Theology is the study of God: His Person, His nature, and His works. It should be studied and taught with a spirit of Christian love. In Polemic theology, we study theology in a warlike manner and fight against with those we have a disagreement. In Apologetic theology we defend our faith outside the church. in Irenic theology, theology is done peaceably.
We are living in a world saturated with many religions and ideologies. We are constantly exposed to those religious and secular worldviews. Not surprisingly, these ideas creep into our minds and hearts. Before we do any thing, we should start with the foundation of the Word of God.
Don’t let your emotions ruin you. God spoke to us in clear terms. With discipline and concentration, we can learn His truths from His Word. We should dedicate time to study God’s Word. God is infinite but we are finite. That does not mean we cannot understand His Word.
We should believe God’s Word and think about it. We should be careful not to let our selfish desires impact our theological studies. Many false teachings were born and are being born out of such selfish motives.
Who is a theologian? Every one who study about God is a theologian.
Who is God? Did God create this world? If he did, why did he create this world? Why did he create human beings? Who is Jesus? Why am I here? What is life? What happens after death? If you have any of these questions and have been searching for answers, then you are a theologian.
In the name of Tolerance, we are told to abandon systematic theology of the Bible. ‘Leave your doctrine at the door’, ‘I don’t care much about theology, I just love Jesus’, ‘Why should we waste time on doctrines when we should be reaching people for Jesus’: these are some of the common excuses I hear from people who evade the study of theology.
But we should remember what the Bible teaches. Everything written in the Bible is written for our edification. 2 Timothy 3:16 states,
All Scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly equipped for all good works.
What does it say? All Scripture is profitable for doctrine. Before it is used for reproof, before it is used for correction, for instruction, it should be used for doctrine.
Sadly, many people construct their theology on their own ideas, on their own traditions and folk tales. But true theology starts with only the Word of God.