Theology
What is theology? Well, the dictionary defines it as "the study of divine things or religious truths."
We've talked a lot, over the last year, about theology. We've discussed the importance of studying it and having a good working knowledge of it, for the purposes of being able to, as Peter says, "give an account for the hope that is in you, 1 Peter 3:15.
Many people believe that this just means that you declare you are a Christian. I, however, do not. And I don't just disagree with this idea, I adamantly, fiercely disagree with it. To be able to say,
"I am a Christian", but then not be able to deeply, richly explain what that means to someone who is far from God, or has absolutely no working knowledge of who Christ is, is not only sad, but irresponsible. You will never meet a Buddhist or a Muslim who cannot defend his faith to the nth degree. When we cannot present the full Gospel to those who "have ears to hear", we disgrace the sacrifice that Jesus made on the cross.
Okay, I'm going to stop now, cause this is a subject that I can literally get on my soap box for and spend the next two years on. As we finish out this year on our worship team, we are going to be delving into some hardcore theology. There are many reasons for this, specific to our needs as a worship team and as prominent faces in our church. Suffice it to say, to reference our brother Paul, we're moving off of baby food and onto meat.
This Sunday, before service, the band and I dove into a little bit of this, while reading John, chapter 6. I want you all to read this, this week, and then we will begin to open discussions into the text over the next week or so. Please, do not come to church this week not having read it. You will be called out and held accountable to it.
I'm excited about where we're going. Let's go with all of the armor of God. Not just some of it.
Love y'all
Robbie
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
There is so much in this chapter that I don't even know where to start. I have love communion, but have always been interested in the differences of the beliefs between protestant and catholic churches in this area. I am excited to hear other peoples thoughts and opinions. :-)
ReplyDeleteIt's ironic that Robbie talked about people declaring their Christianity. I have been so discouraged at school, I'm at the age where bright students like to test their wings and debate. In Government today we got in a debate, the subject irrelevant, but the content was disturbing. So many of my classmates see Christians as radical people who bomb abortion clinics, do hateful things, and condemn others. I was in shock, I left class and just wept. I prayed for God to forgive us, what have we become? My heart broke to see that people claiming they are Christians aren't following Christ and my classmates were angry. They reacted in a way I never imagined, they compared Christians to radical Muslims and I was dumbfounded.
ReplyDeleteIn John 6, Jesus continues to tell the people to eat his flesh and blood, and they continually misunderstood him. I wonder how many people aren't deep enough in his word, and make declarations based on their own opinions, attaching "Christian" to it, simply because they don't understand it. God promises to give us eyes to see, to understand, I desire for Him to give me sight. We are in a world full of blind children with an appetite, but they are not hungry for "flesh and blood" because they don't realize that Jesus can fill them more than anything ever could. I beg you to pray for the younger generations who are so caught up in the world that they can't see God for who He truly is.
Lord please give us the wisdom and sight so we can go and make disciples, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
What the diciples said in verse 60 is true: "This is a hard teaching." It is hard for many Christians, much less non-Christians. Hannah, your story breaks my heart too, and unfortunately, I think many of us "church people" are dangerously oblivious to how widespread seniments like this are in America.
ReplyDeleteAll this discussion underscores the need for Christians to be able to explain and even defend their beliefs (and "I just have faith" is not a sufficient answer). Beginning this fall, The Journey will be offering a course on apologetics (the study of explaining and defending Christian beliefs). I'm definitely going to be there and I hope our discussion over the next few weeks will be a great precursor to further studies in this area.
John 6:51-58 had to be a very hard teaching to take. Of course Jesus is not speaking literally but still it is a hard comparison to read and comprehend. We are to base our entire survival and life on Him. I heard an interesting quote other day “ALL sin is rooted in selfishness”. The speaker was claiming that you can always trace back to selfishness from sin. I am a selfish person, when you are selfish you are not basing your survival on Jesus but you are basing your life on yourself; if all sin has a root in selfishness, do the math. Finally I ran across, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled”[Matthew 4-5] we should have a hunger and thirst for the teachings of John 6:51-58. Once you begin to just look at it from a spiritual perspective and take away all worldly connections, it is a truly beautiful teaching.
ReplyDeleteThere is just so much int he one chapter alone. It continues to amaze me. Like Houston mentioned Jesus was not speaking literally in vs. 51-58 but do you think those who were listening took him literally and were maybe dumbfounded by what he was saying? It amazes me that they sought after Christ. I have always loved the beginning of the chapter where Christ make the five loaves and two fish feed everyone with plenty left over. It shows right there that God is capable of anything and everything! I think that is all I have for now! If I have think of anything else I will share!!
ReplyDelete