Theology: the study of God. Is it really necessary for Christians?
“Theology is over my head. I don’t need it. It’s too complex. What really counts is your actions. These deep questions that have no clear cut answers achieve very little.”
Ever heard something like that? It’s a common complaint about the study of theology. Maybe you’ve thought the same thing. Theology, to many folks, is too esoteric, too academic, too difficult.
But, theology is necessary.
Why?
There are thousands of different answers to the question. Many of them are probably valid. To this writer, however, theology is necessary to bridge the gap between the biblical text and 21st century Christian living.
For instance, look at Romans 3:24: “All are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.” What significance does this verse have for my life? The only way I can answer the question about this verse’s significance for me is to ask theological questions: What is grace? What is justification? What is redemption? How did redemption come by Christ Jesus? Is this statement merely confined to first century practice? Or, did Paul mean for all Christians of all time to draw application from it? What has Paul been talking about previously in Romans? Who is the “all?” On and on we could go with theological questions.
Most every Christian has asked theological questions without even realizing that he or she was doing so. Every thoughtful Christian has asked what a particular passage meant or how it applied to them. Every struggling Christian has asked why God allows them to suffer. These are all questions of theology. And, it just seems to be human nature to attempt to ask and answer the questions of theology.
Theology is necessary? Absolutely. We couldn’t walk the Christian walk without it.
