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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. 

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