The Right Way To Study Theology and Doctrine
Some of my favorite Christian books are by dead people. One them, Martyn-Lloyd Jones made a comment about the proper way to study end times doctrine.
This quote is from a book he wrote called The Great Doctrines of the Bible. The quote is specifically about studying Eschatology (end times) but I felt it was also applicable to the study of theology in general.
There is a right way and a wrong way to study this great doctrine, and if you want to be sure that you are doing it in the right way, this is an infallible test: if your study of it humbles you, your study is in the right way. If it inflates you or inflames your mind and your passion, you are studying it in the wrong way. If the study of it leads you to go down on your knees in worship and adoration and praise, it is the right way; but if it gives you a sense of self-satisfaction that you have understood it and, as it were, have encompassed the thing with your own mind, this it is utterly and absolutely wrong. If your study of it makes you realize that the time is short and you must be up and doing, that you must purify yourself and prepare yourself for it, then you are studying the right way. But if it is something purely intellectual, and it does not affect your spirit and your way of living, then you can be certain that your whole approach is wrong. This is not a subject for the mind only, it is for the whole person. It is the ultimate end of salvation. It is the completion of all that we have hitherto been privileged to consider together. May God give us grace, therefore, to approach this glorious truth in that way (emphasis added).
Leave a comment (you know you want to).
Robert
I love theology and the challenge of making deep teachings non-boring. Let's face it, most of the time we hear theological teaching, it really is boring. Does it really have to be that way? Nope.
