Faith Theology Is Applied Theology

Faith theology isn’t abstract; it is clear, direct, and livable. Faith is something we must live, not just talk about in abstract terms. The Word of God was meant to be understood and obeyed by illiterate shepherds on a hill, as well as cloistered academic monks. One cannot fully live the Word cloistered. It must be lived courageously under the unforgiving gaze of a sinful world, ever probing for a weakness. It must work without a falter in the filthiest of environments. And it must thrive in a world where the faithful are forced to rub elbows with their own sworn enemies. Academics may have kept the truth but it is only the common man that can spread the truth.

The tough thing about faith is that just knowing how it works is never good enough. It must be worked. I am gratified for knowing some of its precepts, but I am blessed and I glorify God by (and only by) acting upon that knowledge. Faith is the ‘reality of things hoped for’ not the ‘abstract idea of things hoped for’. The reality of faith is based on two things – the reality of God’s Word and the reality of a proper response to God’s Word.

Applied theology is living Bible concepts so that all can see. It rises or falls on the manner of life we live. We are to be ‘living epistles’ read of all men. Faith theology is applied theology, and applied theology is lived theology. You can’t live the abstract; you can only live clearly defined principles. Anything less is a theology of unbelief –  ‘ever learning and never coming into the truth’.

Academics may have kept the truth but it is only the common man that can spread the truth.

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