And those who know Your name put their trust in You, for You, O LORD, have not forsaken those who seek You. Psalm 9:10
The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight. Proverbs 9:10
True Science
First, what is theology? It’s a pretty broad term, which stated simply, is the study of God. I’ve had several theology books over the years; and after so many moves from place to place, giving away and amassing and giving away, etc., many libraries of books, even the theology books I have on my computer and in my current library are scant in providing a definition. One, however, by the Yale graduate, Baptist pastor, and theologian, Augustus Hopkins Strong, D.D., LL.D., provides this definition right up front in his work:
“Theology is the science of God and the relations between God and the universe.” —A. H. Strong, Systematic Theology, Vol. 1; The Judson Press, Philadelphia; 1907, 1953; pg. 1
Moreover, Dr. Strong further defines theology as a science, and being a science, expresses its aim:
“In defining theology as a science, we indicate its aim. Science does not create; it discovers. Theology answers to this description of a science. It discovers facts and relations, but it does not create them.” —ibid., pg. 2
There you have it. Theology is a science, a true science. The science of theology, however, is not merely an academic pursuit to increase our knowledge. For the Christian, it has a place in the faithful believer’s life. Dr. John MacArthur, pastor of Grace Community Church, explains:
“Every Christian needs to have a sound, true, biblical understanding of God and His truths, and we must never stop growing in our pursuit of that goal…. because it is every Christian’s duty to be a discipler of others…. Sound doctrine is essential to healthy Christian living.” —J. F. MacArthur, The Moody Handbook of Theology; Moody Publishers, Chicago; 1989, 2008, 2014; pgs. 11, 12; (emphasis in original)
There is a problem, however. It existed 150 years ago in Charles Spurgeon’s day. He taught his student’s at the Pastor’s College:
“Ignorance of theology is no rare thing in our pulpits, and the wonder is not that so few men are extempore speakers, but that so many are, when theologians are so scarce. We shall never have great preachers till we have great divines. You cannot build a man-of-war out of a currant bush, nor can great soul-moving preachers be formed out of superficial students. If you would be fluent, that is to say flowing, be filled with all knowledge, and especially with the knowledge of Christ Jesus your Lord.” —C. H. Spurgeon, Lectures to My Students, Vol. 1, Lecture 10; Robert Carter & Brothers, New York; 1890; pg. 237
Since pastors and preachers in the pulpits, and teachers in the classrooms, are not theologically sound, there’s no way the hearer in the pew or the student in the classroom will glean sound doctrine from God’s Word. And it hadn’t changed in modern history either, as Aiden Wilson Tozer wrote:
“Christianity has lost its dignity. And we’ll never get it back unless we know the dignified Holy God, who rides on the wings of the wind and makes the clouds His chariots. We have lost the concept of majesty and the art of worship.” —A. W. Tozer, The Attributes of God, Volume Two; Christian Publications, Inc., Camp Hill, PA; 2001; pg. 7
From our simple definition of theology, being the study of God, analyzing the root of our problem is simple for the born-again believer. We must not only recognize, but remind ourselves every day (or the Lord will remind us through quite humbling providence), that we are still SINNERS saved by grace. The corruptions of mortal flesh still remain… present tense. Paul did not shout with arrogant giddiness, “Oh, wretched man that I was!” Verily, and contrarily, he humbly wept,
Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? Romans 7:24
Because of Adam’s fallen DNA still militantly marching through the fibers of our flesh, we have a tendency to forget, an inclination to float away, and a propensity to forsake complimentary truths by emphasizing others. This is why a good grasp of basic theology should be an essential part of the Christian believers spiritual diet. Allow me to give you a quick example of how we tend to forget, float away, and forsake an attribute of God at the expense of minimizing or even perverting others….
Let’s take love, for example. It is an attribute of God, an essential and absolute character trait of His being. It is written,
Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. 1 John 4:8
Because God is love, there have been those who presume that a loving God would never force salvation upon a soul, but in love, so they say, God will give that created, but fallen soul freedom of will to choose; because, they say, that’s the loving thing to do, offered from their infinite experience, estimation, and eternal understanding (sarcasm added by me at no extra charge).
Now, in order to explain the word “predestined,” written in some English translations of the Bible (Acts 4:28; Rom 8:29-30; Eph 1:5, et al), they say God must look down the corridors of time to see who might say yes to His offer of grace, then God chooses them based upon the creature’s fickle choice; and thus explains, they say, the Creator’s foreknowledge.
Yet, right away, they have violated a large number of absolute truths concerning the unchanging essence of a holy, eternal, and infinite God— and here are only a two: (1) since God is eternal, He need not look down the corridors of time because He is objectively outside of time and not confined to it or limited by it; and (2) since God is omniscient, knowing all things, and complete and perfect in all His essence, He cannot learn, and to suggest that He must learn our choice before He chooses, implies incompleteness and imperfection in the Almighty.
Okay, we know theology is the study of God, or literally from its Greek origin, the “word about God.” But for the Christian’s everyday purpose, theology is the discovery, from God’s Word, His revelation to us concerning the truth about Himself, as well as the truth of His relationship with His creation, and more specifically, His relationship with you and me. I posed a question in the title of this lesson, “Is Theology for Me?” Hopefully, by this time, you recognize it is for every Christian. In his classic work, The Knowledge of the Holy, Dr. Tozer, wrote:
”What comes into our minds when we thing about God is the most important thing about us.” A. W. Tozer, The Knowledge of the Holy, HarperCollins, New York; 1961; pg. 1
This is what Theology Thursday is all about. By God’s grace, we will renew our minds with God’s Word so that what we think about God brings Him glory, as it is written,
So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. 1 Corinthians 10:31
…and having thought about God rightly, we may also, by God’s grace, exercise our decision-making capabilities to bring God glory through our attitudes and actions.
What’s Next?
While you and I are Christians, we already believe that God is, that He exists; however, in our next lesson, we will examine the existence of God, why the topic matters to you and me, and how we can apply the simple truth of God’s existence to our everyday lives.
