Does Doctrine Matter For Your Worship?

“I don’t care much about doctrine or theology, I just want to press into Jesus”.

I’m still not totally sure what it means to “press into Jesus” but I’ve heard things like this quite a few times. Sometimes I hear it in the form of “Love unites, doctrine divides”. At other times you hear it from folks who don’t care much about that fancy book learnin’ they just want to follow Jesus.

There is one sense in which I think such folks are on to something. There are silly little doctrines, endless myths, and genealogies which unnecessarily divide the church. Such things ought to be covered in love. And there is something to be said for a simple trust in Jesus. The truth is my disobedience isn’t usually because I don’t know something—my disobedience is really because I’m not following what I do know. No amount of fancy book learnin’ will capture a heart in rebellion—it’ll likely just give more tools to convince yourself and others that you really are obedient.

But there is another sense in which a lack of concern about theology is counter-productive to your growth in Christ. If you do not know the value of certain things then you will not know how to approve that which is vital. And when you consistently do not approve the vital your life will have a tendency to drift away from growth in Christ and not towards him.

My daughter has little to no concept of money. She thinks four quarters are more valuable than a $10 dollar bill. If I gave her 100 pennies she’d gladly exchange that for one bill with Ben Franklin on the front. This year, though, she will learn more about money. She won’t be so easy to trick next year at this time. Why? Because she will know enough about money to approve what is vital.

Theology is the same way. If you are not anchored by good solid biblical theology then you will be tossed to and fro by every wind of doctrine. False teachers will easily be able to fool you into trading valuable truths in for a shiny penny theology. Theology helps you approve what is vital.

I love the way Sinclair Ferguson states this. After arguing for our need to get back to the great basics of the gospel, Ferguson adds this qualifier:

To say this is not to make a plea for superficiality, nor is it to downgrade the importance of a thorough grounding in all the doctrines of the Bible. In fact it is the reverse, for a really thorough grasp of biblical teaching and the relation between its doctrines will always help us to put the weight of our testimony where it really belongs. (Ferguson, Man Overboard, 62)

If understood correctly, forcing people to choose between Jesus and theology is a false choice. The two are not diametrically opposed. In fact, as Ferguson states, your theology ought to serve your devotion to Christ. It should, when rightly applied, lead to stronger devotion and more vibrant worship. Or to put that into contemporary terms that I still don’t quite understand—theology will probably help you press into Jesus more (or maybe to stop saying things like that all together).

—

Image source: here