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Matthew 22:34–40
“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets” (vv. 37–40).
Having covered the what and the why of theology, we will now consider the qualifications of the theologian, of the one who engages in theological study. At the outset, we must recognize that while not every Christian is called to be an academic theologian or to pursue the study of theology with the same depth, every believer is actually a theologian. Dr. R.C. Sproul made this point often during his ministry because all Christians—indeed, all people—have some concept of God in their minds. Once we begin to ponder who God is and what His works are, we have begun to engage in theology. Consequently, since everyone is a theologian, the real question is what kind of theologian we are: a good one or a bad one.
Being a good theologian requires that we meet several qualifications. Here we are not talking about acquiring the knowledge of other languages or pursuing a formal course of study, though many Christians will do that. Moreover, we are not referring, at least not primarily, to the acquisition of knowledge through Bible study and reading great works of theology. Even a nonbeliever can study theology. The great Princeton theologian B.B. Warfield tells us in his address “The Religious Life of Theological Students” that “theology has as its unique end to make God known: the student of theology is brought by his daily task into the presence of God and is kept there. Can a religious man stand in the presence of God and not worship? It is possible, I have said, to study even theology in a purely secular spirit. But surely that is possible only for an irreligious man, or at least for an unreligious man.”
Warfield’s caution gets at the heart of what we mean by the qualifications to be a good theologian—namely, that we must be worshipers of God who also love those around us. The goal of theology is to grow in our knowledge of God, and as we know God better, we should love Him and His people more. Otherwise, something has gone wrong. This is part of what Jesus meant when He identified the two great commandments: love God and love neighbor (Matt. 22:34–40).
The goal of theology is ultimately worship and the building up of the church, so to be good theologians we must be people who seek the face of the Lord and adore Him in prayer and worship both individually and corporately. We must be those who love the church of Jesus Christ and who want to see it grow in faithfulness.
Coram Deo Living before the face of God
We study theology not merely so that we can fill our heads with knowledge, even though attaining knowledge is an important part of theology. Our engagement with theology has the goal of making us better worshipers of God, more faithful servants of Christ, more affectionate adorers of the Lord, and more selfless neighbors to others. Let us pursue love of God and neighbor, that we may be well-qualified theologians.
For further study
- Deuteronomy 6:5
- Ecclesiastes 12:13–14
- Acts 8:9–24
- 1 Timothy 6:11
The bible in a year
- Genesis 3–5
- Matthew 2