What is Theology?
Theology is simply the study of God.
There. That’s a simple article isn’t it? If they’re all going to be this short, we’ll just change the name to Two Second Theology. Won’t that be a bag of cats? What does that even mean? I don’t know – I just made it up…
I digress. Apologies.
The word ‘theology’ actually comes from two greek words, theos and logos, the former meaning “God” and the latter meaning “word,” and when put together they essentially form “Word about God,” or, perhaps more accurately, “the study, or learning, of God.” Take it down to a less literal level, however, and it can become more like “one’s belief about God,” which may or may not expand itself into study. Everyone has a basis for their own theology, as it forms your most basic worldview; an atheist, for example, subscribes to an atheistic theology, and a Hindi to a polytheistic theology. Your theological view defines how you experience God, and how you further your relationship with Him.
Studying theology does not need to take place at seminary, or through specific classes with strict instruction, no, when you do something even as simple as opening a Bible to read what is written within you are working on theological studies – what you read there will change the way you think about things – it may solidify what you already believe, or present a new way of thinking. Spending time with other believers, or talking on a Christian forum (r/christianity is a good start) can help too – theology is one of the greatest foundations of what you believe, what dictates your decisions, and how you interact with others. Theology is the lifetime study of God, and seeking His knowledge and wisdom.
Like what you see or have something to add? Feel free to leave a comment or join in the conversation with the author below. We want to hear your comments and questions!
Keep up to date with TMT!
Like our facebook page: facebook.com/twominutetheology or follow us on twitter: @tmtheology!
Two Minute Theology sometimes includes Affiliate Links when discussing products in order to support the site.
Edwards’ Resolutions, #5
There are two things you will probably see a lot of on this site: Jonathan Edwards’ resolutions and the Westminster Shorter Catechism. Both of these are excellent resources and can be very helpful to a person’s walk with God, though they are not always the most interesting things to read. I particularly love the way that Jonathan Edwards wrote his resolutions; he has pretty effectively managed to capture the majority of Christian needs and weaknesses within them. Edwards penned these between 1722 and 1723, and did so in order to help him keep his focus on God, to remind himself that it is through Him that all things are done; and he had the intention and initial resolution to read through them once a week. Each of these resolutions tend to deal with a particular topic pertaining to part of a Christian’s life (Desiring God has them broken down by category rather nicely).
Resolution number five is great for when you’re feeling lazy, in a period of heavy procrastination, or just all around unmotivated. It reads as such: “Resolved, never to lose one moment of time; but improve it the most profitable way I possibly can.” Here we have a decree to be vigilant in the face of wasted time and wasted opportunity, a desire to never let sloth take control over your life. The resolution could be reworded to form a prayer for a moment of distress or procrastination: “Lord, I ask that you would help me in this moment to be vigilant and focused; that I would not let my earthly desires to be endlessly entertained take control over my life.”
The resolution also points at a higher level of desire. It hopes to direct one’s mind to use all his time for the glory of God; that every endeavor would be unwasted, that time alone would be spend with the Father, that we would seek to work toward God’s glory, further our understanding of Him, and that our lives would become a reflection of Christ. A tall order indeed, but made possible through the grace of God.
Here below is a desktop background with Resolution number 5 upon it, feel free to download it if you desire to have it!
Jonathan Edwards Resolution Number 5 – Desktop Background
Like what you see or have something to add? Feel free to leave a comment or join in the conversation with the author below. We want to hear your comments and questions!
Keep up to date with TMT!
Like our facebook page: facebook.com/twominutetheology or follow us on twitter: @tmtheology!
Two Minute Theology sometimes includes Affiliate Links when discussing products in order to support the site.
Counter-Culture
Culture is a driving force in our lives. Where you are in life influences the way you relate to others – and to God.
Don’t kill the cow
There’s no denying it – our surroundings affect everything about us. Humans are relational creatures – we adapt and connect with others to survive. Our culture defines everything about us from a worldly perspective – from the food we eat, to the way we spend our time, to the people we socialize with, and the people we avoid. Christians, however, are in a unique position – we need to be counter-cultural while maintaining relevance to our surroundings, and we are called to interrupt the social paradigm while still maintaining relationships with those around us.
This can make life difficult, but, then again, we’re not called to live lives of simplicity and ease, nor should we expect to do so. Jesus Himself said “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account.” [, ESV] If we are living truly counter-culturally, we are going to make waves, we are going to disrupt the norm, and we are going to affect people’s lives.
But we should not be destructive. We have to respect people, and their culture. It would be inappropriate to go into a foreign country and do everything that they would consider insulting on account of being ‘counter-cultural,’ and we should look to the way we are in our own home environment as if we are entering another country! Christians do not belong to this world. We are aliens. We are, by the very definition of what we claim to believe, counter-cultural. If your brother is in sin – reproach him () and be open to reproach yourself! Remember the speck and the plank ()! In India, cattle is considered sacred. The Hindu religion sees cows as almost a maternal figure in their lives – they won’t slaughter one for food and nourishment! But just as you would not go to India and force the Hindu people to kill and eat their cows, do not force your beliefs on unbelievers – instead, let them see the holiness of Christ in you and let the Truth speak through you.
It’s good to be different. Be an oddly Godly ambassador of Christ. Raise questions as to why you are who you are.
Like what you see or have something to add? Feel free to leave a comment or join in the conversation with the author below. We want to hear your comments and questions!
Keep up to date with TMT!
Like our facebook page: facebook.com/twominutetheology or follow us on twitter: @tmtheology!
Two Minute Theology sometimes includes Affiliate Links when discussing products in order to support the site.
11 “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. (ESV)
2 preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching. (ESV)
3 Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? 4 Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when there is the log in your own eye? 5 You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye. (ESV)
Why Do Bad Things Happen?
You’ll notice that the title isn’t “Why do bad things happen to good people?.” I chose to exclude the common ending for a really big reason: no person is good, has ever been good, nor will ever be good. Jesus was good – but Jesus was more than a person – which is, frankly, a topic for a different article! You are not good. I am not good. No one is good. Paul made this perfectly clear in when he said that all his good works – all he had gained – was worthless. Less than worthless – useless, filthy refuse. even says that our “righteous deeds are like a polluted garment!” I don’t think I should even mention what that refers to…
No – bad things don’t happen to good people. Bad things – and good things – happen to bad people. Matthew shares this wisdom in 5:45 “For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.” Our worldly lives just aren’t fair, and they never will be!
So – why does God allow bad things to happen at all? Why must we suffer throughout our lives? What benefit could this possibly have for us? It’s all about sanctification. God works on us through the events that happen in our lives to draw us closer to Him, and to strengthen our reliance on Him. When we experience events and occurrences in our lives that feel like we’re being tested – we often are.
What happens when you haven’t been to the gym in a while, and you decide that you’re going to start again? You push yourself through that first workout, you feel the pain of working stagnant muscles, and you feel it even worse the next morning. But then, you go at it again, the next day, and the next. The pain gets less intense, and your muscles grow stronger. If you continue to press through it, you begin to form a regimen, and your strength grows even more.
Relationships are like muscles, and your relationship with God is no different. Sometimes, you have to work on it yourself – talking with God, reading the Word, and spending time alone with Him, and in community. Other times, He does the work on you – and He knows exactly which muscles you need the most work on to reach your peak level.
And that is good.
Like what you see or have something to add? Feel free to leave a comment or join in the conversation with the author below. We want to hear your comments and questions!
Keep up to date with TMT!
Like our facebook page: facebook.com/twominutetheology or follow us on twitter: @tmtheology!
Two Minute Theology sometimes includes Affiliate Links when discussing products in order to support the site.
7 But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. 8 Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ (ESV)
6 We have all become like one who is unclean,
and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment.
We all fade like a leaf,
and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away. (ESV)
The Significance of Sanctification
What is Sanctification?
That query may be quite familiar – it’s question number thirty-five in the Westminster Shorter Catechism, and can often be a point of contention for many – it’s part of the concepts of Calvinism, but more broadly Christianity as a whole. Sanctification is defined by common dictionaries as the act of setting [something] “apart to a sacred purpose or to religious use” – which actually applies pretty well to the way we should look at it.
When something is sanctified, it’s set apart, lifted higher, and seen as an object of holiness, but it’s done so by God. A human, or a church – which is still technically human – cannot sanctify anything – sanctification is entirely under the direction of God. We become sanctified as we grow in our walk with God, our sanctification happens through the merit of Christ alone, and through the work of the Holy Spirit as we experience life. We are not able to raise ourselves to a position of holiness (see ), alone – it requires the work of Christ in our lives.
So, how are we sanctified? How does God improve us, how does He make us more holy? He does it through the experiences that we have in life – through ups and downs, through the events that cause us pain, from loss of employment to an early death of a child, to loss of limb and mobility, loss of friends, painful experiences, and feelings of wretchedness. He does it through times of joy and happiness, celebration and exaltation, successes and failures, friendships, love and wonder.
It’s also a cooperative process – it’s a two way street. We grow closer to God – more Christ-like – through what we do in our daily walk with God, the prayers we say, the Word we read, and the time spent alone with Him.
Sanctification is a process of becoming more like God – through the messiness of life. God uses pain and suffering, joy and satisfaction to draw us nearer to Him, to show us who He is, and we take a part in that process as well.
Be a willing participant in God’s work in your life.
Like what you see or have something to add? Feel free to leave a comment or join in the conversation with the author below. We want to hear your comments and questions!
Keep up to date with TMT!
Like our facebook page: facebook.com/twominutetheology or follow us on twitter: @tmtheology!
Two Minute Theology sometimes includes Affiliate Links when discussing products in order to support the site.
4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— 6 and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast. (ESV)
Two Minutes
What’s that you’re groaning about? Another blog about Christianity on the ol’ wide web? Yea – I’ll give you that – there’s a lot out there already. But that’s ok.
This one’s a little different. It’s short. You can read it over coffee in the morning, or when you’re bored, or when you’re hiding from your boss in the … facilities.
We are aiming to create an environment with small, short, succinct (ok, that last bit was anything but terse. Apologies.) posts that explore concepts of Christianity in bite-sized blobs. We hope and pray that these posts will be good resources to help you (and us!) grow and mature in your walk with Christ.
Each of these blog posts can usually be read in about two minutes – one minute if you’re a fast reader. The idea is that sometimes if you can spend just two minutes of your life, every once in a while, exploring who God is, who you are, and what it means to be Christian, you can make a huge impact on yourself and others. Eventually we hope to expand the blog to include two minute video clips, short devotionals, and ways you can affect those in your life with very short encounters and experiences.
Here’s to hoping you enjoy your stay! You can see more about the blog at the About Page.
[TMT]
Like what you see or have something to add? Feel free to leave a comment or join in the conversation with the author below. We want to hear your comments and questions!
Keep up to date with TMT!
Like our facebook page: facebook.com/twominutetheology or follow us on twitter: @tmtheology!
Two Minute Theology sometimes includes Affiliate Links when discussing products in order to support the site.