Why We Must Be Unapologetically Theological (2024)

Why We Must Be Unapologetically Theological (1)If I’m not mistaken, our church has a reputation for being quite theological. I know this is why many people have come to our church. And I imagine it’s why some people have left, or never checked us out in the first place. But no church should apologize for talking about and loving theology. Now–and this is an important caveat–if we are arrogant with our theology, or if our doctrinal passion is just about intellectual gamesmanship, or we are all out of proportioned in our affections for less important doctrines, then may the Lord rebuke us. We should not be surprised theology gets a bad name in such circumstances.

But when it comes to thinking on, rejoicing in, and building a church upon sound biblical truth, we should all long for a richly theological church.

I could cite many reasons for preaching theologically and many reasons for wanting to pastor a congregation that loves theology. Let me mention six:

1. God has revealed himself to us in his word and given us his Spirit that we might understand the truth. Obviously, you don’t need to master every theme in Scripture in order to be a Christian. God is gracious to save lots of us with lots of gaps in our understanding. But if we have a Bible, not to mention an embarrassment of riches when it comes to resources in English, why wouldn’t we want to understand as much of God’s self-revelation as possible? Theology is getting more of God. Don’t you want your church to know God better?

2. The New Testament places a high value on discerning truth from error. There is a deposit of truth that must be guarded. False teaching must be placed out of bounds. Good teaching must be promoted and defended. This is not the concern of some soulless Ph.D. candidate wasting away in front of microfiche. This is the passion of the Apostles and the Lord Jesus himself who commended the church at Ephesus for being intolerant of false teachers and hating the deeds of the Nicolaitans.

3. The ethical commands of the New Testament are predicated on theological propositions. So many of Paul’s letters have a twofold structure. The beginning chapters lay out doctrine and the latter chapters exhort us to obedience. Doctrine and life are always connected in the Bible. It’s in view of God’s mercies, in view of all the massive theological realities of Romans 1-11, that we are called to lay down our lives as living sacrifices in Romans 12. Know doctrine, know life. No doctrine, no life.

4. Theological categories enable us to more fully and more deeply rejoice in God’s glory. Simple truths are wonderful. It is good for us to sing simple songs like “God is good. All the time!” If you sing that in sincere faith, the Lord is very pleased. But he is also pleased when we can sing and pray about how exactly he has been good to us in the plan of salvation and in the scope of salvation history. He is pleased when we can glory in the completed work of Christ, and rest in his all-encompassing providence, and marvel at his infinity and aseity, when we can delight in his holiness and mediate on his three-ness and one-ness and stand in awe at his omniscience and omnipotence. These theological categories are not meant to give us bigger heads, but bigger hearts that worship deeper and higher because of what we’ve seen in God.

5. Theology helps us more fully and more deeply rejoice in the blessings that are ours in Christ. Again, it is a sweet thing to know that Jesus saves you from your sins. There’s no better news than that in the whole world. But how much fuller and deeper will your delight be when you understand that salvation means election to the praise of God’s grace, expiation to cover your sins, propitiation to turn away divine wrath, redemption to purchase you for God, justification before the judgment seat of God, adoption into God’s family, on-going sanctification by the Spirit, and promised glorification at the end of the age? If God has given us so many varied and multi-layered blessings in Christ, wouldn’t it help you and honor him to understand what they are?

6. Even (or is it especially?) non-Christians need good theology. They may not thrill to hear a dry lecture on the ordo salutis. But who wants dry lectures on anything? If you can talk winsomely, passionately, and simply about the blessings of effectual calling, regeneration, and adoption, and how all these blessings are found in Christ, and how the Christian life is nothing more or less than being who we are in Christ, and how this means God really does want us to be true to ourselves, but ourselves as we were born again not as we were born in sin–if you give non-Christians all of this, and give it to them plainly, you’ll be giving them a whole lot of theology. And, if the Spirit of God is at work, they just might come back looking for more.

There is no reason for any church to be anything other than robustly theological. Churches will still come in all sorts of shapes and sizes. But “atheological,” or worse yet “anti-theological,” should not be one of them.

Kevin DeYoung (PhD, University of Leicester) is senior pastor of Christ Covenant Church (PCA) in Matthews, North Carolina, and associate professor of systematic theology at Reformed Theological Seminary (Charlotte). He is the author of more than 20 books and a popular columnist, blogger, and podcaster. Kevin’s work can be found on clearlyreformed.org. Kevin and his wife, Trisha, have nine children.

Why We Must Be Unapologetically Theological (2024)

FAQs

What does unapologetically apologetic mean? ›

unwilling to make or express an apology. “an unapologetic believer” antonyms: apologetic, excusatory. offering or expressing apology.

Why are the theological virtues not gained by human efforts? ›

The moral virtues are acquired by practice and habit. Catholic moral theology holds that the theological virtues differ from the cardinal virtues in that they cannot be obtained by human effort, but are infused by God into a person. The Episcopal Church shares this view.

Why every believer needs systematic theology? ›

Systematic Theology is of great importance because it organizes truth in a systematic way, although the phrase is not found in the pages of Scripture its meaning is nonetheless important.

What is the importance of theology and why does it matter to the life of the church? ›

Theology tells us not just what the Bible says, but also what it means. “What it means to sinner and saint in their journey from the city of anywhere to the city of somewhere – plagued by a thousand plights.” “The church” if it is to be true, must preach the Word. If it is to be relevant, it must speak to the times.

What does it mean to be unapologetically? ›

Meaning of unapologetic in English

not sorry about having caused someone problems or unhappiness, even though people might expect you to be sorry: They were very rude and completely unapologetic about it. Not showing or feeling emotions. anodyne.

What is an example of unapologetically? ›

Example Sentences

She embraces her "extra fabulous" looks and is unapologetically outspoken. Democrats can win, though, by arguing with specifics, and by touting them unapologetically. “There are sexy issues tied to this pandemic,” she says unapologetically.

What is the greatest theological virtue? ›

It is the first of the theological virtues: "So faith, hope, charity abide, these three. But the greatest of these is charity."

What is the greatest virtue in life? ›

They considered wisdom to be the master virtue, the one that directs all the others. Wisdom is good judgment. It enables us to make reasoned decisions that are both good for us and good for others.

What are the theological virtues that help us avoid committing sin? ›

The theological virtues are faith, hope, and charity.

What is the major difference between biblical theology and systematic theology? ›

Systematic theology is highly practical. Biblical theology synthesizes the teachings of the Scriptures, and Systematic theology formulates these teachings for today. Biblical theology seeks to apply the Bible through the history of redemption, and systematic theology seeks to use the Bible as a whole for today.

What is the difference between systematic theology and theology proper? ›

Theology proper is the sub-discipline of systematic theology which deals specifically with the being, attributes and works of God.

Why do we need to study our own theology? ›

Theology offers the opportunity to focus on religious belief in detail through the study of scriptures, the history of religious thought, its critical thinkers, its influence on ethical debates and the actions of its believers.

What is the main purpose of theology? ›

Theology may be used to propagate, reform, or justify a religious tradition; or it may be used to compare, challenge (e.g. biblical criticism), or oppose (e.g. irreligion) a religious tradition or worldview.

Why should we care about theology? ›

The central pursuit of theology is to better understand God's nature and how He works in the world. Jesus calls us to “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind” (Mathew 22:37).

Why do we need biblical theology? ›

Biblical theology helps Christians understand all of these portions of Scripture in light of the work of Christ to which they point, and it helps Christians see how they are relevant for their lives today.

What does unapologetically sorry mean? ›

Meaning of unapologetic in English

not sorry about having caused someone problems or unhappiness, even though people might expect you to be sorry: They were very rude and completely unapologetic about it.

What does apologetic mean biblically? ›

Apologetics is quite literally defense of the faith; the Greek word apologia means “defense” as a lawyer gives at a trial. In every generation, people face the challenges, questions, and concerns of the gospel message of the Christian faith.

What is the meaning of apologetic? ›

1. : feeling or showing regret : regretfully acknowledging fault or failure : expressing an apology. They were apologetic about the error. We received an apologetic letter. an apologetic smile/tone.

What does apologetic personality mean? ›

If you're apologetic, you're very sorry about something. You might offer an apologetic smile at another driver if you accidentally honk at her. Someone who's apologetic is regretful or contrite, and usually openly expresses this feeling in some way.

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