When you start with the wrong roadmap, headed in the wrong direction, you’re going to end up in the wrong place. Now that’s profound isn’t it? Perhaps not, but it illustrates an important principle that applies to theology and doctrine.
Before I explain this further, it might be good to make sure we understand what we’re talking about when we use the words doctrine and theology. Doctrine is simply a statement of what we believe to be true. Another word we use for this is "theology." The word theology literally means the study of God. And this is where so much of our doctrine goes wrong. It doesn’t begin with a study of the character of God as revealed in His Word.
Too often, we start doing theology and establishing our doctrine with the wrong roadmap and headed in the wrong direction. Far too much theology and doctrine is man-centered. Because of this, we look at the wrong thing and we look for the wrong thing. Many people get tripped up because they do theology and formulate their doctrinal beliefs with this wrong starting point – man-centered theology that begins with a wrong view of humanity, human reason and reasoning ability, man’s goodness and intrinsic value. Man-centered theology tends to view and formulate doctrine based on how it effects or impacts man. Instead of letting scripture speak for itself, it is filtered through what makes sense to man and man’s concepts of what is right. Most often, this leads to error in belief about the character of God, the nature of man and doctrine related to sin and salvation.
This was the error of Job and his friends who thought themselves counselors in theology. They began with wrong thinking about God, man, and suffering and so, they came up with wrong conclusions regarding the horrific pain in Job’s life. It didn’t make sense from the perspective of man and their views of suffering and God. The "theologians" concluded Job must be guilty of sin. It didn’t fit with their man-centered theology that said Job couldn’t be suffering for any other reason but sin. Job had this same theology but he declared his innocence and so he questioned if God really knew what was going on. But then, God responded,
"Who is this that darkens counsel by words without knowledge?" (Job 38:2)
God goes on in some length to show them that He is the creator, man is the creation. God’s knowledge and wisdom is infinite, man’s is very limited. God is the center of the universe, not man. Job and his counselors needed to be humbled before God and start with a Theo-centric theology.
Theology must be governed by scripture and must begin with the one who is the beginning, creator and source of all truth. Theology must begin and end with a focus on the character and glory of God. Theology must be God centered, that is, Theo-centric.
Perhaps one of the greatest books ever written on the glory of God is The Knowledge of the Holy by A.W. Tozer. In it, he writes, "I believe there is scarcely an error in doctrine or a failure in applying Christian ethics that cannot be traced finally to imperfect and ignoble thoughts about God."
Millard Erickson in Christian Theology agrees, "The doctrine of God is the central point for much of the rest of theology. One's view of God might even be thought of as supplying the whole framework within which one's theology is constructed and life is lived."
Our study of theology must begin with a study of God. It must be centered on God as God and man as creation. God was who He is in eternity past, before man was created. So, we must get a firm grip on what scripture reveals about God, apart from the implications of these truths on humanity. This is difficult, but it must be pursued. Whenever the scripture declares truth about the character of God and His ways that does not sit well with us, we must return to this truth. God is God. He always has been and always will be. We are His creation.
Soli Deo Gloria
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