05/24/2024
Dear Friends within the church,
Theology at first glance seems to be a confusing mix of beliefs. When asking the average person within the church what is theology the answer might be the study of God or the study of religion. No one really knows what Theology is or why it is important. To simplify matters, there is a medieval saying that sums up the “traditional understanding of theology; Theology is taught by God, teaches of God and leads to God” (Highfield, 2008, pg.53). Churches may not state the word Theology, but theology is when the church seeks a deep understanding of faith. It will choose to reflect on God and the things of God. It is all about God’s actions and his relationship with all things. The goal is to know God in order to enjoy him, praise him and obey him (Highfield, 2008, pg. 53). Knowing God means different things to different people. Many people know God as the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit. A Trinitarian has an understanding of revelation that helps them to understand why revelation focuses on the word, hearing and faith rather than vision, seeing or reason (Highfield, 2008, pg. 9). Revelation can appear in different ways. The first arises from his works, while the second is declared by his speech. Last is secret inspiration (Highfield,2008, pg. 12). Without the second two, many can experience a natural revelation. Nature is a beautiful force testifying to the power of God. Tornadoes and hurricanes are called Acts of God for a reason. They lend a visual testimony to God. However, without a special revelation one may not find natural revelation enough to obtain salvation. One needs to have special revelation to understand that God is touching us and why (Highfield, 2008, pg. 18). In the quest to understand God, theology can be used in a spiritual, academic, and churchly discipline. Theology is a concern for every Christian. As a spiritual concern good theology “begins in faith, acts in love, proceeds with hope, and ends in praise” (Highfield, 2008, pg. 58). Christians should examine themselves in light of scripture. Doing so prayerfully and obediently is the first step as a theologian. While spiritually, individuals use scripture to examine themselves, academic theology frowns upon using scripture as the highest authority. “Academic theology is most often used to differentiate theology practiced according to the rules of modern higher education” (Highfield, 20018, pg. 67). The church in practicing theology should seek a deep understanding of its faith. It should reflect on God and the things of God. God’s action and his relation to all things should be the goal of the church (Highfield, 2008, pg. 53).
Tradition is an integral part of theology. Tradition may be passed down through the centuries. There are authoritative Traditions which originated in the apostolic era. Within Catholic churches this is unchangeable. These were learned hands on from Jesus and passed down (Highfield, 2008, pg. 31). Within the Protestant churches some have chosen to follow the view of Luther with sola scriptura which states scripture alone is sufficient. Paul address this in 2 Timothy when he states, “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness (NIV, 2019, 2 Tim. 3: 16). Scripture alone is all that is needed for salvation, but often churches bicker over the interpretation of scripture. The fact that scripture is authoritative fades away when Christians cannot agree that it is authoritative. Christians find that they do not know where things originate or how it applies to their life. “The purpose of reading scripture is to find oneself in the stories of God at work, to gain an understanding of the world God created, and to understand how we are called by God to respond (Cooper, 2021). All of this leads to a closer relationship with God. Theology has many parts, scripture, tradition, reason and experience. However, it is not mankind’s experience but rather God’s self-experience. Experience marks to goal of God speaking to his people in order for them to experience Him. All experience must be based on faith and drawn from Scripture (Highfield, 2008, pg. 45). Scripture guides one to understanding how to be Biblically faithful. God Himself provides the example in Psalms. “The Lord is trustworthy in all he promises and faithful in all he does” (NIV, 2019, Ps. 145:13). In following the example of God, Christians should stive to be trustworthy and faithful in day-to-day life. Given that Theology is given by God to lead mankind to God, one should strive to devote their life to examining themselves and reflect on their relationship with God.
Theology is based on the covenants found within the Bible. There is the Noahic, Abrahamic, Davidic and new Covenant. The covenant of grace consists of three parts. (1) “the promise of the forgiveness of sins through the coming Mediator, (2) requirements of obedience, and (3) instructions for the true worship of God. All successive Old Testament covenants develop and expand upon these three principles of theology until they are fulfilled in Christ and the new covenant” (Kegley, 2021). To grow in a relationship with God, one must realize that Jesus died for their sins. They must learn, follow and obey scriptures given by God. Only then can one draw closer to God which is the ultimate goal of theology.
Sincerely,
Angela Lee
