We increasingly live in a society without anchors. Just think about it: how much of what you do is rooted in tradition or history? How many things do you own that have been passed down to you, compared to how much we throw in the trash as soon as it breaks? How often do you find yourself pursuing the next big opportunity, or new adventure?
Our culture values progress, and that is a good thing, but what if we’ve progressed without maintaining solid roots? Can we be sure that our growth is solid and sound?
We see this phenomenon extend into Christian circles as well. Many want to be a part of some innovative faith movement, rather than attaching themselves to the church in history. The problem is, many of these perceived innovations are just new aberrations of old trends that have come and gone.
It's been more than 500 years since the Protestant Reformation, an event that brought the church back to the truth of Scripture. Since that time, there have been countless "mini-Reformations" that have claimed to be progressing Christianity closer to the truth, but often end up progressing themselves right out of Christian orthodoxy. Early 20th century theological liberalism, the emergent church movement, and the seeker sensitive movement all followed this path of temporary popularity and eventual apostasy.
Every generation has its own “spirit of the age”; ideas and worldviews that steer people away from the truth of God’s Word. In the 21st century, we see postmodernism, Marxism, mysticism, social justice, and intersectionality as some of the primary falsehoods being championed in our time. Rooting our faith in sound, historical theology will equip us to discern these deceptions from the truth.
This article is not intended to expound at length on all of these aspects of rooted faith, but simply to get you acquainted with these areas of study, understand their value, and introduce questions that can lead you to further study.
1) Confessionalism
Creeds, confessions, and catechisms are defined as accurate interpretations of Scripture that have been developed by Christians in history. Some of these documents were written to address specific doctrinal controversies. Others were intended to be comprehensive explanations of beliefs with biblical support texts. They combine to provide us with rock solid, historically based Christian doctrine. Rather than the current generation try to rediscover all of the truths of Scripture, we can utilize these documents to compare our theology with what Christians have believed for centuries.
Here are some of the most well known creeds, confessions, and catechisms:
Creeds: Apostles’ Creed, Nicene Creed, Chalcedonian Creed, Athanasian Creed
Confessions: Belgic Confession, Westminster Confession of Faith, 1689 London Baptist Confession
Catechisms: Heidelberg Catechism, Westminster Larger Catechism, Westminster Shorter Catechism
Confessionalism anchors us in church history, guarding us against the “spirit of the age”. The men who developed these documents dedicated their lives to the study of the Scripture, and the acceptance of them by the church over time strengthens their reliability.
2) Classical Theism
Have you ever wondered how God can execute both love and judgment? Does His love cease while He’s judging sin? Classical Theism helps us to answer this, and other crucial questions about God and His divine attributes. Classical Theism tends to be a bit abstract, so don’t be alarmed if you find it difficult to wrap your mind around. Indeed, it is difficult for the finite human to comprehend the infinite God. The primary subtopics of Classical Theism are divine aseity, divine simplicity, and divine impassibility. These are derived from the statement in the Westminster Confession, which states that God is “without body, parts, or passions.”
Here are some of the questions that are answered using Classical Theism:
Is God dependent on anything or anyone? (Divine Aseity)
Is God the sum of his attributes? (Divine Simplicity)
Can God become more glorious, more loving, or more gracious? (Divine Simplicity)
Do God’s emotions change? (Divine Impassibility)
Does God change his mind? (Divine Immutability)
Classical Theism anchors us by providing a better understanding of who God is on a fundamental level. Learning these concepts helps us avoid errors in how we conceive of God. For example, many people claim that the God of the Old Testament is different than God in the New Testament, or that God changed over the course of time. In modern times, this is often used to justify affirming homosexuality, drawing a distinction between the prohibitions in the law of Moses and the love of Jesus expressed in the Gospels. The doctrines of divine simplicity and impassibility help us prove that this claim is untrue.
3) Christology
This, as the name suggests, answers questions regarding Jesus Christ, his nature, and his work both here on earth and in heaven.
Some important things to consider in relation to Christ:
Did Jesus exist eternally?
Is Jesus subordinate to God the Father?
What does it mean for Jesus to be fully God and fully man? (Hypostatic Union)
Did Jesus possess all of his divine attributes while on earth?
Does Jesus have a different will than the Father?
Is Jesus still fully human?
What is Jesus doing right now in heaven?
Christology anchors us in a similar way to classical theism: by giving us a fundamental understanding of the second person of the Godhead; the Son. Most of the historical controversy over the particulars of the nature of Jesus center over 1) His relation to God the Father, and 2) the relationship between His divine and human natures. The Nicene and Chalcedonian creeds provide us with the biblical answers to these questions.
4) Covenant Theology
If the Bible were a house, think of Covenant Theology as the frame of that house. Covenant Theology can be summed up as the answer to this fundamental question: “How does the creator God relate to his creation?” Very simply, he relates to his creation in the form of covenants.
Here are some more specific questions that Covenant Theology addresses:
Does God have any obligation to his creatures?
Do God’s creatures have any obligation to him?
What are the components of a covenant?
How do the Old Testament and New Testament relate to one another?
How does the Church relate to national Israel?
What is the Covenant of Redemption?
What is the Covenant of Works?
What is the Covenant of Grace?
What is the federal head of a covenant?
What are the differences between Presbyterian and Baptist covenant theology?
Covenant theology can help us answer both objections to our faith and our own questions about our faith. You may hear the common charge that Christians no longer abide by the Old Testament prohibitions against eating shellfish, yet they carry on Old Testament prohibitions on homosexuality. Understanding the covenants and who they apply to can help us defend these charges.
Additionally, you may initially find it unfair that the doctrine of original sin states that all people are guilty by virtue of being born. Covenant theology shows us how this truth is actually tremendous good news in light of the gospel and work of Christ.
5) Calvinist Soteriology
Soteriology is the study of salvation, and the details regarding how God saves a people for himself. The famed “five points” of Calvinism are described in the Canons of Dort, a theological response to the Remonstrants, a group that challenged the reformed doctrines of salvation.
Within those five points, we see these questions answered:
What is the nature of man?
Does man have free will? Is that will entirely free or is it limited by his nature?
What is the nature of the atonement?
To what extent is God sovereign?
Calvinism anchors us by providing additional insight on God and His sovereignty, man and his fallen state, and how the chasm between God and man is crossed through Christ’s atonement. Calvinism is often criticized as “cosmic child abuse”, but an understanding of the aforementioned classical theism, Christology, and covenant theology can refute this charge.
As stated before, this is a very broad overview of these critical concepts. Is there a question listed above that you would like to see expounded upon? Let me know in the comments!
