Theology is Practical
Scripture Reading: Psalm 93; Isaiah 49-51; Philippians 2
Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped… Philippians 2:5-6
Take the time this morning to do a careful reading of Philippians chapter two. It contains one of the greatest statements on Christology in the New Testament. In reading it, it is almost startling to realize that when Paul penned this he wasn’t writing a theological treatise. Philippians is not a systematic theology text book. It is one of the most down-to-earth, practical, where the rubber meets the road kind of books in the Bible.
In chapter two Paul was writing about the need for humility and a servant spirit among the people of God. Yet, in doing so he puts down on parchment this tremendously wonderful explanation of the nature and work of Jesus Christ. Just the small part I quoted above has challenged theologians for centuries. It even gets its own name: The Kenosis Theory.
No need for me to delve into that here. That is not my point.
My point is that too often people have the attitude, or will outright say, that theology isn’t practical. They view it as mere esoteric scholarly stuff that doesn’t help the man on the street. They proclaim that they just want to know how to live the Christian life and theology doesn’t do it for them.
To be fair to them, too often those who teach theological ideas can make it seem like it never intersects with life. It does come across as a pure intellectual exercise, and almost something that is only relevant to people who just like to discuss and debate philosophical and intellectual ideas.
That is unfortunate because, as we see here, Paul had a completely different approach. He didn’t start with the thought that he would teach Christology and then, as an afterthought, tried to make an application. Instead, he began with the fact that he needed to address a practical problem in the church, and then he showed them how the theology of Christ intersected and applied to that problem.
He showed them how theological truth is practical truth.
It always is.
Don’t jettison theology over a false claim that it isn’t relevant and practical. You will miss the most important answers to life’s questions if you do
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