The Super Theologian

Well, that passage should be scary to some and extremely encouraging to others. Verse 23 states,

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"And then will I declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.'"

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This passage is chiefly a warning for those who claim to be right with God due to what appears to be supernatural fruit. God tells such people that supposed miraculous acts are not a vindication of a professors salvation. Rather, the style of their life is. If someone is practicing lawlessness as a style of life than Christ does not know them. The closest rendering of this verse in the Greek is as followed, "Depart from me you who has lived as if I never gave you a law to obey." Jesus is speaking about people whose lives are not characterized by righteousness but sin. A true believer will sin and will sin daily but the characteristics of their life will be righteousness and one who pursues righteousness.

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This text is an encouragement to believers because it affirms that salvation is not something we do or earn but is contingent upon Christ knowing us (His elect). Notice the logic of the passage. "You will not get into heaven because I (Jesus) do not know you. With that said, Jesus is explaining that the requirement for Heaven is not how well you know Jesus but in how well he knows you. How does Jesus come to know someone? Through repentance and faith. If you are a prayerful Christian who is in constant confession before The Lord and is seeking righteousness and see it's fruit in your life through the Spirit than Christ knows you. This can be made evident in too ways. Only the Spirit can produce genuine righteousness, compel a saint to pray, and bring wisdom to a saint thru scripture. If a person experiences these things then the Spirit knows them. Only the person who sees Christ as beautiful will seek to honor his sacrifice by bearing fruit and repentance. These acts require communion with Christ (prayer). Only the regenerate will repent and the act of repenting is communion. Both are signs that Christ knows you (of course he has known all Christians since before the foundations of the earth, I am speaking only of evidences of that fact). Both thru his death and his work as intercessor. And of course, the work of the Spirit in righteousness and the communion with Christ thru repentance prove that the father knows you and has before the foundations of the world. There go, the saint is known by all persons of the Godhead and can have assurance that they are known by Christ and will not hear, "I never knew you. Make sense? That was REALLY concise. Feel free to ask follow up :^)

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Hey! Thanks for taking the time to read my article! I'm grateful for you and your willingness to ask me questions about my article for greater clarity! I think character and credibility is absolutely necessary. Theological credibility can only be established on the foundations of character credibility. I also think the issue of humility is also extremely important. Often I find that many begin blogging about issues that relate to theology or counseling and yet they themselves have not worked out there convictions adequately. I don't mind someone having a blog that is writing from the vantage point of a student seeking to grow in knowledge. My issue is when a person who is still theologically confused chooses to right as if they have it figured out, even to the point where they criticize more seasoned theologians for not agreeing with them. It's one thing to say, "This is how I am working through this, I haven't come to solid conviction on it but this is where I am right now" and "This is truth, this is how it is and anyone who disagrees with me is wrong". Too often, I read blogs written by people who are dogmatic in their theological confusion or immaturity. For these people, I think a greater demonstration of humility would be to acknowledge they are in a season of life where they should not seek to be a teacher of doctrine (Greater judgement) but rather a student. I do believe pride makes young people (I am young) start blogs where they are teaching even though they have not yet developed the maturity or theological depths to be a faithful teacher. So for me, I think having a sound robust theology that is not only intellectual but demonstrated in faith and practice are qualifying marks for someone who is seeking to start a blog where they will be teaching theology and giving counsel. Great question!

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Unfortunately, it appears that Demas left the faith all together. Paul says that Demas loved the present world and that his love for the world is what led to his desertion of Paul. I John tells us that if anyone loves the world the love of the father is not in them (I John 2:15). From this text and the strong language Paul uses as well as listing the motivation behind Demas' actions, we can conclude that Demas did indeed Apostatize. Now by Apostasy I do not mean someone who is converted and becomes unconverted. I mean what the writer of Hebrews meant when he said a person has "tasted" of Christ but not fully received him. Demas, though a close companion of Paul proved ultimately to be an unbeliever. We can only hope he repented and experienced true conversion. However, by the end of Paul's life, he was not a believer and may have probably not returned considering Hebrews says that once someone crucifies Christ afresh they will be like Esau seeking repentance with tears and not receiving it. A very sobering reality

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Great question and one I'm passionate about!

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Systematic Theology is the practice of compiling all Biblical verses dealing with a given subject together systematically. So you may start with the Doctrine of Revelation and you would find all the passages that discuss it in scripture, compile them together systematically and from that develop a doctrine of Revelation.

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Biblical Theology is the practice of developing an understanding of scripture by following it's progression through narrative, prophecy, and typology. In other words, it's the process of having a "whole Bible Theology". You enter it understanding that scripture is progressive revelation and that each book builds on the previous book ultimately culminating in the fulfillment of the redemptive meta-narrative of scripture

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Historical Theology is my specialty and the field I am given to. With that said, Historical Theologians must seek to master Systematic and Biblical theology and their history of development as well as the history of the Church. In short, Historical Theology seeks to understand the historical development of Theology. The Historical Theologian must study church History Exhaustively as well as various theological positions so that they cannot only understand why a person believes a certain thing but how that doctrine or denomination came to hold its distinctives in the first place. every good Theologian, whether Systematic, Biblical, or Historical will seek to have a robust knowledge of all three disciplines. I love Historical Theology specifically because it doesn't just seek to be able to understand a specific theological system, it studies the history of all and seeks to understand the how's and whys of why that position is held. I love history! The discipline has led me to be more understanding and gracious towards theological views that differ from my own! Great question!

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