Is It Possible You Are Wrong In Your Theology?

..I’ve been wrong in my theology in the past. I am also wrong in some of my theology now. 

How do I know that? 

Because the Bible is the product of an infinite God, and I am a finite person.

As Paul exclaimed:

Oh, the depth of the riches both of the

wisdom and knowledge of God! How

unsearchable are His judgments and

His ways past finding out! (Rom 11:33)

This is not to say that we cannot search the Scripture and grow in knowledge and understanding of the truth it contains. Rather, as finite beings we neither live long enough nor have the mental capacities to fully comprehend all of the truths contained in the Bible. The very fact that I am still studying and learning proves that my theology is incomplete; by God’s grace, however, my theology will continue to develop and grow ever closer to the Truth. The corollary to recognizing the fact of my incomplete theology is that it must also be wrong in some areas as well.

Against that background I hope that you will understandably affirm my claim that your theology is also wrong— somewhere.  

Furthermore, the theology of every person  is also wrong—somewhere. 

The problem is that none of us knows what parts of our theology are wrong. If we knew where we were wrong we would simply correct those beliefs. After all, who willingly holds onto a view which they know is wrong? (Is it even possible to believe something that you know is false?)

How can we identify those areas of errant theology and correct them? 

I like how my brother in Christ frames the issue when discussing theology with others... he will often ask two questions, 

The first one being “If you were wrong in some area of your understanding of the Bible, would you want to know it?” 

Our first impulse might be to answer with an emphatic “Of course!” But admitting to being wrong can be uncomfortable. It’s one thing to admit that we don’t know everything, but it's quite another matter to have a specific item identified and proven to be wrong, because now we are responsible for that knowledge— now we must change. And change isn’t always easy or comfortable.

Let’s assume that we all want to know if and where we are wrong in our theology...

My brother’s second question is, “How are you going to find out?” 

That’s the kicker! If you agree with my opening paragraphs, then you acknowledge that our individual theologies are at least partially wrong—but how do we find out where our theology is wrong? Here is where things can get dicey. 

Do we listen to more sermons from our pastor, read more books from our favorite author, or spend more time discussing the Bible with our trusted circle of fellow Christians? 

All of these are beneficial and have their places in our spiritual lives, but if these sources have helped to shape our current theology, isn’t it also true that they’ve contributed to shaping our wrong theology? I tell people that if they agree completely with their pastor’s or favorite author’s theology that simply means that they are both wrong in the exact same areas of their theology. Think about it. If both my pastor and I have a finite, limited understanding of God’s Word, then we are both wrong in certain areas of our theology. And if I agree 100% with my pastor’s theology that simply means that we are both wrong in the same areas of our theology!

So how do we break free from this theological rut? 

May I suggest that we must interact with theologies that differ from our own? By “differing theologies” I don’t mean theologies as in Hinduism or Islam, but differing theologies within Christianity. 

Do you believe that the gifts of the Spirit are not for Christians today?Read a scholarly work by a respected theologian who disagrees. If you are correct, your theology should be able to counter his/her points. Even if you are correct, you will have gained a better understanding of the issue from both perspectives and will likely have identified and corrected some weak areas in your position.

This is iron sharpening iron. Unless the steel is brought into contact with the knife, no sharpening will take place.

Likewise, unless we expose ourselves to differing theologies, our personal theology will not be sharpened. If we limit ourselves to our safe and comfortable theological sources we also limit the  sharpening process. While we may all agree, we will all have the same wrong theology. We will become like matching butter knives: unified in appearance, but unable to cut. Unable to rightly divide the Word of Truth.

The bottom line is that everyone is wrong somewhere...  on the other hand, unless we take the risk of exposing ourselves to differing theologies, we are destined to become butter knives: conformed to a standard but dull. 

Acts 17

10 The brothers immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea; and when they arrived, they entered the Jewish synagogue. 11 Now these people were more noble and open-minded than those in Thessalonica, so they received the message [of salvation through faith in the Christ] with great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so. 

2 Timothy 3

16 All Scripture is God-breathed [given by divine inspiration] and is profitable for instruction, for conviction [of sin], for correction [of error and restoration to obedience], for training in righteousness [learning to live in conformity to God’s will, both publicly and privately—behaving honorably with personal integrity and moral courage]; 17 so that the man of God may be complete and proficient, outfitted and thoroughly equipped for every good work.

2 Timothy 215 Study and do your best to present yourself to God approved, a workman [tested by trial] who has no reason to be ashamed, accurately handling and skillfully teaching the word of truth. 

2 Peter 1

20 But understand this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture is a matter of or comes from one’s own [personal or special] interpretation, 21 for no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God.

1 John 4

Beloved, do not believe every spirit [speaking through a self-proclaimed prophet]; instead test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets and teachers have gone out into the world.