Theology Matters
Written by Jarred Rushing
(6 minutes)
"You are busy analyzing the Scriptures, frantically poring over them in hopes of gaining eternal life. Everything you read points to me, yet you still refuse to come to me so I can give you the life you're looking for - eternal life! (John 5:39-40)
As Pastor Tim started the message on Sunday he said two words that are so important to our walk with Abba today.
"Theology matters."
Our theology matters. Our theology is our personal thoughts and beliefs about the nature and character of God. In John 5:39-40, Jesus is speaking to the religious leaders and He makes a very bold statement about these men who have spent their entire lives devoted to studying the Scriptures. He basically tells them that they are unwilling to abandon their own theological opinions, that they developed with the Scriptures in hand, in order to find the abundant life which can only be found in the incarnate Word of God, Yeshua the Christ.
Listen to the same verse in The Message:
"You have your heads in your Bibles constantly because you think you'll find eternal life there. But you miss the forest for the trees. These Scriptures are all about me! And here I am, standing right before you, and you aren't willing to receive from me the life you say you want." (John 5:39-40)
So here's a question for you:
What do you think is standing in the way of the religious leaders getting the life they say they want?
Is the Bible standing in the way? No, the Bible can't be the problem. Jesus clearly tells us in this verse that all the Scriptures, every one of those Old Testament stories that they have studied, are really about Him. Is Jesus standing in the way? No, Jesus is spending most of His time in this chapter trying to reveal Himself to these religious leaders.
So if the Bible isn't standing in the way and Jesus isn't standing in the way, then why are these religious leaders unable to grab hold of the life THEY SAY THAT THEY WANT?
Yep, you guessed it. Their theology was standing in the way. They had long-held thoughts and opinions about the nature and character of Yahweh and Jesus did not line up with any of those personal beliefs, and instead of abandoning their opinions they forfeited THE LIFE THEY SAID THEY WANTED by not embracing Jesus, the Word of God. This is why our theology matters. Because at the end of the day, if our theology has us at the center instead of Christ we will end up with a big bag of opinions, but not the Truth.
We need a Christocentric theology. A theology that embraces Jesus as everything that God has to say about Himself. I love how Bill Johnson says it: "Jesus is perfect theology." We should be reading every verse of the Bible through the lens of Jesus and under the influence of the Holy Spirit. After reading the above verses I would venture to say that it is actually dangerous to read the Scriptures without a Christ-centered lens because in all of their reading and studying of the Bible, these religious leaders completely missed it...they missed Him. Their study of the Scriptures only supported their own personal way of seeing things. Their pursuit of spiritual insight only bolstered their own personal opinions. And because their theology wasn't surrendered to God, they missed Him when He was standing right in front of them.
Our theology matters. Our theology could be the thing standing in the way of us encountering the real thing.
This is one of the first things that happens as you begin your wilderness walk with Abba. He redefines everything. He starts talking to you about those long-held opinions you've had about Him. He begins to tear down and uproot everything you learned about Him while you were under the influence of religion. Yes, even some of those long-held beliefs that you picked up in that evangelical, American Christian church that you grew up in. I'm not going to lie - most of that stuff will end up being tossed out. And here's why Abba cares so deeply about uprooting these beliefs: because He wants everything you know about Him and about yourself to be rooted in the revelation of His love. If we're being honest with ourselves, most of what we were taught in the system of religion was not rooted in His love, but rooted in our fear of punishment.
Listen to what John the Beloved has to say about how our theology should be shaped:
"Those who give thanks that Jesus is the Son of God live in God, and God lives in them. We have come into an intimate experience with God's love, and we trust in the love he has for us. God is love! Those who are living in love are living in God, and God lives through them. By living in God, love has been brought to its full expression in us so that we may fearlessly face the day of judgment, because all that Jesus now is, so are we in this world. Love never brings fear, for fear is always related to punishment. But love's perfection drives the fear of punishment far from our hearts. Whoever walks constantly afraid of punishment has not reached love's perfection." (1 John 4:15-18)
What is Abba doing in us out here in The Wilderness Place? He's driving the fear of punishment far from our hearts! He wants everything we know about Him and about ourselves to be forged in the fires of His consuming love. His desire is that we would have an intimate experience with His love today, and that all of our opinions and our theology would become an overflow of that intimate encounter.
Jesus is Abba's living letter to us about Himself. Wrapped up in Jesus is everything that Abba thinks about us, and everything that is true about Himself. To come into an intimate encounter with God today is to come into an intimate encounter with Yeshua the Christ.
As we walk with Abba in the wilderness, we are losing our religion to be loved like a child. We're surrendering all of our opinions that are rooted in fear and we are letting love perfect us in every way, until it finds its full expression in us. We are discovering that we are actually image-bearers. And as we gaze into the eyes of Jesus, we are starting to see that we look way more like Him than we did before. He's making all things new.
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Worship: "Wonder" by Amanda Cook
Honor: Give Online to The Wilderness Place
Share With Us: We would love to hear how you're encountering Abba in your daily walks. Don't hesitate to share what you're hearing, seeing, or sensing in His presence. Email us here!
