Past exam of the computer science course of the University of Oxford / 2015 / Logic and proof / 2 / a / Solution

A first-order theory in a fixed first-order signature is a set of first-order sentences. Under the closed-theory convention used in the question, it contains all its semantic entailments: $T\models \theta$ implies $\theta \in T$. One can equivalently begin with a set of axioms and take its closure under consequence.

A complete theory is a consistent first-order theory that decides every first-order sentence $\theta$ in its first-order signature:Consistency ensures that exactly one of these alternatives holds.

A decidable theory is one for which an algorithm always terminates and determines whether a given first-order sentence is a consequence:If the first-order theory is already closed under consequence, this is its membership problem. It is a condition on the consequences, not merely on whether the chosen set of axioms has a decidable membership test.