Articles & Devotionals
Me? A Theologian?
Let’s face it, as Christians we speak our own language. We use words that just don’t appear in non-Christian speech. Some of those words even scare us a little – words like theology. I remember being a young Christian and upon hearing a word like “Theology” it conjured images of high academia and the domain of preachers and Ph.D.s; however, theology is just a tool or more precisely a toolbox. For the average Christian, it should scare us no more than baptism, worship, love or service.
Whether we realize it or not, every Christian has a theology. It is our paradigm or our view of God and various elements of the Christian life. Do you believe in the criticality of faith? How about repentance? Do you believe in the deity of Christ? Then you have a theology. This theology shapes the way we read scripture, the way we interpret & integrate teachings into our lives, and the ultimately way we relate to our God.
To use one example, the Jewish people codified their beliefs a couple different ways. First was the Torah – the written word. Then there was the Midrash – a collection of exegetical texts that provided commentary on the Torah. Then there was the Mishnah – the written down oral traditions that defined everything from ceremonial to everyday life. You put those three things together and you have the fundamental theology of the Jewish faith.
In short, theology is simply the study of God – that’s the literal definition. Getting a little more specific, the various branches of theology are simply different attempts to explain and express the author’s belief in God, His person, His ways, and how we interact with the Almighty.
Like many areas of study, theology has numerous branches that take various approaches in their quest. For example, a common and well-known branch is called Systematic Theology. Systematic Theology takes a topical approach to theology. Topics like God, man, and salvation are key pieces. In fact, I have a 3-volume set on my shelf entitled Systematic Theology. The three titles are “Theology”, “Anthropology” and “Soteriology” (God, man, salvation). Other branches, like Covenantal Theology looks at the Bible through the lens of God’s covenants and their fulfillments.
A few words of caution: when you embark on any serious study, always remember that unless you’re reading scripture, you’re reading someone’s opinion. The author may be highly educated (and they probably are), highly sincere, and very convincing, but they are NOT God! I have a dear brother in Christ who is a faithful preacher of the gospel. His viewpoint is to read a blatantly heretical book every year. He says it keep him sharp. Others take a more Secret Service approach. The Secret Service, who investigates counterfeit cases, study only real currency so when they see a fake it looks fake. I don’t recommend either approach specifically. I raise both simply to provide alternatives. As far as my own personal study goes, I will read just about anything. Our own brotherhood has great scholarship, but there’s lots of valuable material out there as well. Just be discerning. If you’re a young Christian, I recommend talking to the elders, preachers, and teachers to get good recommendations. If you’re Bible knowledge is strong, there’s lots of good material out there. Just be mindful.
The questions I challenge you to ask are, how well developed, informed, and biblically sound is your theology? How do you use your theology to discern your walk with Christ?
To resist theological study is effectively to say, “I can’t use a shovel because I’m not a professional ditch-digger.”
For further reading, see R.C. Sproul’s wonderful book, “Everyone’s a Theologian”
