There is a prevailing statement often heard by Christians that so long as one loves Christ and has put their faith in Him, one’s theology is not so important. While it’s true that an uncompromising love for Christ is crucial, it’s also true that a proper theological and doctrinal understanding of Christ and God is equally important. Theology is not simply an academic issue, but is the very essence of our Christianity. We should explore why this is so.
Let’s take a man who claims to love the Lord Jesus Christ yet really doesn’t know very much about the Bible. Let’s say he is wrong about Christ’s role in salvation, he is wrong about his role as a Christian, he is wrong about God’s sovereignty and omnipotence and he is wrong about a number of different Biblical matters. Yet he claims to be a Christian. He claims to love Christ and God. Is his love valid? Perhaps in his mind, he would say yes. But more importantly, how would God view his love?
Let’s put this in a human perspective. If someone claims to love you, and when pressed about the issue, turns out to know next to nothing about you, what would be your reaction? If they don’t know what you consider important, don’t know what you like and dislike, don’t even know the color of your eyes, would you not wonder if they really loved you? Wouldn’t someone who claims to love you want to get to intimately know you? Similarly, we can ask, if we love God, yet we are not willing to search out who He is, how much do we really love Him? Do we say we love Him for our own satisfaction, that is, we say we love Him so that He can love us? Read the rest of this entry »