Am I Right Now Doing “Theology”?

Have you ever done “theology”?

For many of us, I suspect the answer is, “I don’t think so” because we are not theologians. Or, are we?  Here’s one pastor’s take: 

“In one sense, all it takes to be a theologian is to have an opinion about God. That’s it. The moment you think or say anything about him or her or it or whatever ‘God’ is to you, you’re doing theology. The real question, therefore, is not whether you are a theologian. It’s whether you are a good one.”

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At our last Hebrews study, we studied the central message of Hebrews, that the “laws” of Moses, the offering of “the blood of calves and goats,” and the earthly “holy place” were “but a shadow” or “copies” of “the good things to come.” And the observance of these laws is no longer necessary for us because Jesus, once and for all, offered his own blood in the “heavenly” holy place.

A few us wondered, “why then did God give the laws of Moses in the first place?”

We were doing…“theology.”

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One way to learn about the relationship between the laws of Moses and the gospel of Jesus is to read what the professional theologians have said on the topic. We might start with the Wikipedia entry on “Law and Gospel” to get a bearing and learn this is “a major topic in Lutheran and Reformed theology.” We then look at what Luther said or what Calvin said. That way, we quickly learn how different theologians systematically thought about the relationship between the law and the gospel.

There is another way: We start by looking at the relevant passages in the Bible ourselves.

We may begin with the middle parts of the Hebrews as we did in our study.

Then, we may go to Paul’s letter to the Galatian churches where non-Jewish Christians were being persuaded by certain Jewish Christians to add to their faith in Jesus the observance of the laws of Moses. In the letter, Paul tells the non-Jewish Christians to resist doing so, noting how “the [Mosaic] law, introduced 430 years later [i.e., after God made a covenant with Abraham] does not set aside the covenant previously established by God.”

Then, Paul asks, “why, then was the law given at all”? He answers, “because of transgressions….” He goes on: “before the coming of this faith [in Jesus], we were held in custody under the law, locked up until the faith that was to come would be revealed. So the law was our guardian until Christ came that we might be justified by faith. Now that this faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian.” (The Greek word, translated “guardian” (paidagogos) here, can also be translated “schoolmaster.”)

We might turn to Romans next. In chapter 7, Paul says Christians “have died to the law through the body of Christ” and thus are “released from the law, having died to that which held us captive….” “What then shall we say? That the law is sin? By no means! Yet if it had not been for the law, I would not have known sin.”

So the writer of Hebrews says Jesus obviates the need for anyone to go back to the observance of the Mosaic laws. Paul in Galatians says the law was given as a schoolmaster “because of” sin but we are no longer “under” the schoolmaster. Then, in Romans, Paul adds, “if it had not been the law,” we “would not have known sin.”

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A bit confused? Frustrated because nothing is definitive? Feel the need to go back, re-read and ponder again?

That’s great. The Bible is a Jewish meditation literature. We are meant to come back to it, even if we are a bit confused & frustrated by its seeming lack of clarity. Better yet, the Bible is also a communal literature. So go back to it with friends. I’m pretty sure that’s what Luther & Calvin did. 

After all, if we are all theologians already, we might as well try to be a good one.

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Sam serves as one of the elders at ODPC EC. Please feel free to contact him at sam.kwon@odpcec.org with any questions or comments. Please join him and fellow brothers and sisters for the monthly study of Hebrews by signing up here.