God is Not Black-and-White

Seeking Unity in a Theologically Diverse Church

Robert Snitko

• Publisher: Wipf and Stock
• Year: 2017
• Print ISBN: 9781532639081
• eBook ISBN: 9781532639098
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Theology

There are many differing theological perspectives in the church today. The church is often too quick to tell people they are wrong theologically--rather than pursuing a conversation that allows the body of Christ to wrestle with various theological assumptions. In God is Not Black and White, Robert Snitko seeks to disrupt the disunity within a diverse church. In a very theological yet practical way, this book roots itself in the Apostle's Creed as the foundation for Christianity, noting that Christians as a whole ought to agree on the gospel of Christ, the Trinity, and the incarnation as primary doctrines. When it comes to secondary doctrinal issues, church history proves that individuals have come to various theological conclusions. Perhaps one's theological interpretation comes from presuppositions such as upbringing, culturalcontext, life circumstances, or even experience. Whatever the case may be, we need to put an end to division in the church--as we seek unity within a theologically diverse church. This book urges Christians to have a theological conversation that pursues unity--as we seek to love one another in the gospel through restoration, healing, and reconciliation.

Chapter 1

Why Theology?

For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through the endurance taught in the Scriptures and the encouragement they provide we might have hope.

—Romans 15:4

Before we dialogue about the importance of theological diversity and agreeing to disagree on secondary issues, we must first grasp the nature of theology itself. Why is theology necessary and why is it important to us? I have had many conversations with people who have said, “Why do we need theology when all we really need is Jesus?” I don’t disagree with them regarding needing Jesus, but I do believe that every believer needs theology and needs to study theology. Merriam-Webster defines theology as the study of religious faith, practice, and experience; especially: the study of God and of God’s relation to the world.1 Thus theology is necessary for all Christians as it is the study of our faith, practice, and experience of God. We study theology to know God more. We study theology so that we may grow deeper in our love and relationship with God. We study theology because we want to transform our thinking by the renewing of our minds in order to understand the will of God (Rom 12:2). We study theology so that we may be able to know how to defend our faith (apologetics) when confronted by those who do not believe, because the more we know about God and who he says he is, the more we will be able to defend our faith. Studying theology is essential to our understanding of God and who he is.

My wife, Maggie, and I got married while I was finishing up my undergraduate work. During this time, she was working as a nurse, while I was writing paper after paper, reading book after book. She would come home from work ready to dialogue with me about life, but I was ready to dialogue about theology. These two would not always go well with each other because I would overwhelm her with ideas, but in time our conversations led to a discovery that theology and life really do intertwine. She would frequently ask questions about the books I was reading. During these reading endeavors, I encouraged her to read a book I read for a theology class. She was hesitant at first because she thought reading theology was something I did because I had to for class (it’s true). But she decided to dive into a book called Delighting in the Trinity: An Introduction to the Christian Faith by Michael Reeves. As she read this book, she would often share about how God was moving in her through this book. She read the pages slowly, as she didn’t want to miss a single word and its impact on her life. After she finished the book, she told me that reading the book drew her closer to God, while deepening her relationship with him. I was overjoyed to hear the impact studying theology had on her personal walk with Christ. It changed her. It changed the way she thought about God. A.W. Tozer, a famous theologian, once said, “What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us.”2 And how can we know what to think about God if we are not actively “doing” theology, or actively studying theology? Maggie experienced the depths of our triune God in a profound way. This resource led her to delve into the Scriptures as it affirmed her understanding of the most important things about God. The way she thought about God changed. And not only that—she changed.

Maggie experienced the importance of studying theology firsthand because through studying, her relationship with God grew. At first she did not recognize it, but after she completed the book she learned more about who God is, allowing her to draw near to him. It became evident to me that the reason we do theology is so we may draw near to God, as we experience his love for us, through our knowledge of him.

Theology as Devotion

Theology is meant to be a devotional practice. It is meant to unite us to our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. The more we know about God, the more we can experience his person, his nature, and his love for us. This allows us to draw near to Him as we are united with Christ Jesus to fulfill the purpose of God. This is because God is profound and infinite. As we encounter him, we delve into the depths of who he is. Of course we can never fully figure God out (more in chapter four, Mystery is Beautiful), but God is able to equip us with profound knowledge of himself in our study of him. And as we study about him, we are able to enter into a place of worship, awe, wonder, and praise, and all while experiencing his presence through devotion, prayer, meditation, and worship. To study theology is to encounter God devotionally.

Theology as a Way of Thinking

The study of theology is also very important when it comes to our thinking. Our thinking in general needs to be highly influenced by what we know about God, and what God says about everything we believe. Often times, our thinking is shaped by the world we live in. This is not necessarily a bad thing, but if we don’t take the world’s approach to all things life and refine it through the lens of God, then we have it all wrong. Whether it is ethical issues, moral issues, world views, or how to approach certain life decisions, the world can lead us in many false directions. But if we approach these things theologically, God will be honored through our lives. He will be glorified because our decisions will be based on what he has provided for us through his Scriptures. We study theology so it can shape the way we think about all things life and the decisions we make.

Theology as Faith Defense

Studying theology is also critical to our understanding of the very faith we have. God has given us this faith, and he has graced us with his Son, Jesus Christ, so we may enjoy the riches of eternal life in him. For those who believe this, believe that this is good news. The good news is the gospel, and Jesus commanded that all those who have faith in him ought to share this very truth so the gospel may be made known throughout the world. This is Jesus’ plea in the Gospel of Matthew when he states:

All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age. (Matt 28:18-20)

It is important that believers are sharing this very gospel of Jesus Christ, as it has been revealed to them by the power of the Holy Spirit.

We have this power which gives us faith as a way of trusting in Christ, but the majority of the world does not like to believe in God by faith alone. Because of this, the world gets defensive and strategically attempts to structure arguments that will challenge the Christian. In doing so, many Christians have a difficult time explaining why they believe what they believe to non-Christians. Though faith is pleasing to the eyes of God, believers ought to be able to defend their faith in Christ to the nonbeliever. What is important to know is that this must be done in love and not out of anger. But the question is, how can a believer know how to defend their faith? How can a believer know what God says about himself? Studying theology will allow the believer to know more about the God they serve and worship. Therefore studying theology is critical to one’s understanding of who God is and how he has decided to reveal himself. And the more God reveals himself to us, the more we are equipped to defend truth in the midst of a world that opposes it.

Theology as Understanding Humanity

Theology is crucial to understanding humanity. One cannot know the true meaning of humanity apart from understanding it in the context of God’s intent behind creating humanity. This means in order to understand who we are as human beings, we must first understand who our Creator is. We see in the Genesis account that God created man and woman in his image (Genesis 1:27), thus humanity bears the image of God. Of course, this image has been marred by the partaking of sin (Genesis 3), yet God, in his love, has provided a way to redeem the brokenness of sin. God incarnated himself into our very own depraved humanity so our image might be redefined in the Son of God, Jesus Christ. Our humanity is best understood in the incarnation of Christ (more on this later). If we don’t study theology, then we will not fully comprehend the depths of our humanity. The study of theology in regard to understanding humanity is very important as we grasp the reality of being the very image-bearers of God in Christ Jesus.

Final Thoughts

We study theology so we may learn more about God and who he is, which will ultimately lead us into a deeper relationship with him through Christ by the Holy Spirit. There are theologies that are black-and-white in the Scriptures. I like to refer to these theologies as primary theologies, or primary issues. These are theologies we all have to get right and which God reveals to his people. These theologies are straightforward and convincing to any and every Christian. But there are certain theologies in the Scriptures that are not so clear, things we want to know about God—yet do not—or wish the Bible was clearer on, because God is not black-and-white. I refer to these as secondary issues. Secondary issues are varying theological perspectives within the church that are important biblically, but are not a reason for our separation and division. Primary issues could very well be put in the category of the central doctrines within the church—whereas second-order doctrines could be referred to as “the rest.” We begin to have a problematic experience in the church when secondary issues are viewed as dogma, or are expressed in a way where opinions somehow become “facts.” Join me in the following chapter as we explore valid church dogmatics (primary doctrines), as opposed to second-order issues (secondary doctrines).

1. https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/theology.

2. Tozer, The Knowledge of the Holy, 1.

Chapter 2

Dogmatics vs. The Rest (Secondary Doctrines)

They claim to know God, but by their actions they deny him. They are detestable, disobedient and unfit for doing anything good. You, however, must teach what is appropriate to sound doctrine.

—Titus 1:16–2:1

We live in a world that wants to have it all together. Within that reality, we develop a posture of dogma—where our authority over issues and ideas becomes the ultimate trump card. Dogma is what drives many people apart as they fall into the trap that its “my way or the highway.” When it comes to one’s understanding of theology, dogma can harm the development of doctrine simply because it can pertain to the close-mindedness of a theologian in an attempt to deny another’s theological convictions. An openness in diverse thought must exist in order to allow the shaping of one’s theological thought process.

It is important to understand what I mean by “dogmatics” and “the rest” here in the chapter title. For one, to be dogmatic means one’s understanding about something cannot be altered or disputed. In other words, if you believe something about a certain topic or perspective, that belief is irrevocable (for the most part). I believe it is faithful to be dogmatic about primary doctrines in the church, but when dealing with secondary issues, or “the rest,” we ought to be okay with agreeing to disagree in the church. So what are the primary doctrines that cannot be disagreed upon? And what are the secondary doctrines, or theological issues, that we can agree to disagree on?

Front Porch

I had a great opportunity to meet with a pastor and friend, Ma...

Table of contents

• Title Page
• Preface
• Acknowledgments
• Introduction
• Chapter 1: Why Theology?
• Chapter 2: Dogmatics vs. The Rest (Secondary Doctrines)
• Chapter 3: Divisive Love
• Chapter 4: Beautiful Mystery
• Chapter 5: Where Do We Go from Here?
• Conclusion
• Biblical Texts for Further Study on Unity
• Bibliography