The role and purpose of systematic theology OK Systematic theology stands as the bedrock of religious comprehension and faith

It offers us as believers a very structured approach to dealing with the bigger questions that come up It

should ultimately help strengthen our spiritual foundation strengthen your spiritual foundation In this lesson we will go into the

significant role and purpose that systematic theology plays in shaping our understanding of our faith By the end

of this lesson you will know how to clearly define systematic theology The role systematic theology

plays in four parts and the four part purpose of systematic theology So let's give a

scripture here for reflection as we go Proverbs 26 for the Lord gives wisdom from his mouth Come knowledge

and understanding Use this scripture Keep fresh in your mind as we go throughout this lesson Now let's start

by defining again systematic theology It is a methodical approach to comprehend and organize religious beliefs The term systematic implies

a deliberate purposeful effort to construct a coherent framework for understanding religious doctrines So a simple way I like to

think of this is a structured approach to the study of God and the study of religion we will be

repeating this definition throughout the course So it stays fresh in your mind Now what is the role of systematic

theology This can be broken into three parts We will start with a scripture and then we will explain

each part So part number one is clarity and understanding We see this in psalm 1 19

So in systematic theology this is our road map right This guides us through the intricacies of

different religious ideas making them accessible and making them much more comprehensible easy to be understood So think of

it as the scripture says a lamp to light the path Now integration is number two

we see this in James 15 If any of you lacks wisdom he should ask

God who gives generously to all without finding fault and it will be given to Him This integrates various teachings

and doctrines found within religious texts bringing together the different elements This helps us create a more unified view

of the religion So we want to have a unified view as this is where false

prophets misguided teachings can arise and they do you see them everywhere If there is one unified view

it is the view of God So not our opinions but fact we should seek that wisdom from God and

Bible always go back to scripture always keep it in context by checking those facts back to the

context of the Bible The Bible is the wisdom God given to us Number three is

defending the faith First Peter 315 is a great example here But in your hearts

honor Christ the Lord as Holy Always being prepared to make a defense to anyone

who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you yet do it with gentleness

and respect So systematic theology really provides a foundation for explaining and justifying those beliefs

giving us a defense against skepticism or criticism and doing it in a humble way not in

a way to attack someone but to help get that point across there will always be skeptics that's inevitable

But we can use this to get better at defending those arguments the more you know the easier it

is to give those correct responses in the right manner It's not just about being right it

is about conveying the message in a way that will really help someone and help someone

accept it without being on the defensive Now what is the purpose of systematic theology

We're going to also break this into four simple parts ok Relationship with God morality spiritual growth and understanding

So let's first talk about a deeper relationship with God Jeremiah 2913 For I know the plans I have

for you declares the Lord plans for welfare not for evil to give you a future and a hope

then you will call upon me and come and pray to me and I will hear you

you will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart

So this aims to deepen our relationship with God giving us an understanding of God

who God is and who is our role in the world in God's plan This is all about learning

that we all have a unified purpose to serve God as well as individual callings individual purposes and

talents specific to each of us to you And I we all have different talents We were

given to find those talents As Jeremiah says we are to seek and find God with all

our hearts and the rest will come Number two is guiding morality and ethics We

see this in Proverbs 35 to 6 Again trust in the Lord with all your heart and

lean not on your own understanding in all your ways submit to him and he will make your paths straight

This is a great verse It assists us in the moral and ethical decision making part providing a framework something

for us to follow aligned with religious convictions to guide our choices We are to

trust in the Lord by doing so He will make our paths straight He will guide

us where he needs us to go when we try to do it ourselves is

when the problems usually tend to happen Number three is fostering that spiritual growth Philippians three verse

to ask questions and to seek answers And number four facilitating dialogue and understanding So in a diverse world Systematic

Theology what it does what it hopes to do is foster that interfaith dialogue how by

providing a structured framework for comparing and contrasting these different faith traditions So in this lesson we

learned what systematic theology is it is a methodical approach to comprehend and organize religious beliefs So

we took that definition a little bit further than the previous lesson Now the role of

systematic theology we also covered clarity understanding integration and defending the faith Now the purpose of systematic theology is a

relationship with God morality spiritual growth and understanding So great job in completing this lesson please refer to the

worksheets complete for this section as needed and take the quiz and the next lesson we will discuss

the historical development of systematic theology So you can start to understand where it came

from and why it is so important