Why I am Passionate about Theology
Have you ever heard people say that theology doesn’t matter, it only matters that we love Jesus? I have heard this sentiment many times on social media, and I’ve even heard people I know and love make similar statements. Some people think that studying theology will make them lose their fire for their faith or that it will cause them to walk away from the faith altogether, so they think it’s better to just love God, love people, and not sweat the details. But is this really the best way for us to handle what we believe?
Before I get much further into talking about why I’m passionate about theology, I want to define theology for you. Theology comes from the Greek words theos (God) and logos (logic/reasoning), so theology literally means “reasoning about God” or “the study of God.” So, basically, theology is studying God, how He interacts with the world, and how the world interacts with who He is. Any aspect of life that is touched by God (which is all of life) can be studied through the lens of theology.
About a year ago, I decided I wanted to write a theology book for Gen Z (those born between 1997 and 2012), which also turned into launching a podcast this month. I want this podcast to be a place where we can dig deep into the Word and what the Word of God has to say about any and all aspects of life, because I truly believe that good theology is crucial to our walk with Christ.
I grew up not being taught much about theology from my local church congregation. Most of my studying of what I believed and why came from my parents’ modeling of studying the Word and enrolling my siblings and me in the National Bible Bee. Through Bible Bee, I was introduced to many other young people who were passionate about the Word and who inspired me to go deeper in my understanding of the Word and of theology. I thank the Lord that He gave me a childhood that was saturated in Scripture, because that is how my theology has been developed.
When I went to college at a Christian university, I was quickly impressed with how important it was to be saturated in the Word. There were so many different voices at school, some rooted soundly in Scripture and others spinning worldly beliefs to sound biblical. To be able to quickly discern truth from error was critical in my years at college and beyond. Our world is inundated with information thanks to living in this technology era, and if we are not firmly grounded in the truth of God’s Word, we will be “carried about by every wind of doctrine” (Eph. 4:14).
I’m passionate about theology because I want my generation to be able to defend our faith with boldness, love, and accuracy.
As a result, we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming; but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ, Ephesians 4:14-15 (NASB95)
but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence; 1 Peter 3:15
Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth. 2 Timothy 2:15
As believers, the only authority that should be able to sway our theology and doctrine is the Word of God.
Does this mean that we should never read works by Christian authors or theologians? Absolutely not! The wisdom of believers who have gone before us is a tremendous blessing. But we must learn to filter everything we read, including works by our favorite Christian authors or theologians, through the filter of Scripture. Recently, I read a book by R. C. Sproul, one of my most favorite theologians, and disagreed with his conclusion on the topic of creation. He believed that it didn’t matter too much whether we believed in a young or old earth so long as we believe that God created, whereas I believe that Scripture teaches a literal six-day creation. To believe anything different creates multiple theological problems. It was a reminder to me that while I can learn a lot from wise believers, I must never place their word at the same level as God’s Word. Even favorite theologians must be tested by the Word.
I want to touch quickly on this thought that studying theology will take away the joy or fire someone has in their faith. In my experience, the more I dig into the Word, the more on-fire I am for the Lord. The less I am in the Word, the more apathetic I am in my faith. We cannot grow in our walk with the Lord without spending time with Him in prayer and in the Word. Can you lose your fire from studying theology? Possibly, if you’re studying in order to puff yourself up or to check a box on your to-do list. But if you’re digging into the Word, studying who God is and studying how your faith impacts every aspect of life, and you’re doing this in order to learn how to better glorify God in all you do, your love for God will grow. Your love for the Word will grow. And your desire to live for the glory of God will grow your fire for the Lord.
The brethren immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea, and when they arrived, they went into the synagogue of the Jews. Now these were more noble-minded than those in Thessalonica, for they received the word with great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so. Therefore many of them believed, along with a number of prominent Greek women and men. Acts 17:10-12
Scripture makes note of the Bereans because they were diligent to pass everything they heard through the filter of God’s Word. They cared about their theology. May we be like the Bereans, examining the Word with great eagerness so that we can have strong, gospel filters for all of life.
With love,
Kelsey
P.S. If you want to learn more about why theology is a benefit to you, check out my podcast episode What Theology Is + 3 Reasons it Matters to You.
