That’s a title for you, isn’t it?
Here’s what’s on my mind: I am concerned about how terrible theology is ruining the way we understand God.
Does Jesus have to accept you? Think about this question. The way you answer it will tell you how you think about God.
TWO KINDS OF THEOLOGY
1. I matter most.
This is the kind of theology that is primarily concerned with what we THINK Jesus should be like. We create these nice pictures in our minds where everyone goes to heaven because Jesus is super nice and He would never give anyone a hard time. If we think this way, chances are we are on the extreme end of understanding His love and have probably greatly diminished judgment, curse, suffering, hell – or eliminated these ideas altogether.
Someone may say: I THINK Jesus would not do such and such this way; therefore, it must be true. This is the theology, where what someone thinks is most important. That’s why I’m choosing to call it the “I matter most” theology.
Let’s examine another kind.
2. God matters most.
In this kind of theology, we are not left to our own devices to devise God’s character. Instead, we trust that it’s been revealed for us and we need to respond to it. This is the kind of theology that is fine with God who glorifies Himself through Jesus’ death on a cross and has the dual consequence of eternal glory for the believer and eternal suffering for the unbeliever. Because God matters most, I am simply trusting in His Word and seeking to live out these truths every day in my life and family.
In this kind of theology, Jesus’ commands are sought in loving obedience. God’s Word (the Bible) is the final word and we seek truth in it for every day life. Though we may not understand everything, we are taught that everything has a purpose and that our faith in God will only grow through the trials and challenges that come our way.
Here, when struggling, I don’t have to make up what I think God’s character is. In this type of theology, when struggles and trials come, I can rest knowing that the truth is laid out and all I have to do is believe.
WHY I’M CONCERNED
I’m concerned because I fear we are taking our view of life and applying that to our view of God. It should be the other way around. Our views of God should affect our views of life, and we should realize we have no right to attempt to state what we THINK God should or shouldn’t be or do. Sin creates all kinds of problems in this world, and God has not left us helpless to apply our own thinking to figure out the problems sin creates. He has provided a loving Savior who is worthy of worship. That loving Savior gave His life so (through repentance and faith in Jesus) we can be freed from sin in this life and enjoy glory in the next.
We are NO ONE to demand everyone be accepted regardless of whether they repent of their sins or not (Mark 1:15). HE is the one who demands our love and worship.
And I am fine with that.