As a Christian in today's culture, I believe that it is necessary for believers to be
"theologically informed." Accordingly, a theologically informed Christian is one that
understands scripture, history, and philosophy, thus providing them with a clearer view of the
biblical text. Sadly, many believers and unbelievers manipulate scripture to support their
agenda whether that be a political, social, or cultural agenda. Whenever that happens, it
discredits their theology, and it could easily be argued as unethical Christian practices even
though the manipulation of scripture can sometimes be unintentional. Regardless, "theology
is about speaking and doing the truth divinely revealed in Jesus Christ" [1].
Since, "theology is too important to be left to the 'professionals.' Every human being is
accountable before God for responding to the knowledge of God" [2]. As a result, it is up to
the individual believer to seek the correct interpretation and application of scripture.
However, most church goers attend church to receive the correct biblical understanding of
God's Word from their pastor or preacher.; therefore, leaving the pastor with a tremendous
burden. Consequently this is probably why pastors and teachers are held to a higher standard
(James 3:1). Unfortunately, I don't really know how many of today's pastors are actually
pastoring. It is my opinion that many of them are merely public speakers whose subject
matter is the gospel. In fact, many of their sermons are focused on reaching "lost" people, so
that they can receive a relationship with Christ.
With that being said, I am fully in support of pursuing lost people. In fact, in Luke 15, Jesus
tells us about the importance of it. More specifically, He stated that "there will be more joy in
heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no
repentance" (Luke 15:7). Unfortunately, in the process of reaching lost people, I have seen
believers who need discipled leave the church because they do not feel that they are growing.
Nonetheless, a successful ministry is measured by the "people's knowledge and love of God,"
and not by the number of "people, programs, [or] dollars" [3].9
In conclusion, the goal of a "theologically informed" Christian is one that is focused on
making disciples that make disciples. The way that we do that is by reaching lost people and
helping them grow in their love for God. Therefore, it is imperative that we are sensitive to
cross-cultural communication, and we are informed in scripture, history, and philosophy, but
we must also "be careful not to misrepresent the gospel message or mislead others" in the
process [4].99
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[1] Kevin J. VanHoozer, and Owen Strachan,9The Pastor as Public Theologian(Grand
Rapids, MI: Baker Publishing Group, 2015), 16.
[2] Ibid., 16.99
[3] Ibid., 22.9
[4] Robertson McQuilkin, and Paul Copan,9An Introduction to Biblical Ethics: Walking in the
Way of Wisdom(Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2014), 194.
