All Christians should know what they believe, and why they believe it. For this reason, it is important for all Christians to give some thought to how they form their understanding of Bible doctrine. This brief article summarizes some useful guidelines for developing a theological method informed by Scripture.
If I could recommend one chapter to fuel your worship of God today, it would be the first chapter of Paul’s epistle to the Romans. You may have read this chapter hundreds of times in your Christian life. However, I encourage you to carefully read through it at your next opportunity and trace the incredible portrait that Paul paints of our great God. At least 26 times God is mentioned in this chapter by name or by personal pronoun. He clearly dominates Paul’s thinking, and I think that Paul is seeking to get his readers to consider Him so that He may be worshipped for who He is. Since space is limited, let’s review ten of Paul’s statements about God and observe what is on his heart.
Reading through the opening chapters of Numbers is not always the easiest undertaking for a 21st century believer. The first two chapters are a bit tedious as Israel takes a census of each tribe and learns how to be arranged around the Tent of Meeting. The next 100 verses explain the specific duties of the tribe of Levi as they “keep guard over the whole congregation” (3:7). Chapter 5 abruptly begins with Yahweh commanding the people of Israel to keep the camp clean because “I dwell in the midst of it” (v 4). Then, Yahweh explains how to make atonement “when a man or woman commits any of the sins that people commit by breaking faith with the Lord” (v 6). These words seem to leap off the page of Scripture. What does it mean to break faith with the Lord? Let’s consider this.