WHEN FAITH MEETS THEOLOGY (and Vice-Versa)

 

When Faith meets Theology and Vice-Versa

 I oftentimes run into (more or less) two groups of Christians: 1) believers emphasizing faith & 2) believers emphasizing theology. By faith, oftentimes this refers to one’s relationship with God—how one engages, experiences, and encounters God on a daily basis.[1] Theology, on the other hand, defined as the study and understanding of God (theos + logos) that is ultimately based on Scripture, deals more (not entirely) with the conceptual and perhaps, even intellectual in some cases. In short, faith = how God works and moves in the believer’s life and theology = who God is and what He does.[2]

Even when it comes to preaching and preachers, some tend to stress on stories and experiences, capturing what the Lord has been practically doing in one’s life, while others can be more theological, emphasizing on concepts, terms, and Scripture that is more “up in the air”.

 

Allow me to use another example. Some Bible studies are “inductive”, where a group of believers gather together and simply share anything upon coming to a certain passage—oftentimes more experiential and related to their life. At the same time, there are some “deductive” bible studies are crafted with actual questions and answers geared towards unpacking every little detail of a certain passage.

 

 While “faith” and “theology” could at times be juxtaposed at different ends of a spectrum, my goal in this article is to present that there is an intertwined relationship between the two, and there is massive importance for every believer to understand how faith shapes one’s theology and vice-versa.

 

Faith impacts Theology

Just as Paul came to have faith in God through encountering the risen Christ (Acts 9), I believe the reason why most Christians are Christians—one people who pledges allegiance to King Jesus—is ultimately because of an experience and encounter with the living God. This is oftentimes called a testimony.

 

At the same time, Paul had a theology before he had faith in Christ (e.g.: Acts 8, Gal 1-2), and his theology ended up being completely changed by his encounter with Jesus (e.g.: Gal 2; 1 Tim 1:13-16). In the same way, one’s experiences in life with Christ can impact one’s understanding of God.

 

For example, one who sees a “believer” who was once extremely passionate for God—only to fall away into sin and ultimately denounce Him—may believe a “theology” that one can lose one’s salvation. Or one who comes to find unconditional love and acceptance in the church may eventually understand the biblical and theological notion of God being love (1 Jn 4:8). Or, on a contrary note, a believer who has been continuously struggling with sin in his/her walk with God, may struggle with the theological notion of how we can have complete victory over sin (e.g.: 1 Cor 10:13; 1 Jn 1-2).

 

My goal here is to illustrate that, when a Christian speaks of his/her faith (whether personal or communal), even if one does not intend to make a theological claim (who God is objectively and ontologically; or “what I believe about God to be true”), there is a “theology” presented beneath one’s faith. It is impossible for one to detach one’s “personal” faith with theology, one’s understanding of God. (even if one says: "I love Jesus", this presents a theological idea that "God is loveable", that He is personal and can be loved—denying agnosticism and pantheism.)

 

Thus, if there are some particular theology (maybe...Christology—study/understanding pertaining to Christ; Pneumatology—understanding of the Holy Spirit etc.) that you do not quite understand or reason with, maybe that's because there are some conflicts or incongruences with the outlook of your relationship with God. In other words, maybe you're not living out your faith right. (If I haven't prayed for forgiveness, I might lean towards believing that God doesn't really forgive me.)

Theology impacts Faith

Vice-versa, one’s understanding of God—or who I think God is (“theology”)—affects one’s (alleged) daily walk with God. Even if one fully professes to be Christian and has committed oneself to live for Jesus and not for oneself, one’s understanding of Him impacts how one’s faith is played out on a day-to-day basis.

 

For example, if one believes that “to love one’s neighbor” is ultimately accepting them and all their behavior (good and bad), and that, when Jesus tells us “do not judge” (Matt 7; Lk 6), it means that we are not to criticize people—then 1) this belief may misread, ignore, or downplay certain aspects of Scripture that present otherwise. 2) More importantly, this believer would likely live out his/her “faith” applying such theological beliefs.

 

Thus, given that theology impacts faith—our experience, engagement, and encounter with Christ—the quantity and quality of one’s everyday faith is oftentimes reflected by what they believe. With the example above, if “love” only means “acceptance”, that “God accepts me and whatever I do”, then this person may not actually experience God well, as love isn’t merely acceptance; this person may not really experience God’s love in any meaningful way.

Here are more examples: 

If a believer believes in a theology that God doesn't heal, he/she may not engage as much in praying for them. 

If a believer believes that God doesn't really care who one dates and marries, one may live out one's faith as more casual relationally, with lower standards—perhaps not actively seeking God's will in one's love life.

If a believer believes that one is still a sinner after coming to know Jesus—and not a saint—this one may be more tolerable to sin in one's life, since "I'm just a sinner anyway."

All to say, if you are struggling with your faith and having difficulties in your experiential side of God, maybe that’s a theological issue—maybe there are obstacles in your understanding of Jesus.

 

Conclusion: 2 Peter 1:2 + 3:18

 

A famous passage (sometimes overlooked) is 2 Peter 3:18, which writes:” But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ…” Literally, Peter is commanding (αὐξάνετε—in the imperative, functioning as a command) the believers to increase in grace and also knowledge of Jesus! As believers, we ought to grow in knowledge of God, to know more about Him as that impacts our relational “knowing” of Him on a day to day basis.

 

What’s interesting, however, is how this passage connects with 2 Peter 1:2: “May grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.” Both “grace” (or “favor) and “peace” have an experiential component. We experience the grace and peace of God (e.g.: Phil 4:7) in our faith—our walk with God. Yet, according to 2 Peter 1:2, this experience is multiplied in our knowledge and understanding of God, once again reflecting the intertwined relationship between faith and theology.

 

Therefore, when Peter exhorts us in 2 Peter 3:18 to grow in grace and knowledge, I don’t think he’s presenting the two as separate identities. I think he is treating the two closely—that, as we grow in the grace/favor of God (faith), we grow in knowledge (theology); and when we grow in the knowledge of God (theology), we grow in His grace and peace (faith).

 

 

The relationship between faith and theology is oftentimes a spiral. Both influence each other. When one's faith meets theology, both one's faith and theology are impacted.  

 

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[1] The basis for this definition mainly arises from how “faith” is used in: Rom 1:8; 1:12; Phil 1:27; 2:17; Col 1:4; 1:23; 2:5-7; 1 Thess 1:8; 3:1-10; 2 Thess 3:2 etc.

[2] I fully acknowledge that this is a super simplified definition of faith (πιστις) and theology (θεος λογος).