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Podcast 41 - Are You A Theologian
18 Plays1 day ago
Short answer: YES, you are!
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Transcript
Introduction to Theology and Life with Jesus
00:00:09
Speaker
Hey, welcome back to the Grove Hill Podcast. We're excited to have you back with us today as we continue to dig deeply into theology, life with Jesus, and all the good things that matter, how we apply them to real life. I have my friends John Ballard and Kyle Hess with me here today, and we're going to be talking about this subject.
00:00:26
Speaker
why theology matters to the average Christ
What is Theology and Why it Matters
00:00:30
Speaker
follower. What is theology? Theology! What is theology? Well, the very simple definition is things you think about God. And that's why we can say that theology is something that applies to everybody. It's not just for the guys with the thick glasses and the cardigan sweaters and seminaries, those kinds of things. It is for every person who calls himself a Christ follower because the whole idea is that what you think about God determines how you live for God. oh And that's what theology boils down to. A.W. Tozer, who is a great Christian author, if you ever have a chance to pick up one of his books, I advise it, he says this, what comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us.
00:01:11
Speaker
and that statement is very very true and so we're going to talk about this a little bit because the first thing you get the first reaction you get when you talk to someone about theology is I'm no theologian that's their first line of defense so that's the first thing I want to talk about this reality that everybody is a theology a theologian um so what what what kind of responses do you get when you try to convince people hey you're you're really a deeper thinker than you realize realize that this really matters to you ah Everybody has a theology, like regardless of whether you know the Bible at all or whether you know nothing about it. yeah um You have your approach to what you think of God, whether he exists or not right in that person's mind. and so um
00:01:55
Speaker
The question really is, is how good is your theology?
Understanding and Interpreting Theology
00:01:59
Speaker
Like, how well do you understand no damn God? Because if you ask anybody on the street, they might say the big guy in the sky. They might say the man upstairs. They might have some idea, the all-powerful, wrath-filled controller, whatever it may be. But everybody has an idea of who they think God is.
00:02:17
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah, and I think some of this, you mentioned it, the separation where they try to say, hey, I'm not a theologian. This is reconstructing the mindset of when we say theologian, everyone is in the sense of you either view God as this or you even the person that's the unbeliever, they may have a view of God. It's just a distorted view of God. exactly but ah we have to kind of reconstruct people's mindset into saying, even for the new believer, or maybe the person that's not so confident
00:02:50
Speaker
you are a theologian. It's a matter of how far are you walking on the journey of knowing who God is and who He says to be. right yeah So the technical definition of theology is it's two Greek words brought together, theos, which is the word for God, and logos, which is the study of something.
00:03:08
Speaker
um So theology is the study of God. If you have ever asked a question to yourself or even to a group of people, who is God, what is He like, why did Jesus have to die, how do I...
00:03:19
Speaker
How do I get salvation? Can I lose my salvation? Even why did God create heavens and the earth? Those are all theological questions. So the and the the issue here isn't whether or not you have theology, Kyle's point, it's whether or not your theology is based on Scripture or something else in culture that is yeah training the way you think.
00:03:39
Speaker
um So Titus 1.9, you were going to look that up. Yes, sir, I have it right here.
00:03:46
Speaker
It says, he must hold firm to the trustworthy word as taught, so that he may be able to give instructions in sound doctrine, and also to rebuke those who contradict it.
00:03:57
Speaker
So Paul's encouragement here to a young um a young follower of Christ is directions for men who are going to be leaders in the church, they have to hold firm to the trustworthy word. In other words, Scripture has to be the basis for their theology.
Consequences of Bad Theology
00:04:10
Speaker
Again, that's not the only basis for theology, but if you're a true follower of Christ, that's it. So that leads to our second...
00:04:17
Speaker
point in the conversation here today and that is this bad theology really hurts people it is oh my yeah it really hurts people uh give me some examples uh bad sex of religious culture uh i can give you probably a numerous amount of denominations that have gone off the rails because of bad theology and many times they cover it they cover their own choice with the faceplate of God. And it really distorts the whole view of, oh, well, is that that they believe in God? No, no, they don't, by the way. Right.
00:04:53
Speaker
um If you start to dig up what they really truly, not just say they believe, but whatever they follow in their belief, that is the determiner. And I would say denominations are just, you know, a tip of the iceberg. There's plenty of other things that I'm sure you all can think of, but It's a a huge one because it leads a lot of people.
00:05:11
Speaker
Yeah. Read Proverbs 14, 12 for us. Proverbs 14, 12 says, there is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death. Yeah. So a perfect example to me of this is you get in these conversations all the time with people who are talking about other religions, ah specifically in in most instances, the Islamic religion. People go, how can they be wrong? They seem so devoted to it.
00:05:34
Speaker
How would you answer that, Kyle? Oh, man. You know, you look at all the also all the pride stuff that goes on right now within churches. And I think we adopt ah preference and comfort into our um religious beliefs are theology beliefs. And we had ah a church here in town this weekend have a pride festival on their front lawn. Right. And you're talking conservative middle Tennessee. Yep. And yet the church is so far off.
00:06:06
Speaker
Are those people loving? Are those people kind to the world standard? Yes. Right. And so you look at Islam and are they devoted to their religion? Yes. In most cases, are they nice people? Yes. But there's deep-seated beliefs that are not okay. Yeah. They're against God's word on both sides, Islam and these churches that are now standing for homosexuality. Yeah. And so we've brought in our opinion, and know we've brought in our comfort, we've brought in our desires, and we've pushed away God's Word to create what someone would call a church. And it's far off from what Scripture holds to is the church. Yeah. i mean we We mentioned Islam. He just mentioned the pride movement that's going on right now. i think that kind of has been popping into my mind a lot is what the conversation going on in Texas around this guy James Tallarico. Sure. Who's, I mean, basically he's a heretical priest in the Presbyterian church. And the things he is propagating by use of scripture shows that dedication and even use of scripture don't guarantee that you're getting it right. Right. And back to the verse that John just read. There is a way that seems right to a person, but the end is death. Why? Because they they're not really following truth. They have twisted truth, they've manipulated truth, they've accommodated it to their lifestyle.
00:07:21
Speaker
And I think that would be a word of caution for all of us when we come to the Scriptures. It's a necessity that we adjust our life to the Scripture instead the Scripture being adjusted to our lives. yeah good I think you mentioned something that really stuck out in a class that we just went through on Wednesday nights this past year ah in the book of Galatians. And when we reason on the wrong standard...
00:07:44
Speaker
when we reason amongst our own selves versus reasoning and saying, okay, what is the standard? Not my emotions, my feelings, but the standard is God. The standard is scripture. And when we ever get away from that and let the feelings and emotions be paramount, we'll always end up in kind of a twisted place. man People like to pick and choose what parts of the Bible they like, yeah and then they'll ah disregard certain parts of the Bible because it makes them uncomfortable or doesn't feel right to them. um But if you don't believe the Bible in its entirety, then you're not believing the whole of the Bible. right And so if if you think that um you know Christianity can follow Christ and support gay marriage at the same time, then you don't really believe what the Bible is saying about who Christ is. And so we have to believe it in its entirety. And the places that make us uncomfortable, we don't throw them out.
00:08:35
Speaker
We hand it to the Lord and say, God, I trust you with this area of Scripture. Please lead me. Yeah. So a good theologian comes to the Scripture and asks the question, what does this tell me about how I should live my life?
00:08:48
Speaker
Not coming to the Scripture and saying, how can I adjust this to fit my life? yeah And there's a big difference between the two, because when you're doing theology right, good theology should always produce the right kind of worship from us. It should lead to more than just information, it should lead to adoration of God.
00:09:06
Speaker
Titus 1.9 points to the reason being is because these things are going to try to creep them their way into the church, and we have to have to the discernment to make sure that we're protecting God's church from these ideals. Yeah. One of my simplest and probably most faithful prayers that I pray you on a regular basis is, Lord, help me to know you better so I can love you more. And I think that's what theology speaks to. The more you know truth about God, the more you're driven to worship God. and to love him for who he is, for what he has done, and and all that kind of stuff. So, yeah, it's it's really important and you get your theology right, which, admittedly, that's really, really hard these days because we have access to more information than any other generation in the history of the world. And all it takes is a bozo like me to get on here and find a microphone and do a broadcast and make it look official and people go, oh, there's this pastor who said so-and-so.
00:09:58
Speaker
Do not ever take a pastor's word for anything.
The Stabilizing Role of Theology
00:10:01
Speaker
First of all, they're all slick. i mean Pastors are just tricky fellows and and they can manipulate the word. Second of all, um it's not their thoughts that matter. don't Don't go to your pastor and say, hey, what do you think this is? Go to the word and say, hey, what does God want me to see in this? right I think you bring up a really good point.
00:10:20
Speaker
When we go to these figureheads, when we go to these churches, when we go to these areas, sometimes when you have these people that you can tell there's distorted theology, it's because they're elevating themselves, the person of themselves, more than they're elevating the presence and the person of God. Right.
00:10:37
Speaker
Yeah. So another reason, I think probably the final reason for for this conversation, that theology is so important, is theology helps to stabilize our lives during the trials that will come. Not a question of if, and the Bible says that, it's a question of when they come. So what does theology do to stabilize you in those seasons? How does it help you?
00:11:01
Speaker
knowing good theology when you're coming against those trials? I consider it, you know, there's probably all kinds of cheesy illustrations, but I consider it like the anchor in the storm. Whenever it's solid and it sets down and it roots you, there may be some things that you even still try to walk through and understand. Because as you grow as a theologian, as you grow in your understanding of who God is, then there will be times to where you will question, okay, what do you mean, God? The illumination from the Holy Spirit, though, changes the ballgame. yeah And I would say it acts as, even as of recent for myself, it's acted as a steady, calm peace that I know I don't have to worry about because God has said, I'm i'm not changing. Mm-hmm. you know, you may change the thing that is, you know, you're walking through may change, but I don't change. And so I hold steadfast to that. And it's, it's brought me very much. So, ah not hoping just the, the factor of man, butve I've experienced God because plenty of people can say I experienced God, or there's even people to say I experienced, uh, Islam, but one thing that changes the ball game
00:12:17
Speaker
the word of God. That's right. Changes everything. I think something you said is important is our situations do change us. And so when we encounter something we don't like, we get angry. When we encounter something lost, we get hurt. And there's scripture warns of that in Matthew seven or yeah, Matthew seven saying that you you're going to experience the storm, the wind and the the rain and where, where's your foundation, right? And so the wise man hears the word and puts it into practice.
00:12:44
Speaker
and the foolish man hears the word and does not put it into practice, right? And so both those guys are going to go through the storm. Whoever's grounded in in good theology, understands who God is, it doesn't matter how much we change.
00:12:55
Speaker
If we're grounded on who God is, then we remain stable. We have a stable foundation through those storms. Acts 20 verses twenty eight through thirty one Luke records these words from Paul as he's talking to the Ephesian elders. I think this is really right on point for us. it It says, "...be on guard for yourselves and for all of the flock of which the Holy Spirit has appointed you as an overseer to shepherd the church of God, which he purchased with his own blood.
00:13:21
Speaker
I know that after my departure, savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock." men will rise up even from your own number And to
00:13:42
Speaker
i mean paul's talking to a very important point here theology, good theology, and good theologians are necessary for the protection of God's church. Man, and I mean, just like you said, even right here in this very small, very conservative conservative town in the middle of Tennessee, there's bad theology right down the road from us, and it is leading families astray, it's leading them down a path of self-destruction, it's causing confusion for young people who are looking for answers. don't I shudder every time I think about the responsibility I have to bring truth to people. because I don't want to get it wrong.
00:14:18
Speaker
I can only imagine what waits for people who have intentionally taken God's Word and twisted it. I mean, that's a ah a responsibility I don't want. And sometimes it's not blatant. Sometimes it's just...
00:14:30
Speaker
Maybe something casually that your pastor said growing up, and you think that's biblical, right? And you've kind of based your life on that. So I encourage you um at any given point to study God's Word and find out truly who God is, what He says about man, what He says about His Holy Spirit, what He says about Jesus. And don't really take the opinion of man and only take what Scripture za provides. Exactly. In case you can't tell, the three of us really love God's Word. I do. ah We really do respect it. It is a guide for life. And so the Word is essential for good theology, and good theology is essential for being a good parent, a good husband, a good wife, a good kid, a good citizen of your community.
00:15:11
Speaker
It helps you handle conflict. It helps you go through trials. It helps you face your own conscience or to deal with that those kinds of things. It also helps you deal with the reality of life and death. Things that all of us will face. So it's a very intensely practical book which leads to very intensely practical practices because of our theology. And, you know, when I first heard the word theology, I think probably, i don't remember when it was. I just know that my first thoughts about theology were guys sitting around with pipes in a library somewhere talking about really deep thoughts. yeah And, um you know, when some someone first suggested i was a theologian, it just kind of shook me a little bit to go, up really? Seriously? You think I could be that kind of guy? And they were going, no, not that kind of guy. But you are somebody who thinks about God. Yeah.
00:15:59
Speaker
So as you're listening out there today, be aware theology is part of your everyday living. It is. It helps you decide what products to buy at the store, what things to watch on your TV.
00:16:11
Speaker
It's just a part of who you are. Any final thoughts before we wrap up today? Yeah, I think it's important you do the work um just to study God's Word to find out yeah which direction you're headed. Because the last thing you wanted to be doing is cruising in the wrong direction. yeah and See what God's Word says and follow that. yeah Yeah, I think, was it Acts 17 where the Bereans, where they talk about the Bereans and we're encouraged to be like the Bereans who were a group of people who heard what Paul taught, but they didn't take his word for it. They went back to the Scriptures and studied the Scriptures for themselves.
00:16:39
Speaker
Always, always do that. Don't be afraid.
Encouragement for Personal Bible Study
00:16:41
Speaker
Here's a word of good encouragement for you. Don't be afraid to ask questions of your pastor's teaching. yeah And if your pastor's afraid of your questions, go somewhere else to church. sure yeah you You don't need that kind of stuff. I i think the the biggest thing in kind of summation of this is I hear people get excited, maybe even nervously excited about what it is to be a theologian or just to love theology. God's desire for any of His people as they seek to know Him better is not just to know Him better, it's to know Him.
00:17:14
Speaker
you know i feel that sometimes people get so in love with the knowledge that they forget about the God that created it all and just desires to be in relationship with them. Yeah. And we talked about this this past Sunday as part of our service. Even knowledge can become idolatry. We can worship the knowledge we have without getting to the point of what the knowledge is for. Yeah. All right. John, you want wrap us up in prayer today? Love to. Thank you, Ed.
00:17:40
Speaker
God, we thank you for your presence. And we're thankful that it permeates the the things like podcasts like this and the conversation that goes on. God, we thank you for the the conversation that is beneficial to the gospel in this community, wherever people are speaking and proclaiming your name. where it's rooted in truth and rooted in scripture. And God, we pray that the fruits of these conversations would turn into lives being turned towards you. And us not just knowing about who you are, but that knowledge being turned into wisdom and that wisdom being taught. to so many people in our sphere of influence.
00:18:20
Speaker
God, we love you and we praise you. We give you all the glory in Jesus' name. Amen. Speaking of not believing everything you hear, don't take our word for it. Get in this book yourself. Go ask the hard questions of Jesus. He's not afraid of him He'll be glad to know to take you to school and let you learn some things about who he is. right here All right, come join us next week, next episode. We're going be talking about God and who is God and the character of God and all those good things. We'll give you all the answers we have and hopefully make you hungry for more.
Conclusion and Prayer
00:18:49
Speaker
We'll see you next episode. All right, bye.