Question 2: Why ought we to pursue the calling of theology?
Answer: Because there is no greater thing than to understand and know God.
What is the most important thing that you can do with your life? I wonder if you’ve pondered that question before. I wonder what sort of answers we might expect to hear if we asked the average person? We might hear things like: “Live a good life”, or: “Enjoy life.” We might hear more altruistic answers like: “Help others”, or “Make a contribution to the world.” Some might have a strong sense of calling in the work they do, and consider that work to be the most important thing. Some might consider their families to be the highest priority, and they dedicate themselves to their families. What about you?
In Jeremiah 9:23-24 God himself actually gives us his opinion on the matter (and it’s the only opinion that truly matters!). “Thus says the LORD: “Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the LORD who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the LORD.” According to this divine oracle, the only possible thing that we can do that could be worthy of any boast is to understand and know God. And yet how few people devote themselves to this calling? How many even among Christians, I wonder, have made serious commitment and taken action unto growing in their understanding and knowledge of God? We might make general lament in reflecting upon this question, or maybe the situation is a lot better than we realise, but here is the real point: What will you do?
To the world around us, the idea of pursuing growth in our understanding of and relationship with God is utter foolishness. In 1 Cor 2:14 we read: “The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned.” For the Apostle Paul, however, growing in the knowledge of God was extremely high on his discipleship agenda. Think about his prayer for the Christians at Ephesus: “For this reason, because I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, (16) I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, (17)that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him” (Eph 1:15-17). He prays specifically that they may receive the Spirit of wisdom and revelation to grow in the knowledge of God. For myself, I think I should have prayed many more prayers like that for myself and others.
How about you? If you had one hour free every day to do nothing but pursue the knowledge and understanding of God, how would you feel about that? Excited and ecstatic? Or apprehensive and disinterested? Our answer to that question reveals much about our true character. A.W.Tozer has a great little book entitled “The Knowledge of the Holy.” It’s a very readable, devotional, and engaging book looking at the attributes of God. It’s also short! (No excuses!). But listen to the first sentence that Tozer writes “What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us” (Tozer, Knowledge of the Holy, p.1). That sentence staggers and humbles me. Take a bit of time to ponder it for yourself.
At the time of writing, the year 2023 is about to come to an end. I’d like to suggest to you that, as we embark upon 2024 (or whichever year you happen to find yourself in), that you purpose in your heart to seriously pursue this calling. Seek to understand God, and to know him. In addition to Tozer’s little volume, let me suggest a few resources to begin to help you to open up your Bibles and seek the Lord. J.I.Packer’s “Knowing God” would be a wonderful place to start. Be prepared to pause and open up every scripture reference, asking the Lord to reveal himself to you, every believer would benefit from it. A.W.Pink’s “The Nature of God” is another excellent resource. Each chapter is only a few pages long, and so it would be an excellent devotional resource to read one chapter per day. Steve Lawson’s “Show me your glory” is another volume that you should diligently study (or listen to his sermons on the same theme on the Ligonier website). If those were the only books outside of the Bible that you prayerfully read in the space of the next year, you will be significantly better off at the end of that year than you were at the beginning. Perhaps you are retired? Make this your retirement project. There are many good books beside these to help you go deeper into the scriptures, but these three would be a great place to begin. Maybe you’ve read them already… ok, here’s your challenge: Go and read Charnock on the Attributes of God, and also buy and give away one of these shorter titles to someone else! If you’ve already read Charnock, well, you don’t need me to tell you where to look next, you’ve probably got your next three volumes on theology ready to go on your book shelf. To seek the truth about God and growing in our understanding, to receive that truth, and to grow in devotion to God in understanding, affection, and will – there is no higher calling. Are you ready to become a theologian? SDG.
Q2. Theology - why bother?