Why Christians Need Theology

The word theology has gotten a bad rap over the last few years. I maintain that all Christians need Theology. The word comes from two Greek words theos meaning God and logos which means rational utterance or understanding.

You don’t have to be a seminary or Bible college graduate to be a theologian. Whether we admit it or not, every Christian is already a theologian. In an article on his website author and pastor Bob Kauflin writes: “…are you a good theologian or a bad one? We’re good theologians if what we say and think about God lines up with what Scripture says and affirms. We’re bad theologians if our view of God is vague, or if we think God doesn’t really mind sin, or if we see Jesus as a good example and not a Savior, or if we think our God is too small to overcome evil or too big to care about us.” (worshipmatters.com)

In the book Worldliness, Resisting the Seduction of a Fallen World, author and pastor C. J. Mahoney discusses the sad fact that many Christians mentally cut and paste sections of the Bible to make their own personal scripture. If they don’t like what the Bible says they simply choose to ignore it (clip it out). This is the reason that Christianity in America is loosing ground. We say that we are a people of The Book, but the majority of Christians spend very little time reading let alone studying the Bible.

In 2 Timothy 2:15, Paul writes: “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”
This single verse has a great deal of truth in it. First of all it tells us to study. Not only must we read the Bible, we are to study it. We are to study it because God approves. He wants us to know and understand Him through His written word. By reading and studying the Bible we gain an intimate knowledge of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. The Bible tells us that we will be workers that are not ashamed of the Gospel when we follow this direction. Notice how the scripture instructs us to not only study the Bible, but also to understand how the Bible fits together (rightly dividing).

I encourage each of us to look at our personal Theology. Is our Theology good or shaky? As we enter the New Year at Pleasant Valley Baptist Church, we need to examine ourselves as individuals and ask God to guide us as we strive to follow Him daily. I pray that each of us will give careful attention to our reading and study of God’s Word. If you don’t already read your Bible each day, I encourage you to make that a New Year’s resolution.