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Many Christians may not know what they believe. There are many reasons for this. Some have grown up in a household of well-founded Christian parents. Others who are Christians may have a somewhat distorted view; Others have grown up in a church environment that does not preach the whole counsel of God. In the latter case, these kinds of churches shun away from preaching the hard truth that is presented in the Scriptures. They only preach the non-controversial topics about the positive aspects of God and omit the wrath of God. Perhaps they grew up in a false religion – there are many such religious convictions! So how can a person find out the whole truth as presented in the Holy Scriptures? Let’s take a brief look.
The Westminster Confession and the Puritan’s Catechism and others present a statement of faith that has been traditionally stated in one form or another as:
“The chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy him forever.”
In his book, Desiring God, subtitle Mediations of a Christian Hedonist, John Piper writes, “You might turn the world on its head by changing one word in your creed. Piper suggests changing that creed to:
“The chief end of man is to glorify God by enjoying Him forever.”
Question: How can one enjoy God if one does not know God?
Answer: By Studying Theology.
Theology in its most simple definition means “knowing God.” Breaking the word down a bit more, Theo refers to God and the suffix ology means “the study of.”
As we study Theology, we need to study in a Systematic way, which means “done or acting according to a fixed plan or system; methodical.
There a many good books that cover a systematic approach to the study of Theology. One of the most quoted and highly regarded of all is Charles Hodges’s Systematic Theology Hodge, C. (1997). Systematic theology. While his writing is deep, it will benefit you greatly. There are others.
Members who have joined and been approved on our website have complete access to a previous Bible Study called, Know What You Believe. In this study we find the various other “ology(s).” as well as two other prior courses, called, Difficulties in the Bible and Characters of the Bible.
Here I only wanted to have you inquire of yourselves “Do You Know What You Believe.
Of course, most questions can be answered in an exegetical, expository study of the Bible. Here at Lighthouse Bible Church, we are extremely careful to do just that as we approach our Preaching and Teachings “Verse by Verse.” We strongly believe in letting Scripture interpret Scripture as the Lord intended and check all commentators to see what the Scriptures tell us.
Pastor Ted Dudak does an exceptional and faithful job in his adherence to the Word of God in all his sermons. He delivers a passionate, Scriptural message each Sunday. If you are offended by his message, you should know it is not his message at all, but the Word of God’s message aka His message.
Why then do we need further Bible Study? Doesn’t studying the Bible every day at home provide us with the necessary information? If you have these questions, then please check out our answer at a previous blog written on June 1, 2019, called Why Bible Study? It is as true now as it was then and before. You may also wish to check out the various Bible Study Methods found on our website.
The short answer to the question is this – Most Definitely!
Question: How can one enjoy God if one does not know God?
Answer: By Studying Theology.
Remember:
“The chief end of man is to glorify God by enjoying Him forever.”
Desiring God: Meditations of a Christian Hedonist 3rd ed. (Multnomah, 2011).