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Majoring in Theology
If you had told me three years ago that I’d be a theology major, I probably wouldn’t have believed you. Leaving high school, I thought I knew exactly what I wanted to do and who I wanted to be. God had other plans for my life, and I am incredibly grateful for it. But why would I, or anyone, study theology? Isn’t it rather useless and a waste of time?
Christ alone
In his first letter, the apostle John makes a startling remark: “I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life” (1 John 5:13 ESV). John is saying that we can know that we are saved, that we have been regenerated by the Spirit, that all our sins have been forgiven, and that, when we die, we will pass through Heaven’s gates. How can a Christian make such an audacious claim and not be arrogant and self-righteous? After all, those of other religions would blush to make such a boastful proclamation. The answer: because Christianity is utterly unique from every other religion. All other religions say your righteousness — your good works, your piety, the deepness of your spirituality — is what saves you. Sure, God is gracious, but if you do not do enough, pray enough, read enough or participate in spiritual activities enough, there is no hope for you. Christianity, on the other hand, says that we are not saved by our works at all but wholly of grace.
Faithful in the darkness
“Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me?” (Psalm 42:5 ESV). This deep spiritual darkness is no doubt the state of many Christians, perhaps you, today. A hard-to-explain gloom casts its shadow, and the joy you once had in the Lord feels like a vague memory. Though you continue to read your Bible and pray, God feels far off.
Our dependence on God
Man is wholly dependent on God. This is not merely pious rhetoric but thoroughly biblical. We have been created (Genesis 1:27; Psalm 139:13) and are sustained by God (Hebrews 1:3). We cannot live one hour (Luke 12:25-26) or even take a single step (Acts 17:28) apart from His power and foreordination.
Faith alone
Paul’s most scathing words are found in Galatians, where he vigorously defends the doctrine of justification by faith. Why was this teaching so important to him?
Rain on the just and unjust
The Sermon on the Mount is full of startling claims, many of which, for various reasons, we fail to appreciate. One such statement is this: God “makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust” (Matthew 5:45 ESV). Jesus uses these words to show how much God loves His enemies, and it serves as a glorious example that Christians are called to emulate.
I am with you always
“And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:20 ESV). These last words of Jesus’ Great Commission have long been cherished by Christians. Why is this? What does this verse mean?
The weary Christian
“[M]y soul is bereft of peace;” the author of Lamentations writes. “I have forgotten what happiness is; so I say, ‘My endurance has perished; so has my hope from the LORD’” (Lamentations 3:17-18). In these verses, the author is so discouraged that he is driven to the brink of utter despair. In such moments, the Christian life feels almost impossible, and we are tempted to lose all hope. “Why go on? What’s the point anymore?” you wonder. Or you may be quite settled that you must go on, but you resign yourself to living under this gray shadow for the rest of your life. And so you grow tired and downcast, dreading today and every coming tomorrow. How can we apply God’s Word to this situation? I will offer a few thoughts.