Why Does Theology Matter?
Here are 5 Reasons
When I started Theology on the Prairie just over one year ago, it was simply because I wanted to start writing again. But it quickly evolved into a specific vision: to make learning about God accessible. So accessible that you don’t even have to employ Google or spend time scrolling through YouTube videos or podcast sermons - just open your email Monday mornings. Accessible enough that anyone can understand it.
I know the name of my Substack can be kind of off-putting. “Theology on the Prairie?” you might think. “I’m not a Bible scholar. I’m just a rancher/farmer/accountant/teacher/oil field worker/electrician/office manager/stay-at-home mom…. the stuff in this email is going to be way over my head.”
Guess what? I’m not a Bible scholar either. I don’t have a doctorate or master’s in theological studies. In fact, I completed only one year at an unaccredited Bible college. I’m not even in full-time ministry; I take care of cows for a living! Talk about unqualified!
I’m not a certified theologian by any stretch of the imagination. Yet I believe that everyone who wants to know who God is is a theologian. By definition, theology is
the study of religious faith, practice, and experience
especially : the study of God and of God's relation to the world. 1
Studying theology/knowing stuff about God isn’t just so we can show off at social events or church (honestly, if you start yapping about the doctrine of divine simplicity, people are probably going to start inching away from you). It’s not to make ourselves more righteous. It’s because what we know about God determines how we relate to Him and live our lives.
Let’s look at 5 reasons why theology matters for everyone.
1. Theology helps us understand our human experiences.
We’ve all suffered. We’ve all rejoiced. We’ve all needed healing, provision, safety, love, guidance, discipline, support, and encouragement. We have all faced hard questions with no easy answer, or difficult situations with no apparent solution.
Portrayed throughout the pages of Scripture are stories of fellow humans who experienced life in the same ways we do today, and how God met them in each of their unique situations. We ask, “How does God relate to my suffering?” and we look at Job. We wonder, “Why do bad things happen to good people?” and we examine the life of Joseph. We say, “I don’t know why God hasn’t healed me,” and we read the words of Paul in 2 Corinthians 12.
Each account shows timeless theological truths about God’s character, power, sovereignty, and love that can help us make sense of our complicated lives.
2. Theology increases our spiritual maturity.
We need a deeper understanding and knowledge of God, Christ, the Holy Spirit, and Christian doctrines to grow in spiritual maturity. The apostle Paul admonished the Corinthian church for their lack of growth, telling them,
Brothers and sisters, I could not address you as people who live by the Spirit but as people who are still worldly—mere infants in Christ. I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it. Indeed, you are still not ready.
1 Corinthians 3:1-3, NIV
And the author of Hebrews said,
Therefore let us move beyond the elementary teachings about Christ and be taken forward to maturity, not laying again the foundation of repentance from acts that lead to death, and of faith in God, instruction about cleansing rites, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. And God permitting, we will do so.
Hebrews 6:1-3, NIV
While new believers are considered “infants” and are taught “elementary teachings,” there is an expectation that those growing in their faith should desire to learn more complex teachings and become more spiritually mature.
3. Theology draws us closer to God.
It’s impossible to progress in a relationship with a new friend if you never get past knowing their name and where they work. If you stay at that point, your relationship will just consist of a greeting and a smile when you run into them at the grocery store. A true relationship is built on the intimacy that comes through knowing. How many kids do they have? What do they like to do for fun? And then using those facts to know them even more through interacting with the things they have built their life around.
Many people never move past being acquainted with God on a first-name basis. Or, they may have a lot of knowledge about God, but never use that knowledge to participate in a life spent with God. For theology to be effective in drawing us closer to God, we must extend it past our brains into our hearts, mouths, hands, and feet.
4. Theology leads us to obedience.
As we mature in faith and grow relationally closer to God, we are naturally more inclined to obedience. Jesus said in John 14:15, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.” As our intimacy with God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit increases, our desire to follow His instructions does, too.
5. Theology gives us hope for the future.
Knowing God’s will, His purposes, and His desires for our lives gives us courage and faith for each coming day. But even more than that, God has an eternal plan, and as we discover more and more about what that looks like - like receiving glorified bodies and dwelling with God forever - we set free a wellspring of hope for our weary souls that never runs dry.
Paul said in Philippians 3:10-14, “I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead. Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” (NIV, emphasis added)
Even the great apostle Paul, who penned 13 of the most profoundly theological letters in the New Testament, still desired to know Christ. He considered knowing Christ even more deeply a prize to be won.
My desire for Theology on the Prairie is that it would aid you in developing a greater, more mature understanding of who God is and how He wants to meet you in every area of your life. I pray that, like Paul, you continue to press on toward the prize of knowing Christ on an even deeper level.
Mirriam-Webster Dictionary, 2025