Sermon Tone Analysis

NORTH CAROLINA CONFERENCE OF THE INTERNATIONAL PENTECOSTAL HOLINESS CHURCH

SCHOOL OF MINISTRY

Falcon, NC

November 9-10, 2018

THEOLOGY II

MCP 2.10

INTRODUCTION

In THEOLOGY I we covered many of the basic concepts we need for the study of theology.

A number of those topics are covered in the text for this course and are in your study guide.

We do not propose to repeat that study here.

In THEOLOGY II we will cover a broader array of topics, building upon the earlier foundation.

However, for those who have not yet taken THEOLOGY I, we want to review what theology is.

It is the first question to consider.

We begin with an explanation of what it is not.

Theology is not a study of doctrine or dogma.

Doctrines and dogmas are statements of belief connected to systems of belief or religious orders.

Doctrine in the Christian sense is invariably supported by reference to scripture.

To study doctrine means to study its origin, formulation, implication, and place in the system to which it belongs.

Therefore, doctrine is limited to the belief system of certain people, groups, religious orders, denominations or religions.

The term theology comes from two Greek words, θεὸς (theos) and λόγος (logos).

The term λόγος can be translated by the noun word in English, with the meaning of words themselves, as elements of speech and communication, but includes concepts like a revelation, reflection, teaching, message, accounts, doctrine and the act of speaking.[1]

Λόγος can refer to the processes of the mind, including a reason for something, thinking, study, the process of reasoning and is used as a title for Jesus ().

In this way, theology is broadly speaking the study of God.

In Christian theology, the assumption is made that what can be known about God has been revealed by God, both generally in nature and creation, and particularly and specifically in the Bible, the Word of God (cf. ; ).

Theology may be different in type and scope from one environment to another.

Christian theology in its purest form is the study of God as he is revealed in the Bible, the Word of God or can be known from creation.

Whereas doctrinal studies focus on a study of statements and belief systems to understand and interpret them, theology is concerned with a study of the Bible and general revelation and provides the raw material for the formulation of doctrinal and positional statements about God.

Theology formulates the understanding from which we derive doctrinal and positional statements on the particulars of belief.

The critical difference between doctrinal studies and theological studies is that doctrinal studies seek to understand and interpret statements of belief, whereas the study of theology is concerned with accurately understanding the revelation about God from the Word of God, which will eventually lead to the formulation of statements of belief or doctrinal position.

However, theology often becomes speculative and philosophical, in that it may lead to conjectures about things not specifically revealed or addressed in scripture.

These theological conclusions and extrapolations may enjoy varying degrees of certainty or be supported more or less satisfactorily by scripture itself.[2] Furthermore, we are not concerned with a speculative theology that has nothing to do with Christianity, or that seeks to establish the non-existence of God, and which depends on pure metaphysical conjecture, extrapolation or theology that is part of one of the specialized theological branches into which Christian theology has recently been subdivided.

We are focused on Christian evangelical theology where the underlying premise is that what can be known about God has been revealed by him in his creation and his book, consisting 66 authoritative books, comprised of the Old and New Testaments.

WHAT KIND OF THEOLOGY

It might not surprise us to know that there is more than one approach to ‘doing’ theology, the study of what the Bible says about God.

We will mention just two, systematic theology and biblical theology.

These two approaches employ different methodologies.

Systematic theology is more deductive and speculative, using logic and extrapolation from specifics and what is known to draw conclusions about what is not known or revealed.

The goal of systematic theology is to be as thorough and as complete as possible and to cover every topic as fully as possible.

Systematic theology is often speculative, i.e., the doctrine of the Trinity, of predestination, etc.

For this reason systematic theology is considered to be a branch of philosophy, they speculative study of metaphysics.

Biblical theology, on the other hand, is inductive, seeking to interpret the data, from specific elements in the revelation, and is less concerned with systematic correlations and arrangements.

This does not mean biblical theology is unconcerned with the consistency of theological conclusions, but rather that the study of say, the love of God, is rendered in its native environment, the Word of God, rather than being analyzed as a concept and rendered in a series of bullet points or logical and philosophical deductions supported by proof-texting.

In this way, systematic theology can often be academic and scholastic, with less concern for practical application or implication, in favor of a thoroughgoing statement of knowledge about God.

Biblical theology, on the other hand, is more focused on an understanding of the knowledge of God in the environment of the original revelation, where the implications of scripture, once revealed demand a personal moral response to God whose voice is heard in words.

Furthermore, biblical theology acknowledges the gaps that exist in our understanding, without feeling the scholastic and speculative need to fill them all in.

Systematic theology is interested in content and implications of its content in terms of meaning in the pure sense.

Biblical theology is interested in the content and implications in the sense of a moral response to the message about God in the Bible.

While we do have interest in both kinds of theology, we need to know that systematic theology has as its primary goal an accurate and complete statement of the truth concerning God, and may extrapolate or speculate beyond the text through the use of logic and reason.

Biblical theology has as its goal an accurate understanding of how God has revealed himself so that he can secure a response from humanity with respect to his call for reconciliation and fellowship.

In our study, we will engage in a hybrid approach, starting with topic selection, explanations of theological terms, and then providing biblical rationale for the explanations.

We will also ‘evaluate’ traditional explanations for theological content to be certain that ideas and terms used in the more or less systematic approach have a strong biblical basis.

However, we do not have time for a truly inductive, biblical approach.

WHO IS GOD?

(Vol.

I, Pages 87-96)

When we say “God,” the noun implies different things to different people, cultures or religious backgrounds.

We cannot assume everyone means the same thing.

If there are numbers of ideas about God, and people have different views (represented by the multiplicity of religions and even denominations), how can we know which is the right one, or represents the truth about God accurately?

That the various views are contradictory of one another means that they cannot all be the truth at the same time.

Francis Schaeffer wrote a book, He is There, and He Is Not Silent.

The thesis of the book is that not only does God exist, but that he has deliberately and adequately revealed himself to humanity.

Schaffer posits that not only is God’s existence supported by the evidence but that it is a metaphysical necessity.

Our very existence, and that we can question reality and its origins is proof of the existence of a personal and intelligent creator.

He is arguably the only satisfying explanation for the existence of reality as it is in its present form and complexity, as well as the personal nature of humanity.[3]

Schaeffer not only believes that God exists but that he has taken the initiative to reveal himself to his creation, to man in particular, and that this revelation is both personal and intimate.

In the opening of his book, he observes that the great dilemma we face is the existence of men, their morality (nobility and cruelty) and how man knows what he knows, and how certain he is of the truth of it.[4]

The conclusion is that we know truth because God has revealed it to us by revealing himself to us.

This means that there is a “personal beginning” to everything and that it is not the product of random unguided forces.[5]

The sources for understanding “God” in the Christian sense are called general revelation and special revelation.

General revelation is what we can know about God from what we observe in creation and experience in life.

Special revelation is what we can know about God from the Bible, a written record of God’s historical dealings with the human race, and in which he reveals himself, his purposes, and goals for his creation.

This approach is actually quite biblical in and of itself.

Paul speaks of the sin and wickedness in the world as the result of a total disregard of God’s revelation of himself in creation in general, so that human rebellion against him is a repudiation of God’s self-disclosure which is available in creation (general revelation) ().

GOD IN GENERAL REVELATION (Vol. 1, Pages 40-44)

How can we know about God?

What can we know with certainty about him?

Where does that knowledge come from?

So, what can be known about God from general revelation, the revelation of God in creation?

The Bible does not seek or feel the need to prove the existence of God.[6] Instead the Bible assumes that creation is sufficient evidence of God existence, in and of itself, beside the other revelatory activity of God in the context of history and his people, Israel (cf. ; ; ; ; ).

Paul, speaking to the Romans sets the bar of that revelation very high.

He says that God has revealed himself in creation to a remarkable degree so that he has made himself plain to the human race in creation ().

Paul is clear that what might be known about God (τὸ γνωστὸν τοῦ θεοῦ), is revealed (φανερόν ἐστιν) deliberately and purposefully by God (ὁ [7]⸂θεὸς γὰρ[8]⸃ αὐτοῖς ἐφανέρωσεν) in his creation (τὰ γὰρ ἀόρατα αὐτοῦ ἀπὸ κτίσεως κόσμου τοῖς ποιήμασιν νοούμενα καθορᾶται).

He says that the knowledge of God has been revealed or has appeared to men in creation ().

That God has revealed it, the knowledge of himself, in creation, means that it is a deliberate attempt on God’s part to impart knowledge of himself to humanity through creation ().

Paul says that the invisible things of God, what the NIV calls his attributes, are clearly revealed, noticed or perceived (καθοράω) by observation of what he has made in the creation of the world (ἀπὸ κτίσεως κόσμου) ().[9]

The point he makes is that God can affirmatively be understood by considering creation and that God has invested in creation a clear knowledge of himself through such revelation ().

The emphasis is on careful consideration of creation in order to apprehend what it tells us about God and the invisible qualities of his being an nature.

When creation is examined and carefully considered, it points to a creator, and the attributes and nature of the creator are revealed by what he has created (νοούμενα) ().

When men carefully consider (νοούμενα) what creation might tell them about God, he is clearly revealed to them.[10]

This revelation is so comprehensive and clear that human beings are without excuse when it comes to knowing God, and Paul contends that humanity has engaged in a wilful suppression (κατεχόντων) of the knowledge, truth, about God, choosing to worship and serve created things rather than the creator himself (ἐσεβάσθησαν καὶ ἐλάτρευσαν τῇ κτίσει παρὰ τὸν κτίσαντα).[11]

They are without excuse because their rejection of God is not the result of a lack of evidence or revelation (εἰς τὸ εἶναι αὐτοὺς ἀναπολογήτους).[12]

The sheer power that creation takes to generate and operate is a clear indication of the power and vastness of God, his eternality and deity (ἥ τε ἀΐδιος αὐτοῦ δύναμις καὶ θειότης).[13]

To this Paul adds the observation that on account of this revelation humanity, in general, is without excuse when it denies God’s existence or is disobedient to his will and sovereignty.

To Paul, the general revelation of God in creation is both sufficient and full enough for men to come to a knowledge of God and to worship him.

The Cosmological Argument:[14] The cosmological argument for the existence of God in systematic theology is an argument from cause.

In other words, the cosmological argument for the existence of God posits that he is the only sufficient first cause for the existence of the universe.

The complexity, order, and vastness of the created universe can only find sufficient reason for its existence in the explanation of creation by God.[15]

The Bible anticipates this argument in its first words when it declares, “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.”

().

Essential Elements in the cosmological argument for the existence of God:

The universe had a beginning