Sounds strange huh? Isn't all theology "biblical?" That would be nice.
There are different arenas of discipline within the camp of biblical studies. Systematic theology, for example, is the discipline of categorizing and explaining certain doctrines put forth in Scripture (e.g.; God, creation, redemption). Studying each doctrine, within its own system, is one way to approach biblical studies. Another approach that, for me has been sorely undervalued, is biblical theology. Biblical theology is the discipline of studying the Bible as one book, discerning its unity, and seeing how God has unfolded His great plan as it is recorded in the biblical revelation.
As I'm typing, I'm also listening to Michael Lawrence's biblical theology sermon on creation. Very helpful! (Here is a link to Lawrence's five part biblical theology series).
I am also finding Vaughan Roberts, God's Big Picture: Tracing the storyline of the Bible, to be fulfilling his aim "to provide all Christians, from the new convert to the mature believer, with an overview of the whole Bible that will help them see how the different parts fit together" (10). Roberts provides the following eight-part outline for biblical theology:
Old Testament
There are different arenas of discipline within the camp of biblical studies. Systematic theology, for example, is the discipline of categorizing and explaining certain doctrines put forth in Scripture (e.g.; God, creation, redemption). Studying each doctrine, within its own system, is one way to approach biblical studies. Another approach that, for me has been sorely undervalued, is biblical theology. Biblical theology is the discipline of studying the Bible as one book, discerning its unity, and seeing how God has unfolded His great plan as it is recorded in the biblical revelation.
As I'm typing, I'm also listening to Michael Lawrence's biblical theology sermon on creation. Very helpful! (Here is a link to Lawrence's five part biblical theology series).
I am also finding Vaughan Roberts, God's Big Picture: Tracing the storyline of the Bible, to be fulfilling his aim "to provide all Christians, from the new convert to the mature believer, with an overview of the whole Bible that will help them see how the different parts fit together" (10). Roberts provides the following eight-part outline for biblical theology:
Old Testament
1. The pattern of the kingdom.New Testament
2. The perished kingdom.
3. The promised kingdom.
4. The partial kingdom.
5. The prophesied kingdom.
6. The present kingdom.
7. The proclaimed kingdom.
8. The perfected kingdom.
1 comment:
I have found J. Owen's work very helpful as well. It is approprately title Biblical Theology.
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