Why We Need Systematic Theology
Joel R. Beeke, Paul M. Smalley
Why do we need systematic theology? How we answer the question depends a lot on what we think theology is.
Articles on Theology
497 results found
The Doctrine of the Atonement in the Bible
What does the Bible say about Christ's death and atoning sacrifice for sinners? Learn more from this look into the ESV Systematic Theology Study Bible.
Why You Can’t Have Justification without Sanctification
Justification should not be abstracted from the person of Christ.
Are There Differences between Christ’s Humanity and Ours?
What kind of human nature did Christ assume in the incarnation? Was it the nature of Adam before the fall, a sinless nature but with the potential to disobey God and fall into sin?
Why I Believe in the Doctrine of Justification
The Bible makes clear that our right standing before God comes not by works, effort, merit, or achievement, but by faith in Christ alone.
Mapping the Doctrine of Total Depravity
Left to ourselves, we neither want to nor can return to the God who made us, and, without the regenerating grace of the Holy Spirit, we cannot know him as our heavenly Father.
Regardless of what you personally think about him, surely we can agree that Jesus is a towering figure in the history of the world.
Q&A: Dane Ortlund Answers Your Questions about the Heart of Christ for Sinners
A couple of weeks ago, we asked readers to submit their questions for Dane Ortlund. Many of you sent in questions from around the world.
3 Questions about Regeneration
Joel R. Beeke, Paul M. Smalley
New birth is an absolute necessity for salvation. Without regeneration, the glorious offer of the gospel will not save a single soul.
The Life and Death of Jesus: A Theophany
Jesus's life brings to fulfillment the entire spectrum of theophanies of God in the Old Testament.
Dig into Theology with the ‘ESV Systematic Theology Study Bible’ on ESV.org
Learn more about theology with over 400 short doctrinal summaries connected to specific Bible passages—all on ESV.org.
Blessed: Why Study the Book of Revelation? (Episode 1)
Nancy Guthrie discusses the book of Revelation and how we actually can understand its central message, encouraging us to accept the blessing promised to those who “hear and keep” this book.
Sin is deceptive, both in its capacity to tempt us to follow its lead and in the way it confuses and clouds our thinking.
Matthew Y. Emerson, Brandon D. Smith
The eternal communion of Father, Son, and Spirit is the grounds for our communion with him and one another. Our triune God, simple and perfect for all of eternity, has always been the one God.
Justification Is Forensic (Not Transformative)
Certainly Paul teaches that Christians are transformed by God’s grace. But we must not make the mistake of reading Paul’s theology as a whole into every word he uses.
God Doesn’t Love You Because You’re Special or Good
God loves his people despite their sin against him. He loves them before they love him back, and before there’s anything in them worthy of his love. But his love doesn’t stop there.
Why the Local Church Needs Good Biblical Theology
Biblical theology is a vital help for pastors to faithfully declare the glorious truth that Jesus is the main point of the whole Bible.
Podcast: What an Old Controversy Teaches Us about Grace and Legalism (Sinclair Ferguson)
Sinclair Ferguson discusses the relevance of church history and divisive theological positions as we dig into a largely forgotten 18th-century Scottish debate about God’s grace and our works.
Differentiating the Work of the Son and Spirit in Salvation
A classic way of looking at the two-handedness of God’s work in salvation is the relationship between how the Trinity accomplishes redemption and how the Trinity applies that redemption to us.
What Is Distinct about the Theology of 2 Peter?
Second Peter has a robust doctrine of Scripture. Peter begins his letter with one of the strongest assertions of the sufficiency of God’s Word found in all of Scripture.
The Nicene Creed and the Importance of a Single Letter
The church could not be as grateful to anyone as they can and should be to Athanasius.
Short Studies in Biblical Theology
One of the great advances in evangelical biblical scholarship over the past few generations has been the recovery of biblical theology.
God has begun to fulfill his promises in and through Jesus, but he's not quite finished yet.
“Docetism,” was a heresy which could not accept the direct union of God and man.
A Brief History of the Doctrine of the Work of the Holy Spirit
Many people will be surprised to discover that the work of the Holy Spirit was not developed as a doctrine until after the Protestant Reformation.
Podcast: Common Misconceptions about Heaven (Ian Smith)
Ian Smith discusses what the New Heavens and New Earth will be like when Jesus returns.
Is It Possible to Love Jesus but Not the Church?
People find the church ugly because their focus and their vision is on the wrong thing. It's on the wrong person, if you will. They're focused on those who make up the church: sinners.
How the Bible's Message Impacts Daily Life
Knowing the whole message of the Bible should be transformative.
Don't Pack Your Bags for Heaven
When the only certainty about life is death, the Gospel message of resurrection-life offers comfort and hope.
God bestows many gifts on his children. Some of these gifts are titles and privileges; others enable us to be diligent for the work of God’s kingdom. But whatever we accomplish, we do so by the grace of God.