Spiritual Pedigrees

When I was in college and early on in seminary, I loved debating theological matters like predestination & free will, the authority of Scripture, the perseverance of the saints, the last things, etc., etc. In fact, it was one of my favorite past times. I was always up for a good theological discussion and I was known as being pretty astute when it came to philosophical and theological matters. But about 7 years ago, as God was refining me and preparing me for pastoral ministry, I came across this:

When I left for Macedonia, I urged you to stay there in Ephesus and stop those whose teaching is contrary to the truth. Don’t let them waste their time in endless discussion of myths and spiritual pedigrees. These things only lead to meaningless speculations, which don’t help people live a life of faith in God. The purpose of my instruction is that all believers would be filled with love that comes from a pure heart, a clear conscience, and genuine faith. But some people have missed this whole point. They have turned away from these things and spend their time in meaningless discussions. They want to be known as teachers of the law of Moses, but they don’t know what they are talking about, even though they speak so confidently. (1 Timothy 1:3-7, NLT)

This instruction was given by the Apostle Paul to a young pastor named Timothy. As I read it, it hit me between the eyes with full force and I realized that all of the theological debates I loved to have were just meaningless speculation that didn’t help anyone – including myself – mature in their faith and life. I took it very seriously that the purpose of all my preaching, teaching, and even conversing should be to “help people live a life of faith in God;” that others would be “filled with love that comes from a pure heart, clear conscience and genuine faith.” Somewhat miraculously I believe God “delivered” me from my lust for meaningless discussions that don’t help anyone – so much so that some times I want to access that part of my brain, and I just can’t go there. This especially frustrates others who want me to go there with them and I just can’t, even if I wanted to. But what is really frustrating is the amount of weight and emphasis that many Christians still put on “meaningless speculations” that completely “miss the whole point.” It’s hard to believe that I started seminary with the aspiration of teaching theology. Now I look at much of the theological works of the last 500 years as “meaningless speculation.”

Quite frankly, I don’t understand how debating whether one can lose their salvation or not, or whether the desciptions of hell are literal or metaphorical, or whether Jesus will return pre-, post-, or mid-tribulation helps anyone live a deeper life of faith in God. These speculations only serve to trivialize the Truth and reduce faith in God to an academic exercise, rather than a life of adventure. If you are filled with the love that comes from a pure heart, clear conscience and genuine faith, then those speculations should just be minor details, not major contentions. The point is that if we are following Jesus as we should be, those questions will never come into account.