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It’s easy to believe that if something is academic, it must lack vitality and energy, or perhaps even spirituality. When we apply the idea of “studying” to the Bible, we cringe at stuffing God in a bottle and examining Him. The term “theology” itself is almost a dirty word, as though it should be left to stuffy old men who want to argue about how many angels can dance on the head of a pin. However, it’s possible that we’ve completely misunderstood the purpose, even necessity, of theology.
What does “theology” even mean?
This is one of those times when words get used so often that they can take on a new meaning. If we’re being technical, theology means “the study of God.” The definition is true, but we lose much of its implication when we just leave it at that.
Over the years, we’ve gotten better at labeling the different ways we study theology. One particular term is “practical theology,” which, as the name implies, is “how does studying God apply to our lives?” It’s a great distinction, but it doesn’t roll off the tongue as cleanly.
Because most people would rather use one word instead of two, we often use “theology” and “practical theology” interchangeably. After all, few pastors or teachers encourage people to study theology without applying it to their lives. However, that cold, emotionless term tends to throw people off. Who wants to sit and study theology when they can live the Christian faith?
But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. (Galatians 5:16)
However, truly studying theology encompasses the very core of our Christian life. It asks a simple question: “Who is God, and how does that impact how we live?” Our spiritual growth depends on how we answer that question. And whether we mean to or not, that’s a question everyone, even atheists, answers every day.
We all do theology
Our answer to the question “who is God?” can always be seen in how we live our lives. And not the Sunday school answer of “God made the universe and sent Jesus, etc.” but our truest convictions of everything about who He is. Every measure of sovereignty, passiveness, love, cruelty, and even the level of existence we believe about God sets the course for every moment of our lives.
If we believe God is a brutal taskmaster waiting to rain down judgment on us, we try to obey every word of the Bible out of fear and self-preservation. If we see Him as a kindly father waiting to rain down money and success, we focus on our own wants and even use the Bible’s “promises” as legal binding. If we believe He doesn’t exist, we become our greatest object of worship and live our lives in pursuit of happiness.
Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life. (Proverbs 4:23)
Our lives display our beliefs about God. What we cherish, what makes us angry, and every choice we make reflects what’s deep within us. It’s not a matter of if we need theology, but what sort of theology we build.
We all practice theology, which means we can’t escape theology. However, we can escape poor theology.
Theological anchors
Studying cults is fascinating. Groups like Heaven’s Gate manage to take the Bible and twist it to say some truly zany things, leading their members to kill themselves. The Manson Family likewise committed violent acts in the belief that Charles Manson was their messiah. It all sounds so insane, yet we should be slow to point our fingers in mockery at these gullible fools. God says we’re just like them.
And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ (Ephesians 4:11-15)
Poor theology is the root of these tragedies. Charles Manson wasn’t a messiah; he was just charming and persuasive. Yet those who followed him, like those who follow cults today, like those of us who don’t live our lives for God, didn’t have a firm grounding in reality. Something sounded good, and without good theology, all people are so easily swept away by false beliefs.
For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions (2 Timothy 4:3)
That same lack of foundational truth is what leads so many of us astray. The truth we’re pursuing will inform the truth we surround ourselves with. If we aren’t pursuing God, we’ll pursue lesser gods. If we’re studying God well, being changed by the Holy Spirit, we won’t tolerate lies about Him.
He must increase, but I must decrease. (John 3:30)
A mark of poor theology is how it proportions God and man. The smaller we make God, the more we focus on our wants, needs, and the necessity for something besides Christ to supply our joy and salvation. Studying good theology leaves no room for that. Good theology magnifies God’s sovereignty and puts us in our proper place – kneeling before His throne as broken servants.
How do we develop good theology?
But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you. (John 14:26)
With the Holy Spirit inside of us, it’s impossible to study theology without it becoming practical theology. In a way, studying theology is like surrounding ourselves with kindling. Even unbelievers can study God, but it’s the Holy Spirit who will ignite the spark and create a burning passion and understanding for God deep within us. Yet that passion isn’t just in the heart, but in the mind.
We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ (2 Corinthians 10:5)
And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. (Matthew 22:37)
God calls for us to be mature in our thinking so that we aren’t persuaded by false teaching. Over and over, God continues to call for us to use our minds to love and serve Him. Loving God with our mind and studying theology are inseparable, and God calls us to do both.
Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth. (2 Timothy 2:15)
You shall teach them to your children, talking of them when you are sitting in your house, and when you are walking by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. (Deuteronomy 11:19)
How do we handle and teach something accurately without being intimately familiar with it? How do we teach our children about God if we don’t understand Him deeply ourselves? Studying theology is to develop our minds, continually focusing on the only source of truth rather than letting our minds be molded by the world).
Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. (Romans 12:2)
When we are confronted with a belief, whether it’s a false teacher or a secular philosophy, our alarm bells will go off because it’s incongruous with what we know about God. No matter how good something sounds, no matter how much our sinful desires want it to be true, our mind binds our heart to God and leaves room for nothing else.
Do Christians need theology?
It’s clear that Christians don’t just need theology, we can’t escape it. No one can. What we set our minds on is what develops our theology. Setting it on ourselves produces selfishness. Trusting modern thinking over God’s word corrupts our thinking. Letting our theology be influenced by anything other than the Bible itself, studied and interpreted well, can only convince of us of poor theology.
We are worshipers of God. Without understanding who He truly is, we run the risk of worshiping a false God whom we’ve simply named “God.” He has given us everything we need to know Him. We have His infallible word, the Holy Spirit within us, and an overwhelming amount of wisdom from men and women of God throughout the ages.
But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth. (John 4:23-24)
Let us never be lax in our theology. We worship God when we love the truth of who He is. The entirety of our lives is bound to loving and serving Him. Yet no matter how long we develop our theology we will never find an end to the glorious majesty of our God.
Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways! (Romans 11:33)
