"Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth." — John 17:17 NASB 1995
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FAITHFUL TO THE WORD
Dr. Joshua Nichols
Theological Lessons & Biblical Exposition
Equipping Believers in the Knowledge of Christ
"All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work."
2 Timothy 3:16-17
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Welcome to the Faithful to the Word resource library, a growing collection of theological teaching, biblical exposition, pastoral guidance, and more. These resources are written and taught to bridge the gap between the academy and the local church, making the richness of the Christian theological tradition accessible to every believer. Whether you are a new Christian or a seasoned student of the Word, you will find here a place to grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. We pray these materials serve your ministry, strengthen your teaching, and help you make disciples who love God, love His Word, and live for His glory.
Please note: These resources are a work in progress. New series and topics are added regularly as the Lord provides opportunity and the Spirit gives direction. If there is a subject you would like to see addressed, or a book of the Bible you would like studied, please do not hesitate to reach out. This ministry belongs to Christ and exists to serve His people.
PAGE CONTENTS
Category
I
The knowledge of God
Theology
The study of God is the highest and noblest pursuit of the human mind. These resources explore the great doctrines of the Christian faith, from the nature and attributes of God to the outworking of His redemptive purposes in history. Rooted in the Reformed tradition and governed by the authority of Scripture, each series is designed to build theological maturity in believers at every level.
Systematic Theology
A comprehensive, doctrine-by-doctrine study of the Christian faith: Theology Proper, Christology, Pneumatology, Soteriology, Ecclesiology, and Eschatology, treated with depth and pastoral care.
Biblical Theology
Tracing the progressive unfolding of God's redemptive plan across the whole canon of Scripture, from creation to consummation, with Christ as the center and climax of the story.
Historical Theology
Tracing the development of Christian doctrine through the centuries, how the church has articulated, defended, and transmitted the faith from the apostolic age to the present.
Systems of Theology
A comparative study of the major theological systems: Covenant Theology, Dispensationalism, Progressive Covenantalism, New Covenant Theology, examining each in light of Scripture.
Practical Theology
>Where doctrine meets daily life; the application of theological truth to worship, ministry, ethics, pastoral care, and the everyday calling of the Christian in the world.
Philosophical Theology
The intersection of theology and philosophy; the existence of God, the problem of evil, the nature of divine attributes, faith and reason, and the coherence of the Christian worldview.
Confessional Theology
A guided study through the great creeds, confessions, and catechisms of the church, understanding what the church has always believed, and why these documents still matter today.
Polemical Theology
The defense of orthodox doctrine against error; from ancient heresies to modern theological liberalism. A call to contend earnestly for the faith once for all delivered to the saints.
Category
II
Opening the Scriptures
Biblical Expositions
Faithful exposition of the sacred text is the heartbeat of this ministry. These resources walk through books of the Bible verse by verse and passage by passage, letting Scripture speak on its own terms, in its own context, with Christ as the center and goal of every page. Whether Old Testament or New, each exposition aims to unfold the meaning of the text and apply it to the life of the believer.
OLD TESTAMENT
From Genesis to Malachi, the unfolding drama of creation, fall, covenant, and promise. Expositions of the Pentateuch, the Historical Books, the Psalms, the Prophets, and the Wisdom Literature.
NEW TESTAMENT
From Matthew to Revelation, the fulfillment of God's promises in Christ. Expositions of the Gospels, Acts, the Pauline and General Epistles, and the Apocalypse of John.
Category
III
For the Life of the Believer
Pastoral Topics
The Christian life is not lived in the abstract. It is lived in the furnace of real experience, in joy and sorrow, strength and weakness, clarity and confusion. These resources address the practical realities of Christian living, offering biblical counsel and pastoral encouragement grounded in the truth of God's Word and the sufficiency of His grace.
Prayer & Spiritual Disciplines
The means of grace for everyday faithfulness: prayer, Scripture reading, meditation, fasting, and the habits that sustain the soul through every season.
Marriage & Family
God's design for the Christian home: covenant marriage, biblical parenting, and the shaping of households that honor Christ and bear witness to the gospel.
Suffering & Trials
>Walking through the valley with Christ, the sovereignty of God in suffering, perseverance, grief, loss, and the hope that sustains the believer in the darkest hours.
Assurance & Doubt
Honest wrestling with questions of faith, the ground of assurance, the nature of saving faith, and pastoral encouragement for those who struggle to feel what they believe.
The Local Church
Why the local church matters: membership, community, church discipline, the ordinances, and the call to committed fellowship in the body of Christ.
Sanctification & Holiness
The lifelong process of being conformed to the image of Christ: mortifying sin, cultivating virtue, and walking in the power of the Holy Spirit.
Category
IV
Defending the Faith
Apologetics & Worldview
The Christian is called not only to believe the truth but to give a reason for the hope that is within him (1 Peter 3:15). These resources equip believers to think Christianly, engage the questions of a secular age, and defend the faith with clarity, compassion, and conviction; always in service of the gospel and the glory of God.
Classical Apologetics
The traditional arguments for God's existence and the truth of Christianity: cosmological, teleological, moral, and historical evidences for the faith.
Presuppositional Apologetics
Beginning with the self-attesting authority of Scripture and the triune God as the precondition for all intelligible thought, the Van Tilian tradition in defense of the faith.
Engaging Cultural Ideologies
Bringing a biblical worldview to bear on the dominant ideas of our age: secularism, relativism, critical theory, expressive individualism, and the new sexual ethic.
Science, Faith, and Creation
The harmony of Scripture and the natural world: affirming the biblical account of creation, the sovereignty of God over nature, and the limits of scientific naturalism.
Category
V
The Story of the Church
Church History
The church did not begin with us, and the truths we confess were not discovered yesterday. These resources walk through the story of Christ's church from the apostolic age to the present, exploring the people, controversies, councils, and movements that have shaped the faith we have received. To know the history of the church is to be inoculated against the novelty that so easily masquerades as insight.
The Early Church
From the apostolic fathers to Augustine, the formation of the canon, the rise of Trinitarian orthodoxy, and the theological foundations laid in the first five centuries.
The Ecumenical Councils
Nicaea, Constantinople, Ephesus, Chalcedon, the great councils that defined orthodox Christology and Trinitarian theology against the heresies that threatened the church.
The Medieval Church
From Gregory the Great to the eve of the Reformation, scholasticism, monasticism, the Crusades, and the theological developments that set the stage for the sixteenth century.
The Reformation
Luther, Calvin, Zwingli, Knox, and the recovery of the gospel: Sola Scriptura, Sola Fide, Sola Gratia, Solus Christus, Soli Deo Gloria. The five solas that changed the world.
Post-Reformation
The golden age of pastoral theology, Owen, Bunyan, Baxter, the Westminster Assembly, the 1689 Confession, and the shaping of Reformed piety and practice.
The Modern Church
From the Great Awakenings to the present: revivalism, liberalism, fundamentalism, the global missions movement, and the state of the church in the contemporary world.
Category
VI
What the Church Has Always Believed
Creeds, Confessions & Catechisms
The historic creeds and confessions of the church are not substitutes for Scripture; they are faithful summaries of its teaching, forged in the fires of controversy and refined by the wisdom of the Spirit working through the communion of saints across the centuries. These resources guide you through the church's greatest confessional documents, line by line and article by article.
From the Early Church
A detailed study of the confessions, creeds, and proclamations of the apostles, apostolic fathers, and the early church.
From the Reformation
The Reformation was a time of church renewal and many new confessions and catechisms came about: Westminster, London, Heidelberg, the Canons of Dort and others.
From the Modern Church
The many modern churches and denominations use earlier church confessions, but many develop their own, let's look and learn how they compare.
Category
VII
Going Deeper Into the Text
Biblical Languages & Tools for Study
The Bible was written in Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek, and while faithful English translations bring us the truth of God's Word, there is a richness in the original languages that rewards the diligent student. These resources offer introductory and intermediate tools for those who desire to go deeper into the sacred text, whether for personal edification, teaching preparation, or academic study.
Intro to New Testament Greek
A guided introduction to Koine Greek for the serious layperson: the alphabet, basic grammar, verb parsing, and how to read the Greek New Testament with understanding.
Intro to to Biblical Hebrew
The language of the Old Testament, Hebrew alphabet, vocabulary, verb stems, and the tools needed to begin engaging with the Hebrew Scriptures at a foundational level.
Tools & Methods for Study
How to use lexicons, concordances, interlinear Bibles, exegetical tools and AI: a practical guide for the believer who wants to study the Word with greater precision and faithfulness.
A Word About These Resources
Every resource on this page is offered freely and without charge. This ministry exists not for profit but for the building up of the body of Christ. If these materials have been a blessing to you, we would ask only three things: first, that you share them with others who might benefit; second, that you pray for this ministry, that God would sustain it, correct it where it errs, and use it for the advancement of His kingdom and the glory of His name; third and finally if you gained any benefit from these resources, would you consider donating to the ongoing work of this ministry.
These resources are a work in progress. New series and topics are added regularly as the Lord provides opportunity and the Spirit gives direction. If there is a subject you would like to see addressed, or a book of the Bible you would like studied, please do not hesitate to reach out. This ministry belongs to Christ and exists to serve His people.