Theology Tuesday
Theology Tuesday is a blog series I’m going to attempt to make a part of my week. I’m trying to blog constantly, and I thought that having a series might help. So to get us started, this week’s I want to talk about what I believe is the foundational issue with the current cultural crisis regarding faith.
Who am I?
Truthfully, this is the question that is at the heart of all education. We want to learn because we want to understand what we don’t know. One of the biggest things we don’t understand is who we are and why we exist.
Now, if you are on that journey, I applaud you. It’s only by us individually seeking that we will find a satisfactory answer. As for those of us who have identified our purpose in the cross of Jesus Christ, there is a lot at stake for us to answer this question: “Who am I?” with the correct biblical worldview.
Here’s what I mean. Throughout scripture, you will find instances of God correcting His people’s worldview, and for the most part it’s because they have committed the sin of idolatry. In fact, I would argue that every sin stems from idolatry, and that’s why it seems like it’s such a big deal to God.
Mark Driscoll, Teaching Pastor at Mars Hill Church in Seattle, WA, has an incredible message on this.
Anyway, when we start seeing that God has a real big issue with idolatry, it should push us to ask, “What exactly is idolatry?” See, I don’t view myself as an idol worshipper. I don’t have any gold or silver statues in my house. I don’t attend the church of the Fonz. However, when I saw how the Apostle Paul breaks down the sin of idolatry, I began to see myself for who I was…
24Therefore, God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves,25because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen. Romans 1:24-25 (ESV)
In other words, idolatry, in the biblical Christian worldview, is putting creation in the place of the creator. Sounds simple, but I do that. I treat myself like the creator sometimes. I will make decisions/treat people/live life out of the facade that I am the end all be all. That makes me and idolater… So to move theology to practice, I try to do 1 thing…I try to remember who I am. It’s incredibly hard, but that the tension we live in.
Thoughts?
