| Pastoral Ponderings by Bob Smith |
| One of the ideas which is often repeated in Christian circles today is the need for application, relevance and practicality concerning the church's teachings. Sermons, Sunday School lessons, even casual discussions should always be readily usable concerning some aspect of our lives. Anything which doesn't is considered empty fluff. This would include theology and doctrine. The average Christian is supposed to have no need for the theoretical. Give us application and save understanding for the seminaries and spiritually dead. But what if application is supposed to flow out of understanding instead of being contrary to it? This is not to say that theology and doctrine shouldn't have application in the Christian life. But today there seems to be an attitude that what a person believes is less important that what they do. In fact doctrine and theology are often viewed as leading to division. Deeds are what really make the difference. But what does the Bible present? At first glance, the Bible talks about giving a glass of cold water and weeping with those who weep, not losing heart in doing good, and do nothing from selfishness. The Bible certainly presents the Christian life as one of action. But when we look closer, something deeper comes to the surface. Michael Horton in his book Christless Christianity points out Paul's call to discipleship in Romans 12:1, “…offer your bodies as a living sacrifice…” But as Horton points out, the eleven previous chapters are all about doctrine and theology. In fact, Paul begins 12:1 with the words, “Therefore brethren…” The whole idea of presenting ourselves comes as a result of understanding the doctrine of our redemption which Paul presents in the first eleven chapters. Ephesians is full of commands to not be angry, be imitators of God, love your wives, but these are all found in chapters four through six. What is found in the first three chapters? The theology of our identity in Christ. The point is our understanding motivates our doing. | As disciples, we know that we are to love. We are to love our neighbors. We are to love God. We are to love each other. In fact, the world will know we are Christians because of our love for one another. But where are we to find the ability for all this love? Certainly we can pray or praise or try to will ourselves through discipline or guilt, but what does Jesus say in Luke 7:47? Those who are forgiven much love much. You want to love more? Develop an understanding of how much you are forgiven. In other words, the doctrine of man's depravity matters. God's mercy and grace is magnified through the theology of God's judgment and the Cross. Develop an understanding of how much you have been forgiven and that gratitude will translate into a love for others. When we disregard understanding in favor of application, Christ becomes an example to follow instead of the object of our faith. The Bible becomes God's instruction manual instead of His autobiography. As a result, we search for applications to fix our problems instead of marveling at His nature and character revealed in the bigger story of our redemption. Yes, there are those who use doctrine and theology in a divisive way or excel at doctrine and theology but have little in the way of good works. But, is this an incitement on theology and doctrine? That would be like saying that, because food leads to obesity, food is therefore bad. The problem lies not with the food but with the person. It is the same with doctrine and theology. In seminary, I was taught to make my points and then wrap them up with a practical and relevant application. But when I read the gospels, Jesus isn't so focused on what is relevant and practical. He seems more concerned with what people believe. As a matter of fact, the people He had the most difficulty with were the Pharisees who excelled at doing God's work. How often did Jesus reveal their lack of understanding? Is it possible that attitudes in Christian circles today are making us into Pharisees unawares? |
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