Introduction to Theology Proper

“Taste and see that the LORD is good;
blessed is the one who takes refuge in him” (Psalm 34:8).

Now I get to write about God. I’ve been chomping at the bit, because this is a topic that makes my heart sing.

Does that seem odd? As J. Gresham Machen wrote, "Many Christians today have a horror of theology; they suppose it must necessarily be a cold and lifeless thing.” Enjoying studying God would be odd if studying God were like memorizing logarithm tables. But what if it were like getting to know the most beautiful, clever, and fascinating person you’ve ever met? Would it be odd then? I don’t think most people would regard it so.

Theology can be made dry if it is treated like facts and figures, but when it is treated like the privilege of getting to know the maker of the universe it cannot be. God is an eternal, infinite being with the wisdom and power to make a universe, yet he condescends to disclose himself to us. There is an unimaginable beauty and glory that can only be experienced at his invitation, and he invites us to come. Though he is perpetually surrounded by adoring angels, he wants us to know him and has made a way for us to do so. How can we respond to this with anything less than enthusiasm?

Theology is not only exciting and beautiful, it is also life-giving. JI Packer wrote, “There is no peace like the peace of those whose minds are possessed with full assurance that they have known God, and God has known them, and that this relationship guarantees God’s favor to them in life, through death and on forever.” CH Spurgeon, the famous 19th Century preacher said, “[N]othing will so enlarge the intellect, nothing so magnify the whole soul of man, as a devout, earnest, continued, investigation of the great subject of the Deity.” The joy and peace that come from God cannot be found anywhere else. As St. Augustine put it, we are made for God, and our hearts will be restless until they find rest in him.

Theology is also intensely practical. Blogger Wendy Alsup wrote, “The reverential fear that comes from truly understanding God’s character sets us on a path of wisdom and understanding. Theology, simply put, IS practical. If our study of God hasn’t broken into the ins and outs of our busy daily lives, we may have not accessed real theology at all.” AW Tozer said, “A right conception of God is basic not only to systematic theology but to practical Christian living as well.”

Packer again (I’ll be quoting him a lot in this section): “Disregard the study of God, and you sentence yourself to stumble and blunder through life blindfolded, as it were, with no sense of direction and no understanding of what surrounds you.”

Come to the study of God like a child led to the dessert buffet. It is truly all you can eat, and I promise this will make you neither fat nor sick. God’s glory is on display in the world around us and in the pages of scripture, and we get to feast. Taste and see that the Lord is good!


One of the best ways to get an appreciation for God’s character is to examine how he acts toward us. I recommend Paradoxology: Why Christianity was Never Meant to be Simple by Krish Kandiah.

Photo credit: Welleschik, used under Creative Commons