Skip to main content

Delighting in the Truth: Why Theology Matters, by Pastor Charlie Handren

By Anonymous
     Over the last three months we have meditated on the eight sections of our Membership Affirmation of Faith which include (1) The Trinity, (2) God the Father, (3) Jesus Christ, (4) The Holy Spirit, (5) The Word of God, (6) The Human Condition and Salvation, (7) The Church, and (8) The Last Things. Our aim in this series has been to help the church grow in our understanding of truth, our love of God, our love of one another, and our love of unbelievers. This week we close out the series with a few thoughts on why theology matters and why we should give time to it.
      The word “theology” is made up of two Greek words that mean “God” and “teaching,” so that theology is “teaching about God.” While the Bible never uses the word theology, it does use the words doctrine, teaching, and sound-doctrine or healthy-teaching (1 Timothy 1:10; Titus 1:9; 2:1). All sound doctrine centers on the gospel of Jesus Christ, and it touches upon both biblical truth and biblical ethics. In other words, theology is about what we think and how we live so that healthy-teaching leads to holy living and unhealthy-teaching leads to immoral living.
     So, then, why does theology matter? Let me give you five reasons. First, theology matters because it gives us hope (see Romans 15:4). Theology is meant to help us grasp God’s truth so that we’ll trust in God’s purposes, promises, and power. Then as we see the Lord do what he says he will do, we gain hope and grow in faith.
     Second, theology matters because understanding and applying the truth prepares us to recognize, withstand, and refute error (Ephesians 4:11-16; 1 Timothy 4:1; 2 Timothy 4:1-5; Titus 1:9). When we learn to see God for who he is, we also learn to see lies about God for what they are.
     Third, theology matters because knowing and applying the truth is integral to the process of killing the flesh and fertilizing the Spirit (Colossians 3:1-17). As I mentioned above, good thinking leads to right living, and right living leads to Christ-exalting fruitfulness.
     Fourth, theology matters because the truth of God applied to life by the power of the Holy Spirit actually transforms us into the image of Christ (Ephesians 4:11-16). And since God has assigned such a high place to the understanding and application of truth, we should give ourselves to it.
      Fifth, theology matters because it is designed to evoke worship. As the old saying goes, “Theology gives rise to doxology.” In the end, theology is a relational endeavor not an intellectual one. It is designed to help us understand God, but more so to know, love, and worship him. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

To Have My Soul Happy in the Lord, by George Muller

By Anonymous
To Have My Soul Happy in the Lord By George Muller “It has pleased the Lord to teach me a truth, the benefit of which I have not lost for more than fourteen years. The point is this: I saw more clearly than ever that the first great and primary business to which I ought to attend every day was to have my soul happy in the Lord. The first thing to be concerned about was not how much I might serve the Lord, or how I might glorify the Lord, but how I might get my soul into a happy state, and how my inner man might be nourished. “I saw that the most important thing I had to do was to give myself to the reading of the Word of God—not prayer, but the Word of God. And here again, not the simple reading of the Word of God so that it only passes through my mind just as water runs through a pipe, but considering what I read, pondering over it, and applying it to my heart. To meditate on it, that thus my heart might be comforted, encouraged, warned, reproved, instructed. And that thus,...
Post a Comment
Read more

Reflective Glory: How the Moon Displays the Mercy of God

By
Our sun is a fitting metaphor for the glory of God. In the context of our solar system, it is massive, bright, beautiful, powerful, self-sufficient, heat-producing, life-giving, and dangerous. It is, by far, the dominant feature of our solar system and without it the system would fling apart and all living things therein would die.  On the other hand, our moon is a fitting metaphor for human beings, especially for those who believe in Jesus Christ. First, compared to the sun, the moon is tiny and dim. The sun is 400 times larger than the moon, its mass is 27 million times greater than the mass of the moon, and from our perspective its light shines 450,000 times brighter than that of the moon. The sun is so much greater than the moon that it’s difficult to quantify and express the difference. Likewise, the Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, is so much great than each and all of us that it’s impossible to quantify or express the difference. Indeed, the Lord is very great and greatly...
Post a Comment
Read more

God Displays His Beauty While Lifting Heavy Burdens by Pastor Kevin

By
I know I am a little bit overweight. My doctor tells me so. The mirror that I look into affirms it and the scale (that I mostly avoid) reminds me every time I step on it. All of that makes what I am about to say so much more impressive. I had the privilege of sitting on the beaches of Florida's Atlantic coast for 8 days on our most recent family trip. For me there is something magical about the beach, especially on the Atlantic side with the waves washing up against the shoreline. We have been lucky enough to find a sleepy beach town to vacation at. A nook, if you will, that typically features retired folks or families with kids. Out of the way of those who want to party, the beach is truly a relaxing place for me.  Let me tell you something that I gleaned this time around that never quite landed on me. This last week it landed on me, almost literally. My son Ben and I are the more adventurous specimens in the Feder five. We actually get into the salty water where there are jelly f...
2 comments
Read more