Theology Thursday: What is Theology and Why Does it Matter?

Let us answer the second part of the question: does theology matter? Yes! Theology is incredibly important for any Christian on this journey. Unfortunately, some Christians have created this unusual and unnatural dichotomy with theology. Either people are antinomian in the sense that theology is completely irrelevant and it ‘hinders’ the move of the Spirit, or they are legalistic in the sense that they have ‘airtight’ theology but a dead spiritual walk. Now, before we go any further, let me dispel one major myth: everyone— and I mean EVERYONE has a theology about God. Whether it’s right or wrong, orthodox or heretical, atheists/agnostics, Hindus, Buddhists, Muslims, etc. everyone has some opinions, thoughts, and beliefs about God, even if you think ‘theology doesn’t matter.’ However, as Christians, theology is a central concern and of high importance because we worship God based on how we understand the Gospel of Jesus Christ that is revealed in the overarching drama of Scripture. Nevertheless, before we go any further, I think it’s time to finally answer the big elephant in the room.

What is Theology?

Theology can be defined as the study of God, knowledge of God, or as some people define it, faith seeking understanding of God. Now there is a deep Scriptural foundation for theology and why it’s important. Here are a few verses that come to mind that encourage us to grow in our knowledge of God.

2 Timothy 3:16-17 “All Scripture is inspired by God and is profitable for teaching, for rebuking, for correcting, for training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.”

John 17:3 “This is eternal life: that they may know You, the only true God, and the one You have sent —Jesus Christ.”

Jeremiah 9:23-24, “This is what the Lord says: The wise person should not boast in his wisdom; the strong should not boast in his strength; the wealthy should not boast in his wealth. But the one who boasts should boast in this: that he understands and knows Me— that I am the Lord, showing faithful love, justice, and righteousness on the earth, for I delight in these things. This is the Lord’s declaration.”

2 Peter 3:18 “But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity.”

Personally, 2 Peter 3:18 is one of my favorite verses to promote theology because look who it’s coming from: Apostle Peter. Peter was known for being the ‘average joe’ apostle since he was an uneducated fisherman unlike Apostle Paul, who was known for being a brilliant Pharisee. Yet here, we see Peter instructing Christians to grow in our grace and knowledge of Christ, not Paul, because even Peter understands that what we know about God actually matters. Really think about it, is it a bad thing to know more of God? Of course not! Even Jesus says in John 17:3 that knowing God is what our eternal life will be!
Now if you still believe that theology is useless or that it 'quenches the Spirit', then consider these things. If you believe that there is one God, we are saved only through the grace and work of Jesus Christ and believe in subjects such as sin, repentance, salvation, Heaven, Hell, love, justice, etc, guess what? You have a theology. You can’t believe Jesus is Lord but also say you don’t have a theology. It’s a self-defeating argument.



For people that think theology hinders the Spirit or don’t ‘like’ theology.

To be fair to the people who believe this, they do have a point. Actually two. The first point is that people can mistake having knowledge about God for actual intimacy with God. J.I. Packer talks about this in his great book Knowing God that we have to go from head knowledge God to a heart relationship. If Christians don't focus on being mastered by the Scriptures rather than attempting to master the Scriptures, it can easily lead to a dead, dry, and desolate faith devoid of maturity, devotion, and spiritual prayer. This mistake leads to the growing negative view of theological seminaries and Bible colleges because Christians believe that when a student graduates from the seminary, they become intellectually full and prideful, but spiritually bankrupt. Some graduates tend to believe that true spiritual growth is how well you can quote Scriptures, doctrines, confessions, or famous pastors, all while lacking basic spiritual disciplines.
It’s sad to say this because I’m a humble graduate of a Reformed seminary, yet I see or hear about people who think that theology is the substitute for intimacy and spiritual growth. For example, my brother visited a church years ago where a visiting preacher was exhorting a sermon. He said that the sermon was solid but something seemed off. He didn’t quite know what it was so he went up and talked to the guy after the service only to find out that the young man graduated from seminary but was an atheist! An atheist who was preaching for money nonetheless! This is what happens when theology becomes an end within itself and not as a resource to give God glory. Therefore, I want to be fair in saying that I understand why some Christians may be thinking that theology is a hindrance or a killer of a real walk with the Holy Spirit.
However, what I will say to those of you who come here with this sentiment is that it is not an excuse to not learn theology because theology is an eternal issue. Let’s look at verse 17 combined with 2 Peter 3:18 “Therefore, dear friends, since you know this in advance, be on your guard, so that you are not led away by the error of lawless people and fall from your own stable position. But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity.” Peter is instructing us to grow in our theology of God, not for puffed up knowledge, but so that we will not be led away into error and ‘fall from your own stable position.’ In fact, he says to ‘be on your guard,’ which is saying that this is a form of protection.
Peter also says in 1 Peter 3:15, “But in your hearts regard Christ the Lord as holy, ready at any time to give a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you.” This is the verse where we get the term ‘apologetics’ which means to make a reasonable defense of the Gospel. Theological seminaries and Bible colleges do help the Church with this defense of the faith. Furthermore, seminaries are teaching pastors and theologians how to ‘rightly handle the Scriptures’, teach sound doctrine, and make a biblical defense for the Gospel when false religions and philosophies such as Islam or atheism challenge the faith. There’s a reason why the Deconstruction Movement is on the rise and people are leaving the faith because they feel like pastors can’t answer hard questions about the Bible, such as the validity of Scripture (how can we trust the Bible), deity of Christ (is Jesus really God), and why Christianity is the only true religion apart from the competitors that also say they’re the true religion. Pastors, like myself, go to school to be educated to equip the saints for the work of ministry and to equip them with valid theological answers to make a reasonable defense for the Gospel.
Furthermore, a proper use of theology doesn’t hinder our walk with the Spirit but enhances it significantly. A strong, robust theology gives Christians a ‘stable position’ in their walk where they are not easily swayed by the world and by the crazy ideas that are constantly being placed in front of us. Not only that but theology helps Christians to grow in their intimacy with God. Like a spouse, the more you know about your spouse the more you can know them intimately and since the Church is Christ’s bride and He is the Husband, the more we know about Christ, the more deeply we can love Him. Theology, when understood and used properly, will take your walk with Christ to a new level.
The other point that doubters of theology bring up is that they don’t like the divisive lines that theology sets within Christianity. Again, there’s truth to this and, if you just go on any social media platform, you'll see Christians arguing all the time about theology. And look, ’ll be real, it’s frustrating to hear different theological camps fight over hair splitting issues that everyone screams are Heaven or Hell concerns when in reality, it ain’t that deep bro.
 

However, this doesn’t mean that we can accept any theology nor does it mean that all theology is correct theology. We may never have a perfect theology of God but we can have a sufficient theology of God. Even though some Christians may have their differences, they’re still able to get along on the basis of sufficient theology of God. Consider 1 Corinthians 13:9-12 which says, “For we know in part, and we prophesy in part, but when the perfect comes, the partial will come to an end. When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put aside childish things. For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I will know fully, as I am fully known.”
A common example of this is Reformed Baptist vs. Presbyterian. They have their minor theological differences, namely Baptists hold to believers baptism whereas Presbyterians hold to infant baptism; yet, despite this, they are still able to respect one another as family in Christ. A real life example of this is John Piper (Reformed Baptist) and the late Tim Keller (Presbyterian). Though they have their differences, Piper and Keller were good friends and Piper is even a board member of Keller’s famous organization called The Gospel Coalition.
A more divisive example of cross theological collaboration is predestination vs. free-will (Calvinism vs. Arminianism). These theological camps debate each other all the time concerning the inner workings of salvation. However, both camps will agree with the sufficient theology that we are saved by grace through faith alone in Christ. This is why many Reformed pastors and theologians respect their Arminian counterparts such as C.S. Lewis, A.W. Tozer, John/Charles Wesley, Richard Baxter, Roger Olson, and Thomas Oden to name a few.
It is a fair assumption to say that theology has (rightly and wrongly) divided Christians. However, to say that this is a valid reason to not learn theology is to leave yourself vulnerable to literal life or death issues.
This actually leads to the opposite side of the argument: people hold very strongly to theology because there is a sufficiency of theology for belief. Dr. Michael Horton, in his book The Christian Faith: A Systematic Theology For Pilgrims on The Way, says that faith has three parts: the object of our faith (Christ), the subject of our faith (sinners), and the content of our faith (Scripture). If one of these things falls through, we don’t have the Christian faith which is a big deal. Far too often, I’ve seen Christians wanting to hold hands with Mormons, Jehovah Witnesses, Muslims, Buddhists, etc. To that, I go to my next point and pull out my red card.


Why Theology Matters? Because there is Sufficient Theology.

The reason why theology matters is because there are some things that are Heaven and Hell, or at the very least, incredibly serious issues. For example, I’ve heard Christians say that Mormons and Jehovah Witnesses are brothers in Christ but that couldn’t be further from the truth. Mormons and Jehovah Witnesses believe in entirely different gospels. Not only do they both have separate ‘scriptures’ from the Bible, but Mormons believe that there are multiple gods, and that Jesus is Lucifer’s older brother (not God); meanwhile, Jehovah Witnesses believe that Jesus is NOT God in the flesh but Michael the Archangel, who incarnated into Jesus, and became a ‘lesser god’. This is NOT Christianity and is another false religion like Islam and Buddhism, which is why this is considered a Heaven and Hell issue.
In the middle, there are groups that are more hotly debated such as Catholicism, but the reason why it’s such a heated debate is because they differ on very serious issues. Catholics believe in faith plus works, grace plus merit, and Scripture plus Tradition. This is a problem because the Bible clearly teaches that we are saved by grace through faith in Christ alone (Ephesians 2:8-9, Galatians 2:16, Habakkuk 2:2-4, etc) and their ‘church tradition’ (Protestants don’t reject tradition by the way, we just place it in submission to Scripture) denies this doctrine, which means it’s conflicting with Scripture. However, where the debate comes in really hot is the papacy (the Pope) which I'll have to get into on another article. 
Nevertheless, Roman Catholics do believe that you can only be saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ. They confess the Trinity, affirm Scripture, but most importantly, they confess that Jesus is Lord which, according to Romans 10:9-10 and the Thief on the Cross in Luke 23, which is the biggest linchpin for someone’s salvation: confessing Jesus as their Lord and Savior. This is why, using the soccer analogy, while the Mormons and Jehovah Witnesses get a ‘red card’, Catholics still deserve a ‘yellow card’ because, though it may be possible for someone to be saved despite Roman Catholicism doctrine, there are some serious doctrinal issues that have caused major damage to the Christian community.
This is why theology does matter because what we know about God affects how we worship God! Thus I think it’s imperative for Christians to understand theology which leads to the final point.

3 Points to learn Theology 

1) Read the Bible!!


Who knew that this would’ve been such a mind blowing, groundbreaking idea, but reading the Bible will give us an understanding of God. I know I’m being a little facetious here but there is a reason for this. Statista.com stated that only 16% of adults read their Bible at least four times a week! And this doesn’t include how much of the Bible is being read. It can be as much as a whole book or as little as a verse, the amount is still the same: 16%. No wonder there is so much fighting within Christianity because everyone is spending their time on social media rather than spending time with God and His Word. If you want to know God more intimately, read His Word. Read the Bible. There is no other substitute and it doesn’t have to be super deep or groundbreaking. I encourage you to do your best to read at least one chapter of Scripture a day but again, that isn’t a standard that you have to meet. Start with a single verse a day or listen to the Bible through apps. Regardless of what you do, the best way to know more about Christ and learn theology is to read the Bible.



Side Note: avoid the 2 major pitfalls when reading the Bible. 
(1) Eisegesis is the interpretation of Scripture by reading one’s own ideas, thoughts, or concepts into it. The word ‘eisegesis’ literally means ‘leading into’ which means that we are leading the verse in a way we want it to say. For example, a common (yet powerful verse) is Philippians 4:13 CSB, “I am able to do all things through him who strengthens me.” Many times, this verse is misquoted to mean that we can accomplish any and all things in life. Want to achieve your wildest dreams? Be an entrepreneur? Get your college degree? Remember Philipians 4:13: you can do anything in Christ! Many Christians (including myself) have used this verse out of context to mean that we are superpowered beings that can accomplish anything ‘by the power of friendship.’



In reality, if we simply look at the verse before and after Philippians 4:13 we can get the right interpretation. Philippians 4:12-14 says, “I know how to make do with little, and I know how to make do with a lot. In any and all circumstances I have learned the secret of being content—whether well fed or hungry, whether in abundance or in need. I am able to do all things through him who strengthens me. Still, you did well by partnering with me in my hardship.”
It’s clear from this context that Paul is talking about enduring all things in hardship and suffering by having content in Christ who gives him strength. This verse is about having content through all things not achieving all things because he says that verse 13 is the secret of being content in all circumstances of life, not the secret to achieving all things in life. Does the Bible teach us to work hard for a God-exalting goal? Absolutely! However, when we quote Philippians 4:13 to mean success, superpowered ability to work, or strength to achieve our goals, rather than suffering, contentment, or endurance, we’re committing eisegesis and misinterpreting the verse.
(2) The second thing to avoid is Narcigesis which means to interpret the Bible in a highly personal or selfish way. This is a fairly new term but essentially, it means that Christians interpret the Bible by placing themselves into the text. I’ve heard many pastors say that the best way to interpret the Bible is to insert yourself as the biblical character, so if you read Joshua, Moses, or David, put yourself in there as a substitute for them. Recently for Easter, people have done this with JESUS! Yes! Instead of Easter being about how Jesus died on the cross and rose from the grave to save us from our sins, Easter sermons were about how 'you were going to bounce back and have your come back story,' or 'how your haters are going to watch you glow up.' Not kidding. This was literally being preached!
(Solution) So how should we interpret the Bible? Exegesis. This means that we draw out of the Scriptures its intended meaning. Now you’re probably wondering, ‘how do I know the intended meaning of any verse?’ This can seem like a difficult question but thankfully the Bible gives us the perfect guardrail to abide by in Luke 24:44-45, “Jesus told them, ‘These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you—that everything written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets, and the Psalms (another way to say the Old Testament) must be fulfilled.’ Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures.” All of the Scriptures are about Jesus, not us! If you’re reading the Bible in such a way, that you are the hero of the story and not Jesus, you’re reading it wrong. Can we exegete or interpret a verse incorrectly? Sure, but it is always better to error in seeing Jesus as the hero of the story than ourselves. In fact, verse Luke 24:45 says that Christ opened their mind to understand the Scriptures.
The only way to understand the Scriptures correctly is to always have a cross-shaped lens of Christ as you read. When we do, Phil. 4:13 turns from being a verse about how we can accomplish all things, to how Christ sustains us through all things. Easter stops being about how we have a comeback story after losing a job, to the greatest moment in human history when our Lord and Savior rose from the grave.
Are there verses directed to us? Sure! Proverbs is a great example of that. However, the first proverb after the introductory verses from Solomon still points back to God in verse 7, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and discipline.” We can’t even begin to be wise if we do not first fear and worship the Lord. When we read the Bible, let’s always remember that it is about Christ and how we can live like Him, and not about us. That’s all we have for this public service announcement.

2) Use biblical resources like commentaries, lexicons, cross references, etc.
For the sake of this already long article, when I say 'commentaries', I'm including all of the biblical resources used to study the Bible. Now if you’re wondering about the reliability of commentaries or if Christians should use them, I’ll be posting another article about that soon. Nevertheless, Peter says in 2 Peter 3:16 (CSB), “He (Paul) speaks about these things in all his letters. There are some things hard to understand in them. The untaught and unstable will twist them to their own destruction, as they also do with the rest of the Scriptures.” I’ll repeat Peter’s statement, ‘there are some things hard to understand’ in the Scriptures! If Apostle Peter has some trouble understanding the Bible (and he wrote part of it), how much more you and me? Now I know this might sound like a contradiction to what I just said earlier about how we can read and interpret the Bible correctly, but we can reach the right conclusion with the wrong understanding.

Here’s an example from Acts 19: 24-26: “Now a Jew named Apollos, a native Alexandrian, an eloquent man who was competent in the use of the Scriptures, arrived in Ephesus. He had been instructed in the way of the Lord; and being fervent in spirit, he was speaking and teaching accurately about Jesus, although he knew only John’s baptism. He began to speak boldly in the synagogue. After Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him aside and explained the way of God to him more accurately.”

Apollos had reached the right conclusion from the Scriptures but he needed help from Priscilla and Aquila to explain the way of God more accurately. Hence Apollos had the right conclusion in Christ but the wrong understanding of certain aspects, namely baptism. This is why commentaries are useful because they can act like ‘Priscilla and Aquila’ with our Scriptural understanding. Now I don’t suggest you run straight to a commentary before reading the Bible, but commentaries are incredibly useful in helping us understand complex verses or books such as the prophetic books like Isaiah, Ezekiel, and Revelations. Also, it’s a good way to have someone guide you on your journey to learn more about God.

3) Read/Listen to Christian Leaders with different perspectives.

Now this does not mean that you should go gungho on YouTube and listen to everybody who calls themselves ‘Christians’. Obviously, you should be discerning with these voices. However, it is wise to listen to other believers in Christianity who think differently than you. Proverbs 11:14 (CSB) says, “Without guidance, a people will fall, but with many counselors there is deliverance.” The goal is to find many trusted believers with diverse thoughts in order to help guide and give you wisdom.
“Why shouldn’t I just listen to your own theological camp?” Two reasons. a) It helps you to broaden your perspective on certain topics in Christianity. For example, I do lean Reformed in my theology but Arminian Christians have some beautiful perspectives about God. This is why Christians still sing hymns made by John and Charles Wesley and read powerful books by C.S. Lewis. Another example is prayer and meditation. I like to study the Eastern Christians (Chinese, African, Japanese, Indians, etc) who take prayer, meditation, and spiritual warfare through the Word of God seriously. Unfortunately, in the modern Western world, we’re so analytical that we’ve become Christian materialists who treat the spiritual world like it doesn’t exist. I don’t agree with everything that the other theological groups might believe, but they do give a helpful perspective on areas in Christianity.
b) The second reason why you should read/listen to other Christian perspectives is because it will remind you that Christianity is bigger than you. Far too often, Christians get stuck in their church circles and act like anyone who’s not in their church, network, or denomination is severely flawed or not even a Christian. (You think you’ll never get there but I grew up in it and it’s more easy to get sucked in than you think.) Let me be clear here: Just because someone believes differently than you (though not fundamentally different, still gotta get those basics down) doesn’t mean they’re not Christian and it doesn’t mean you can’t learn from them!
Another great example is from Dr. Michael Horton. In his systematic theology book, The Christian Faith, though he vehemently disagrees and refutes Arminianism where their theologies split, he quotes them in his book positively and even defends the unjust treatment of their beliefs. In fact, years ago, he did a podcast interview with Dr. Roger E. Olson (who has a great Christian history book by the way), who is an Arminian, where they shared their differences theologically but they spoke to each other as respectful brothers in the faith, not as enemies of the Gospel.
How do I find other sources? Ask your pastor or other Christians that you trust. I can’t express how important it is to start here because unfortunately Google and social media only promotes the EXTREME sides of each viewpoint and treats the other like debased sinners. Prayerfully, your pastor will be able to lead you in the right direction. If that doesn’t work, do a quick (responsible) Google search for different theological camps in Christianity and search for respected names in each one. An example of different theological debates within Christianity are Calvinists vs Arminian (vs. Molinist), Charismatic (Continuation) vs Cessation, Young Earth vs Old Earth (no Old earth theorist don't believe in Darwin's evolution), Western thought (reason/logic) vs Eastern thought (intuition/spiritual insight), Baptist vs Presbyterian, etc. 

Here's a small list of Christians who I've read or listened to throughout the years. Though I don't agree with what all of these Christians believe, I know that they are great resources to learn theology, explore nuance topics, and be encouraged in the Lord.

John Piper, Tim Keller, Jon Tyson, R.C. Sproul, Doug Logan, John MacArthur, Voddie Bauchum, Jen Wilkin, Charles Spurgeon, Matt Walton (sending pastor), Jonathan Edwards, Nancy Guthrie, Justo Gonzalez, D.L. Moody, Martin Lloyd Jones, Paul Washer, Doug Ponder, Jackie Hill Perry, Wang Yi, Joby Martin, Matt Chandler, John Stott, H.B. Charles, C.S. Lewis, Watchman Nee, Tony Merida, Andrew Murray, David Murray, Ortlund Family, John/Charles Wesley, John Lindsay Sadler, Priscilla Shrier, Richard Baxter, Takemi Sasamori, Rebecca McLaughlin, William Lane Craig, Frank Turek, John Lennox, Wes Huff, Nate Sala (Wise Disciple), John Mark Comer, Tyler Staton, and so much more!

These people come from various different backgrounds, denominations, cultures and perspectives that I get to explore. This doesn’t mean that I always agree with what they say, but I respect their theological perspectives because they are respected Christians in the faith. The point is that you do want to get different perspectives but certainly make sure they are a reliable, respectable source that do their best to be faithful to Scripture.

Conclusion

As stated earlier, theology is simply the knowledge and the study of God and it matters because what we believe about God determines how we worship Him. However, it’s important to remember what Paul said in 1 Corinthians 13:9-12, that on this side of eternity we can only see ‘in part’/’dimly’. We can’t get a perfect view or understanding of Christ until Jesus calls us home or He returns. Though we can’t know Christ perfectly, we can know Him sufficiently. It’s in this nuance that we should love and respect other brothers and sisters in the faith who may believe differently than us as long as they believe the fundamentals of the faith. For those who don’t believe the fundamentals, we should still treat them with love and admonish them to a true understanding with God so that we can be in worship together. In the words of John 4:24 (CSB), “God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in Spirit and in truth.”