Why Theology is Relevant
Neil
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· 10 viewsWhat is theology? How can we tell which doctrines are the most important to agree on?
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What is Theology?
What is Theology?
Theology is the study of the core of our faith
We need to understand the point of Christianity for three purposes
Our personal and corporate sanctification
To achieve unity in Christ
To protect ourselves and others from heresy
There is a core to our faith
3 Beloved, while I was very diligent to write to you concerning our common salvation, I found it necessary to write to you exhorting you to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints.
20 O Timothy! Guard what was committed to your trust, avoiding the profane and idle babblings and contradictions of what is falsely called knowledge—21 by professing it some have strayed concerning the faith. Grace be with you. Amen.
6 If you instruct the brethren in these things, you will be a good minister of Jesus Christ, nourished in the words of faith and of the good doctrine which you have carefully followed.
From these passages (and more) it is clear that there are some doctrines that, if rejected, will lead you away from Christ. These are different from “the good doctrine.”
If we are not absolutely clear on what the core of our faith consists of, we will stand strong on doctrines that shouldn’t divide us, and forget the doctrines that should.
For example, the gold controversy versus the Trinity doctrine
The Core of our Faith is the Gospel
The Core of our Faith is the Gospel
What is the core of our faith? What is the point of everything we believe? (Gal 1:6)
6 I marvel that you are turning away so soon from Him who called you in the grace of Christ, to a different gospel, 7 which is not another; but there are some who trouble you and want to pervert the gospel of Christ. 8 But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed. 9 As we have said before, so now I say again, if anyone preaches any other gospel to you than what you have received, let him be accursed.
The gospel is at the center of everything.
What is the essential message of the gospel? (1 Cor 15:1-10, Eph 2:10, Rom 3:23-26)
1 Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received and in which you stand, 2 by which also you are saved, if you hold fast that word which I preached to you—unless you believed in vain. 3 For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures, 5 and that He was seen by Cephas, then by the twelve. 6 After that He was seen by over five hundred brethren at once, of whom the greater part remain to the present, but some have fallen asleep. 7 After that He was seen by James, then by all the apostles. 8 Then last of all He was seen by me also, as by one born out of due time. 9 For I am the least of the apostles, who am not worthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. 10 But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not in vain; but I labored more abundantly than they all, yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.
In the previous verse, Paul hints at the next essential idea of this most important doctrine: whose effort saves us?
10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.
We’ve studied the first ten verses of this chapter before, so we should be familiar with the truth of the gospel that we are not saved because of our own effort.
But those ten verses also clarify that the reason our own effort cannot save us is because without Christ, we are dead in sin. We must be created in Christ to do good works. We must be born again in order to enter the kingdom.
23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, 25 whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance God had passed over the sins that were previously committed, 26 to demonstrate at the present time His righteousness, that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.
12 giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. 13 He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, 14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
In the gospel message, then, we see that God’s business is to transform dead sinners through their faith into the image of Christ, by considering Christ’s blood effective for purging ritual uncleanness, and by placing us under the authority of Christ in his kingdom, the benefits of which are eternal inheritance.
Other matters linked to salvation
Other matters linked to salvation
The Bible reveals six doctrines that are vital to our gospel
Only Jesus can bring salvation
6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.
24 I told you that you would die in your sins, for unless you believe that I am he you will die in your sins.”
Jesus is God in the flesh
7 For many deceivers have gone out into the world who do not confess Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist.
1 Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world. 2 By this you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God, 3 and every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God. And this is the spirit of the Antichrist, which you have heard was coming, and is now already in the world.
24 Thus I told you that you will die in your sins. For unless you believe that I am he, you will die in your sins.”
There is one God
5 For although there may be so-called gods in heaven or on earth—as indeed there are many “gods” and many “lords”— 6 yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist.
29 Jesus answered, “The most important is, ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.
God is a Trinity
Jesus rose bodily from the grave
Salvation is by God’s grace, not by establishing one’s own righteousness
The Matters of Milk and Meat
The Matters of Milk and Meat
Of the doctrines that remain, Paul speaks of matters of milk and meat.
Matters of milk are foundational doctrines that proceed directly from the gospel. These are addressed directly in scripture.
23 since you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God;
2 Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation—
11 of whom we have much to say, and hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing. 12 For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the first principles of the oracles of God; and you have come to need milk and not solid food. 13 For everyone who partakes only of milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, for he is a babe. 14 But solid food belongs to those who are of full age, that is, those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil. 1 Therefore, leaving the discussion of the elementary principles of Christ, let us go on to perfection, not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God, 2 of the doctrine of baptisms, of laying on of hands, of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment.
Hebrews 6 hands 5 of them to us on a silver platter; note that they follow the first principles of the doctrine of Christ:
Repentance from dead works and faith toward God
Baptisms
Laying on of hands (A prayer of blessing for ministry)
Resurrection of the dead
Eternal judgment
What do these have in common?
They all are directly tied to the gospel of Christ, and spring forth as a result of preaching it.
Matters of meat are matters that require wisdom and experience in order to discern them. These are often only mentioned in principle if they are mentioned at all, and can be missed by the simple.
These are of interest to those who teach, for they understand the milk
More importantly, they are not specific doctrines, but rather the range of doctrines that require more wisdom.
Biblical examples include (Col 2:16, Romans 14:2, 5, 13-23, 1 Cor 7:18-22):
Sabbath
Holidays and Festivals
Unclean Foods and Drinks
Circumcision
What do these have in common?
They are gray areas that may mean different things to one person than they do to another.
For some of these issues (e.g., meat sacrificed to idols), Paul gives different advice than John does in Revelation
Not a conflict, that’s just how matters of meat work: The Corinthians need different applications than the churches of Asia did.
The core truths remained the same, but one church’s liberty strengthened the gospel, but the other church’s liberty rejected it.
They have spiritual significance, but are not emphasized in scripture, or lack enough clarity to cause some confusion.
They do not undermine the gospel or the foundational doctrines.
Application to our lives
Application to our lives
It is important to study the core doctrines of our faith
To grow in our faith
To realize what matters most, and discover unity in the Spirit
To prevent unnecessary division
So which doctrines make division necessary?
another gospel makes division an option
elevation of any foundational principle to gospel status is unwise and must be rebuked
elevation of any lesser doctrine to gospel status is heresy and must be resisted
In other words, we protect the gospel at all costs.
1 I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, 2 with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, 3 eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. 4 There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call— 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.