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Theology is Important

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Theology is important! “But I am a practical person, so why do I need all that book-learning stuff?”

Theology is important for you. “No way. I follow the Spirit, so why do I need to know all that doctrine?”

“Theology is the domain of seminaries and we all know that seminaries are spiritual cemeteries.”

I have written on this before, but it is worth stating again – what we believe largely determines how we live. Sometimes we speak and act irrationally or out of anger or hurt, but mostly what we say and do flows from our embedded values, priorities, and life principles. These arise from what we believe about who we are, what we are doing on this planet, and where we go when we die, and these, and more, are the subjects of theology. However, I need to define ‘theology’ before progressing further.

 

What is Theology?

I really dislike the stock definition of theology as the study of God. God is multidimensional and we are limited to three dimensions of space and one of time. God is all-knowing, all-wise, and all-powerful and we are pathetically limited in all of these aspects. How then can we study God?! It is like an aphid claiming to be able to study an angel. I don’t even like the idea that theology is talking about God. No, it is far more than just that, and of much greater value than talk and conjecture.

A biblical understanding of the nature of theology derives from two Greek words, Theos and Logos. Theos translates as ‘God’ and Logos translates as ‘divine reason’, which can also mean ‘reason as the controlling principle of the universe’, and even ‘reason as manifested by speech’. However, the biblical revelation goes deeper because in the first chapter of the Gospel of John, the author writes that the Lord Jesus Christ is The Logos.

‘In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning … The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.’

On all three occasions ‘the Word’ is a translation of the Greek ‘logos’. So, authentic Christian theology is based on the revelation of Jesus Christ as God. Theology is rooted in divine revelation rather than intellectual discovery yet it deploys philosophy and reason as aids to comprehending God’s revelation to us. Theology is the body of Jesus-centred divine revelation.

 

How we Develop our Theology

Seminaries articulate theology and act as its custodians over the generations. Some of us study at such establishments’, others read theology books, while still others do neither. Yet all of us have a theology. We may have imbibed it from our parents or teachers, or perhaps we have built it directly from the pages of scripture, but all Christians have a theologically informed worldview of one form or another.

This theology, whether we call it that or not, plays a huge role in how we live. It informs our business ethics, our personal morality, and our value system, and it moulds our measures of meaning and worth. Theology is, therefore, important to all of us.

Church Theology

The role and importance of theology is more obvious within the context of the church than it is in our personal lives. Local churches and denominations invariably have a well-established theology, which becomes obvious through its preaching, teaching, and leadership ministries. They often crystalize   their theology in statements of faith or position papers and teachings on key doctrines. Problems arise when churches place their traditions and historical positions above the revelation of scripture.  Problems also occur when church practices arise from poor doctrine and faulty theology. However, those accountable for defective theology seldom acknowledge that their understanding is deficient. For instance, those who promote infant ‘baptism’ usually claim that their practice flows from the legitimate idea that baptism is a church-age continuation of the Old Testament rite of circumcision. However, Jesus modelled adult baptism by immersion and Paul expanded on this idea. So, infant baptism/Christening does not arise from a Jesus-centred understanding of scripture and is therefore defective. All churches have a theology but not all parts of their theology are necessarily ‘correct’. Now, this obviously begs the question of what constitutes good/correct theology.

 

The Fundamental Criterion of Good Theology

For at least the last thirty-five years I have preached, taught, and written on this subject. My personal conviction is that the biblical revelation of the Lord Jesus Christ is the fundamental criterion of good theology. In a nutshell, my reasoning is:

  1. The Bible is the trustworthy written record of God’s revelation to humanity.
  2. Jesus Christ is the full manifestation of the Godhead in bodily form.
  3. Therefore, the biblical revelation of what Jesus said, did, and revealed of the nature and character of the Godhead is the criterion of sound theology.
The foundation of this process of deduction is obviously the presupposition that the Bible is the trustworthy record of God’s revelation to humanity. A critic might claim that my Christocentric (Jesus-centred) basis for sound theology is simply an assumption. This is true. Almost all logical arguments are founded on an assumption of some kind. However, my base assumption is neither arbitrary nor unsubstantiated. I have devoted a huge amount of time and research to satisfying myself that the bible, as we have it today, is trustworthy and reliable. I do not claim that it is ‘inerrant’ as my more fundamental brothers claim it to be because it does not make this claim for itself. Yet, despite the involvement of human beings in its authorship, editing, and preservation, I find it to be consistently trustworthy.

Therefore, if a church or denomination bases and validates its theology Christocentrically (from a Jesus perspective) then that theology will be good theology. The same must apply to individuals. However, I do have a few caveats to add.

 

Qualifications

It is possible for someone to base their theology on a biblical understanding of who Jesus is and what he said and did and revealed of the Godhead, yet still produce poor doctrine and theology. This can happen by:

  1. Basing theology only on what the scriptures reveal of Jesus Christ. Some would call this red-letter theology and it arises when there is a failure to realise that Jesus is both the subject of scripture, but also its interpreter. For biblical theology to be adequately developed it must take into account all of the biblical revelation and not just the Gospels, Acts and selective verses from the book of Revelation. But, and it is a big but, all of scripture needs to be looked at through the lens of what Jesus said, did, and revealed of the nature and purpose of the Godhead. This is what I understand as genuine Jesus-centred interpretation.
  2. Not basing theology on the texts and passages of the bible within their fuller context. Verse-picking bedevils many Christians! Verses that are lifted out of their historical, linguistic, and literary context do not constitute a basis for sound interpretation.
An Example

Just in case the two principles I have articulated above are too general, let me give an example of what I mean. I have written  before about the Mathew 24 ‘signs of the end of the age’, passage before, but it will also serve well here.

Many people are wondering if we are currently living in the final days of planet Earth as we know it, and so what Jesus said about it is a hot current issue.

Matthew 24 contains some statements that may confuse or scare some. For instance, Jesus said in Matthew 24 verses 15 and 16, “So when you see standing in the holy place ‘the abomination that causes desolation’, spoken through the prophet Daniel (let the reader understand) then let those who are in Judea flee fo the mountains’”. I wonder how many doomsday-preppers have taken this as a reason to head for the hills and live in armed and fearful isolation? The assumption for them would be that the whole of chapter 24 is about the end of time.  Because there is no longer a temple (holy place) in Jerusalem, then they figure that the reference must be to parts of today’s church which they perceive as an abomination in so many ways.  The world is evidencing much of what Jesus speaks of in the chapter, and they see the traditional church as ‘desolate’, so it must be time to run and hide. The problem is that the disciples asked Jesus two questions, one about when the Jerusalem temple would be destroyed and the other about the end of time and the second coming. In verses 15 to 22 Jesus describes the conditions that would occur in AD 70 when the temple would be destroyed by the Roman army. This passage does not refer to our current conditions. There are clues in the text itself that this is the case. For instance, ‘let the reader understand’ must surely refer to the original readers and not the hundreds of generations between then and now. If you would like to read further on this passage of Matthew then click HERE.

 

If, as I believe is the case, what we say and do is greatly influenced by our theology, then a good way of changing our lives for the better is to re-examine our theology.

What do I believe concerning the centrality of Jesus Christ? What do I believe concerning the trustworthiness of the bible? What do I believe concerning my dependence on the Holy Spirit?

Having determined what I currently believe concerning these three fundamental theological foundations, my next step should be to relate issues of faith and life to what Jesus revealed within its proper context. Do my current life principles, values, and purposes correlate with a Jesus-centred theology? From this base, I can determine what needs to change in the way I live my Christian life. This will be hard work requiring regular reality checks, but I know of no other way to intentionally adjust our theology and the lifestyle that flows from this.

Another way to perform a reality check is to change our approach to responding to issues that arise in our lives. If someone asks what your position is on homosexuality, abortion, war, radical liberalism, or whatever, you can check your habitual response and reprocess the matter differently. Instead of responding with “Well, I think…”, or, “The Bible says…”, you can find some time to run the issue through the filters that I have proposed.

 

If you still hold that theology is not important, then I would be very happy to interact with you and hear what you have to say. The easiest way is to comment on this post at the foot of the page, or you could send me an e-mail.

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TruthTalks: Living in the End of the Age

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Are we living in the end times? If we are, what can we do about it?

In this TruthTalks podcast, Dr Christopher Peppler talks about that very matter, citing what Jesus had to say about the end of days, referencing and explaining biblical sources.

If you have your bible handy while listening, turn to Matthew 24 so you can follow along.

If you suspect that we ARE indeed living in those times, or even if you don’t, this TruthTalk is worth a listen! Simply scroll down and click on the play button below, download the audio, or subscribe to our podcast feed and get them delivered directly to your phone. By the way, a map is referred to during this TruthTalks audio, and you can view it in the previous article HERE.

TruthIsTheWord.com is non-profit and we rely on YOU to help us spread the word, so please like, comment, subscribe and interact with us. Alternatively you can show your support by buying one of Dr Peppler’s books HERE

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Darkest Before Dawn

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I have written a long article ready for publication titled ‘The Dark Night of our Nation’s Soul’ which was drawn from Isaiah 59. However, the Holy Spirit has arrested me and directed me to rethink when and if I should publish it. My aim was to focus on the light of Revival as the only viable solution to our nation’s woes. This conviction has not changed, but there is another way I can express it other than bemoaning the darkness. For instance, the next chapter in Isaiah is, of course, chapter 60 and this starts with the gloriously well-known passage:

Arise, shine, for your light has come,

and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you.

For behold, darkness shall cover the earth,

and thick darkness the peoples;

but the Lord will arise upon you,

and his glory will be seen upon you.

Isaiah 60:1-2 ESV

Context

What is very noticeable about this statement by Isaiah is that the first verse is in the present tense while the rest of the passage is in the future tense. Your light has come… glory has risen upon you… darkness shall cover… glory will be seen.

Chapter 59 presents Israel as living in deep moral and material darkness yet in his next breath the prophet tells them that God’s light has already risen upon them. They are like a man standing in the deepest darkness who is unaware that behind him a light is already shining. He cannot see the light because it is behind him and the shadows before him are very dark. This was Israel’s condition, and it is our current condition.

Before us and around us we see and sense darkness, but perhaps we need to turn around in order to see the light.

The Light Behind Us

In our church service this Sunday, we sang a song with the chorus lines. ‘And all my life you have been faithful. And all my life you have been so, so good…’ As I sang these words, I was praying silently, “It is true Lord. You have been so good and faithful to me. Thank you Jesus”.  Of course, there have been hard parts in my personal history with all the pain, confusion, and sadness that is a part of life. However, when I think back, I can see that God’s goodness, grace and mercy has always shone brightly. (I wrote my personal testimony HERE if you would like to read it) The problem is that sometimes, like these present days, our eyes get blinded by the darkness and cannot see the light behind us. This of course is an illusion, because darkness is just the perceived absence of light and cannot blind us. However, we can’t see too well in the darkness unless we turn around and catch the glimmers of light reflecting off our past realities and our current circumstances.

The Light Around Us

The light of the Lord is a spiritual and not a physical light. It shines from a dimension beyond the perception of the six normal senses. This spiritual light enters our worlds through many windows such as the scriptures, the inner spirit, and fellow disciples of Jesus.

If we stop searching for the light in the scriptures, then we are turning our backs on the light. If we cease seeking for the light within our spirits, then darkness dominates our spiritual vision. In addition, when we sever contact with other spirit-filled believers, then we isolate ourselves from the light that shines through the windows of their souls.

The COVID-19 lockdown has been a brutal thing in so many ways and has isolated each of us in into our own small corners. Do you remember that children’s song from Sunday-school days about our small corners? ‘Jesus bids us shine, with a clear, pure light. Like a little candle burning in the night. In this world of darkness, so we must shine, you in your small corner, and I in mine’. Well, to benefit by the light that we each bear, we need to connect, and this is one of the reasons that the gatherings of the church are so important. If I had not been at the church service on Sunday I would not have sung of God’s faithful goodness towards me, I would not have heard others testifying to this, and I would most likely not have seen the light around me.

‘For God who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.’ (2 Corinthians 4:6) 
The Light Before Us

There are two ways in which the light is before us, past and a future tense. Isaiah probably had no idea that he was not only encouraging Israel, but also prophesying the coming of the Messiah. Speaking of Jesus Christ, the Apostle John wrote that ‘in him was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it.‘ (John 1:4-5) Jesus is the light of the world, both 2000 years ago when he walked on Earth, and now. Every person who is born again of the Spirit is a light bearer and a member of what Paul described as the Kingdom of Light (Colossians 1:12); we are fellow sons and daughters of the Light (1 Thessalonians 5:5).

In another sense, the light is still before us on the timeline of the ages. In Revelation 21:23 John uses the analogy of a city to describe Heaven, and writes that it ‘does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp’. However, the same book of Revelation hints strongly at a foretaste of the light of heaven in a last and greatest spiritual revival.

However, we only have to read the bible and consider church history to see that God sends the light of revival in the darkest times. Our present time is very dark – (and not just from load-shedding) both in South Africa and the world at large, and so should we not expect God to send revival?

Jesus Revival

In the yet to be published article I referred to earlier, I gave revival as the only truly foreseeable positive scenario for the future of South Africa. However, we cannot generate true revival no matter how much we declare it, structure for it, or pretend that it is already here. Revival is a sovereign act of God, preceded only by prayer. A few years ago I wrote a series on Revival and you can read it by following the links listed HERE or you can purchase the book in its entirety it from Amazon HERE. I urge you to do this because our need for revival is critical and urgent and we need to be asking God to send it ASAP!

Light Upon Light Upon Light

So, within our current darkness, we have past, present, and future light. We have the light of Jesus who was and is the very light of the world; we have the light of our remembrance of the light of the Lord in our own lives; we have the light of fellow light-bearers all around us, and we have the great light of future revival and ultimate heaven. This is why Paul can write:

‘For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) and find out what pleases the Lord. Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them.

For it is shameful even to mention what the disobedient do in secret. But everything exposed by the light becomes visible, for it is light that makes everything visible.

This is why it is said:

“Wake up, O sleeper,

Rise from the dead,

And Christ will shine on you.”‘

Ephesians 5:8-14

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TruthTalks: The Three Temples

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In the last TruthTalk, Are These the ‘End of the Days’? Dr Christopher Peppler talks about the destruction of the temple in 70 AD and promises to go into more detail about it. This is the detail.

Based on the post ‘The Three Temples’ we get to hear all about it from the horse’s mouth (so to speak),  so click on the play button below to listen to this enlightening talk on the topic.

So, if you’ve ever wondered where The Rapture or the 1000 reign fits into Armageddon times, and indeed where Armageddon fits into our times, listen to this podcast.

Please like and subscribe on iTunes and all your other streaming programmes and podcatchers, and pass this on to whoever you feel needs to hear it. www.TruthIsTheWord.com is self-funded and we rely on you to help us advertise it.

Until next time, Admin

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TruthTalks: Are these ‘The End of the Days?’

I’ll admit it, during the last year of COVID and other world madness, I’ve often wondered if we are in the end times.

In fact, some days I’ve been frankly quite surprised to NOT see the four horsemen riding in or Jesus descending down. Dr Christopher Peppler discusses THIS post about what to look out for and biblical explanations regarding the end times to help us understand if now is a good time to build that bunker or not ;P

Please like and subscribe on iTunes and all your other streaming programmes and podcatchers, and pass this on to whoever you feel needs to hear it. www.TruthIsTheWord.com is self-funded and we rely on you to help us advertise it.

In case you find yourself reaching for your Bible to look up the book of Revelation to help understand, please remember that Dr Christopher Pepplers book on it can be found HERE.

Until next time, click the play button or download below. Best, admin

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About Me

My name is Christopher Peppler and I was born in Cape Town, South Africa in 1947. While working in the financial sector I achieved a number of business qualifications from the Institute of Bankers, Damelin Management School, and The University of the Witwatersrand Business School. After over 20 years as a banker, I followed God’s calling and joined the ministry full time. After becoming a pastor of what is now a quite considerable church, I  earned an undergraduate theological qualification from the Baptist Theological College of Southern Africa and post-graduate degrees from two United States institutions. I was also awarded the Doctor of Theology in Systematic Theology from the University of Zululand in 2000.

Four years before that I established the South African Theological Seminary (SATS), which today is represented in over 70 countries and has more than 2 500 active students enrolled with it. I presently play an role supervising Masters and Doctoral students.

I am a passionate champion of the Christocentric or Christ-centred Principle, an approach to biblical interpretation and theological construction that emphasises the centrality of Jesus

I have been happily married to Patricia since the age of 20, have two children, Lance and Karen, a daughter-in-law Tracey, and granddaughters Jessica and Kirsten. I have now retired from both church and seminary leadership and devote my time to writing, discipling, and the classical guitar.

If you would like to read my testimony to Jesus then click HERE.