Theological Astuteness
As many of you know, I have been in
Wake Forest, North Carolina, the past eight months attending Southeastern
Baptist Theological Seminary. I will be starting my third semester of seminary
a week from now. This means that I have been through two semesters of seminary
already. These two semesters of schooling are unlike anything that I have ever
encountered. The reason I say this is because these two semesters have been
semesters of graduate level classes pertaining to Christian education. The
scary thing about these two semesters is that I can already feel the dangers of
theological astuteness. When I use the word astuteness, I just mean intelligence.
So when I say I can already feel the danger of theological astuteness, I am
simply meaning I can already feel the danger of growing in my intellect on the
things of God.
You see, I have been learning stuff
like pneumatology (study of the Holy Spirit), Eschatology (study of the end
times), Ecclesiology (study of the Church), Missiology (study of missions),
Theology (study of God), and etc. I have learned a great deal in the past two
semesters. I have learned certain theological lenses that will help me to read
the Bible well. I have learned certain creeds that were penned long ago that
maintain orthodox Christian belief. I have learned about the global mission of
God as revealed in the Scriptures. I studied a great deal on evangelism and the
importance of proclaiming the gospel of Jesus Christ to a lost and dying world.
I have even learned certain heresies that have been rearing their head since
long ago such as Gnosticism, modalism, Arianism, and Docetism. I have
accumulated knowledge. Teachers have taught me a great deal, and so far I have
learned a great deal. However, this is not always a safe place to be. Many
times, accumulating all this theological knowledge on heavenly things is very
dangerous.
But what is so Dangerous About Theological Astuteness?
The great danger of theological
astuteness is that it is far easier to grow in theological knowledge than it is
to grow in Christlikeness. It is far easier to gain a greater knowledge of the
person of Christ than it is to submit to the Lordship of Christ in the whole of
life. It is much easier to talk about the things of the triune God than it is
have intimate communion with the triune God. You see, I can know a lot about
pneumatology (study of the Holy Spirit). I can know that the chief role of the
Holy Spirit of the Living God is to testify about Christ and also to glorify
Christ (Jn 16:14). I can know that the Holy Spirit convicts the world of sin
and righteousness and judgment (Jn 16:8). I can know that the Holy Spirit sheds
abroad the love of God in our hearts (Rom 5:5). I can know all these things and
all the while not KNOW any of it. I can know that the Holy Spirit sheds abroad
the love of God in our hearts, all the while not having the love of God being
poured into my heart because of indwelling sin. I can know that the Holy
Spirit’s chief role is to glorify Christ, all the while I am not praying to the
Father in Heaven that He would fill me with the Holy Spirit that I may glorify
Christ.
This is the great danger of
seminary. You learn all this stuff, but that does not mean anything. You can
learn to articulate your view of predestination, election, and sanctification,
but if these doctrines are not fueling you to pursue Christlikeness then it
means nothing. You can learn that our God is a righteous God, but if you are
not hungering and thirsting for righteousness then it doesn’t mean anything. You
can learn about God’s design for marriage, but if your neglecting your wife so
that you can study God’s design for marriage then your failing miserably. You
can learn about evangelism, but if your not intentionally engaging people
seeking to proclaim to them the wondrous Gospel of Christ then your not being
obedient. You can learn about the depths of hell, but if this does not cause
you to be truly grieved over family members, friends, and enemies that are
under the wrath of God then it is of no value. You can learn about the
supremacy of Christ Jesus and how glorious he is, but if that knowledge does
not lead you to stand in wonder and amazement at the glorious Savior then it is
of no importance. You can know that the chief end of man is to glorify God, but
if your whole life is built around bringing glory to yourself, then that
knowledge is going to only bring upon you a greater judgment.
This is the danger of theological
astuteness. And the scariest part of all of this is that during this process of
growing in theological astuteness, you can trick yourself into believing that
you are maturing in your faith. You can begin to convince yourself that because
you know more than some of the average laymen, then you are more mature than
the average laymen. You can start to think highly of yourself because you know
certain theological terms that other people are not aware of. You can really
begin to mistakenly think that this knowledge that you are attaining is
evidence of spiritual maturity. This is not the case though. The evidence of spiritual
maturity in a believer is not theological astuteness, but rather
Christlikeness. The one that knows the most is not the most mature, but rather
the one who has the greatest affection for Christ leading to obedience to
Christ is the most mature.
Application
With all that being said, theological astuteness is not evil. It is not bad. It is very good! Gaining in your knowledge of the things of God is incredibly important, but it is not an end it itself. What I mean by that is this, gaining in theological astuteness cannot be seen as the chief end of your life. Rather, gaining in theological astuteness must be seen as a means to an end. It must be seen as a way to better know the triune God so that you can reverently worship the triune God in the manner in which He desires you worship him. So by all means, pursue theological astuteness as a means to worship the Lord Christ, but beware of temptation to esteem theological astuteness more highly then the resurrected Lord of Glory.
Scripture
Philippians 1:8-11 “For God is my witness, how I yearn for
you all with the affection of Christ Jesus. And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, so that you
may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of
Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ,
to the glory and praise of God.”
Why does Paul want the Philippians to grow in knowledge and
all discernment? Is it not “so that they
may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of
Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ,
to the glory and praise of God” (Phil 1:10-11).
