How Theology Impacts Your Spiritual Growth
Theology matters. I know it’s popular to believe that as long as we have a relationship with God, religious ideas, like theology and doctrine, don’t matter because they come from the head and not the heart.
It’s true that Jesus taught us to follow Him (Matthew 4:19), and He often rebuked the religious leaders for focusing more on outward behavior than inward devotion to God (Matthew 23). Their problem, however, was not theology itself, but bad theology.
Theology is the study of God and how He relates to His creation. What we believe to be true about God is our theology, and we all have one, even atheists. So, the question is not do you have a theology, but on what do you base it?
And that matters because we act and make decisions every day according to what we believe to be true. What we think about God, the Bible, the Trinity, the nature of sin and humanity, salvation, the church, and many other biblical topics will impact how we worship, how we think, and how we live each day.
God’s Word is His revelation to us of truth and should be the basis of our theology. Yet, many of us form our worldview (what we believe to be true about the world and life) based on the teachings of our culture, whether we realize it or not. Our worldview is impacted by our background, education, and cultural experiences. So, unless we spend time renewing our minds in God’s Word, our theology may be skewed by cultural deception and negative past experiences.
We know that reading God’s Word daily is vital to our spiritual growth, but understanding the concept of theology is important because it allows us to be thoughtful and intentional about what we believe about God, His Word, and what it teaches. Without this grounding in truth, we have a difficult time formulating our beliefs, sharing our faith, and discipling our children and grandchildren.
Understanding biblical theology is essential to recognizing cultural lies, making everyday decisions, discipling others, and living a life that honors God.
Truthfully, many of the theological terms we hear or read may be confusing and cause us to shy away from studying theology. So, let’s define some terms and gain a better understanding of these important concepts that will help nourish and grow our faith.
- Theology: the discipline or study of the doctrines of the Christian faith based on the Word of God
- Doctrine: the beliefs themselves as revealed in God’s Word
- Biblical Theology: the study of the entire canon of the Scripture and its teachings within each book
- Systematic Theology: the study of doctrine related to different topics within the Bible, such as God, Jesus, the Holy Spirit, the Trinity, sin, humanity, salvation, the church, or the end times
- Bibliology: the study of the Word of God, including inspiration, inerrancy, and authority
- Christology: the study of the person and work of Christ
- Soteriology: the study of the nature of sin and salvation
- Pneumatology: the study of the person and work of the Holy Spirit
- Ecclesiology: the study of the church
- Eschatology: the study of the end times
- Trinity: the biblical concept of God as three Persons in one essence
While this is no exhaustive list, defining these few terms can make theology more accessible and practical. What we believe about these topics impacts our spiritual growth and informs our daily decisions.
For instance, if I believe that all people are inwardly good, then I will also believe the cultural idea that I should follow my heart and pursue what is good in my own eyes. But the biblical doctrine of sin teaches that we are all sinners (Rom. 3:10, 23; 5:12), and the heart is deceitful apart from the regeneration of the Holy Spirit (Jer. 17:9; Eze. 36:26; Psa. 51:12), and the dire consequences of doing what is right in our own eyes (see the book of Judges). Therefore, I should turn from sin, submit to God, and pursue what He says is good.
While this example may seem simple, the outcomes of these two different doctrines are profound. And the enemy is really good at making unbiblical ideas seem reasonable to our minds if we spend more time in the world than in the Word. This is why theology matters.
So, how can we grow in our understanding of good theology?
Bible study is the answer. All biblical topics are not created equal. Some are easy to understand, and some take more time and study. Bible reading, especially of the whole Bible from Genesis to Revelation, is essential for grasping the big-picture context; but in-depth Bible study is necessary for fine-tuning our understanding of the doctrines that uphold the Christian faith.
Maybe we have been in church a long time and feel certain we understand what the Bible teaches in these areas of doctrine. A good test would be to try sharing what you believe to be true on any of those topics above to a friend. If you find yourself struggling to explain how we know the Bible is inspired or inerrant or what that means, do a study on the topic until you can articulate the biblical doctrine of the Bible.
God’s Word encourages us to pursue spiritual growth so that we can mature in our faith, not be deceived by the culture, and be able to teach others.
“For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the basic principles of the oracles of God. You need milk, not solid food, for everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, since he is a child. But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil.”
Hebrews 5:12-14, ESV
“…so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes.”
Ephesians 4:14
“But as for you, teach what accords with sound[a] doctrine. Older men are to be sober-minded, dignified, self-controlled, sound in faith, in love, and in steadfastness. Older women likewise are to be reverent in behavior, not slanderers or slaves to much wine. They are to teach what is good”
Titus 2:1-3
One last thing is to remember that there are primary doctrines that are essential to the Christian faith, and there are secondary and even tertiary doctrines that different believers and different denominations believe that do not impact our salvation but may impact how we worship or parent, for example.
While the differences in interpretation of Scripture may seem divisive, we can choose to unite around the primary doctrines of the Christian faith while loving those who differ over secondary and tertiary doctrines. Albert Mohler’s teaching on theological triage is helpful for understanding how to discern these issues.
As always, we should make our best effort to study and interpret Scripture for ourselves, ask questions about the beliefs of the church body with which we fellowship, and know what we believe and why.
I pray this article grows your understanding and ignites your desire to study, learn, and grow, so that you can live what you believe and set an example for others to follow. Because what you believe matters.