How then, should we live?

The apostle Paul was a brilliant systematic theologian, but that was not his chief aim, it never is the chief aim of the best theologians.

The study of God is never an end in itself and though our colleges must be staffed by able theologians, the study of theology is never an end in itself, it must never be merely an academic discipline.

Paul was an ambitious church planter (Romans 15:20), his theological acumen served his church planting activity.

In his commentary on the Pastoral Epistles, Calvin said: “How dangerous to the church is that knowledge which leads to debates…..disregards piety and tends to ostentation.”

The puritan, William Perkins, called theology, “the science of living blessedly forever”.

Now that I am back pastoring, I can see the great value of solid theology and the affect of its absence.

J I Packer said, “Doctrine is the map that guides us on our cross country journeying through the 1000 odd pages of the Bible, on the one hand, and the complexities of godly living, on the other.”

Defective theology will inevitably lead to defective Christian living.

There are three areas of systematics which require our careful attention – these truths often get lost in larger theological tomes, but they need to be taught thoroughly to our people.

I intend to write about each of them in my next three columns.

The first is the place of the law in the believer’s life, this bears on the relationship of old and new covenants. Keep reading