KNOWLEDGE OF GOD AND LOVE FOR GOD

The Need for Doctrine and Theology to Deepen Love for God

Hello ladies and gentlemen, my name is Justin Peters. I hope that you and your family are doing well today. I want to thank you for joining me for this video. And even as I'm starting I'm looking at myself on the monitor, and I just realized that my shirt Makes me look like an inmate.

I look I Look like I'm doing time or something, but no, it's uh, it's weird shirt looks different on screen, but at any rate I digress. This is the fourth installment I suppose of the new devotional series that I am doing and This is kind of a spur-of-the-moment thing.

I wasn't planning on doing one today I was gonna do one tomorrow on a different topic, but I received a couple of emails today from folks both of which Take me to task basically the gist of both of them saying that They accused me of only having head knowledge of God they say you only care about doctrine you only care about theology.

You don't care you don't have any love for God. And this is something I've heard so so many times from charismatics. In fact, it's it's one of the undercurrent that Doctrine and theology are not important.

They will say oh, I don't need doctrine. I don't need Theology, I just I just love Jesus. But that is a false thing to say Because it is sound doctrine. It is right theology that deepens our knowledge of God and When our knowledge of God is deepened then that enables our love for God to be deepened.

Loving God With Heart, Soul, and Mind

And I.

Am married to a wonderful lady named Kathy. We've been married for almost 10 years. August will be 10 years and As I got to know Kathy I wanted to know more about her. I studied her and I wanted to know What she likes, you know, what does she like to eat?

What is how does she like her coffee? And in fact Speaking of coffee. I'm not a coffee drinker at all. I'm a tea totaler I'm a tea totaler on alcohol and I'm a tea totaler on coffee. I don't drink it at all I don't know anything about it, but I know well I know some about it now because I know that Kathy likes it.

She doesn't like just any coffee. But I had to learn this basically this whole language when it comes to To coffee and when Kathy and I are out on the road now if we're on a trip and maybe I'm preaching somewhere She goes with me First thing in the morning when we get up and get ready We take her to go get her coffee and I know how she likes it.

She likes White chocolate americano with five shots. Sometimes six but five shots light cream. The only I I don't even know what any of that means. I don't know what it tastes like but that's how that's what she likes and the only question I have to ask her is if she wants it hot or Iced depending on the weather it usually determines that so anyway I'm I studied her, you know.

And the more you if you truly love someone you want to get to know that person, right? And in in the only way to know a person to get to know them is to spend time with them. You study them like I studied Kathy.

I still am studying Kathy I want to know what she likes what she doesn't like and same her for me. And so all of these people who profess to Love God love Christ, but they don't have Any concern for doctrine or theology?

In fact, they they diminish these things. They they portrayed doctrine and theology as somehow Antithetical to love and they'll say well doctrine theology. That's just one thing. That's just you know for the for the preachers or the seminary professors, but what's really important is your love for God?

But that is a false dichotomy. That's that's a false Assumption that the Bible does not make it all does not teach in fact quite the opposite Jesus says quoting Deuteronomy in Matthew chapter 22 and Luke chapter 10.

Jesus Quotes Deuteronomy chapter 6. He says we are to love the Lord our God with all our hearts soul and Mind. God gave us a mind for a reason. He wants us to use it. We are to study to show ourselves approved unto God 2nd Timothy 2 15 and Paul makes a very interesting statement in Philippians chapter 1 verse 9.

Paul says in this I pray that your love would abound still more and more in knowledge and all discernment. You see the Bible never separates knowledge of God and love for God the Bible always combines these things and so all of these people who will Profess from the rooftops how much they love Jesus.

But yet they couldn't tell you the difference between Romans and Revelation. They they don't have an interest in Theology, they don't have an interest in doctrine, which simply means teaching they don't.

Well if you don't have an interest in theology and doctrine then that means you really don't have an interest in God because that is what enables us to know God and in the more we Know God the more we will love God and this is a beautiful cycle now granted.

There are a lot of people out there who have a head full of knowledge of God who don't who do not love God. But if we do love so let me say it this way you can have you can have knowledge without love.

But if you truly love God Then you will want to get to know him and the only way to get to know him is by knowing him in his Word and we are to use our minds. The mind is not the enemy of Spirituality the the engaged mind is not the enemy of your love for Christ.

It is the friend of it. So we are to indeed love the Lord our God with all our heart soul and Mind we are to study to show ourselves approved unto God. So don't fall into this False teaching out there that somehow knowledge of God and love for God are Separate in their antagonistic towards one another.

No, they are companions. So in this I pray that your love for God would abound all the more in knowledge and real Discernment. So thank you very much dear ones I hope that this has been encouraging for you until there until our next time together.

May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ the love of God and the fellowship of his Holy Spirit be with you all.