Why Does Theology Matter?

What is theology? Words about God.

Who does theology? Everybody.

What does theology do? It organizes biblical truths.

Why does theology matter? Because living well matters.

Simply put, theology is part of a life well lived. Theology helps us live all of life well.

How Do We Do Theology?

Where do we start? Theology is done biblically, prayerfully, worshipfully, humbly, and together in community.

First, theology must be biblical. The aim of Christian theology is to reflect on God’s revelation of Himself in Scripture. Theology that is not a reflection of Scripture ceases to be Christian theology. Christian theologians pattern their words, thoughts, and worship around who God says He is and what He has done as revealed in Scripture.

Not only must theology be biblical, but it also must be prayerful. Theology begins and ends with prayer. The task of theology is best done on our knees, asking God, by the power of the Spirit, to awaken our hearts and minds to the person and work of Christ in the Scriptures.

Theology is also meant to be worshipful. It is not meant to make us love theology more, but to love God more. Theology is distinctly relational, not drearily informational. Theology is loving God with our minds. Theology is meant to lead us into greater worship of God, and worship of God is meant to lead us into greater knowledge of God.

Theology is also meant to be a work of humility. Theologians never strut. Fundamentally, a disciple is a learner. Everything you have ever learned required humility in the process because anything worth learning requires practice to become proficient. With theology, we are doing more than simply learning a skill. We are humble theologians because we cannot know God unless He makes Himself known to us.

Last, but certainly not least, theology is not meant to be done alone but together, in community. And by community, we mean both our contemporary communities and the historic church.

In the context of the local church, we are able to learn about God from other people in our immediate setting, and they from us. There is no such thing as a lone-ranger theologian.

In the context of the global church, we are able to learn about God from our contemporaries in widely different cultural settings than ours. Different life experiences contribute to different vantage points and lenses through which we see the Scriptures.

In the context of the historic church, we are able to learn about God from our predecessors in widely different historic and cultural settings than ours. The Holy Spirit has been teaching, nourishing, and guiding the church into truth for the last two thousand years.

It has been said that theology should be done with ancient friends. As we engage in theology, we are meant to learn from our brothers and sisters from the early church, from the medieval church, from the Reformation, up until today.

Doing theology with a historical mindset does not elevate tradition to the same level of authority of Scripture, but rather helps us understand Scripture through the lenses of church history.