Why does theology matter?

A famous quote from A.W. Tozer’s The Knowledge of the Holy states, “What comes into our mind when we think about God is the most important thing about us.” Theology, the study of God and His ways, shapes the way we live, our worship, our relationships, our mission, and our world. It matters deeply to the Christian life. Yet many believers feel intimidated. Words like hypostatic union and pneumatology feel academic and far removed from our personal relationships with our Savior. Tracing atonement through the bible to see its fulfillment in Christ feels daunting. It requires reading Leviticus, something many of us prefer to avoid. And when we read Scripture, we often feel a tension: is the bible a story or a set of beliefs? Simply put, it’s both. Within Christian theology, two major disciplines help us understand the unfolding story of Scripture and the doctrines that rise from it: biblical theology and systematic theology.

Biblical Theology: Guarding Story 

Biblical theology is the study of God’s progressive revelation across the storyline of Scripture. Instead of treating the Bible as disconnected books, chapters, and verses it follows the narrative arc from creation to new creation tracing how themes like covenant, temple, kingdom, and the image of God unfold throughout redemptive history. The goal is to see how each passage fits into God’s unified story that ultimately culminates in Jesus. 

Biblical theology matters because it guards the story. It honors Scripture’s intentional literary design and each author’s unique historical context. It recognizes that meaning is often embedded not only in the words themselves, but in the sequence of events, how God reveals Himself progressively, and why certain promises and symbols appear when they do. In this way, biblical theology deepens our appreciation for Jesus as the fulfillment of the Old Testament and reveals that the gospel is not a New Testament invention, but the climax of a long-awaited rescue.

But when biblical theology is overemphasized or isolated, it has limitations. It can remain descriptive rather than prescriptive, showing patterns without drawing doctrinal conclusions. Its inductive method, moving from text to theme, can sometimes leave those themes like threads laying beside each other, rather than woven into a single fabric. Without a balancing framework, people might conclude that Scripture has many theological “voices” rather than one unified message.

This is why we also need systematic theology in order to gather those threads into clarity, coherence, and conviction.

Systematic Theology: Guarding Structure

If biblical theology guards the story, systematic theology guards the beliefs that rise from that story. Systematic theology takes the full witness of Scripture and organizes it into a clear, understandable framework of doctrine. Rather than tracing a theme, it gathers everything the Bible teaches on a subject and synthesizes it. Its goal is to articulate doctrine that is both coherent and comprehensive, giving Christians a palatable framework for what they believe and why.

Systematic theology matters because it brings structure and clarity to the Christian faith. It produces consistent teaching and apologetics, helping believers explain and defend what Scripture teaches. By drawing from the whole bible, it shows the unity and harmony of God’s Word, revealing that Scripture speaks with one voice, not many. And practically, it offers a framework for ethics, worldview, and discipleship. It helps Christians see how doctrine forms daily life. 

But, like biblical theology, systematic theology has limitations when overemphasized or used on its own. Doctrine can feel like a set of detached concepts rather than truths emerging from a living story. It may build precise propositions without showing how those truths arise from the text or fit within the arc of redemption. When that happens, theology becomes technically correct yet emotionally disconnected, truths that don’t move the heart to worship or result in awe and wonder of our God. 

Systematic theology can also risk importing categories Scripture never intended. At times, theologians have borrowed philosophical or cultural frameworks and then fit the Bible into those molds instead of letting Scripture define its own terms. And in the pursuit of being logically airtight, systematic reflection can over-define mysteries that Scripture intentionally leaves as tensions. When that happens, theology becomes an intellectual exercise instead of a means to worship and know a living and relational God.

This is why systematic theology must remain tethered to the story biblical theology protects. Joined to the narrative God has written, it gives structure to understanding that anchors belief. 

The Order Matters

While biblical theology and systematic theology are two important disciplines, they are part of a much larger process. Developing a faithful theology involves multiple steps, and the order matters. Everything begins with exegesis, the work of interpreting what a text meant to its original audience by paying attention to context, language, and structure.

From there, biblical theology asks how that text fits within the unfolding storyline of Scripture. Systematic theology then gathers the full witness of Scripture to clarify what the whole Bible teaches about that theme, what we believe and why we believe it. But doctrine is not formed in isolation. Historical theology reminds us that the Spirit has been guiding the church for centuries. It helps us see where the church has found clarity in the past, where it has drifted, and how believers before us have interpreted core truths. To sharpen further, philosophical theology deals with the logical coherence and metaphysical assumptions that arise, pressing into difficult concepts without distorting Scripture. Finally, practical theology asks what obedience looks like, how doctrine becomes embodied in the life of the church and in everyday faithfulness. 

Each discipline serves the others, and distortion happens when one leads alone. If systematic theology leads without the story, doctrine becomes abstract and proof-texted, ignoring redemptive context. If biblical theology leads without synthesis, we trace themes but never arrive at conviction. If exegesis stands alone, we get lost in the details and miss the larger picture. And if practical theology takes the lead, experience begins shaping belief rather than Scripture. But when ordered properly, exegesis to biblical theology to systematic theology to practice, we receive a theology that is faithful to Scripture, centered on Christ, rooted in the historic faith, and lived out in obedience.

In the simplest terms, the flow looks like this:

• Exegesis: What does this text mean in context?
• Biblical Theology: How does this fit within the storyline of Scripture?
• Systematic Theology: What does the whole Bible teach about this theme?
• Historical Theology: How has the church understood this in the past?
• Philosophical Theology: If there is tension or difficulty, how do we answer it faithfully?
• Practical Theology: How do we live this out in obedience and worship?

How do we grow? 

This may sound complex, but it’s far more accessible than we often think. Every Christian encounters these disciplines simply by walking faithfully with the Lord. You grow in theology every time you open your Bible and meditate on Scripture, every time you discuss God with other believers in Community Group, every time you sit under faithful preaching on a Sunday, and even when you take classes like How to Understand the Bible or Finding the Gospel in Jonah. The question is not whether we are exposed to theology, the question is whether we are intentional with it. Are we seeking to know and love the Lord with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength? Are we learning to zoom in on the details of a passage while also zooming out to see how it fits within the whole story of Scripture and the doctrines that arise from it?

To grow in biblical theology, immerse yourself in the whole story. Read Scripture in large sections, not just verses pulled out of context and consider reading through a book in one sitting or working through the Bible chronologically. As you read, practice storyline awareness: ask where you are in the unfolding story of redemption, and how a passage anticipates or flows from Jesus. Pay attention to how each biblical author contributes to the whole, noticing how themes develop across Scripture. And don’t grow alone, learn from others. Resources like The Bible Project, BEMA, the Naked Bible Podcast, or scholars such as D.A. Carson and N.T. Wright can help train you to know God through scripture’s progressive revelation.  

To grow in systematic theology, build a belief framework. Study one doctrine at a time such as God, Scripture, Christ, salvation, the church, and gather what the whole Bible says about it. Compare passages, cross-reference, and notice tensions rather than ignoring them. Let Scripture shape and correct your assumptions. Test every conclusion against the full counsel of God’s Word. And again, learn from trusted voices. Resources like Doctrine Matters with Kevin DeYoung, Theology in the Raw, Mere Fidelity, or scholars like Wayne Grudem and John Frame can help bring cohesion and clarity to a complex Savior. 

If you’re interested in a deeper dive with more explanation, helpful illustrations, and practical ways to grow, we unpack all of this and more in an episode of Well Said: Systematic vs. Biblical Theology and Why it Matters. Consider it an extended, friendly conversation on the importance of growing in the knowledge of God.