I think it is very important that Christians are theologically informed even
if it is not to the degree that one would receive from formal education and
training. Many believers are Biblically illiterate and do not know their left
from their right and this greatly hurts the overall body. Every believer
does not need to know doctrine terminology or even theology that does
not pertain to salvation. The theology of transubstantiation V.S.
consubstantiation for instance does not rank very high on the average
believers things they need to know. However, the doctrine concerning
why the church partakes in the Eucharist is important, even if they are
unfamiliar with the term. I believe that as a pastor leads the sheep will
follow and according to our text book reading many of our pastors are not
well versed in theological principles as evidenced by 21% believing that
the Bible is made up of “fables legends, history, and moral
precepts.”1How can we expect believers to become more grounded when
leadership is failing?
When believers are not well informed they become easy targets
for the enemy to attack and destroy. The scriptures call him a “roaring
lion, seeking someone to devour” (1 Pt. 5:8 NASB). Considering that these
verses are written to a group of believers it stands to reason that he is
seeking Christians to devour and lions will always go after the weak on the
fringe of the herb animals before the strong middle of the herd animals. I
am unaware if contextually it is the best verse but the concept I believe is
biblical founded when speaking about priest Hosea stats that “my people
are destroyed from lack of knowledge. ‘Because you have rejected
knowledge, I also reject you as my priest’” (Hosea 4:6). Christians need to
have at least a basic understanding of theology in order to defend
themselves from the attacks that the enemy will use against them.
Doctrines such as sola gratia, atonement, and justification to name only a
few are helpful to keep believers from falling away and also for defending
the faith that they claim. As John Nicholls explains that Paul’s words to
Titus actually meant not to silence but to muzzle any theological
opponents.2It is hard to lead others to Christ if you do not know where
you stand before your maker because you have adopted a works over
grace mentality or a grace plus works combination.
I highly favor the study of scripture but also the study of church
history because if we do not know history then we are destined to repeat
it. It is important to understand why did the church in general not oppose
the Nazis in Germany as the systematically slaughtered millions of Jews
and other “undesirables”. How can the church look back and repent of this
mistake and move forward with the knowledge to prevent similar actions
in the future? Where will the church fall on the side of history with more
recent movement such as BLM and is there a close connection between
these two times in history?
Word count:510
1. Rebecca McLaughlin,Confronting Christianity: 12 Questions for the
World's Largest Religion,(Wheaton, ILL: Crossway, 2019), 96.
Via Lydia Saad, "Three in Four in U.S. Still See the Bible as Word of God,"
Gallop, June4, 2014,http://news.gallop.com/poll/170834/three-four-bible-
word-god.aspx.
2. Todd Wilson and Gerald Hiestand eds.Becoming a Pastor
Theologian,(Downers Grove, ILL: IVP Academic, 2016), 155.
JasonNicholls, " The Pastor Theologian in the Pastoral Epistles".
