Everyday Theology | Part 1

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Study:

So, tonight we are diving into a new topic. The topic is theology.

When I mention the word theology, what are some of the words that come to mind for you?

Mention them in the comments below.

While you are doing that, let me share my experience. When I first heard the word theology, here are the words that came to mind for me...

Boring

Confusing

Heavy

Overwhelming

Read some of their comments out loud.

My goal with this study over the next 8-9 weeks is to not be any of those words or hopefully not all them at once. My goal with this study is to give us a basic understanding of theology that will impact...

What we know

What we believe

What we do

Therefore, my prayer is that at the end of this study all os us...

Know God a little bit better

Believe (or trust) God a little more

Live for God a little more faithfully

Tonight as begin we are going to answer three questions...

What is theology?

How do we study theology?

Why do we need to learn theology?

Question 1 | What is theology?

The word theology is made up of two Greek words...

Use index cards here with theos and logos written on them.

Theos - God

Logos - Word

Therefore, theology is literally is “words about God” or “the study of God.”

Illus.: Talk about how I love woodworking. I don’t do it as much as I would like to. I have a lot going in my life today, but I love it. Anytime I want to learn how to build something or learn a new technique I will search the internet and YouTube for information on how to do. I don’t research so that I just know the information. I research so I can do what I need to do.

Turn to Julie

Illus.: Ask Julie to share a hobby or hers that she spends a good amount of time researching and why does she spend that time researching.

Theology is not this big subject that just pastors and professors study, though they will probably do more than the average person. Theology is for everyone and makes a difference everyday.

Question 2 | How do we study theology?

Do we just read a bunch of theology books?

Do we just listen to preachers and professors?

Do we just go to church and Sunday School to learn theology?

All of these things are helpful, but I find the following paradigm to be very helpful when I think about learning theology.

Use index cards here with FACTS, FAITH & FEELINGS.

Explain that...

FACTS - What we need to know about God. Found in the Bible.

FAITH - What we need to believe about God. Often called Doctrine.

FEELINGS - What we need to respond or how we live. The everyday part.

In a perfect world we keep things in that order.

We read the facts about God from the Bible.

We allow those fact to shape our faith or what we believe.

What we believe about God and life impacts how we feel and live.

Sometimes we get things out of order.

What happens if we put our feelings first?

We wont see God’s Word correctly.

We will possibly read the Bible outside of it’s context to match our feelings.

Turn to Julie

Illus.: Ask Julie to share an example of when she has seen this happen.

What happens if we put our beliefs first?

We will ignore certain things in God’s Word that oppose our beliefs.

We will impose our beliefs on God’s Word.

We will be tempted to twist it to fit our beliefs.

Illus.: Talk about the lady that showed a picture that had overexposure of another picture on it. She said that it was her dead momma coming back in that picture. She said that because she believed that people’s spirits actually hung around here on earth after death. FYI - I’ve looked for chapter and verse on that one and have found one yet.

This is a common practice and is how people substantiate same-sex relationships, abortion and other Biblically inconsistent beliefs. They allow their beliefs or feelings to come before God’s Word.

This is why Paul writes this...

Romans 12:2 ESV

Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

So, one last question and the one that we will spend the most time in tonight...

Question 3 | Why do I need to learn theology?

Because it helps me know God better.

The great theologian J.I. Packer, who recently passed away, once said this...

“We are cruel to ourselves if we try to live in this world without knowing the God whose world it is and who runs it. The world becomes a strange, mad painful place…for those who do not know about God.”

That is why we must do the work of theology. The FACTS, FAITH & FEELINGS that we just talked about. We do this so we can know God better.

Proverbs 2:2–5 ESV

making your ear attentive to wisdom and inclining your heart to understanding; yes, if you call out for insight and raise your voice for understanding, if you seek it like silver and search for it as for hidden treasures, then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God.

Some will say I don’t have to study theology to know God better. I will just read my Bible. Guess what? You are doing theology, but you need community to make sure you don’t develop bad theology.

Because it gives me a good foundation.

Ephesians 4:13–14 ESV

until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes.

Without the right foundation we will be...

Tossed around by our circumstance

Follow all kinds of bad teaching

Turn to Julie

Illus.: Ask Julie to share how having a good foundation has kept her from being tossed by circumstances or follow bad teaching.

Because it feeds my soul.

Hebrews 5:12–14 ESV

For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the basic principles of the oracles of God. You need milk, not solid food, for everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, since he is a child. But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil.

The author of Hebrews was writing to some folks who should have grown in their faith but they hadn’t. They got to a place where they stopped growing in their walk with Lord. They stopped growing because they were taking in a pretty light spiritual diet.

Here’s the bottom line - THEOLOGY FEEDS THE SOUL. It’s solid food and not cotton candy. There are a lot of Christians trying to live for Jesus on a cotton candy diet. It will only give you a sugar rush and let you down quickly. Your faith needs to be anchored to a solid foundation.

Because it enables me to serve others.

Titus 1:9 ESV

He must hold firm to the trustworthy word as taught, so that he may be able to give instruction in sound doctrine and also to rebuke those who contradict it.

Once we learn something about God, we can share it with others.

This is not just a class thing. This is a life thing.

Illus.: Share how Julie and I will share little bits of Scripture that we read with one another. This is not a daily thing. It happens from time to time.

The more you learn about God. The more you share with others. Your witness will get better the more you know about God.

Because it protects me from error.

Colossians 2:6–8 ESV

Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving. See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ.

When you know God and His Word, you are less likely to be led astray or teach something that is in error.

Illus.: Talk about how I think back to days when I was a young pastor and cringe and the things I said and sermons I preached. Not that the preaching was bad but the foundation was thin.

Remember, FACT, FAITH & FEELINGS. When we get the facts right, the rest falls in place. This is why we need to study what God’s Word has to say about God.

Because how I think determines how I act.

Proverbs 23:7 NASB95

For as he thinks within himself, so he is. He says to you, “Eat and drink!” But his heart is not with you.

Theology is important because it shapes how we think and act.

Pick the FACTS FAITH & FEELINGS index cards back up.

Illus.: What happens if we don’t get the facts right with respect to God’s Word? The whole thing gets messed up.

Because I am commanded to.

There are three passage I want to mention here...

2 Timothy 2:15 ESV

Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth.

Paul tells Timothy to rightly divide the word of truth. This means to not be haphazard about it. Instead, to take theology and the study of God seriously.

Titus 1:1 ESV

Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, for the sake of the faith of God’s elect and their knowledge of the truth, which accords with godliness,

Paul tells Titus here that he is doing the ministry he is doing so that those he teaches would know the truth about God. We are commanded to teach and learn the truth about God. Not a man’s opinion.

1 Peter 3:15 ESV

but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect,

Here Peter is telling these suffering believers to be ready to share what they believe and why they believe it. We are commanded to know what we believe and why we believe it. It is not because the pastor said it. It is because God said it and has given us the ability to comprehend it.

Pray Time:

Ask Julie for the prayer needs.