Listen: While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks
Read: Luke 2:8-17
Do you like learning theology? I do. I really enjoy learning more and more about God, and I bet you do to. The Spirit within us creates a hunger and a thirst for righteousness. That’s why we have a craving to know Him more and more. Have you become distracted from theology? It is easy to do.
Some well-intentioned people, believers, have become misguided in their thinking about theology. Have you heard a brother or sister in Christ say something like, “Theology is all well and good, but I really want something practical”? It’s likely you have heard something along those lines. Let me point out the false dichotomy in this line of thought. The language of our hypothetical friend is setting theology and practicality juxtaposition as if they were opponents. To think we can live rightly without good theology or think we can have good theology without living rightly is not a Scriptural idea. Our theology and our practical living are always connected. They can not be separated in reality. We always act upon what we believe.
The confusion of our hypothetical misguided friend may arise out of false affirmation. What I mean by “false affirmation” is when a person says they believe something good but do not actually live out the implications of that affirmation. It is my personal belief that we are all guilty of this. Let’s illustrate. Do you believe God is omnipotent? Yes. Do you believe God became man, perfectly obeyed the law of God, died as our sacrificial lamb, rose on the third day, commissioned His church to preach the gospel, and then ascended to the right hand of the Father where He now sits? Yes? I think we all agree. The problem is found where the “rubber meets the road” and we admit that our belief isn’t changing how we live. The honest truth is that we actually believe what moves us. So is the gospel moving you? Let’s make a real and honest effort to tell someone about Jesus this week.
Aaron Irlbacher 