Systematic Theology (Volume 2 of 3)

Augustus Hopkins Strong

Chapter IV. The Works Of God; Or The Execution Of The Decrees.

Chapter I. Preliminary.

Chapter II. The Original State Of Man.

Chapter III. Sin, Or Man's State Of Apostasy.

Chapter I. Christology, Or The Redemption Wrought By Christ.

Systematic Theology

A Compendium and Commonplace-Book

Designed For The Use Of Theological Students

Augustus Hopkins Strong, D.D., LL.D.

President and Professor of Biblical Theology in the Rochester Theological Seminary

Revised and Enlarged

In Three Volumes

Volume 2

The Doctrine of Man

The Judson Press

Philadelphia

1907

Part IV. The Nature, Decrees, And Works of God. (Continued)
Chapter IV. The Works Of God; Or The Execution Of The Decrees.
Section I.—Creation.
I. Definition Of Creation.
II. Proof of the Doctrine of Creation.
1. Direct Scripture Statements.
2. Indirect evidence from Scripture.
III. Theories which oppose Creation.
1. Dualism.
2. Emanation.
3. Creation from eternity.
4. Spontaneous generation.
IV. The Mosaic Account of Creation.
1. Its twofold nature,—as uniting the ideas of creation and of development.
2. Its proper interpretation.
V. God's End in Creation.
1. The testimony of Scripture.
2. The testimony of reason.
VI. Relation of the Doctrine of Creation to other Doctrines.
1. To the holiness and benevolence of God.
2. To the wisdom and free-will of God.
3. To Christ as the Revealer of God.
4. To Providence and Redemption.
5. To the Observance of the Sabbath.
Section II.—Preservation.
I. Definition of Preservation.
II. Proof of the Doctrine of Preservation.
1. From Scripture.
2. From Reason.
III. Theories which virtually deny the doctrine of Preservation.
1. Deism.
2. Continuous Creation.
IV. Remarks upon the Divine Concurrence.
Section III.—Providence.
I. Definition of Providence.
II. Proof of the Doctrine of Providence.
1. Scriptural Proof.
2. Rational proof.
III. Theories opposing the Doctrine of Providence.
1. Fatalism.
2. Casualism.
3. Theory of a merely general providence.
IV. Relations of the Doctrine of Providence.
1. To miracles and works of grace.
2. To prayer and its answer.
3. To Christian activity.
4. To the evil acts of free agents.
Section IV.—Good And Evil Angels.
I. Scripture Statements and Imitations.
1. As to the nature and attributes of angels.
2. As to their number and organization.
3. As to their moral character.
4. As to their employments.
A. The employments of good angels.
B. The employments of evil angels.
II. Objections to the Doctrine of Angels.
1. To the doctrine of angels in general.
2. To the doctrine of evil angels in particular.
III. Practical uses of the Doctrine of Angels.
A. Uses of the doctrine of good angels.
B. Uses of the doctrine of evil angels.
Part V. Anthropology, Or The Doctrine Of Man.
Chapter I. Preliminary.
I. Man a Creation of God and a Child of God.
II. Unity of the Human Race.
1. The argument from history.
2. The argument from language.
3. The argument from psychology.
4. The argument from physiology.
III. Essential Elements of Human Nature.
1. The Dichotomous Theory.
2. The Trichotomous Theory.
IV. Origin of the Soul.
1. The Theory of PreËxistence.
2. The Creatian Theory.
3. The Traducian Theory.
V. The Moral Nature of Man.
1. Conscience.
2. Will.
Chapter II. The Original State Of Man.
I. Essentials of Man's Original State.
1. Natural likeness to God, or personality.
2. Moral likeness to God, or holiness.
A. The image of God as including only personality.
B. The image of God as consisting simply in man's natural capacity for religion.
II. Incidents of Man's Original State.
1. Results of man's possession of the divine image.
2. Concomitants of man's possession of the divine image.
Chapter III. Sin, Or Man's State Of Apostasy.
Section I.—The Law Of God.
I. Law in General.
II. The Law of God in Particular.
III. Relation of the Law to the Grace of God.
Section II.—Nature Of Sin.
I. Definition of Sin.
1. Proof.
2. Inferences.
II. The Essential Principle of Sin.
1. Sin as Sensuousness.
2. Sin as Finiteness.
3. Sin as Selfishness.
Section III.—Universality Of Sin.
I. Every human being who has arrived at moral consciousness has committed acts, or cherished dispositions, contrary to the divine law.
II. Every member of the human race, without exception, possesses a corrupted nature, which is a source of actual sin, and is itself sin.
Section IV.—Origin Of Sin In The Personal Act Of Adam.
I. The Scriptural Account of the Temptation and Fall in Genesis 3:1-7.
1. Its general, character not mythical or allegorical, but historical.
2. The course of the temptation, and the resulting fall.
II. Difficulties connected with the Fall considered as the personal Act of Adam.
1. How could a holy being fall?
2. How could God justly permit Satanic temptation?
3. How could a penalty so great be justly connected with disobedience to so slight a command?
III. Consequences of the Fall, so far as respects Adam.
1. Death.
2. Positive and formal exclusion from God's presence.
Section V.—Imputation Of Adam's Sin To His Posterity.
I. Theories of Imputation.
1. The Pelagian Theory, or Theory of Man's natural Innocence.
2. The Arminian Theory, or Theory of voluntarily appropriated Depravity.
3. The New School Theory, or Theory of uncondemnable Vitiosity.
4. The Federal Theory, or Theory of Condemnation by Covenant.
5. Theory of Mediate Imputation, or Theory of Condemnation for Depravity.
6. The Augustinian Theory, or Theory of Adam's Natural Headship.
II.—Objections to the Augustinian Doctrine of Imputation.
Section VI.—Consequences Of Sin To Adam's Posterity.
I. Depravity.
1. Depravity partial or total?
2. Ability or inability?
II. Guilt.
1. Nature of guilt.
2. Degrees of guilt.
III. Penalty.
1. Idea of penalty.
2. The actual penalty of sin.
Section VII.—The Salvation Of Infants.
Part VI. Soteriology, Or The Doctrine Of Salvation Through The Work Of Christ And Of The Holy Spirit.
Chapter I. Christology, Or The Redemption Wrought By Christ.
Section I.—Historical Preparation For Redemption.
I. Negative Preparation,—in the history of the heathen world.
II. Positive Preparation,—in the history of Israel.
Section II.—The Person Of Christ.
I. Historical Survey of Views Respecting the Person of Christ.
II. The two Natures of Christ,—their Reality and Integrity.
1. The Humanity of Christ.
2. The Deity of Christ.
III. The Union of the two Natures in one Person.
1. Proof of this Union.
2. Modern misrepresentations of this Union.
3. The real nature of this Union.
Section III.—The Two States Of Christ.
I. The State of Humiliation.
1. The nature of this humiliation.
2. The stages of Christ's humiliation.
II. The State of Exaltation.
1. The nature of this exaltation.
2. The stages of Christ's exaltation.
Section IV.—The Offices Of Christ.
I. The Prophetic Office of Christ.
1. The nature of Christ's prophetic work.
2. The stages of Christ's prophetic work.
II. The Priestly Office of Christ.
1. Christ's Sacrificial Work, or the Doctrine of the Atonement.
A. Scripture Methods of Representing the Atonement.
B. The Institution of Sacrifice, more especially as found in the Mosaic system.
C. Theories of the Atonement.
1st. The Socinian, or Example Theory of the Atonement.
2nd. The Bushnellian, or Moral Influence Theory of the Atonement.
3d. The Grotian, or Governmental Theory of the Atonement.
4th. The Irvingian Theory, or Theory of Gradually Extirpated Depravity.
5th. The Anselmic, or Commercial Theory of the Atonement.
6th. The Ethical Theory of the Atonement.
D. Objections to the Ethical Theory of the Atonement.
E. The Extent of the Atonement.
2. Christ's Intercessory Work.
III. The Kingly Office of Christ.

[Transcriber's Note: The above cover image was produced by the submitter at Distributed Proofreaders, and is being placed into the public domain.]

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Christo Deo Salvatori.

“The eye sees only that which it brings with it the power of seeing.”—Cicero.

“Open thou mine eyes, that i may behold wondrous things out of thy law.”—Psalm 119:18.

“For with thee is the fountain of life: In thy light shall we see light.”—Psalm 36:9.

“For we know in part, and we prophesy in part; but when that which is perfect is come, that which is in part shall be done away.”—1 Cor. 13:9, 10.

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