Gospel Centered Theology

Every human has a theology. What we think about God will always determine how we live our lives. From the clearest explanations of the infinite, to the creation of a God in their own image, to a God who is their to meet and server their every need, to salvation on their own terms, to totally dismiss God's existence, one thing is true: everyone has a theology about God and Jesus, whether accurate or inaccurate. Every church denomination, cult, religion in the world has a theology about God, interpretation of what the Bible says, but there is only one truth about God, about Jesus, about the Scriptures, there can be many interpretation about the application of God's word, but only one truth about what it means and is about.

It is in theology we learn who God is. That He is infinite and personal, the Triune Creator. That God does all things according to His own will, for His own purpose, for His own pleasure, and ultimately for the praise of His glory. In theology, we learn of God's attributes and Missio Dei, i.e. His mission on earth. That God is righteous, holy, and just, while at the same time He is merciful, loving, gracious, and the Savior of the world. Without a clear theology of God, His Missio Dei, Christ, Christ's mission, our future hope, and the saving power of the gospel, we are left without a reason or foundation to love a hurt and broken world. A reason to stand justified before a holy God. A theology that is not in line with the truths of God, Christ and Missio Dei only lead to chaos, wars, destruction, sin, false God's, false messiahs and hopeless despair and lives lived for the wong purpose, with the wrong motives. We learn we are fallen and broken, hopeless without Him, seeking our own glory, our own righteousness. Yet, at the same time, we possess intrinsic value and dignity since we are made in God's image. Good theology will deal honestly with the self since it is first a revelation of God. We will never know who we truly are until we truly understand who God really is. With out a right theology one can not have the right identity, understanding of who they are, who they can be and are in Christ, know their created purpose and destiny. Nor what is and the purpose and mission of the church.

We need to have a living theology, one that we act upon, apply to our very lives that proves that we believe what we say we do, our theology must be one that is not based upon intellectualism, emotionalism, or legalism. We cannot claim to truly know who God is and the truths about Him without loving Him. We cannot claim to truly love God and understand Missio Dei if we do not truly love others, especially the lost, the outcast, forgotten, the sinners and the poor. And we can say we love Him and others unless we demonstrate that love in deeds, action to Him and others, the same for understand Missio Dei, if we understand it, it will be proven in our deeds and action towards others. We can not claim to live with kingdom values if our values are void of His true identity. We can not experience appropriate emotions for God, worship God in the spirit and truth if we do not know Him as He has revealed Himself in scripture.

That is why it is essential to have a good and correct theology it is essential for every believer, it determines what we think about God, Jesus, Missio Dei, ourselves and salvation, it will always determine how we live our lives. Good theology will seek to lovingly teach the world who it is and what Christ has come to restore. Our theology should not only be a theology that seeks God's glory, but a theology of hope for the world in which we live. In order have a good and correct theology the scriptures must be studied though the lens of the Gospel, in the power of the Holly Spirit. We must to seek to gain understanding of scripture and develop our theology in light of, centered on the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. For Jesus said that all scripture was about Him, His life and death, the scripture tell us He is the written Word, therefore in order to understand any of the word, we must study it threw the living Word, the one the whole story is about, Jesus. He is the key that unlocks the meaning of everything that unlocks the mysteries of God. The gospel reveals the truth of all Scripture and truth, nature of God, the end purpose of Missio Dei, God's mission, the purpose of the entire story of the bible. So any theology must be centered, founded on the gospel, on the life and person of Christ.

Therefore my theology, about God, Jesus, Missio Dei and man is formed, founded on the scriptures, interpreted though the lens of the Gospel, illuminated by the Holy Spirit. The truths I hold to be true are based on the word of God as seen through the life, death and resurrection of Yeshua as reveled to me by the Holy Sprit. The word of God reveals Jesus and Jesus reveals the Word of God.

"Biblical Theology is concerned with God’s saving acts and his words as these
occur within the history of the people of God. It follows the progress of
revelation from the first word of God to man through to the unveiling of the
full glory of Christ. It examines the several stages of biblical history and their
relationship with one another. It thus provides the basis for understanding
how texts in one part of the Bible relate to all other texts." –Graeme
Goldsworthy, According to Plan.

"Biblical theology enables us to make good gospel use of every part of the
Bible; it has the potential to produce good and rich gospel spirituality, which
reflects every facet and every stage of the biblical revelation. Christian
spirituality needs biblical theology so that its use of the Bible is coherent,
Christian, responsible, and reflects the full literary width and theological depth
of the Scriptures. In particular, biblical theology enables the Old Testament
to be used for true spirituality that is spirituality that expresses the gospel of
Christ." –Peter Adam, Hearing God’s Word: Exploring Biblical Spirituality.