Academic Expertise
Acts 4:13 Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated and untrained men, they marveled. And they realized that they had been with Jesus.
What just happened? Peter and John gave a lame man from birth such as they had, and he got up, walked, and leaped in front of everyone.
Of course, this led the theologians of the day to question their actions and methods since they used Jesus’ name for this notable miracle. Sound familiar?
Let’s disregard that a man lame for 42 years is now walking and instead spending the rest of his life begging will get to work and provide for himself and others.
Let’s disregard the joy and excitement this must have meant for his family.
Let’s disregard the way this miracle impacted the lives of others because of God’s heavy presence in it via the manifestation of the Holy Spirit at work.
Let’s focus only on the fact that they said “in the name of Jesus of Nazareth” and do all we can to forbid them from ever operating in this manner under that name again—pharisaical motivation shrouded in a veil of sincere devotion based on “being the ones who are educated in understanding how to interpret.”
Were you aware that an obsession with theology can risk idolatry?
It happens when one becomes an expert on one particular character attribute of God to the exclusion of all that He is. They tend to become the language police of others once that happens.
When that happens, you end up with a God created in the image you want as opposed to how He has chosen to reveal Himself.
Ignoring what you don't quite understand and picking only that which you appreciate can create a distorted perspective of God. Meanwhile, the totality of who He is and what He has done is without reproach, even when it has led to someone saying or doing something really odd and strange that is difficult to explain.
This is all based on the mistaken notion that one person has completely figured out God and can now set everyone else straight about it. Only Jesus could perfectly and accurately tell us what the Father was like.
John 1:18 No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him.
