Our Name
Webster defines:
good - of favorable character or tendency; virtuous, just, commendable
theology - the study of God and his relation to the world
Has our name sparked your curiosity?
At the risk of our name sounding pretentious (we apologize if anyone hears it that way; nothing could be further from our hearts' intention and what we believe God has called us to), please give us a chance to explain. We hope our site and the resources we offer will assist in bringing 'life' and encouragement to the hopeless, broken-hearted, addicted, ashamed, lost, fearful, lonely, diseased, hungry, disappointed, downcast, frustrated, angry, confused and searching soul...pointing ourselves and each other to Christ! Sometimes we superficially manage our emotions by numbing them with pleasures and pursuits that only temporarily dull our emptiness and pain. Being candid with our emotions can either drive us to bitterness and despair, or a quest for real answers and objective truth.
Our concern with truth is an inevitable expression of our concern with God. If God exists, then he is the measure of all things, and what he thinks about all things is the measure of what we should think. Not to care about truth is not to care about God. [1] This site began out of a love affair with God, wanting others to know Him and be satisfied in him. He is our great Treasure and nothing can compare with him. Not money, sex, power, popularity, conquest - nothing can take his place. [2] For us to love and enjoy him, we must first know him.
What do you believe about God?
God has revealed himself in the Bible. Jesus said, I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. [3] (John 14:6). For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. (Romans 3:23). All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned, every one, to his own way. (Isaiah 53:6). For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? ' (Matthew 16:26) In desperation, the Philippian jailer asked, What must I do to be saved? The answer given: Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you shall be saved. (Acts 16:30). For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. (Ephesians 2: 8,9).
Do you know Jesus?
Our eternity depends on how we answer that one question. The gospel is simply that we in our fallen nature are enemies of God, but God in his abundant grace redeems sinners through his son Jesus, saving all that call on his name (Acts 2:21), setting them free by his Spirit to glorify and enjoy him. St. Augustine, the great bishop of the 4th century, concluded, Thou madest us for Thyself, and our heart is restless, until it rest in Thee.
Have you found rest for your heart?
Good theology is truth. Those who have been forgiven in Christ have a new heart and are hungry for God and his word. Good theology is thirsting to know God in Christ as he really is, instead of shaping God after our own likeness. GT is first affirming that the Bible is God-inspired and without error, letting Scripture interpret Scripture. GT is neither leaning on our own understanding (Proverbs 3:5) nor being tossed…with every wind of doctrine' (Ephesians 4:14), but meditating in his word day and night. (Joshua 1:8).
As Christians, we are all theologians. The question becomes; will we search the Scriptures like the Bereans? (Acts 17:11) Or will we be indifferent toward his word, yielding a weak and divided Church? We desperately need to recover the foundational truths of the Reformation that awakened the Church in Europe and spread like wildfire...Scripture Alone, Christ Alone, Grace Alone, Faith Alone, To God Alone Be Glory. May our love for truth never lead to mere knowledge, producing pride; but humility, producing repentance and love. Do God's grace and truth captivate you?
Good theology is a redeemed heart 'in living color'.
Those who have been forgiven in Christ desire to live for his glory and love others as he has loved us. The delight we have in God's truth is incomplete unless it moves us from thinking heads to rejoicing hearts, professing tongues, gracious hands and compassionate feet. People that are broken and intoxicated by his amazing grace are liberated to love others in authentic and sacrificial ways.
Good theology should produce lives that reflect God's character, giving glory to him 'full circle'.
In and of ourselves, we can do nothing, but by his Spirit, we are called and enabled to subdue the earth (Genesis 1:28) and make disciples of all nations (Matthew 28:19), exercising our gifts as passionate image bearers. The essence of good theology is hearts that trust God in both the sweet and bitter providences of life because we have tasted his glory and grace. Working all things together for the good of those who love him (Romans 8:28), we are left to conclude, You alone are my God; my times are in Your hands. (Psalm 31:14,15). Are we known by our love for God and for each other?
In conclusion, we believe good theology simply means embracing the whole counsel of the gospel that has freed us from bondage to self, and living out that gospel so that others might beg us to reveal the object of our joy, assembling more worshipers for him. This hopeful commentary requires us in our weakness to feast on him alone, putting our mouths out of taste for those pleasures with which the tempter baits his hooks. [4]
At goodtheology.com, we believe that, as Christian booksellers, we are ultimately 'teachers'. James 3:1 warns, Let not many of you become teachers. . . That's why we will seek with humble hearts and sober minds to offer the very finest Christian resources available--biblically-sound, faith-building, hope-resting, love-producing, grace-saturated, God-honoring resources. We are simply beggars telling other beggars where to find bread. As we make mistakes, please come along side us to help make this site more useful and God-pleasing.
Thank you for your interest and allowing us to serve you.
Soli Deo Gloria!
Notes
[1] John Piper, A Godward Life, vol. 1, (Sisters, OR: Multnomah Books, 1997), p. 106.
[2] John Piper, TULIP Positional Paper (Minneapolis, MN: Desiring God Ministries), p. 1.
[3] Scripture passages are quoted from the New King James Version.
[4] Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible, vol. 2 (Old Tappan, NJ: Fleming H. Revel, n.d., orig. 1708), p. 1096.