Theology for Life

A Study of the Westminster Confession of Faith

Our beliefs are central to what it means to be a Christian. They are part of how we know God and live faithfully. This course will explore the various topics of theology and how they should shape our lives.

 

Lesson 1: Knowing God and General Revelation

  • Why study theology? God has made us to know him and has clearly revealed himself to us in the world he has made. 

Handout: Lesson 1 Knowing God & General Revelation

 

Lesson 2: Special Revelation

  • God gives us his Word to save us. The Bible tells the story of redemption and reconciles us to God. God gives this Word through people so that we might understand it better.

Handout: Lesson 2 Special Revelation

 

Lesson 3: The Sufficiency of Scripture

  • God’s Word is sufficient for life and godliness. His Word should exercise authority in our life. Our conscience is free from the guilt of sin in things the Bible does not call sin.

Handout: Lesson 3 The Sufficiency of Scripture

 

Lesson 4: The Aid of Confessions and Tradition

  • The Holy Spirit has worked in Christians throughout the centuries to help shed light on the correct interpretation of Scripture. Creeds and Confessions help us steer clear of errors we would make as individual interpreters.

Handout: Lesson 4 The Aid of Confessions and Tradition

 

Lesson 5: God's Attributes

  • God is like us in many ways. These qualities help us to know him and guide us to act like him. He is, however, unlike us in many ways. Confusing these incommunicable attributes will lead us to believe wrong and harmful things about God.

Handout: Lesson 5 God's Attributes

 

Lesson 6: The Trinity

  • God is One Being in Three Persons. This reality is difficult to understand but there are many advantages in understanding his nature. The Trinity teaches us that God is relational; it means we can know God through Jesus; and, it teaches us that he has integrity, he is One

Handout: Lesson 6 The Trinity

 

Lesson 7: God's Sovereignty

  • God is in control of all things. He doesn’t just foresee the events; he is in control. Rather than being bad news, this is essential to our hope in a good end of all things.

Handout: Lesson 7 God's Sovereignty

 

Lesson 8: Our Free Will

  • God gives us free will. Our sinful nature, however, corrupts that will. God’s predestination is hopeful news to those who cannot save themselves. It doesn’t discourage us from evangelism; it gives us confidence in its effectiveness.

Handout: Lesson 8 Our Free Will

 

Lesson 9: The Canon of Scripture

  • How did we get our Bible? The popular theories neglect God's intention and activity in the process of giving us his word.

Handout: Lesson 9 The Canon of Scripture

 

Lesson 10: Providence and Contentment

  • God is in control of all things. He can perform miracles, but he is just as active and working through ordinary times and events. Understanding God’s providence better will lead us to greater contentment.

Handout: Lesson 10 Providence and Contentment

 

Lesson 11: Providence and Suffering

  • Suffering often tempts Christians to misunderstand God or his actions. Understanding God’s providence assures us that there is no meaningless suffering. God’s purposes for suffering in the OT and NT can be different and understanding the covenant context of the passage will help interpret God’s purpose for the suffering.

Handout: Lesson 11 Providence and Suffering

 

Lesson 12: Creation

  • Our understanding of creation has been shaped by the Fundamentalist-Modernist debates. Scripture is clear on the non-negotiables: God created all things out of nothing, God is the Lord of creation, and Adam functioned as our representative.

Handout: Lesson 12 Creation

 

Lesson 13: Humanity and Sin

  • Humans are created in the image of God. Sin has corrupted humans. Sin is legally imputed to us and our nature is corrupted. 

Handout: Lesson 13 Humanity and Sin

 

Lesson 14: The Person of Christ

  • Christ is fully God and fully man; one person with two natures. His unique identity is essential for his act of salvation. Jesus fills the three offices of prophet, priest, and king. 

Handout: Lesson 14 The Person of Christ

 

Lesson 15: The Work of Christ

  • Christ’s active and passive obedience merited our salvation. His death paid the penalty for our sin. He is the one mediator between God and man, and, therefore, the only savior for the world. 

Handout: Lesson 15 The Work of Christ

 

Lesson 16: Conversion

  • Conversion must begin with God’s effectual calling in our lives. Our sinful nature means that he must change our hearts. Confusing the order of salvation can lead to misunderstanding the gospel.

Handout: Lesson 16 Conversion

 

Lesson 17: Faith

  • Faith is a gift of God working in us. It becomes our response to God’s act of salvation where we ascent, receive, and rest to the truths of the gospel.

Handout: Lesson 17 Faith

 

Lesson 18: Repentance

  • Repentance is a grace that leads us to greater dependence on Christ. Repentance is not a work that earns our salvation.

Handout: Lesson 18 Repentance

 

Lesson 19: Justification

  • Justification is God’s verdict based on Christ’s righteousness. God legally counts our sin onto Christ and Christ’s righteousness onto us.

 

Handout: Lesson 19 Justification

 

Lesson 20: Adoption

  • By adopting us, God covers our shame and gives us a new identity. One of the great struggles of the Christian life is grasping the full significance of being a son or daughter of God.

 

Handout: Lesson 20 Adoption

 

Lesson 21: Perseverance

  • Perseverance is a work of God that enables his elect to remain faithful to the end. From a human perspective, some may appear to fall away from genuine faith, but God encourages true Christians to find their confidence in him and his promises.

 

Handout: Lesson 21 Perseverance

 

Lesson 22: Assurance

  • God wants us to have, but doesn’t guarantee, assurance of our salvation. Assurance will not be found by looking inwardly at our performance or our experience. It can only be found by looking at what Christ has accomplished.

 

Handout: Lesson 22 Assurance

 

Lesson 23: Sanctification

  • The moment God converts us he begins a work of sanctification. Sanctification is God’s work but he works holiness into us through our use of means. Our sanctification is not complete in this life but will be in heaven.

 

Handout: Lesson 23 Sanctification

 

Lesson 24: Covenant Theology

  • God relates to his people through covenants. We are saved by Christ’s work. He faithfully fulfilled the covenant of works. God’s covenant of grace with us rests on the covenant of works that Christ fulfilled. The Mosaic Covenant symbolically represented Christ's Work. 

 

Handout: Lesson 24 Covenant Theology

 

Lesson 25: God's Law

  • God’s Law is good for the Christian. For those justified by the work of Christ, the Law becomes a helpful guide to life. The civil and ceremonial laws give us a full picture of Christ and guide our understanding of what he has accomplished for us.

Handout: Lesson 25 God's Law

 

Lesson 26: The Church

  • Christ has given us the church so that he can be present with us. By the Spirit, Christ uses the offices of the church to confirm and bless us in the gospel. The organized and visible church is not an exact representation of all who are saved but it is an essential community for the Christian life.        

Handout: Lesson 26 The Church

 

Lesson 27: Church and State

  • God has designed the State to restrain the influence of sin in the world. He gives the power of the sword to physically threaten and punish. The State has no spiritual authority. God designed the church for redemption. Its power is ministerial and declarative.

 

 

 

Handout: Lesson 27 Church and State

 

Lesson 28: Worship

  • God has called us to worship Him as our main duty in life. Worship should be given according to God’s word. Because worship not just doxological, edifying and missional, worship should be in the vernacular of the people.

 

Handout: Lesson 28 Worship

 

Lesson 29: The Sacraments

  • God has instituted sacraments to represent, seal, and apply Christ and his benefits to believers.

 

Handout: Lesson 29 The Sacraments

 

Lesson 30: Baptism and the Lord's Supper

  • Baptism and the Lord’s Supper are means of grace that apply to us the benefits of Christ. Baptism is a converting ordinance. The Lord’s Supper is a confirming ordinance.

 

Handout: Lesson 30 Baptism and the Lord's Supper

 

Lesson 31: Our Future Hope

  • All people after death will face a Final Judgment. Believers will be immediately brought into God’s presence and await the future resurrection and new creation. Those outside of Christ will face the condemnation of Hell.

 

Handout: Lesson 31 Our Future Hope

 

Lesson 32: The End Times

  • There are different views on how the Bible describes the Last Days. Amillennialism faithful represents the “now and not yet” tension found in the NT. This teaching has implications for our life and how we relate to suffering and the world, however it should not take prominence over the gospel.

 

Handout: Lesson 32 The End Times