Point-of-View

The biblical admonition of 2 Timothy 2:2 calls for us to stand firm in the faith. Paul writes, "And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also." Your beliefs determine your behavior. It is important that you understand what you believe and why you believe these truths. The stewardship of teaching and transferring the truth from generation to generation remains the responsibility of the church. The invading of contemporary culture with biblical truth is the challenge for our churches.

The modern framework of thinking is based on meology. Meology has roots in humanism, secularism, and relativism. The manifestation of meology is revealed in pluralism and tolerance. Meology professes that any belief in any god is acceptable if the individual deems it truth. The danger of meology rests in the twin spineless creatures of compromise and convenience. Meologists will compromise for acceptance and yield to society for convenience. Meology is all about the person and preference and rejects biblical truth.

I suspect that meology is found in and out of the church. It struggles with sanctity of life issues, sexual purity, defining family, and standards of morality. Meologists dress like you dress, sit where you sit, yet "Thus says the Lord" seems archaic and antiquated to them.

A revisiting of theology is needed within our churches. Theology based on the absolute truth of the infallible Word of God. Theology accepts the spiritual and moral absolutes in the Bible. Theology is marked with the twin towering pillars of conviction and correctness. This correctness is not based on expediency but the profound understanding of the eternal truth of God. Theology draws us to 2 Timothy 3:16-17, "All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction is righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works." I encourage our churches to counteract meology with theology.

The relevance of the church is anchored in the timeless revelation of God’s Word. If we stand fast in the faith, then we will be firmly planted in the Scripture. Meology picks and chooses a frame of reference and theology is based solely upon the Bible. May our generation commit a rich heritage of biblical theology to those who will be able to teach others, also.

J. Thomas Green is pastor, First Baptist Church, Brandon.