November/December 2019 • $3.95 FrontLine

FrontLine

November/December 2019 ? $3.95

BRINGING THE TRUTH HOME

November/December 2019 | VOLUME 29 | NUMBER 6

THE FUNDAMENTALS:

Who Is God? Theology Proper

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FEATURES

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Is the Doctrine of God Pass¨¦?

Matt Walker

Modern man¡ªincluding many Christians¡ª

has marginalized God to the outer fringes of

his thoughts.

Our Desperate Need for the

Doctrine of God: Deuteronomy 32

Bryan Brock

The point of every narrative and every

name in the Pentateuch is God!

DEPARTMENTS

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The Trinity: The Uniqueness of

Christianity

Larry Oats

There is no other religion in the world that

has a god like our God.

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25

On the Home Front

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Is Nicaea Still Relevant?

David Saxon

The mystery and complexity of the Trinity

are not a reflection on God¡¯s inability to

communicate clearly.

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31

Regional Reports

12

God the Holy Spirit

Larry Oats

There can be some significant problems with

a study of the Holy Spirit.

32

At a Glance

A Visit with the Magi

Layton Talbert

36

Chaplain Ministry to the United

States Coast Guard

Trenten Long

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A Biblical Focus When Facing

Difficulties

Jerry Sivnksty

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Job: How Not to Talk about God and

Theology

Preston Mayes

Are Job¡¯s perspectives on suffering the

primary contribution of the book?

Our sincere thanks to Mark Herbster for

coordinating this issue of FrontLine magazine.

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Filtering Feminism: Reaffirming

God¡¯s Good Plan for Women

Amy D. Herbster

On Language & Scripture

Mark L. Ward Jr.

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Charles Spurgeon said,

The highest science, the loftiest speculation, the mightiest philosophy, which

can ever engage the attention of a child

of God, is the name, the nature, the

person, the work, the doings, and the

existence of the great God who he calls

his Father. It is a subject so vast, that all

our thoughts are lost in its immensity;

so deep, that our pride is drowned in its

infinity. But while the subject humbles

the mind it also expands it.1

The doctrine of God is the very foundation of all other theology and is therefore

called ¡°theology proper.¡± The word ¡°theology¡± itself refers to speech about God. Theos

means ¡°God¡± and logos means ¡°word.¡±

In a sense, if you call the doctrine of God

¡°theology proper,¡± all the other subjects

you¡¯re going to talk about in Christian doctrine are, in some ways, improperly theology¡ªthat is to say, we just extend the

notion of theology to cover all the other

fields because we talk about all the other

things in light of their relation to the doctrine of God.2

Theology proper is a systematic, theological approach to the biblical teaching concerning God¡¯s existence, His attributes, His

deeds, His Persons, and His interaction with

mankind. It is a vast and overwhelming

subject because God is transcendent above

His creation and totally indescribable with

the finite words of men. Psalm 145:5 declares

that ¡°his greatness is unsearchable,¡± while

Romans 11:33 asserts that ¡°his ways [are]

past finding out.¡± Job¡¯s rhetorical questions

about God (¡°Canst thou by searching find

out God? canst thou find out the Almighty

unto perfection?¡± [Job 11:7]) demonstrate

to us that only God is capable of revealing

who He is.

Although the finiteness of men¡¯s minds

precludes their ever fully knowing God on

earth, the fact that God has revealed Himself

means that God is, in some way, knowable.

God has revealed Himself generally through

His creation (Acts 14:16¨C17; Rom. 1:20; Ps.

19:1) and more specifically through the

Holy Scriptures (2 Tim. 3:16¨C17) and His

Son Jesus Christ (Heb. 1:1¨C2). His revelation

of Himself, however, cannot possibly be

comprehended apart from faith in His Word

leading to genuine salvation in Christ alone

(Rom. 10:17). This knowledge of God is not

for intellectual purposes alone but rather to

empower a life that is worthy of His Name.

The goal of the contributors to this issue

of FrontLine magazine is to connect intellect with devotion. The deeper a believer¡¯s

understanding of theology, the greater his

commitment should be to live in a way that

honors God. The bookend articles in this

issue, written by Dr. Matt Walker and Dr.

Bryan Brock respectively, speak to the necessity and significance of theology proper. Two

articles by Dr. Larry Oats and one by Dr.

David Saxon speak concerning the historic

trinitarian position of Christian theology.

Dr. Preston Mayes¡¯ article presents one key

aspect of practical application of theology

as seen in the Book of Job.

May God alone be praised as our understanding of Him grows. May each reader be

motivated to greater awe and adoration for

the great God who alone is worthy!

?¡ªMark Herbster

____________________

1

Charles Haddon Spurgeon, ¡°The Immutability

of God,¡± sermon from Malachi 3:6.

2

F. Sanders, ¡°The Doctrine of the Triune God,¡±

in M. Ward, J. Parks, B. Ellis, and T. Hains

(eds.), Lexham Survey of Theology (Bellingham,

WA: Lexham Press).

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Biblical. Flexible. Engaging.

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FrontLine ? November/December 2019

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