Knowing God

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Knowing God

• Part OneThe Importance of Theology

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• The highest science, the loftiest speculation,
  the mightiest philosophy, which can ever engage
  the attention of a child of God, is the name, the
  nature, the person, the work, the doings, and the
  existence of the great God whom he calls his
  Father.
• Charles Spurgeon

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I. What is Theology?
Theo----
----logy
God
Study of
The Study of God

• Theology is the reasoned and systematic study of
  the teaching contained within Scripture.

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Some Categories of Theology

• Christology- the doctrine of Christ
• Pneumatology- the doctrine of the Holy Spirit
• Soteriology- the doctrine of Salvation
• Ecclesiology- the doctrine of the Church
• Eschatology- the doctrine of Last Things
• Theology Proper- the Doctrine of God

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II. How Should We Approach Theology?

• Devotionally
• Scripturally
• Reasonably
• Humbly

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II. How Should We Approach Theology?

• Devotionally
• We should not be afraid of theology.
• Bad theology must be answered by good theology.
• Good theology seeks the glory of God
• Good theology draws us closer to God

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II. How Should We Approach Theology?

• Scripturally
• Good theology is based upon the Bible.
• Bad theology is based upon something other than
  the Bible...
• Tradition
• New Revelation
• Experience

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II. How Should We Approach Theology?

• Reasonably
• Our beliefs about God must be internally
  consistent.
• Our theology should not contain contradictions.
• This does not mean we wont encounter paradoxes
• Nor will we be able to understand everything

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II. How Should We Approach Theology?

• Humbly
• Scripture is inerrant, our interpretation is not.
• We should always be open to the plain reason of
  Scripture.
• In essentials unity, in doubtful things liberty,
  but in all things charity. St. Augustine

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III. Why Should We Study Theology?

• To understand what we believe and why we believe
  it.
• To be better equipped to share our faith
• To serve and worship our Lord

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III. Why Should We Study Theology?

• Understanding What Why
• What do you believe about God?
• Why do you believe what you do?
• I have always believed it
• Thats what my church believes
• Because Pastor said so
• The more you understand your faith, the better
  you will appreciate it.

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III. Why Should We Study Theology?

• These were more noble than those in
  Thessalonica, in that they received the word with
  all readiness of mind, and searched the
  scriptures daily, whether those things were so.
• Acts 1711

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III. Why Should We Study Theology?

• Equipped to Share Your Faith
• Can you articulate your faith?
• Christians are commanded to be able to explain
  their beliefs to non-believers.
• But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts and be
  ready always to give an answer to every man that
  asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you
  with meekness and fear.
• 1 Peter 315

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III. Why Should We Study Theology?

• To Serve and Worship the Lord
• The more we understand Gods will, the better we
  can fulfill it.
• The more we understand Who God is, the better we
  can worship Him.
• What are you worshipping? (John 422)
• God is a Spirit and they that worship him must
  worship him in spirit and in truth.John 424

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III. Why Should We Study Theology?

• 5 And the LORD descended in the cloud, and stood
  with him there, and proclaimed the name of the
  LORD.
• 6 And the LORD passed by before him, and
  proclaimed, The LORD, The LORD God, merciful and
  gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness
  and truth,
• 7 Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving
  iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will
  by no means clear the guilty visiting the
  iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and
  upon the childrens children, unto the third and
  to the fourth generation.
• 8 And Moses made haste, and bowed his head
  toward the earth, and worshipped.
• Exodus 345-8