Many people, including some professing Christians, reject theological discussions. They say things like, “Theologians give Christianity problems” or “Don’t give me doctrine give me Jesus and His love, that’s enough.” Such ideas are simply foolishness. Anyone who has ever thought about God or sought God’s grace or studied God’s Word or discussed God’s existence with another person or participated in a Sunday School Bible study is a theologian. Theology is the study of God. Theology isn’t the private arena of seminaries, scholars, or pastors. It is what ordinary, thinking Christians do everyday as we pursue our lives and ministries. Theology is not done by nerdy misfits cloistered in some dusty old library or classroom. Instead, theology is done by every believer waste deep in life and life’s issues.
Why is life like this? God has the answer. What am I to do next? God has the answer. Where will I pursue my education or ministry? God has the answer. How are we going to make it in this economy? God has the answer. Who do I vote for in this election? God has the answer. When we reject theology and theological discussion, we reject God and His solutions to our problems and questions.
Jesus said, “Take my yoke upon you and learn from me” (Mt. 11:29a ESV). He did not say: “get saved and that is enough.” No, He said, “learn from me.” In order to learn from Him, we have to study Him and what He taught. Yet, diligent study does us no good if we do not believe and practice what we have learned. Note our Lord’s words to some folks who thought studying the Scriptures was all they needed. “You diligently study the Scriptures because you think that by them you possess eternal life. These are the Scriptures that testify about me, yet you refuse to come to me to have life” (John 5:39-40 NIV).
Having life – eternal life – is what concerns God! The believer is not required to produce volumes of scholarly explanations. We are required only to practice by faith what we are learning from God. Yet, our faith and practice must be study driven, because we can not practice what we don’t know, and we can not know what we have not learned since “faith comes by hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ” (Rom. 10:17 ESV). But when we have heard the word of Christ (either by study or preaching), faith is produced in us, yet “faith without action is dead being alone” (James 2:17 & 26). So, learning from Christ plus faith in Christ plus coming to Christ equals eternal life through Christ. And that is what concerns God!
Dear Father, thank you for Christ who died for our sin. Grant that we may pursue life through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. This I pray in His name. AMEN
Be encouraged today by what concerns God,