I know that there has been a lot said about this way of thinking, so I am not trying to re-invent the wheel. What I am trying to say about theology, though, will hopefully be a welcome reminder. Basically, I pointed out with the previous post (related to theology) that when man is at the center, it displaces God’s deserved glory in our worship of Him. I pointed out some subtle remarks about the shift from what was God-centered to man-centered. I encourage you to read and understand those remarks if you cannot remember them.

The term “God-centered” is a buzz word in certain evangelical denominations, and many, when one asks of them, will say that their center is God. However, if you look at the practices and dogma of the church (also in unofficial credo and polity), you will find that many have succumbed to the the pitfalls of man-centered theology.

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How then is theology mainly achieved? Many would say that God is at their center, and even with some more probing, would still affirm their stance that “God is at the center of my life.” Conversation would go along, and the main point would be that “choosing Jesus means that I have to live for Jesus to keep Jesus.”

Choosing Jesus at the beginning does not make your theology God-centered. In fact, all it does is make your theology God-begat. Begat means brought up, or having come about, by a means. So, God begins your theology, but doesn’t sustain it.

I do want to be careful not to fall into the trap of saying that we have to sustain our faith, because that would be a dichotomy of sorts. We would be at the center in this case, so I don’t want to say that.

What would I want to say? I mean, could it be that there is no way to escape some aspect of man-centered theology? If we believe that we have free will, and that God gave us a choice to choose Jesus, and that theology is really the realization of God’s plan for us here on earth, then we must be at some places man-centered.

Is there a way out of this?

The answer is: yes. How? Change your theology – simple as that.

If you cannot reconcile and bring into view a more God-centered theology through believing in free will, choice of salvation, or a man-centered eschatology, then you need to not believe in those things. Replace them with something else!

Now, I don’t mean to make this as easy as a flip of the wrist; humbling yourself first in order to have these changes is the key to beginning this process.

Here’s a good principle to start with: God is not faulty in his communicative skills; He is perfect. Therefore, if we get something wrong, then God is not the problem, we are. If we get something wrong doctrinally or theologically, it is one way we have sinned against God. Ironically, to become unfocused on ourselves we must first focus on ourselves (precisely, our sin and our nature). From here, you can move on to other aspects of life and creation, such as the holiness of God.

If you start believing that you are sinful, and that you are the problem in the conversation with God, then you need to start thinking about your role in salvation and revelation. Humble yourself to understand your role as insignificant; where you decrease something you will necessarily increase or displace what you decreased somewhere else. Remember the parable of the two masters? You cannot serve both God and things equally. You cannot love God’s sovereignty and love free will the same. Does this make sense?

I can hear a fire starting somewhere over this.