Theology can puff you up

When Paul said in 1 Corinthians 13, “If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not to love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal” (v. 1), was he talking about the theological debate on the internet? No. 

But “a noisy gong” and “clanging cymbal” are appropriate descriptions at times. The internet can turn a mild-mannered Dr. Jekyll into a murderous Mr. Hyde. It has provided an outlet for people who have long felt powerless and voiceless, and many of those people apparently have a lot of pent-up frustration that comes out anytime they sit behind a keyboard. It has also provided a platform for people who seem to want everyone else to know how much more intelligent they are than the average Christian.

If theology becomes a substitute for love of God, it is nothing more or less than an idol.

I think most Christians begin to study theology with good motives. We begin to study Scripture and to read books by Christians who have been studying Scripture for many years. We want to understand the Word of God. But even something good, like the study of theology, can be twisted in an evil direction. 

We can begin to study theology as an end itself. It can then easily puff us up with pride and arrogance, causing us to exalt ourselves rather than in God. And when we exalt ourselves, we want everyone else to exalt us as well. That can only be accomplished, so we think, by showing our brothers and sisters in Christ our superiority by showing them how great our store of theological knowledge is.

We are learning theology to grow in our knowledge of God so that we might grow in our love of God and neighbor. In the quote above, Owen makes this basic point. Theology is not a substitute for the love of God. If it does become a substitute for the love of God, it is nothing more or less than an idol.

Author: Keith A. Mathison