It could be said that theology is like the roots of a tree. If the roots are shallow, than the tree will not live, but the tree will die. But, if a tree has deep roots, it will grow to be strong, and produce fruit and leaves. How many of us have shallow roots? How many of us, when the wind blows, do we topple over and fall, or do we stand strong, because our roots are so deep that no wind, no storm, no hardship could take us down?The bible teaches that these strong roots to endure hardship come from deep roots of belief about God. Sadly, however, many of us do not know, or care to know, who God is, or what He is like; but we should realize that theology deeply affects our day-to-day lives. We often see the tree itself, but we do not see that it is the roots, under the surface, that are affecting the visible part of the tree. In the same way, it is our unseen core beliefs that affect our outward actions and outward problems.
Here are four reasons theology affects us and we should study it:
First of all, there is such a thing as absolute truth according to Scripture, so study theology to believe the truth instead of a lie.
- The word “truth” is used eighty-nine times in the New Testament, and it is often referred to as “the truth.”
- Jesus said, “I have come into the world to testify to the truth” (John 18:37), so absolute truth is essential to Jesus.
- We are to worship God in Spirit and truth (John 4:24), so experience and emotions should be grounded in truth.
- We are told that the truth will set us free (John 8:32), so if we are in bondage to something it is Truth that sets us free!
- Jesus claims to be the truth Himself (John 14:6).
- The Holy Spirit is said to guide us into all truth, so we need His assistance in studying theology (John 16:13).
- Jesus also says that the Word is truth (John 17:19), so we understand theology by the Spirit in combination with studying the Word.
- Knowledge of the truth is often in combination with obeying the truth 1 Timothy 2:4, 2 Timothy 2:25, 2 Timothy 3:7, Titus 1:1, and Hebrews 10:26
- We are told from the bible that many people have exchanged the truth of God for a lie. (Romans 1:21)
How many of us are affected by these lies? How often do we continue throughout our day believing a lie, and suffering from the consequences?
Secondly, after affirming truth, Scripture teaches that we should be in churches that hold to certain doctrines or teachings, so that we can guard our minds from the lies of the world around us.
- In Matthew and Mark Jesus challenges the Pharisees for “teaching as doctrine the commandments of men” (Mark 7:7). How often do we just follow the teachings of people, and not even know the doctrine of God Himself?
- In Ephesians 4:14 Paul calls us to become mature so that we are not tossed back in forth by every wind of doctrine.
- In 1 Timothy 1:3, 1:10, 4:6, & 6:3 Paul urges Timothy to charge certain people to not teach any different doctrine; he tells him not to teach anything contrary to sound doctrine; and he says that he was trained in the words of faith and of good doctrine.
- Paul then tells Titus to “teach what accords to sound doctrine” (2:1), and Paul also says to “adorn the doctrine of God our Savior” (2:10).
These verses imply that doctrine is very important to God, and that there are teachings of people, which are in accord with philosophies, commandments, and teachings of men, and there is the doctrine of God, which is in accord with Scripture.
How often are we tossed back and forth by the teachings, philosophies, and commandments of people, especially from the media? We should have a solid church that is teaching us the truth from in the Word.
Thirdly, we are to study theology for our own personal relationship with God. Jesus said “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart…soul… and mind” (Matt 22:37). To understand theology is to understanding truth, and our heart, soul, and mind are all connected. One cannot have an improper view of God and still love God with his whole being. Therefore, we must study theology to truly have a deep relationship with God.
Fourthly, we study theology because it directly affects how we live, how we respond to problems, and how we view the world. In the words of C.H Spurgeon, "Nothing makes a man so virtuous as belief of the truth. A lying doctrine will soon beget a lying practice. A man cannot have an erroneous belief without by-and-by having an erroneous life. I believe the one thing naturally begets the other."
For these reasons we study theology, and this is why I believe theology is at the root of all problems. As Dr. Bill Bright once said, "We can trace all of our human problems to our view of God."
Hopefully, as I study theology and post about it, our belief in God can become larger as we began to see Him as the ultimate, and then everything else will become so small in comparison.
Keep posted the next couple weeks as I make posts about theology, and I pray that it will give us deeper roots so that when the storms blow we can stand strong!
