Theology Exam Study Flashcards
What is meant by Systematic Theology?
What the whole Bible says about a certain topic
What are the divisions of Systematic Theology?
- Bibliology: Scripture
- Theology: God
- Anthropology: Man
- Christology: Christ
- Pneumotology: HS
- Soteriology: Salvation
- Ecclesiology: The Church
- Eschatology: The last things
What is Reformed Theology?
It is a school of orthodox, historic, confessional Christianity, in which the sovereignty of God, the authority of Scripture, God’s Grace in salvation, and covenant theology are emphasized
What is Covenant Theology?
The concept that “covenant” is the over-arching, organizing principle of Scripture.
- Articulated in the Reformation
- Formally documented in the WCF
- Two main covenants
- Six manifestations with signs and seals
Why is Covenant Theology important?
- It’s a way of understanding how God relates to mankind
- It sees the Bible as telling one story
Define and Defend the covenants in Scripture
-Covenant of works: Gen.2.16 (eat of every tree but one)
-Covenant of grace:
Adamic: Gen.3.15 (bruise head, heel)
Noah: Gen.8.20-9
Abrahamic: Gen.12, 15, 17
Mosaic: Ex.19-24
David: 2 Sam.7
New: Jer.31.31-34
List and explain the 5 points of Calvinism
- Total Depravity: outside of the HS, totally unable to come to God, save himself, “or prepare himself thereunto”
- Unconditional Election: God sovereign chose before the foundation of the world; Election not based on foreseen faith
- Limited Atonement (Particular Redemption): X came to save those the Father gave him. Cross is sufficient for all, but effectual for the elect.
- Irresistible Grace: The HS gives life, removes the hardness of heart so that there is freedom to respond
- Perseverance of the Saints: The truly converted will persevere, enable by God’s grace in the power of the HS
Proof texts for the 5 points of Calvinism
T - Rom.3.23 (All have sinned and fall short)
T - Eph.2.1 (Dead in xgressions and sins)
U - Eph.1.4 (Chosen before the foundation of the world)
U - Rom.8.29-30 (those whom God foreknew, these he predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son.)
L - Matt.1.21 (..Jesus, for he will saves his people from their sins)
L - Eph.5.25 (Christ gave himself up for her/the church)
I - John 6.37 (All the Father gives me will come to me)
I - John 12.32 (When I am lifted up, I will draw all men to myself)
P - Rom.8.29-30 (..foreknew, predestined, called, justified, glorified)
P - Phil.1.6 (He who began a good work..faithful to complete it)
What is General Revelation?
The truth about God available to everyone through nature
What is Special Revelation?
The truth about God available only in Scripture (and un-included prophetic words b4 the canon was closed - Jesus and the prophets)
What is the Canon? Defend it Scripturally
- Canon: rule, measure, standard
- It is self-attesting, determined by the books themselves
1. Providential Exposure
- church cannot authenticate books it does not have
- lost books are not relevant
2. Attributes of Canonicity are
- Divine qualities
- Corporate reception
- Apostolic origins - OT canon confirmed by X (Matt.5.17)
- Peter understands Paul to be writing Scripture (2.Pet.3.15-16)
- Rev.22.18-19 - Don’t add or subtract
Define and defend the “Inspiration” of Scripture
- God’s special revelation is a product of God’s direct intellectual superintending of the men who wrote it
- Plenary (absolute) verbal inspiration - all is God’s word and words
- 2 Tim.3.16 All scripture is God-breathed
- Heb.1.1-2 Long ago God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, in the this last days his Son
- 2 Pet.1.21 - prophecy not by the will of man..men spoke from God as they were carried along by the HS
Define and defend the Necessity of Scripture
- Scripture is necessary fro knowing the gospel and will of God
- Rom.10.17 Faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ
- 2 Tim.3.15 Able to make wise
Define and defend the Authority of Scripture
Scripture is the very word of God and must be obeyed
- 1 Thess.4.8 Disregard this (Paul’s writing) = disregard God
- 2 Tim.3.16-17 God-breathed
Define and defend the Sufficiency of Scripture
Scripture is complete, containing all that is needed for God’s glory and man’s salvation, faith, life
-2 Tim.3.16-17
Rev.22 Warning (it’s all that is given/needed)
Define and defend the Perspicuity (clarity) of Scripture
What is necessary for salvation can be understood by diligent use of ordinary means
- Ps.119.130 your words..impart understanding to the simple
- 2 Tim.3.15 able to make wise
Define and defend the Inerrancy of Scripture
- the Bible is free from error
- Doesn’t present anything contrary to fact
- Heb.6.18 God doesn’t lie
- John 10.35 Scripture cannot be broken
- John 17.17 Thy word is truth
What is a distinctive about the Reformed interpretation of Scripture?
- Continuity between OT and NT
- The individual believer can understand without the aid of a priest
What principles should guide our interpretation of Scripture?
- Scripture is the only infallible rule of interpretation
- Less clear passages should be interpreted in light of more clear ones
What do the Scriptures principally teach?
What man is to believe about God and what duty God requires of man
What is God?
God is a spirit, infinite, eternal, and unchangeable in his being, wisdom, power, holiness, goodness, and truth
Briefly explain and defend the doctrine of the Trinity
-Three persons in the Godhead, TH, X, HS..one God, the same substance, equal in power and glory
-There is one God
Deut.6.4 Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one.
Isa.45.5 I am the LORD, there is no other
-TH plans the work of redemption, creation, and providence, and representing the Trinity in the council of redemption
-X mediated the work of creation, and mediates the work of redemption
-HS brings things to completion both in creation and redemption
Matt.28.19 ..baptizing them..TH, X, HS
2 Cor.13.14 the grace of X and the love of TH and the fship of the HS be with you
John 15.26 (X) will send the helper (HS) who proceeds from the TH
Which are God’s incommunicable attributes?
-Self-existence (Aseity, latin: from self)
John 5.26 the Father has life in himself
-Immutability
Ex.3.14 I AM WHO I AM
Ps.102 They will perish, but you will remain…you are the same
-Infinity - free from all limitations
1 Kings 8.27 Heaven cannot contain you
Isa.66.1 Heaven is my throne and earth my footstool
-Unity of God - he is numerically one
Isa.45.5 I am the LORD, and there is no other..no other God
-Omnipotence
-Omnipresence
-Omniscience
Which are God’s communicable attributes?
come back
What are the decrees of God?
His eternal plan based on the purpose of his will, by which, for his own glory, he has foreordained everything that happens
What is the difference between infralapsarianism and supralapsarianism?
They referred to the logical order of God’s decrees in creation
- Infra: election after the fall
- supra: election before the fall
What is Amyraldianism?
Moses Amyraut of the Saumur Academy
- Unlimited atonement
- 4 point Calvinism
How does God execute his decrees?
In creation and providence
What is God’s work of creation?
God’s making everything out of nothing by the power of his word, in six days, and all very good
Briefly discuss the length of days of creation
Calendar day interpretation:
-eve/morn suggests 24 hours
-Moses: “in 6 days the LORD your God created heaven and earth
-Genesis is a narrative
Day-Age
-sense of “in that day” as in Isa.11.10-11
-yôm
-First creation account written in a stylized way
Framework
-“week” is a metaphor
-topical, not chronological account
-days 1-3 creation’s kingdoms, 4-6 creation’s kings
Analogical
-setting a pattern of our rest and work
-“days” are God’s work days
-supernatural activity preparing the earth for man
Evaluate biblically the theory of evolution
- God deliberately created things “according to their kinds”
- Scripture indicates an ordered, not random process
- Man is not an accident of nature
- Man is created in the image of God
- Scripture describes an immediate response to God’s creative word
What is God’s work of providence?
His completely, holy, wide and powerful preserving of every creature and every action
-Eph.1.11 ..works out all things in conformity with the counsel of his will
What is a miracle?
When God works without, above or against the normal means of his providence
Do miracles occur today?
Yes, but now that the establishment of special revelation has ceased, he no longer grants miracle working power to human beings
Is God responsible for sin?
No
Jas.1.13 don’t say you are being tempted by God
1 John 1.5 God is light, and in him there is no darkness at all
Did God decree sin?
YES
Gen.50.20 You meant it for evil, God meant it for good
Acts 2.23 Christ crucified according to God’s plan
Did God permit sin?
Yes. Nothing takes place in the universe without his permission
Job 1-2
Who is the ultimate cause of all things?
God, for his own glory, who has foreordained all that happens
What is theodicy?
God’s goodness in the face of evil (not necessarily WHY it happens)
If God is good and all-powerful, what about evil and bad things happening?
The fall brought sin, destruction, death, sickness, and a resistant world
- Rom.8.20 For the creation was subjected to futility
- Rev.21.4 God will wipe away every tear from their eyes
Discuss the biblical teaching on predestination, election, reprobation
Predestination: the counsel of God in which in his special grace he sovereignly elects some for eternal salvation
Reprobation: God passes by some and justly punishes them for their sins
Rom.9.11 though they were not yet born and had done nothing either good or bad..not because of works, but because of him who calls
Ex.33.19 / Rom.9.15 I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy
Distinguish the Reformed and Arminian positions of predestination, election, reprobation
- Arminians do not accept absolute predestination
- Arminians support conditional election
- Reformed response: John 1.13 ..born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.
Are the doctrines of predestination, election, reprobation compatible with belief in real human choice and responsibility?
Scripture affirms both the sovereignty of God and the responsibility of man.
- Acts 2 (repent, save yourselves, this promise if for you),
- 1 Kings 22m (Ahab and the random arrow)
What should be some practical results of believing the doctrine of election?
- Marvel at being a vessel of mercy, not wrath
- Humility knowing our election had nothing to do with us
- Confidence in God’s love, that we can’t lose it
- Confidence in evangelism
- Worship!
I there a real, personal devil?
Yes.
- Gen.3 - the serpent speaks and is spoken to
- Job 1 - the Devil’s audience with God
- Matt.4 - Devi’s conversation with Jesus
What is the chief end of man?
To glorify God and to enjoy him forever
What does God require of man?
Obedience to his revealed will
1 Cor.10.31 ..do all to the glory of God
What does the Bible teach about the creation of human beings?
- Special act on the sixth day of creation
- Created in God’s image
- Given dominion over every aspect of creation
In what way is a man in the image of God?
- Knowledge
- Righteousness
- True holiness
- A person
- A sense of self
- A moral sense
Are all men in the image of God? If so, to what extent?
Yes.
- After the fall, the image of God is distorted but not destroyed (Gen.9.6)
- Partially restored in conversion and sanctification (Rom.8)
- Fully restored in the consummation (1 John 3.2 ..we shall be like him)
How does the doctrine of the image of God influence debates about gender roles?
Like the Trinity - ontological equality but economic diversity of roles
Where did man’s soul come from?
Three options:
- Preexistence - no biblical evidence
- Creationism - God creates at conception
- Traducianism - inherited life force from parents
What is sin?
Any want of conformity unto, or transgression of, the law of God
- Lawlessness - 1 John 3.4 Practice of sinning/lawlessness
- Omission - James 4.17 (Know but don’t do)
- Commission - Gen.2.16
Discuss guilt of sin and the corruption of sin
- Guilt of sin: Judicially we share the guilt of Adam’s first sin (Rom.5.12 ff)
- Corruption of sin: Morally we are born into a sinful state resulting in sinful acts
Define and discuss original sin
The effects of Adam’s sin on the lives of all his descendants
Rom.5 “All guilty in Adam”
1 Cor.15 “In Adam all die”
How can original sin be reconciled to the canons of justice, either human or divine?
- The covenant was made with Adam and all his descendants, therefore Adam’s sin was the transgression of all men
- To reject the original sin of the first Adam is to reject the righteousness of the Second Adam
Is there any good remaining in a fallen, sinful man?
-Yes - relative human good (husbands, employees, etc)
-No - Good before God
Rom.14.23 Whatever does not proceed from faith is sin
Heb.11.6 Impossible to please God without faith
In what ways does man sin?
- Share in Adam’s sin
- Lack original righteousness
- Don’t do what we should do
- Do what we shouldn’t do