It's not my fault, really. Just sometimes I enjoy a good mulling over of Calvinistic theology or the Wesleyan approach to remaining sin or comparing pre-millenial eschatology with historical pre-millenial eschatology.
And yes, I admit it. Not only do I understand the terms supralapsarian and perichoresis, but they often make their way into casual dinner conversations at college (much thanks to Alex Boucher for those fantastic conversations).
I didn't choose this kind of "thug life." This "thug life" chose me.
Or was predestined for me before the foundation of the world, according to John Calvin.
One thing I learned in Africa: sometimes you have to keep the gospel simple.
Now--don't hear me saying that theology isn't important. Your theology determines your anthropology, as it's been said. Theology informs your view of God, which will then inform your view of people and how you interact with them. That means it's important.
But, sometimes, I have to stick my thoughts on the dispensational approach to the nation of Israel over on the bookshelf and bring the basics of the gospel back to the forefront of my life and interactions.
While in Africa, our team was able to share the gospel in over half a dozen secondary schools.
 |
| This is the family. We were still at the awkward "I-don't-know-you" stage at this point. |
And at times, it felt like we were giving the most obvious and basic points of the gospel. There was no deep theology, no heated Calvinistic/Arminian arguments, and no questions of whether or not that African drum should be used in the worship service.
We came back to the basics.
>> We are created with value and worth.
>> But we are separated from God by sin.
>> Jesus died to bring us back to Himself.
>> It's not enough just to know this--we have to put our faith in it.
Revisiting those basics was not only good for the students.
It was good for those presenting as well--it reminded us of the complexity, yet simplicity of the gospel.
Revisiting those basics was not only good for the students.
It was good for those presenting as well--it reminded us of the complexity, yet simplicity of the gospel.
And what was cool was that, after the presentation of the basics, the students needed more. They would ask us questions about academics, relationships, and religion. They asked simple questions. But often, they asked hard questions: "How do I live as a Christian when my family is Muslim?" or "Isn't Jesus just a good prophet?" or "How can God have a son that is still one with Him?"
And that's where theology and study of the Bible came into play. For instance, I lost count of the amount of time we spent trying to explain Trinitarian perichoresis. We didn't realize that's what we were doing, but in explaining how the three persons of the Trinity are unified, that's exactly what we were doing. And God gave all of the team just the words and verses we needed to explain and answer the questions we were asked.
We should always be trying to know more about God. Theology is important. But as I heard a preacher once say, we lose sight of Jesus when theology merely becomes an academic pursuit as an end in itself.
After all, the demons know Scripture too...and they shudder.
Satan is one of the best theologians in the universe, and he's damned for eternity.
I'm often guilty of falling in love with an academic theology instead of the God who died for me. I trust that I will never grow tired of learning more about the Messiah. But I hope that I will never forget the basics of my faith.
Africa taught me to hold fast to the basics of the faith.
And not just to hold fast to them--but to share them with the nations.
