Theology bears great weight and necessity in the lives of believers personally. Individually, all people are held accountable before God (Rom. 1:20). Theology, therefore, is the study that enables an individual to know God personally and walk closer with Him daily. The study of Scripture further proves vital in the maturation of Christians. Paul writes that its study is foundational to Christian maturity (2 Tim. 3:16-17). The second half of the book of Ephesians (ch. 4-6) is dedicated to the application of theology in Christian life. Furthermore, just as sound doctrine ensures the health and vitality of a church, the study of theology protects individual believers from error and digression (1 John 4:1; Jude 4).
These five designations of the past three days demonstrate the expansive and particular necessities of Christian theology. Without its faithful study and application, the Church ceases to function as the Church. From the individual believer’s daily walk to the global expanse and mission of the Church, theology naturally emanates from Scripture and empowers the work of the Spirit in God’s people. We are often so tempted to find the simplest, easiest explanations to answer life's tough questions. Unfortunately, rarely is the simplest answer the correct one (take that, Occam!). When asked, 'why does evil exist?', we quickly respond that God will accomplish some better good out of it. When the scenario of the Amazonian tribe who will never hear the name of Christ is brought up, we propose that God will save those who believed in His existence and adhered to basic principles of morality. Rarely, in either of these situations (as for many others as well) do we ask, "is my view justified by Scripture?"
Personally, as I have studied God's revelation of Himself to us more and more I have found that many of my answers to the hard questions have not been very theologically sound. The good news is that I do not have to continue believing false precepts. The bad news is that the process of theology, which yields the truth of God, is not a quick, simple process. While the Scriptures are clear, theology can be very difficult. Often I feel like Charlotte on LOST with a chronic headache and a terrible nose-bleed. But God blesses our pursuit of Him and provides the path for us. Over the next two days I'd like to develop this idea and show how theology is possible, because of God's revelation of Himself. Tomorrow, I will take a doctrinal survey of revelation, whereas Monday I will step back a bit and look at God's Word from a more general perspective. The two walk hand-in-hand so I hope you'll join me.
"of vision over visibility" - where is this from? is this your own quote? what does it mean?
ReplyDeleteKrishna,
ReplyDeletethanks for your reading and question! "of vision over visibility" is a quote from a song which I hear a number of months ago in a song recorded by U2, one of my favorite bands. The line comes from their song, "Moment of Surrender" which is on their newest album, "No Line on the Horizon." It caught my attention because its a comment I've often proposed and supported concerning faith, that in loving God and pursuing His truths we must often cling to that which is not physically seen. I believe in theological study we are pursuing that which is not readily "visible" but found and understood only through the illumined "vision" of the Holy Spirit. I thought for the purposes of my blog, which is dedicated towards Biblical and Theological studies, this phrase aptly captured the focus/method of my work. Hope this at least addresses your question! Let me know if you'd like further explanation.