Systematic Theology Quotes

“In the preaching of the kingdom, law and gospel come together. The coming of the kingdom is the coming of a King to enforce his law on a disobedient world, that is, to enforce his covenant against covenant-breakers. But the King who comes is full of love and forgiveness. So his coming is good news, gospel, not only because he judges the wicked, but because he brings redemption, forgiveness, and reward to his redeemed people.”
― John M. Frame, Systematic Theology: An Introduction to Christian Belief

“So I offer my definition of theology: theology is the application of Scripture, by persons, to every area of life.11”
― John M. Frame, Systematic Theology: An Introduction to Christian Belief

“God is a logical, rational being, though he does not necessarily conform to the laws of any human system of logic. The laws of logic are an aspect of his own character. Being logical is his nature and his pleasure. So the fact that he cannot be illogical is not a weakness. It may not be fairly described as a lack of power. Indeed it is a mark of his great power that he always acts and thinks consistently, that he can never be pushed into the inconsistencies that plague human life.”
― John M. Frame, Systematic Theology: An Introduction to Christian Belief

“We need theology in addition to Scripture because God has authorized teaching in the church, and because we need that teaching to mature in the faith.”
― John M. Frame, Systematic Theology: An Introduction to Christian Belief

“Students are welcome at such schools to study historical and contemporary theology, and to relate these to auxiliary disciplines such as philosophy and literary criticism. But they are not taught to seek ways of applying Scripture for the edification of God’s people. Rather, professors encourage each student to be “up to date” with the current academic discussion and to make “original contributions” to that discussion, out of his autonomous reasoning. So when the theologian finishes his graduate work and moves to a teaching position, even if he is personally evangelical in his convictions, he often writes and teaches as he was encouraged to do in graduate school: academic comparisons and contrasts between this thinker and that, minimal interaction with Scripture itself.”
― John M. Frame, Systematic Theology: An Introduction to Christian Belief

“Some have taught that the way to holiness is to “let go and let God.”1258 But that idea is not biblical. In the first place, we don’t need to “let God,” for God is sovereign and does not need to wait for us to let go before he can work. And we should not let go, for God commands us to fight in the spiritual battle.”
― John M. Frame, Systematic Theology: An Introduction to Christian Belief

“In Scripture, however, the goal of human life is to glorify God. Our dignity is to be found not in what we do, but in what God has done for us and in us. Our meaning and significance are to be found in the fact that God has created us in his image and redeemed us by the blood of his Son. The biblical writers, therefore, are not horrified, as modern writers tend to be, by the thought that we may be under the control of another. If the other is God, and he has made us for his glory, then we could not possibly ask for a more meaningful existence.”
― John M. Frame, Systematic Theology: An Introduction to Christian Belief

“The Two Kingdoms view maintains that the kingdom came in Jesus and will come again in Jesus’ return, but that it is confined to the church in the period between Jesus’ two advents. That view goes against the passages cited above. Clearly, the kingdom has in fact deeply affected human culture over the centuries: in the sciences, the arts, the treatment of orphans and widows, education, and every other area of importance to human beings.”
― John M. Frame, Systematic Theology: An Introduction to Christian Belief

“It should be evident from our study so far that Scripture speaks of only one kingdom of God. That kingdom is the historical program of God coming to overcome his enemies, to redeem his people, and to bring his lordship to bear on all areas of created reality. There is no “secular kingdom,” no kingdom ruled only by natural law and not by Scripture. All people, all institutions, all spheres of human life have a responsibility to hear God’s Word, to respond to it obediently, and to accept the renewal of God’s grace.”
― John M. Frame, Systematic Theology: An Introduction to Christian Belief