Below is a copy of my first paper for Grace Theological Seminary
Theology is the single
greatest area of study and the highest level of education which is available to
mankind because it is the study of the living God. One can spend their whole
life studying another field, but if they do not study theology, then they will
miss out on the greatest knowledge made available to us by the very One who
created us. Theology is the study of God and what we believe about God will
affect everything about us — even the way we live on a daily basis. A. W. Tozer
says in his book The Knowledge of the
Holy that “What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most
important thing about us.”
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As with any
study, there are numerous branches within theology. In addition to the various categories of
theology, there is also the process by which we form convictions, our own
presuppositions to theology, and the sources we turn to when doing theology.
Ultimately, the study of theology is personal and individual to each believer
as there are many factors that contribute to one’s personal approach to
theology.
According to Charles Ryrie, the study of theology is
broken down into three main categories: era, viewpoint, and focus. Era
emphasizes the beliefs of the general population of believers during specific
eras of time while viewpoint aims more toward the philosophical beliefs within
certain groups of believers. My personal approach would tend to gravitate in
the direction of focus. The reasons for this observation are twofold. First, it
was due by process of elimination as I am not naturally inclined to the first
two. Second, my personality lends itself to focus as I have tended to camp out
on biblical, systematic, apologetic, and exegetical theology since I have been
saved. In the end, focus theology is my preferred method to study God’s Word
for both myself and in ministry.
Another factor that contributes to doing theology is a
two-step process by which I form convictions. The first step of this process is
to start with who God is and to acknowledge and reflect on His character. By
starting with the Lord then He can help me see, if what I am proposing as a
conviction conflicts with God’s very character or His purposes. If it stands in
contrast to Him or is not clearly stated in His Word, then that causes me to
pause and seek Him more. The second step I take when forming a conviction is
allowing God’s Word to have functional authority. If I want to avoid misinterpreting the Bible
by forming unbiblical convictions, then I am required to perform two actions: I
must first find evidence for my convictions and I must also search the
Scriptures for any evidence against them. If I am unable to find evidence
supporting my proposed conviction, I would not keep the conviction but label it
as either wrong or speculation. If I
find evidence which stands against what I think to be true then I must be
willing to change for the sake of my walk with the Lord and for the health of
my ministry.
The third area that affects theology is that of
presuppositions. No matter our backgrounds, everyone comes to Scripture with a
bias. It is impossible to not. Whether good or bad, and we are all using our
life experience as a lens through which we study God. These presuppositions not
only affect the way we study theology, but also how we do theology and thus
impacts individual relationship with the Lord and those to whom we are
ministering. Because presuppositions are often subconscious, they are difficult
to identify until they are challenged. A presupposition I have is the infinitude of the Godhead. God is the
meaning of infinite. I did not realize I held to this presupposition until I
was having a conversation with another believer who expressed his belief that
we will know everything about God when we are in Heaven. I strongly urged him
to reevaluate God because his view of His infiniteness is limited if our
knowledge will one day equal Him.
An
example of a false presupposition that I have held at times is believing the
lie that God is distant and unconcerned with my life. This false presupposition
has always led me into discouragement and even apathy when I am not careful. To
correct this false presupposition, I must choose to set aside these lies and
ground myself in the truth of God’s Word even if I do not feel that He is near
for He has told us that even when we feel alone that He is there.
The fourth aspect that affects how I do theology would be
the sources to which I turn. When I study, I will always begin with the Bible
as that is the ultimate source of truth. Following Scripture, I may seek guidance
from my family, pastors, sermons, social media, books and commentaries, videos,
and so on. Because God’s Spirit indwells believers, He can teach me through
others apart from His direct revelation. God uses men and women to build up the
body of Christ in areas such as teaching. This gives me the ability to look for
assistance from my contemporaries and those who have gone before me and have
spent a lifetime walking with the Spirit. These are all great resources which
God has given the church and I believe it would be a great detriment for me to
forsake these resources.
There are many factors that impact how I do theology.
From the category and process by which I form convictions to my presuppositions
and the resources I use, all of these work together to create my individual
approach to theology. In the pursuit of
studying God, I must be careful so as not to forget Him. It is not necessarily
just knowledge of Him that I need but a thriving relationship with Him. After
all, one could argue that the demons are the best theologians in existence
because they were once in His very presence. However, they only have the
knowledge without the relationship. It is my prayer that, by doing theology, I
might grow more into the image of Christ and that my ministry would glorify Him.
