The Shepherd as Theologian: Accurately Interpreting and Applying God's Word for God's People

“No profession in the world suffers more from a serious lack of clarity, when it comes to the basic requirements of the job, as the pastorate/eldership. Everyone but pastors seem to know what their job is. In fact, if we are honest, clergy malpractice goes on everywhere, all the time. It is ubiquitous. It is pandemic. There is widespread confusion about what it means to be a pastor/church leader, and widespread indifference to biblical duties. As a result, the church has no concept of what the pastor is to be or do. One thing is clear. Most pastors have no interest in being theologians, nor do their congregations expect them to be. The devolution of theology and biblical scholarship as a serious matter for Christians can be traced back to the absence of doctrine and careful biblical scholarship from the pulpit. This is a dereliction of duty. This is clergy malpractice. The pastorate is no longer an intellectual calling, and no longer do pastors/elders provide serious intellectual leadership. Instead today’s pastors merely manage programs. They give uplifting talks, apply culturally invented principles, and put their energy into everything but biblical scholarship- everything but an intense study of the text, which yield sound doctrine.” All of this contradicts the clear direction of the New Testament Scriptures (note 2 Timothy 1:14; 2:1-2, 15; 4:1-5; Jude 3). 

From John MacArthur's book- The Shepherd as Theologian.

The Shepherd as Theologian: Resurrecting an Ancient Vision

The Evangelical Church in America is, by in large, "a mile wide and an inch deep" yet relatively few seem to notice or even care. What does the God of the Word think of this trend? "By New Testament standards, pastors/elders are, whether they like it or not, the appointed theological leaders of the church; the theological integrity of the church will seldom ever rise above its pastors/leaders, no matter how astute the local university's religion department. And insofar as pastors have largely lost their ability to provide theological leadership, and indeed no longer see doing so as part of their vocation, the theological integrity of our congregations has suffered considerably. But most significantly, as an inevitable consequence, with the collapse of theological integrity in our churches, a corresponding erosion of ethical integrity has followed (for examples- note Galatians, 1 Corinthians, and James)... Correct understanding can't get us all the way there, but wrong understanding is often all that is needed to shipwreck one's faith. And it is the pastor's sacred duty, above all others, to guard the theological integrity of the people of God." Hiestand- (see Titus 1:5-11; 2:1, 15; 3:1, 8; 1 Timothy 1:5-11, 18-20; 3:1-2; 4:13-16; 5:7; 17-18; 6:2-5; to name but a few proof texts).

Pastors/elders must also shepherd, lead, oversee, and care for the spiritual needs of the flock BUT never at the expense of fulfilling the God-ordained role of being a shepherd-theologian within the local church.

Join us Sunday at Lake Country Bible Church as we consider "The Anatomy of a Biblical Church" and specifically address the role theology/doctrine plays in the maturation process of ordinary believers (Ephesians 4:11-16).

Words Matter Because Meaning Matters

"Many things are important in life, and when assessing the value of material and immaterial things—we must not forget the immense value of words. Consider how people fight over the meaning of terms found in the Constitution of the United States of America. At times, political leaders from polar opposite ideological backgrounds fight over words and the meaning of those words. This is not only true of the world of politics—it’s likewise true of the religious world. Political skirmishes will have an affect upon a society, but none is greater than religious skirmishes over the definition of words.

The very word theology comes from two Greek words (Theos meaning “God” and logos meaning “word”). Therefore, theology literally means words about God. That’s why words matter—especially in the study of God. Some have suggested that we “preach the gospel and use words if necessary,” but that statement is flawed from the start. For, God’s Word is made up of sixty-six books which are comprised of thousands of paragraphs, sentences, and individual words. It was John Gerstner who once said, “[We] may have knowledge of God and not be saved, but he can never be saved without knowledge of God.” [1] It was Theodore Beza who described the preaching of John Calvin by saying, “Every word weighed a pound.”

Words matter, but often words change. Read through the King James version of the Scriptures and you will likely run across many terms that are antiquarian—and in some cases nearly completely dead altogether. Consider the term, filthy lucre as an example. Who uses that phrase to describe greed for money in our present day? As it pertains to the morphology of specific terms, one can hope for the best as modernity consistently presses the limits on language and adds new vocabulary each year. However, when it comes to theology, words matter. Such words must be guarded. This is why a commitment to the single meaning of the text is essential when interpreting the Bible. The author’s original meaning matters. Unless carefully guarded—the words of Scripture will be redefined and such a process of change will lead to an assault on the theological foundation of the word which is an assault upon God himself. Take the definition of marriage and family as an example of this truth.

The Scandal of Biblical Illiteracy: It's Our Problem

"False doctrine flourishes the most in the soil of biblical illiteracy... And while America's evangelical Christians are rightly concerned about the secular worldview's rejection of biblical Christianity, we ought to give some urgent attention to a problem much closer to home--biblical illiteracy in the church. This scandalous problem is our own, and it's up to us to fix it.

Researchers George Gallup and Jim Castelli put the problem squarely: "Americans revere the Bible--but, by and large, they don't read it. And because they don't read it, they have become a nation of biblical illiterates." How bad is it? Researchers tell us that it's worse than most could imagine.

Fewer than half of all adults can name the four gospels. Many Christians cannot identify more than two or three of the disciples. According to data from the Barna Research Group, 60 percent of Americans can't name even five of the Ten Commandments. "No wonder people break the Ten Commandments all the time. They don't know what they are," said George Barna, president of the firm. The bottom line? "Increasingly, America is biblically illiterate." [see Barna Group's web site]

Multiple surveys reveal the problem in stark terms. According to 82 percent of Americans, "God helps those who help themselves," is a Bible verse. Those identified as born-again Christians did better--by one percent. A majority of adults think the Bible teaches that the most important purpose in life is taking care of one's family.

Some of the statistics are enough to perplex even those aware of the problem. A Barna poll indicated that at least 12 percent of adults believe that Joan of Arc was Noah's wife. Another survey of graduating high school seniors revealed that over 50 percent thought that Sodom and Gomorrah were husband and wife. A considerable number of respondents to one poll indicated that the Sermon on the Mount was preached by Billy Graham. We are in big trouble.