Foundations for Following Through
Or, Why you should read Foundations of the Christian Faith with me
Have you ever read an entire volume of systematic theology? Do the words “systematic theology” sound odd or make you want to reach for a dictionary? If you’ve heard that term, you might think that systematic theology is just for seminary students, Bible scholars, or academically inclined church leaders. Fortunately, the study of theology (the study of God) systematically (organized topically) benefits everyone! Including you.
Essentially, systematic theology study is an organization of the topics and teaching of the Bible into a clear and categorical method. When you have a question like “Who is God?” how do you answer that? Or, “What does the Bible teach about God’s character, nature, and work?” Or if you ask, “How is someone saved?” you want to have a clear and concise answer that encompasses the teaching of the entire Bible. Systematic theology helps frame and supply those answers. In other words, good systematic theology helps organize and formulate the foundational and key doctrines of the Christian faith.
So why do I bring this up? Will you still go to heaven if you have not read an entire systematic theology volume before you die?1 I’m asking these questions because I want you to know God better and to love him more deeply. I want to help you be stunned by God’s greatness and goodness in a comprehensive (as much as we can get) manner. I want to help anchor you to live in this chaotic world with endurance and gospel resilience. I want to encourage you to know what true Christians believe and how the Bible speaks about our faith. I want to equip you to talk about God, Jesus, salvation, the church, and our Christian faith with other Christians and non-Christians effectively, clearly, and in love. I want you to grow with Christ!
What am I getting at? I invite you to join me over the next twelve months in a reading plan and class called “Foundations.” Starting in June, we will be reading through James Montgomery Boice’s book, Foundations of the Christian Faith. I’ll have a reading plan that breaks the book into segments, averaging around 70 pages per month. As you read through Foundations, we will gather at Woodside Plymouth on the last Monday night of each month for a recap class. The class format will include a summary overview of the reading, open Q&A, and application discussion. My aim is not for you to have more knowledge about God, but to have your life shaped by knowing God.
To join me is simple:
Register for the Foundations Class at Woodside Bible Church in Plymouth.
Get a copy of Foundations of the Christian Faith (either the “updated and revised” edition, the first edition, or a digital version).2
Download the Reading Plan.
Attend the end-of-month recap classes (the last Monday of each month).
So let’s go for it! Let’s read through FCF over the next twelve months and grow in our faith together.
The answer is yes, if you’ve repented of your sin and placed your faith in Jesus Christ alone.
The first edition is the same as the new “updated and revised” version. The publisher just added a study guide and changed some of the layout. You can find inexpensive used copies of the first edition for a fraction of the price of the new one. Our reading plan will have the page numbers listed for both editions.