A Theological Overreaction

Sometimes I get annoyed when people sit around and debate, or even just talk about theology for hours.  For this I must apologize.

Being in Christian school from Kindergarten through my senior year of college, I have a heard quite a few theological debates, and some have gotten quite heated.  Some were flat out ridiculous and sinful, but others were beneficial, healthy, and great examples of “iron sharpening iron.”

just a photo of me studying theology earlier today

However, after about 15 years of hearing it, I had a tendency to see intense theological study as superfluous.  I knew too many people who would rather argue predestination with other Christians than share the life-changing message of the Gospel.  As a result, I tended to stay in the if-we-would-simply-live-like-Christ-everything-would-get-better mentality.  And I knew many others who felt this way.  Somehow, in thinking like that, I missed the importance of correct theology and studying scripture deeply in order to firmly know what I believe (as if living like Christ means we don’t need to study theology.)  It was a classic overreaction.

So while reading through Galatians 1:6-10 recently, God re-revealed to me the importance of studying theology.  Paul says “If any man is preaching to you a gospel contrary to what you have received, he is to be accursed!”  He actually says twice in a row!  It is of the utmost importance that we truly understand the ins and outs of the Gospel.  Our theology must be correct, or our witness will be leading people astray, and we will be accursed.  Now obviously none of us our perfect, and therefore none of us can have perfect theology.  However, we can all be striving to understand better each day who God is, What he has done, and what he is doing.  We can all be doing our best to purify our theology, and our understanding of God, and nailing down the truth of those close-handed issues which are essential to our faith.

Disagreements will continue to happen, denominations will continue to exist,and debates will rage on.  But this by no stretch of the imagination means that we should stop studying and doing our best to understand the pieces of our faith, and the character of our God.