Is Everyone a Theologian?
Theology is the Study of God and many people believe that it is a realm left to the professors and doctors. Many Youth Christians will think that they are beyond Theology because it is so broad, deep and overwhelming. However, Theology is inescapable, because we all have some view on who God is. Theology is also fundamental to walking as a Christian and it is a clear understanding of the truth of God. Everyone is a Theologian, but it just depends on whether we are a good theologian or a bad theologian. During this STEP Internship, we went through new things and were exposed to the Doctrinal teachings which helped me better appreciate Theology and understanding the importance of being a better Theologian.
Firm Basis of Foundation.
We as Christians need to have a firm basis of foundation with which our Faith is built upon. Our Faith is trusting that the Father created everything including us, that Jesus Christ died for our sins and resurrected after 3 days and that the Holy Spirit is in us to guide and help us along our journey. This foundation was slowly added on as we learnt about Presbyterianism and John Calvin’s contribution to the Church. The Doctrine of predestination is a doctrine of comfort as we know that we are totally depraved and we are unable to come to God by our own efforts. John 6:44 No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them, and I will raise them up at the last day.
This unconditional election means we are saved not by who we are or what we are but rather God chose us even before we were born. Eph 1:4-6 For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will— to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. The Perseverance of the Saints is the idea that Salvation cannot be lost, the work that God has started in us, God will finish. Romans 8:38-39 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Theology gives us a firm foundation for our Faith so that we know that we have been assured of salvation not by our works but by God’s Grace through Faith.
Discerning the Truth from the lies.
Once our foundation is built on the study of the Word of God then we will be able to discern between the Truth and the Lie, the right and the wrong. This is not an easy task to do especially when the half-truth is packaged well and so we must study the Word of God fervently. Some places or people might have presented half-truths that may seem to make sense or have biblical basis. This however can very much make a new Christian stumble if we do not have sufficient bible knowledge. We went to Trinity Theological College and the lecturers explained to us how they discerned the text by using the Greek language and intertextuality (understanding the NT with the OT). With this detailed look into the Bible Verses, they were able to draw the conclusion. Without clear understanding of the context, we might have misinterpreted and not been able to discern well. Therefore, a good theologian will understand the context so that he can discern the Truth from the lies.
Theology is for the serious Christian only…
There is a common misconception that theology is only for pastors, elders or deacons because normal Christians just need to read the bible. But what happens if our friends and family question us about our Faith? Will we be able to withstand the questions and defend our Faith if we do not have strong foundation of theology? During this STEP Internship, we were blessed to have the opportunity to learn about the evidence of the resurrection and hear from RZIM. 1 Peter 3:15 But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect. Peter tells us to always be prepared, to defend our faith, so that we may be able to bring down the barriers that is restricting the non-Christian from believing. To do that, we must first be clear about our Faith and that comes from Theology.
Regarding evidence, be it for the resurrection, for Jesus or just for the existence of the platypus, there are standards of proof which is the degree of evidence needed to prove the existence of something. The Bible has historical evidence that outweighs the Plato’s and Homer’s manuscripts both in depth and in breath. There are some facts that are widely accepted by most scholars regardless of their religions, like Jesus was crucified by the Roman Empire, many people genuinely believed that Jesus has risen, and the Early Church grew exponentially after that. These facts help us to understand the truth better, for better theology to defend our faith.
Theology to Doxology & Practical Theology.
After establishing the importance of theology in our lives as it helps us by putting a firm foundation of truth, assist in distinguishing the right from wrong and defending our Christian faith. As we better understand who God is and what God has done, we will then be able to love him more which translates into Doxology, giving Praise to our God. Biblical Counselling is then applying the Gospel into helping another person. Matthew 7:18 A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. When we see bad fruit, we must learn and find out how it came about by digging deeper into the bad roots. Once we have learnt about what the person wants and believes, we can then redirect it to God’s Grace through our Faith.
During this Internship, we were also exposed to Presbyterian Community Services (PCS) in the Senior Activity Centre and Healthserve where we saw first-hand the living conditions of senior citizens in one-room flat or foreign workers who were injured and could no longer work. We all have one thing in common, that we need Jesus in our lives. In PCS, although we cannot share the Gospel directly to the senior citizens, but we are able to demonstrate acts of love to them. This can help to soften the soil so that the Word may be sown better after a while. Likewise, in Healthserve, everyone has their own story to tell but the volunteers do their best to help in whatever ways they can. However, in Practical Theology, it is more than just community services. Practical theology is about knowing who God is, what he wants us to do and then going ahead to apply in our lives. To equip ourselves with the theology to reach the world and it is the first step to bring our churches to reach the world.
A Better Theologian.
All in all, this STEP Internship was a memorable experience by opening my view to the broad world, thus understanding that we do have something to do with Theology. It also connected me with various people from different churches so that I was able to hear their testimonies, to learn from them, to add to them and to help one another grow. Before coming to STEP, I wonder how God will continue to lead and guide me, upon the last week of STEP, I now see how God has opened my eyes to Theology and impressed upon me the importance of studying God’s Words. As I continue with my walk with God, I may not know exactly what God wants me to do, but at least I know God’s Words will always keep me in the right direction. As God leads and as God allows.
Works Cited
Trinity Theological College lecturers. “The Importance of Theological Education for Church Ministry and Social Engagement.” STEP 2018, Singapore.
Chan, Rev Peter. “What is Presbyterianism?” STEP 2018, Singapore.
Jeganathan, Max. “Evidence for the Resurrection of Christ?” RZIM.
Teo, Gideon. “Biblical Counselling”. STEP 2018, Singapore.
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