Integrating Theology and Life
Following on from my last post, I'd like to think about this division that is sometimes created between a 'burning heart' and sound doctrine. This is, in fact, what Thomas Rees was warning about. He looked at the example where theology was ignored in favour of feeling, yet that is not the only way we can separate between the two. Sometimes it's possible to know all the right theology, and even mentally agree to it, but still have this division in real life. Sometimes we act based on feeling or experience, rather than on the basis of the sound doctrine we know. This creates just as much a division between the 'burning heart' and theology as does ignoring doctrine altogether.
This can be the reality in any number of ways; e.g. when we know the truth of justification by grace thanks to Christ's death for our sins on the Cross, yet allow ourselves to wallow in feelings of guilt and unworthiness - of course we're guilty and unworthy, but as believers we should be living on the basis of God's forgiveness and Christ's righteousness imputed to us. We can never be worthy in ourselves, but we are righteous in Him! As the chorus goes:
As a Bible college lecturer, this issue makes me think of my students, particularly the new students. Suddenly they're being confronted with massive tomes of scholarly reading, theories galore, Greek paradigms and debates among theologians. Some might be tempted to make a separation between their academic theological studies and their personal piety; but I hope they don't. Theological studies necessarily involve scholarship and academia, but these are supposed to be aids to the students in their theological development. The details of ancient heresies are not simply taught for the sake of bolstering general knowledge, but to help us learn from the mistakes of the past and teach us the huge importance of the issues in question. The theology taught in class should, hopefully, penetrate the heart. As we learnt from the disciples on the road to Emmaus, it is proper understanding of God's Word that leads to a burning heart.
This can be the reality in any number of ways; e.g. when we know the truth of justification by grace thanks to Christ's death for our sins on the Cross, yet allow ourselves to wallow in feelings of guilt and unworthiness - of course we're guilty and unworthy, but as believers we should be living on the basis of God's forgiveness and Christ's righteousness imputed to us. We can never be worthy in ourselves, but we are righteous in Him! As the chorus goes:
When we beat ourselves up about our unworthiness, we are really looking to our own works for justification, rather than to Christ's finished work. This is a common way we sometimes fail to integrate our theology with our lives.He is all my righteousness
I stand complete in Him
And Worship Him
As a Bible college lecturer, this issue makes me think of my students, particularly the new students. Suddenly they're being confronted with massive tomes of scholarly reading, theories galore, Greek paradigms and debates among theologians. Some might be tempted to make a separation between their academic theological studies and their personal piety; but I hope they don't. Theological studies necessarily involve scholarship and academia, but these are supposed to be aids to the students in their theological development. The details of ancient heresies are not simply taught for the sake of bolstering general knowledge, but to help us learn from the mistakes of the past and teach us the huge importance of the issues in question. The theology taught in class should, hopefully, penetrate the heart. As we learnt from the disciples on the road to Emmaus, it is proper understanding of God's Word that leads to a burning heart.