Theology Should Move Us Toward People, Not Away From Them

I have several shirts that are clearly religious. I have shirts from church, organizations, and places I’ve been fortunate enough to serve with. A few of my favorites have sayings like, “That’s it, now you’re in my sermon,” another “Be Salty, Stay Lit”, but one of my favorites is “I can do all things through a verse taken out of context.” It gets me the most looks, both positively and negatively.

When I’m wearing one of my shirts, I get people who want to have conversations with me, which is usually not a problem. However, until it became one.

I was talking to a couple, and it quickly became apparent that they wanted to be “right.” Not discussing, not encouraging, simply wanted me to affirm they were correct. What about? To be transparent, I still don’t know. Their statements of Theology were not conversational; I feel that they wanted me to agree.

Now, please understand that I believe we should discuss our Theology, that our viewpoints need to be explained and worked through, and that we should be corrected when our viewpoints don’t align with the Bible. But it also needs to be lived out.

Today’s Big Idea: If our Theology doesn’t serve, encourage, or evangelize, then we are nothing more than Christian Pharisees.

Being theologically right and practically useless makes us no better than the Pharisees of Jesus’ day.

1. Our Theology must Serve

Do you remember the part of the gospel narrative in Matthew 20 when James and John’s mother came to Jesus and asked that her sons be seated at His left and right hand? In that narrative, Jesus reminds all the disciples, “even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve.” (Matthew 20:28)

We must humble ourselves and understand that it is not about rank or location, but about serving or doing things for someone else. Jesus never once asked, “Is your theology right before we do this?” Nor did He ask each disciple for a 10-page dissertation on the effects of rank in the kingdom.

So, we need to turn and ask: When was the last time we served another person? Especially if they can do nothing in return. There is power in the simple gift of service and doing for someone else.

I’ve served alongside Methodists, Catholics, Presbyterians, Church of God, Baptists of many kinds, and others. When we are serving people alongside one another, can you guess what we don’t talk about? The answer is the number of differences we have on theological topics.

We serve to show others Christ. Serving allows the right to have a conversation. When I become focused on serving others, my conversations change to: How is Christ intersecting with their everyday life events?

2. Our Theology must Encourage

Serving opens doors, but what happens when we start talking?

Remember the couple at the beginning that wanted to be right? I feel like their goal was to win. Possibly even tear down anyone who disagreed.

What was missing wasn’t truth; it was encouragement. What if we used our conversation about theology to encourage others? Would it change what we said? Maybe. However, with the goal of building up rather than tearing down, I know for many, our tone would change. Our questions or rebuttals may be more loving and encouraging. We would seek to strengthen brothers and sisters in Christ rather than “win” the argument.

Using terms like, What do you think about… or Have you considered… when we disagree. My personal favorites are: How would you teach that? Or, how would you encourage a fellow believer with your stance on (insert subject)? Or, how do you think this aspect points people to Christ?

“Therefore, encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing.” 1 Thessalonians 5:11

Please know that I am not stating that you must compromise at all costs or avoid the truth. I want us to see that truth delivered without love doesn’t strengthen anyone.

People listen differently when they see you serving and feel valued.

3. Our Theology must Evangelize

I understand that a single reference to Romans 10:9 is often an oversimplification of the gospel, but I embrace it anyway. Romans 10:9 reminds us that salvation is based upon belief and confession.

I do not see the understanding of Baptism, Theology Proper, Pneumatology, or anything else in the scriptural requirements for salvation.

I worry that, if we are not careful, we will become Pharisees who require more agreement, more understanding, and more theological precision than Scripture itself demands.

So what does Scripture tell us? Allow me to point you toward Matthew 28:18-19. Here’s what I want us to see in those verses: As we go throughout our lives, we should be people who serve and invest in others so that we can point them to Jesus. After they confess Christ and are baptized, we should teach them to go and do the same things.

When did we give up on evangelizing to win arguments? Because Scripture never did.

Pastor Mark’s Conclusion

May we get out of our ivory towers and see people who are in need of help, need to hear the gospel, and see the love of Christ in others. And you can tell me that I am wrong, but why did Jesus serve people? Why does Scripture tell us to encourage? Or even to go and evangelize?

Jesus taught theology class by meeting the Samaritan woman at the well, healing the blind, and feeding the 5,000.

Theology should move us towards people, not away from them.

So this week, serve someone who can’t repay you. Encourage someone you disagree with. And tell someone about Jesus. That’s not just good theology. That’s the whole point.