What Is Systematic Theology?

In recent years, I have noticed a trend in both pastors and lay-people to de-emphasize theology and thought from the Christian life. Countless times I have heard warnings that “knowledge puffs up” from the pulpit with very little caution on how far to take the sentiment. Many today view theology as irrelevant to the daily life of a Christian, over-complicated, and, at worst, a distraction from the gospel. What makes these thoughts and trends ironic is that every day, in every way, every Christian does theology! More specifically, they do systematic theology.

For example, if someone were to ask you who Jesus was and you replied “He was God in flesh who saved me from my sins by His death and resurrection” you just did systematic theology! Or if someone asked you what Christians believed about the afterlife and you said anything more than “heaven”, that too was systematic theology! Without even knowing it, everyone is a systematic theologian; the only question is whether we will be a good one or a bad one.

A Definition

What does it mean for our theology to be systematic? Essentially, systematic theology takes what the Bible says as a whole and uses this information to answer the relevant questions of life. Systematic theology can be defined as the sum total of the teaching of a Bible about a certain subject.

As you might notice, this is far from a cold-hearted, academic exercise. When it comes to Christianity, anything more than a bible reference counts as systematic theology. This way of doing theology began to be considered as a separate discipline in the early middle ages when Christians like Anselm, Peter Lombard, and Thomas Aquinas began to structure their theology around questions, some of which were vastly important (like Anselm’s work “Why God Became Man”) and some that were not (like the famous question “How many angels can dance on the head of a pin?”). At the heart of this exercise was the desire to know what beliefs characterized Christianity.

Common Topics For Systematic Theologies

In the modern era, certain subjects are to be expected in all systematic theologies. These are:

• Revelation (The study of how God reveals Himself)

• Inspiration (The study of how God inspired the Bible)

• Theology Proper (The study of God)

• Angelology/Demonology (The study of spiritual beings)

• Anthropology (The study of mankind)

• Hamartiology (The study of sin)

• Christology (The study of Christ)

• Pneumatology (The study of the Holy Spirit)

• Ecclesiology (The study of the Church)

• Eschatology (The study of the end times)

The Benefits of Thinking Systematically

Hopefully you can see from the list above the great benefit of thinking systematically. If you have questions about charismatic gifts, think about Pneumatology. If you have questions about the three main views of the end times, consider looking at Eschatology. That’s the thing about systematic theology; not only does it prompt questions but it is designed to help you answer them from the stance of the whole Bible, not just a single verse.

The benefits of reading a systematic theology slowly as part of a devotion are endless. You will become much more familiar with the overall teachings of the Bible and know in far greater detail the wonder of our great God and spectacular gospel! A systematic theology textbook is also a great reference work for when you have questions about truth and reality. Thinking in this way can help you move from meditations on a text to “What does this teach me about God” and “How does this fit into the overall teaching of the Scripture” which are two infinitely helpful questions.

You might be able to tell that this is not my usual writing style for an article in this series. The whole point of this series is to give a brief introduction in a neutral unbiased way so that we can at the very least know what we disagree with or come to understand it. I have not done that with systematic theology.

The reason is simple: there is no opposing option. There is no different method that invalidates systematics. There are different approaches to the Bible, such as biblical theology, but one never invalidates the other. The only opposition to systematic theology comes from a general disdain for what is seen as academic and intellectual and cold.

I plead with you that you not think like this. To understand the Bible as a whole is to understand it better in its parts. To know the testimony of the Bible systematically is to better integrate its teaching into our lives and our thoughts. To do systematic theology is to know and savor truth about reality to the glory of God.

For Further Reading:

• Systematic Theology by Wayne Grudem

• Systematic Theology by John Frame

• Everyone’s A Theologian by R. C. Sproul