The discipline of biblical theology is just as important to the life of your church as systematic theology.
Biblical theology is the root of doctrine; systematic theology is the fruit. And we need to get both right if we want to know who Jesus is, what the gospel is, and how to guard and guide our churches.
Let’s think about that for just a moment.
What is biblical theology?
The phrase biblical theology can mean theology that’s biblical, or what is called systematic theology. Systematic theology systematises everything the Bible says on a topic like sin, Christ, government, and so forth.
But the phrase biblical theology is increasingly used to mean a way of reading the Bible as one story. It is a hermeneutic. It assumes that Scripture’s many authors and books are telling one story by one divine author – about Christ. And just as good doctrine depends on good exegesis, so it depends on good biblical theology.
Think of how Jesus chides the Jews for not recognising that the scriptures are all about Him (John 5:39), or telling two disciples that the whole Old Testament points to Him (Luke 24:25-27, 44-47). Biblical theology, then, is the discipline which goes back to the Garden, Noah, Abraham, the Exodus and Passover, the Law, the myriad stories about disobedience, the Psalms and the Prophets, and always asks: How does this moment in the story relate to the larger story which culminates in Jesus? Or points to Jesus?
Bad biblical theology kills churches
Bad biblical theology misconstrues the biblical story. It makes the Bible about us, not about Jesus.
Theological liberalism redefines the story of salvation as God’s work to overcome, say, economic injustice. Roman Catholicism casts the clergy and sacrament in a mediator-ial role that smacks heavily of the old covenant. The Prosperity Gospel also imports elements of the old covenant into the new, only its emphasis is on blessings.
The list of bad biblical theologies is long, whether in ‘Christian’ cults like Mormonism and Jehovah’s Witnesses, or in movements within churches such as the social gospel, liberation theology, American messianism, or some forms of fundamentalist separatism. Each story culminates in an imbalanced (or false) gospel and so creates an imbalanced (or false) church.
Why your church needs it
Good biblical theology, however, guards a church’s doctrine and guides the church toward better preaching, better practices, better paths. It helps biblical exposition be gospel-centred and not moralistic.
It focuses the church’s mission on sharing the good news and making disciples, not just on doing works of mercy and justice.
It teaches that God saves not just individuals, but a people, and that being a Christian means living together with other Christians, who are our family, body, nation.
It helps us to understand how the Mosaic Law and temple worship do and don’t relate to the Christian life.
In short, good biblical theology guards the church against wrong emphases, wrong expectations, and a wrong evangel. It offers a trustworthy guide to the gospel, the Christian life, and the local church.
