Contending for the Faith

IN DEFENSE OF THEOLOGICAL TRAINING FOR CHURCH MINISTERS

By Ezekiel Kimosop

I have come across some teachers on social media who condemn or reject theological training of church ministers.

Biblical theology is an essential discipline for the articulation and advancement of biblical truth. There is nothing conspicuous about training a pastor and equipping them with skills for handing the Scriptures.

The greatest challenge with sections of the charismatic movements is their penchant for painting theological training in bad light in order to justify the narrative that biblical training is not required in the church.

I have come across some Bible teachers who reject theological training yet they covet heavy salutations such as "Bishop Dr X". Ironically these preachers have never been to an elementary Bible class and neither are they in possession of any academic qualifications at all!

Some of these preachers are responsible for the heretical teachings that have ruined the church today. They reject biblical correction for the errors they teach and insist that they are under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit!

It is also common to hear some leading charismatic teachers claim that biblical training is irrelevant to the Church on the pretext that it weakens spiritual discernment.

Nothing can be further from the truth! If anything, the opposite is always true.

Lack of biblical training causes a preacher to mishandle the Scriptures and to open the door for heresy and apostasy to creep into his congregation.

Theological training is a timeless discipline that should be embraced by every biblical Christian congregation/community. 

Apostle Paul himself was a trained theological scholar. He was raised by Gamaliel, a celebrated First Century Jewish theologian (see Acts 22:3).

Paul's training is discernible from the quality of his works and his theological prudence. He also founded the school of Tyrannus under which he raised ministers who took the gospel to Asia Minor (see Acts 19:9).

The Bible promotes biblical training for church ministers. We can identify this in several passages (cf. 2 Timothy 2:2,15).

The early church had its theologians such as Tertulian, Origen and Athanascius. These great men of God laid the foundation of the Church as we know it today.

They examined and bound together the canon of Scriptures that is available to us today. They also contended with several heresies such as Gnosticism and Modalism.

The Reformation had its set of theologians who gave way to modern biblical scholars who carry on the mandate of articulating biblical doctrine and defending the authority and sanctity of the Scriptures.

The Reformation scholars include Calvin, Martin Luther, Tyndale and many others who risked their lives in resisting Roman Catholic heresies. They gave birth to Protestantism.

It is therefore foolhardy to simply condemn theology in the manner some do, bereft of any substance.