In the same way that you shouldn’t diagnose yourself with Google, I don’t want you to learn your theology from me. I don’t mind being your starting point or launching pad, but don’t make me your final authority. There are better sources out there than me.

Most of us have learned to be careful with the term “heretic”, reserving it for those who are far from orthodoxy, but perhaps some of us (myself included) are still a bit too quick to stick the label “false teacher” on others’ backs. Can you relate? How do you know when to call someone a false teacher?

“If only I had [fill in the blank], then I could obey God better”? If only I had more time, friends who were more present, family members who weren’t so trying, a pet that wasn’t so needy, improved health, or the like roll through our minds. We forget that sin permeates all of our lives, not just where we’re lacking.

My dear sister who loves theology, I must ask: Has this knowledge and theology changed you yet? Has your abounding comprehensionfound its way to your heart so as to shape your life? Do the words you speak, the thoughts you think, the actions you commit represent the information in your mind?

My theology-loving friend, I want to warn you of the same pride that could grow inside of you as you grow in knowledge. When we are not using our theology to love and serve God and those he has placed around us, our knowledge could be our downfall.