Your Theology (Doctrine) Drives Your Practice
“I don’t get into all that theology stuff, I just love Jesus”. If you have engaged anyone about the Christian faith, thought and practice, you most likely have heard this statement. Somehow people believe intellectualism (philosophy, abstract thought, complex issues) is somehow diametrically opposed. In his work “Love The Lord God With All of Your Mind” J.P Moreland says:
“Training the mind is an essential responsibility of the church”
I remember reading this book years back when I was part of the “Theology Program” headed then my Micheal C. Patton. I guess I have always been a wrestler and I wondered what was wrong with me. Though I ended up only taking one class with Reclaiming the Mind Ministries, it was enough to realize and verify that your theology is, very, very important.
Often times today training on theological thought is frowned upon. Theological reflection is only relegated to the preachers because they are the ones responsible for teaching. I have heard “I only need to believe in Jesus and that’s it”. Let me explain why this is false.
Our theology is the number one factor of our practice. What I believe about God, Christianity, the Church and the bible will permeate into every other aspect of my life (or at least our Christianity should ideally). For instance as we approach the Old Testament we are encountered with practices, laws, regulations and even events that seem to be very rigid and very tough to uphold. The question is what am I to do with this?
What am I to do with things such as ceremonial cleanliness. Sacrifices, treatment of slaves, days I should worship, clothing and dietary regulations? Often times the church we are affiliated drives that thus we give our responsibility to know, understand and practice over to a man, a man and his wife or sometimes multiple men. They decide how I should practice my faith.
Other times we see God flooding the world, killing infant children, sending those He love into slavery, opening the earth and swallowing people, killing people on the spot for touching a box. What do we do with these stories?
Other times we see things happening in the New Testament that just don’t happen today (or at least we haven’t experienced them). We see people selling all they have, other times the church practices they did we don’t do, or other times there are sayings that are difficult.
You see all of this stuff will have a direct effect on how you live and experience Christ as a Christian. Rather that is living like a Monk or like a heathen. Rather that is blessing people and sending money to Israel, or the way you vote. You see all of this theology stuff is being lived though most people say they don’t have any theological foundation. If we have trusted Christ and go to a building and meet with other Christians and read our bibles we have a “theology” and it is very, very important.
I am going to introduce a system next time which will help you think about some things and the way you live as a Christian. I just wanted to preface that with this post.
I am a Financial Analyst, husband and father of 3. I currently reside in the Dallas Ft. Worth Metroplex. I enjoy reading and writing about ethics and ecclesiology specifically from a New Covenant/Organic perspective. I hope you find this blog challenging at least but more importantly edifying.
10 comments
I look forward to seeing where you go with these thoughts!
And your practice demonstrates your true theology.
-Alan
If theology by definition is the study of God, then if may well be a good idea to study it.
correction “if” should be “it”
To know God is the life (life of the ages or “eternal life”) that is promised in scripture. How will we get to really know Him if we don’t seek after Him with our minds and bodies. Our full spiritual prosperity can be somewhat summed up in the following scriptures:
Col 1:9-11
“…be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; 10 that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; 11 strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, for all patience and longsuffering with joy;…”
So, what about the person who does have a solid theology in their head but has trouble with the transfer to the real world?
Give me an example Vetta. I think that poses a problem also, one Alan addressed in his comment. But here is what I argue. I think often time our practice catches up with our theology if we are genuinely motivated. Here is something I know for a fact your practice can never be right with wrong theology.
Jesus shows this by correcting peoples perception about the Kingdom and the Messiah. Paul does this by correcting people’s perception of the Gospel and the requirement to be saved. John even writes so that we might know.
However, unless a Judiazers doctrine changes, there is no way his practice can be right. There is no way a Jehovah Witness practice can be right apart from their theology being corrected and there is no way a Mormon can be right unless their doctrine is first corrected. Paul seems to be very adamant about the Gospel, protecting it, proclaiming it and even dying to propage the message about Jesus. Thoughts?
Yep, I agree.
I was just throwing the question out there for the quiet little blog lurker who has perhaps just come into correct theology from years of “playing church” and doesn’t feel confident enough to ask the hard questions (Heck, that person may not even know what questions to ask!), yet they feel like something is wrong with them because their lifestyle has yet to catch up with what they know to be true in their heads.
I’m passionate about those guys and gals. I used to be one of them
[...] This is the second follow up to my post Your Doctrine Drives Your Practice . [...]
Javetta’s question is one that I wrestle with on a consistent basis…Maybe i am reluctant to allow my practice to catch up with my theology but i would agree that my theology does drive it and drive it hard. Within in my own mind I am minimal in faith because at times i do have the notion what happens if i do everything that I know to do but nothing changes. Then God will be played to the left and I will be back a square one. But the complication comes because I know he will not let me down. So the constant hammering of theology is needed for my own growth as well as that of my personal faith journey.
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