h h In order for one to understand Christianity from a theological
perspective, and be h theologically informed, one must understand what
theology means at its root. Theology is the study of God in an effort
to understand who He is with regard to what is written in the Bible.
The purpose is to provide Christians with an understanding of God’s
creation and His redemptive work for humanity. Both systematic theology
and biblical theology is rooted in the analysis of scripture, in an
attempt to understand the why and how of doctrinal development.
Historical theology focuses on the development and unfolding of theology
throughout church history. It examines the formation of cardinal doctrine
about God, Christ, the Holy Spirit, salvation, the church and other
doctrines to include how they have evolved over time (Enns, 439).
h h h h h h h h God charges Christians to “rightly handle the Word of
truth” (2 Tim 2:15, ESV) by effectively interpreting scripture. “Scripture is
a symphony, replete with repeated themes and variations.” (Wilson 2020,
14). Therefore, scripture must be studied and accurately understood. In
doing so, one can clearly impart God’s word accurately and completely.
The student author believes that it is critical for Christians to be
theologically informed, because foundationally, all Christians need to know
and understand who God is, his attributes, character and who He is to
humanity. Additionally, Christians need to know Jesus. As a minister, the
student author needs to understand the biblical context of theology
because of God’s redemptive message. The Gospel is the Salvific
message of Jesus Christ and the belief in His death, burial and
resurrection. This is what Christianity is all about. If believers do not
believe then their faith is in vain (1 Corinthians 15:11-17). God’s
community exists to proclaim the Salvific message of the death and
resurrection of Jesus Christ (1 Tim 2:3-4; 2 Tim 2:25) to those who
were chosen for salvation before the foundation of the world (Ephesians
1:4). Today many professed Christians do not know what “Christian”
means. Further, also many assert that some scripture conflicts with
other scripture, so there are errors in scripture. Yet, if they studied
scripture, then they would understand how to take scripture literally,
apply metaphors or understand parables. Studying scripture and being
theologically informed enhances ones ability to be “attentive to the genre
of any biblical text in order to grasp its meaning.” (McLaughlin 2020,
98).
h h h h h h h h A Christian lifestyle requires ethical behavior built on
morality that was established by God (McQuilkin and Copan 2017, 162).
As a leader in a church, a theologically informed Christian needs to
administer the operations of the church in an ethical manner. Character
and sound doctrinal knowledge are critical, but it is not enough. The
church leader cannot be effective without commitment to action in doing
God’s work. Christians must know how God expects Christians to
worship Him and Him alone or honor the sacredness of His name
(McQuilkin and Copan 2017, 201) for example. Christians should know
how to live their day-to-day lives. This includes what is expected to do
His work, as such; one must know and understand what the Bible says
on the topic.
Word Count: 518
Bibliography
Enns, P. (2014) The Mood Handbook of Theology. Chicago, IL: Moody
Publishers
McQuilkin, Robert, and Paul Copan. 2017. An Introduction to Biblical
Ethics: Walking in the Way of Wisdom. Downer’s Grove, IL
McLaughlin, Rebecca. 2019. Confronting Christianity: 12 Hard Questions for
the World’s Largest Religion. Wheaton, Illinois: Crossway.
Wilson, Todd and Hiestand, Gerald, eds. 2016. Becoming A Pastor
Theologian: New Possibilities for Church Leadership. Illinois: IVP Academic.
