Why Study Theology? - An Introduction
I hear you saying already “Why do
I need to study theology?” After all I love Jesus, I go to church, read
my Bible and pray regularly. The answer is that while all those are important
to the Christian faith it is also important to learn theology because it gives the explanations for why we believe what we
believe. Studying theology is necessary for growing as a Christian.
Many people are afraid of the word Theology
because it brings to mind reading some boring tome made up of thousands and thousands of pages. When it comes to theology many people are left with the image of a monk in a brown rob, locked in a room,
pouring over the scriptures looking for some hidden meanings. That is simply
not the case. Theology is looking for and finding the truth in God’s word.
Why Study Theology? - The word Theology
The word theology comes from two Greek words “Theo” which refers
to God and “logy” which is the study of. So theology as we can see
is the study of God. As Christians we are called to be theologians whether we
like it or not. Theology is the study of, thinking of, searching for the
truth of God through a deeper and more informative understanding of His Word.
Simply reading the Bible is not enough; we have to know the Bible. We have to know the principles doctrines that shape our faith and set the stage for our witness. We have to know what God is truly calling us to do. We have
to get past the milk and into the meat of the Word of God; we have to delve into theology.
In the truest sense of the word as Christians we are all theologians, because we are all called to study God’s
Word.
Why Study Theology? - Theology and
the Bible
Whether we like it or not throughout God’s
Word we are called to be theologians;
2 Timothy 2:15 states that we are to show
ourselves to be “approved workmen…who need not be ashamed”. Part
of not being ashamed is learning and studying God’s Word (Theology) in order to better prepare yourself to be able to
standup under the questions that will come your way.
John 5:39 encourages us to “search
the word of God regularly” In order to search God’s Word thoroughly we need to be studying diligently the Word
of God (Theology).
There is no way we can separate Bible
study from Theology. They are not two separate course but are one in the same. Theology is study of the Bible not passage by passage but topic-by-topic from the
reason Man exists on down to study of the Second Coming of Christ it is all Theology.
Have you ever been asked why we are? What was your answer? If you had
to pull up several Bible verses to explain the reason for our existence then you were practicing theology without even knowing
it.
Why Study Theology? - Truth and Life
Theology is the way we break down the truth of God’s Word and relate it
to our lives. We need to understand Christian Theology in order to better understand
how we fit into the world around us. Without theology our beliefs are no more
than legends or myths and like any other myth they would be unrelated to the real world around us.
The reason God’s Word has stood up for so long is because it is the truth
and the more we delve into thinking about God’s Word and studying God’s Word (Theology) the more the truth of
what is in God’s word is revealed to us.
You may never think of yourself as a Theologian because you do not sit in a classroom
at a seminary but when you pick up the Bible and study the Bible for all it is worth you are a Theologian.