: the study of the doctrine of God (his nature and attributes)
- Anthropology: the study of the doctrine of man (his creation and nature)
- Hamartiology: the study of the doctrine of sin (its origin and effects)
- Christology: the study of the doctrine of Jesus Christ (his person and work)
- Soteriology: the study of the doctrine of salvation (accomplished and applied)
- Ecclesiology: the study of the doctrine of the church (definition, ordinances, and polity)
- Eschatology: the study of the doctrine of last things (personal and general)
Some books on systematic theology add additional divisions rather than include them as subtopics under the above list. These include:
- Pneumatology: the study of the doctrine of the Holy Spirit
- Angelology: the study of the doctrine of angels
- Demonology: the study of the doctrine of demons
It is of great importance that all Bible-believing Christians have a sound grasp of the basic doctrines foundational to our faith. The following materials are organized under the divisions of systematic theology. The definitions of these divisions are given below the table.
Divisions of Systematic Theology | Author | Title | Nature of Our Reprint |
Bibliography | Addison H. Leitch | “The Knowledge of God: General and Special Revelation” | From Carl F. H. Henry, ed., Basic Christian Doctrines; Baker Book House, 1971. |
Theology Proper | Jacob Catlin | “The Decrees of God” | Essay VIII, “The Decrees of God,” from A Compendium of the System of Divine Truth (Hartford: George Goodwin & Sons, 1818). Note: The text has not been modified except for some very light editing for clarity. Also, punctuation and KJV-era pronouns and verb forms have been modernized and long paragraphs have been divided. |
Geoffrey W. Bromiley | “The Holy Spirit” | This essay was the thirteenth and final in a series of essays on “Fundamentals of the Faith” appearing quarterly in Christianity Today as a bonus booklet. | |
James Montgomery Boice | “Predestination and Free Will” | An article from Tenth, An Evangelical Quarterly, July, 1983 | |
John Smalley | “On the Immutability of God” | Sermon V from Sermons, on a Number of Connected Subjects by John Smalley (Hartford: Oliver D. Cooke, 1803). Note: The text has not been modified except for some very light editing for clarity. Also, punctuation and KJV-era pronouns and verb forms have been modernized, long paragraphs have been divided, and the NKJV has been used for numerous quotations. | |
Andrew K. Rule | “Providence and Preservation” | From Carl F. H. Henry, ed., Basic Christian Doctrines; Baker Book House, 1971. | |
Loraine Boettner | “The Providence of God” | Chapter V taken from The Reformed Doctrine of Predestination, Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1936. | |
John Calvin | “Providence” | From Calvin’s Commentaries, Vol. 6, pgs. 344-346. | |
Anthropology | John Murray | “Trichotomy” | Does man consist of three parts–body, soul, and spirit–or just two? Read Professor Murray’s excellent lecture from his course in Systematic Theology at Westminster Theological Seminary. From Collected Writings of John Murray, Vol. II, Banner of Truth Trust, 1977. |
John Murray | “The Fall of Man” | From Collected Writings of John Murray, Vol. II, Banner of Truth Trust, 1977. | |
Charles Hodge | “Free Agency” | From Systematic Theology, Vol. II, Part II, Chapter IX. | |
Hamartiology | J. Oliver Buswell, Jr. | “The Origin and Nature of Sin” | From Carl F. H. Henry, ed., Basic Christian Doctrines; Baker Book House, 1971. |
Christology | Calvin D. Linton | “Jesus Christ the Divine Redeemer” | This essay was the seventh in a series of essays on “Fundamentals of the Faith” appearing quarterly in Christianity Today as a bonus booklet. |
J. Gresham Machen | “The Virgin Birth of Christ” | Chapter 15 from the book The Virgin Birth of Christ, 1930 | |
Wayne E. Ward | “The Person of Christ: The Kenotic Theory” | From Carl F. H. Henry, ed., Basic Christian Doctrines; Baker Book House, 1971. | |
Henry Melvill | “The Humiliation of the Man Christ Jesus” | Sermon IV from Sermons by Henry Melvill (London: J. G. & F. Rivington, 1833). Note: This sermon has been condensed and moderately rephrased for clarity. | |
Richard Whately | “Christ’s Own Account of His Person, and of the Nature of His Kingdom as Set forth at His Two Trials” | Essay 1 from The Kingdom of Christ Delineated in Two Essays by Richard Whately (New York: Robert Carter & Brothers, 1854). Note: This essay has been condensed and moderately rephrased for clarity. | |
Soteriology | John F. Walvoord | “Propitiation” | This chapter from Truth for Today originally appeared in two articles dated April 1962 and July 1962 in Bibliotheca Sacra. |
Leon Morris | Apostolic Preaching of the Cross | The Apostolic Preaching of the Cross by Leon Morris (1955) is one of the finest scholarly studies of the great theological terms used to describe the atonement. It gives an in-depth analysis of the Greek words for redemption, blood, propitiation, reconciliation, and justification in their preaching and in writing the New Testament. Morris addresses the meaning and use of these words in the New Testament and Septuagint, as well as their Hebrew counterparts. It is a book well worth having in your library and well worth diligent study. However, Morris does provide an excellent concluding chapter that summarizes the major conclusions reached in the book. We reproduce that chapter here. | |
M. Eugene Osterhaven | “Common Grace” | From Carl F. H. Henry, ed., Basic Christian Doctrines; Baker Book House, 1971. | |
John Murray | “The Grace of God” | Collected Writings of John Murray, Volume One: The Claims of Truth (Edinburgh: Banner of Truth Trust, 1976). Note: The text has not been modified. | |
J. Norval Geldenhuys | “Effectual Calling” | From Carl F. H. Henry, ed., Basic Christian Doctrines; Baker Book House, 1971. | |
Eric J. Alexander | “Regeneration: Beginning with God” | An article from Tenth, An Evangelical Quarterly, July, 1980 | |
Asahel Nettleton | “Regeneration” | This article (sermon?) is found on many Web sites, none giving bibliographic data. It might come from Nettleton’s (1783-1844) biography, Asahel Nettleton: Life and Labors, by his contemporaries, Bennet Tyler and Andrew Bonar (latest reprint by Banner of Truth, 1996). | |
Thomas H. Gallaudet | “The Necessity of Divine Influence in Salvation” (Part 1) | Discourse XI from Discourses on Various Points of Christian Faith and Practice by Thomas H. Gallaudet (London: Ellerton and Henderson, 1818). Note: The text has not been modified, except that punctuation and KJV-era pronouns and verb forms have been modernized and long paragraphs have been divided. | |
“The Necessity of Divine Influence in Salvation” (Part 1) | Discourse XII from Discourses on Various Points of Christian Faith and Practice by Thomas H. Gallaudet (London: Ellerton and Henderson, 1818). Note: The text has not been modified, except that punctuation and KJV-era pronouns and verb forms have been modernized and long paragraphs have been divided. | ||
John Smalley | “On Repentance” | Excerpt from Sermon XVII, “On Repentance, Conversion, and Pardon,” from Sermons, on a Number of Connected Subjects by John Smalley (Hartford: Oliver D. Cooke, 1803). Note: The text has not been modified except for some very light editing for clarity. Also, punctuation and KJV-era pronouns and verb forms have been modernized, long paragraphs have been divided, and the NKJV has been used for quotations. | |
G. M. Mathews | “The Fruits of Justification” | The various aspects of salvation are put in the following sequence by Paul in Romans 8:30: predestination, calling, justification, and glorification. This reprint is chapter VI from G. M. Matthews, Justification (Dayton, OH: United Brethren Publishing House, 1902). Note: The author is not a Calvinist and takes an Arminian view of salvation. However, this does not materially affect the points made in this chapter. | |
John H. Gerstner | “Adoption: Belonging to God’s Family” | An article from Tenth, An Evangelical Quarterly, July, 1980 | |
Charles M. Horne | “The Assurance of Salvation” | Chapter 6 of Salvation, Chicago: Moody Press, 1971. | |
J. B. Rowell | “Exposition of Hebrews Six” | Bibliotheca Sacra 94 (Jul-Sep 1937). Hebrews 6:4-6 is often used as an argument against the doctrine of the perseverance of the saints (also called “eternal security”). Dr. Rowell presents a detailed, phrase-by-phrase exposition of the text. | |
Charles Bridges | “Assurance” | Excerpt from Psalm 119: An Exposition. | |
George Hill | “Three Difficulties of Arminianism” | Chapter 9 from Lectures in Divinity by George Hill. Edited from his manuscript by his son, Alexander Hill. Fourth edition, Vol. 11. William Blackwood and Sons, Edinburgh, 1837. Note: Lightly paraphrased for clarity. | |
Ecclesiology | Robert Duncan Culver | “Defining Ecclesiology” | This entry is Chapter 2 from Part 6 of Systematic Theology: Biblical and Historical (Christian Focus Publications, 2005). |
John Lillie | “Does Baptism Save?” | This is Lecture XXIII in Lectures on the First and Second Epistles of Peter (Charles Scribner, 1869). | |
Robert L. Saucy | “Subjects of Baptism” | This excerpt is from Chapter 9 in The Church in God’s Program (Moody Press, 1972). | |
Kenneth J. Morgan | “Did Water Baptism Replace Circumcision as the ‘Sign of the Covenant’?” | This is an original article by Ken Morgan highlighting the most obvious weaknesses in the position that baptism replaces circumcision. | |
Leonard Woods | “Mode of Baptism” | Lecture VIII from Lectures on Infant Baptism (Andover: Flagg & Gould, 1828). Note: The text has not been modified except punctuation has been modernized and long paragraphs have been divided. | |
Eschatology | William G. T. Shedd | “The Intermediate or Disembodied State” | Chapter 1 of the Eschatology section of vol. II of Dogmatic Theology (1888). |
Fred Carl Kuehner | “Heaven or Hell?” | This essay was the twelfth in a series of essays on “Fundamentals of the Faith” appearing quarterly in Christianity Today as a bonus booklet. | |
John H. Gerstner | “The Fate of the Heathen” | Baker’s Dictionary of Theology, ed. Everett F Harrison (Baker, 1960) | |
Walter W. Wessel | “The Resurrection of the Dead and Final Judgment” | From Carl F. H. Henry, ed., Basic Christian Doctrines; Baker Book House, 1971. | |
Wilbur M. Smith | “The Second Advent of Christ” | This essay was the tenth in a series of essays on “Fundamentals of the Faith” appearing quarterly in Christianity Today as a bonus booklet. | |
Carl Armerding | “Russia and the King of the North” | Bibliotheca Sacra, 120 (Jan-Mar 1963). This article discusses the “Gog” from Ezekeil 38-39 and the “king of the north” from Daniel 11. Do the two passages refer to the same kings or to two different kings? |