What I have thoughts on today may turn some heads. What I have to say is difficult; I do not come by this thinking easily. Most everyone begins their evangelical exposure in this topic, so I say it with a great deal of understanding and heart-felt sympathy. However, what I believe to be saying is the truth; be a proverbial ear, and listen so that you might be trained up in wisdom. And, if you dislike it and feel the urge to take the “troll-road,” be reminded that Proverbs 17.28b says you look smart with your mouth shut.

Theology is the science of God. The root of the word “theology” comes from two Greek words, “Theos” and “logos,” meaning literally “words about God.” The meaning in the English tapers to a slight nuance, meaning “study of God.” Basically, it is the forensic study and understanding of God. We study God through the Bible, through the earth, and through humans. The litmus test of all things we want to know about God, however, come back to the Bible. If what we search to understand coincides or complements the Bible, we take it as valid truth. If what we search to understand does not coincide or complement, but rather contradict, then we reject it.

Most everyone in evangelical Christianity understands this at a fundamental and elementary level. Whether or not one defines theology the way I did does not matter. The principle idea here is that theology is not just “doctrine” or “core-values” of a church or person; it is the literal study/science of God.

However, we come to conclusions about God and these are our doctrine and core-values. We take strides to master what we know about God through these devices. You might ask, however, about people who proclaim “No creed but Christ.” I would respond by saying that this is a cyclical argument; to proclaim that you have no creed but Christ is to declare a creed. We cannot escape making statements about our beliefs, even if we desire to bring people together through some sort of “common humanity.” As long as there are people there will be differences between us, and they boil down to things we say about doctrine (whether its in the church or not).

Since the 1700s, though, a dichotomy has been building in the evangelical west. We have pledged to study God but through the lens of man. I don’t mean the finite and humble man; I mean a lens which is man-centered. Contrastingly, The Westminster Confession and its larger and shorter catechisms was one of a few prevailing evangelical documents before the 1700s. In the shorter catechism the very first question the writers asked was “What is the chief end of man?” The answer is, “Man’s chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy him forever.” Here we can see that the pastors, scholars, and elders that devised this document had one purpose in mind: to glorify God. It is God-centered.

Isn’t this how everyone feels in common evangelical thought today? I’m sure if I were to sit with a regular Joe from any church from today’s relatively conservative churches I could ask him this question: Do you believe that God/Jesus is at the center of your life? A knee-jerk response would probably be, “Yes! Of course! What kind of question is that?”

My question is a valid question; it requires more probing. The dichotomy I would try to point out is precisely this: evangelical theology has become man-focused. We profess Christ but through the lens of a man-centered mind. Here is what I mean:

We have made several shifts in thinking about God. We used to think that Jesus came to save the lost. Now we think Jesus came to save us (or me). Did you catch that? The content of each statement is nearly identical, but the focus is different. Here is another set: Our purpose is to reflect the character of God, robustly living for the gospel message and saving grace of Jesus. Contrastingly: “Our purpose is to develop disciples for personal relationships with Jesus and to grow in number in community, so that we organize our joy and our lives with each other.”

The distinction I am trying to make is very subtle, but it permeates everything we live for. Since the revivals of the 1700s, emotional and personal thinking became predominate in the church. We derive our satisfaction from knowing that we are going to heaven. We drive emotional thinking to the next level; “I have Jesus in my heart! He is mine! I am loved!” We drive personal thinking to the next level; “I accepted Christ as my savior! I chose good, thanks be to God! Where would I be if I hadn’t been exposed to the love of God?”

Many would be saying at this point, “Isn’t this the way it’s been since the beginning? What was it before this?”

Before I answer that question (in another post), I want to drive my point home.

We have forsaken in large part the giver of the gifts. God, before the foundation of the world, made every decision there is to be made. Yet, we have taken the enormous unwarranted gift of salvation and made it so personal and so individualistic that we have forgotten our purpose. Was salvation yours? Think about it; at what point did we deserve to even demand that we be together in community once we are saved? At what point did we ever warrant a desire to have the power of the Gospel? At what point in the history of man did we deserve to be saved?

A great example of man-centered thinking is in the prosperity gospel movement. The idea is that if you believe enough, if you do what the Bible says hard enough, then God will give you anything you want. The idea is if you have enough “faith,” then that faith can cause anything, principally economic prosperity. God is your personal butler.

This may be a clear picture of man-centered theology, but here is a more subtle picture of man centered theology: Before the foundation of the world, God created everyone with free will. That free will is a will which can either choose good, or choose evil. When God sent his son into the world he sent him as a flag, a signal to choose him. Those who saw the flag chose him and were empowered to do good all around the world. The Holy Spirit is a beacon of that hope which lives within us because we chose it. We are given the power to change and convince the world to choose good (which is so sensible, right?) and it is up to us to use that power.

Though some would say that this thinking is at the core God-centered, it is in reality not so. We have forgotten what the scriptures said at the beginning of the Word, “In the beginning, God…”. We forget when the Scriptures recall Adam praising God for Eve, and not praising Eve. We forget what Paul says about the Law, that he could not choose good, for the Law was an invitation to do evil. We forget in Acts when the Holy Spirit descended upon the Church that God was at the center of the worship, and not man. We also forget what Jesus said to those who said, “Lord, lord, did we not prophesy in your name?”

“I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.”

They prophesied in his name.

We are not at the center of this world; God is at the center of this world.Yet we believe that the “Law” is written on our hearts because we chose the Law, despite what Paul said. When we think that we have the power to do things in Christ we have lost that power and forsaken it for cheap, man-centered theology. Yes, God is a personal God, but he is not our servant or beneficiary. Yes, Jesus loves us and died for us, but not so that we could be free to do what we want (even if it is for good!).  Our power is not something God gave us; it is God’s power alone. We cannot choose to do anything powerful or mighty apart from what is exclusively God’s (and in his purview).

When your mind is focused on God, and your convictions are humbled around God, you begin to see the world as God’s, and not yours. You no longer worry so much about how much God loves you, but how much God paid for you to be in an exclusive covenant relationship with Him. You will not become a “worker of lawlessness” who does things for themselves (even if it is for good), but rather a saved lamb who does because God is.

Feel free to leave comments and ask for clarification.