Theology Review!

Wow - I'm already in the review portion of my program. Only a few more lessons - just 4 more summaries after this one - and I'll be done writing these lessons, and focusing on my term paper and capstone project. For those of you who have borne with me over 4 1/2 years and inconsistent timing of posts - thank you!!!!

So the next few lessons will be a brief review of major areas of study. This is the theology review. It was hard for me not to get bogged down here, as I love historical theology. At the end of the day though, God is about changing lives, and I have to keep moving to maximize preparation for ministry. I'm sure some of this will grip you and you will be able to study more in depth; there are great resources out there for all these areas of study.

Scripture. The biggest point of study relating to Scripture for this program has been the translatability of the Bible. This isn't something that we see in, for example, the Quran, where the very holiness of the text keeps it at a distance for translation purposes.

The fact that Scripture is so translatable means that Christians want Scripture if they don't already have it. And where the entire Bible is translated, errors are minimized and mission is maximized. Furthermore, Biblical confidence is closely linked to evangelistic zeal and world mission. So, as translators work toward accurate translation, they can also seek to increase Biblical confidence and evangelistic fervor.

Finally, the community of faith and Scripture are inseparable. The canon emerged, it wasn't imposed. Believers as a group learn what Scripture means and how to obey it. While we can and should study Scripture alone, it is meant to make a difference in how we relate to the "one anothers" in our lives - the other believers with whom we do life.

God and humankind. God is perfect and man is fallen. That's a simple theology of God and humankind. But the key component is not that fact, but what God did with that fact: The Incarnation. The Word became flesh and dwelt among us. Our transcendent, perfect, holy God is also very personal. He "translated" Himself for us to bridge the gap caused by our sin. Hallelujah!

Christ, Salvation, and the Kingdom of God. Newbigin observes that we live in the time between Jesus' exposing and disarming the powers of darkness, and His reign being fully revealed in its glory among the nations. The character of Jesus' earthly ministry is to be the character of this time. Marking by suffering and the signs of the kingdom, the Church will have a double character - suffering and victorious. Showing kingdom-level justice and love reaveals "glimpses of the kingdom". Working for the common life of our nation and world gives us a share in God's project for His world.

Eschatology, The Afterlife, and Spirit Powers. Jesus is coming back - isn't that all we need to know? Well, since so many errant movements have started around doctrines of the end-times, we need to go a little deeper than that. Gabriel Fackre points out that there really are only a few clear elements that make up the kernel of eschatology, and we are too easily distracted by the surrounding "husks". What are the major points that are very clear? Jesus will return; there will be a resurrection of the body; there is a final judgment to come; there is eternal life for both the righteous and the wicked; there is a restoration of all things. Most of our divisions are on things outside this kernel. Scripture gives us broad brushstrokes when we was outlined detail. We have to maintain a focus on purpose (mission) versus dogma about nonessentials!

The Holy Spirti, the Church, and Gifts. The gifts of the Spirit are to empower and equip believers for service. They enable us to fulfill the mission God gives us. A natural talent becomes a gift of the Spirit when it is yielded to the Holy Spirit and used by him.

These gifts are exercised within a regular, local gathering before God. Paul pictures this group as a body and as a family or household. Central to his teaching is the idea of love. Love is the sacrifice God requires that should govern all our relationships. Fellowship in the Christian context is joint participation alongside another. Historically and biblically, this has meant the exercise of the gifts of many - the entire body. Presently there is an emphasis on the gifts of the few - ministry as hierarchy who does the work for us.

A whirlwind tour to be sure. The bottom line is that we should view all our doctrinal studies through the eyes of mission - does this enhance and support our God-given mission? Don't pursue disputable topics that distract from mission.