The Three Steps Toward Learning Theology
How do you learn who God is? How do you learn his character, not in a theoretical, useless way, but in a way that will actually make you more like Him? This is the true question of theology. Many Christians who have never read a single ‘theology book’ are true theologians, because they demonstrate the character of Jesus. There are also many people who could deliver university lectures on the Bible, but they are not true theologians because they have never met with God in their studies. How, then, do Christians learn theology? One of the best answers to this question comes from Martin Luther, who proposes three steps in the process of learning theology.
“I want you to know how to study theology in the right way. I have practiced this method myself…The method of which I am speaking is the one which the holy king David teaches in Psalm 119…Here you will find three rules. They are frequently proposed throughout the psalm and run thus: Oratio, meditatio, tentatio.”
Oratio: Prayer
The first step is prayer to God. The Christian is not able to teach himself; he is dependent on God. Luther recognized that we are all beggars before the throne of grace. We are not able to develop our own spirituality. We are dependent on God and need his Holy Spirit. This is why prayer is so important. It teaches us our own need for God, and it humbles us before his throne.
“Prayer is not melancholic introspection, but giving our troubles over to God. Prayer is not hanging our heads and brooding on our own misery, but getting down on our knees and looking to heaven. Luther advises, “Read a psalm or the Our Father, call on God, and tearfully lay your troubles before Him.” God wants us to pray and so to turn our burdens over to divine care rather than multiply our troubles through our own efforts to free ourselves. When we see that we are too weak to bear our troubles alone we grow strong in the Lord, and by this gift of strength, God is glorified.”[1]
Meditatio: Study
The second step is study of the Bible. The Latin word brings to mind the idea of meditation, but “Meditatio is closer to the modern ‘study,’ but study of a more intense sort than we often undertake…Meditatio is disciplined study which moves us in our innermost being. Meditatio is not only thought, but also involves oral questioning and discussing.”[2] This form of study involves careful consideration of the Word of God as they are digested in a variety of ways.
Luther saw Meditatio practiced throughout Psalm 119, as the Psalmist read, memorized, sang, declared, and repeated the words of Scripture. The Christian does these things as well, as they are done in the church. “Just as the Scriptures are read in the Divine Service, so he reads them out aloud to himself as he meditates on some part of them. Just as the psalms are sung there, so he sings them to himself. Just as God’s word is preached there, so he preaches it to himself. Just as God’s word is spoken there, so he hears it addressed personally to himself.”[3]
Tentatio: Trial
The third, and most difficult, step in theology is that of trial. This does not refer to suffering that we choose for ourselves. Rather, it is the suffering that Christians come into as they pursue God’s Word. The devil, when he sees someone pursuing God, unleashes painful suffering on the Christian.
The Latin word indicates something like, “agonizing internal struggle.” This is not something that the believer ever chooses for himself, because it is – by definition – something that he does not want. “In the case of tentatio the devil’s tool is not to tempt toward sin, which he certainly does in other cases. Rather, through trial and temptation, suffering and affliction, opposition and persecution, the devil causes agonizing internal struggle and doubt in the heart of the one occupied with God’s Word. He makes it seem that God is failing us, is not living up to His Word, and does not care.”[4]
The result of these trials, however, is not to ruin the believer, but to make him a true theologian: one who knows God and is conformed into the image of God.
Application
There are many ways in which we can apply these three steps.
Ensure that prayer is a significant part of your daily devotional time. Read the Scripture prayerfully. Ask God to fill you with the Holy Spirit. Interrupt your Bible reading to pray, as you come across convicting or encouraging verses of Scripture. Continue this practice of prayer throughout the day.
Redouble your efforts to make Scripture an all-consuming part of your life. Read it, study it, memorize it, sing it, discuss it, listen to it, proclaim it. Find every way that you can to make it an integral part of your life.
Welcome trials, even the hard ones. Don’t be surprised when
they come but expect them: the devil always throws them at those who are
pursuing God and His Word. Rejoice that these trials are turning you into a
real theologian. Pursue God even more, through Scripture and prayer, when you
are assaulted with trials.
[1] Robert Kelly, “Oratio, Meditatio, Tentatio Faciunt Theologum: Luther’s Piety and the Formation of Theologians,” 9-27. Martin Luther and Spirituality 19.1.
[2] Ibid.
[3] John Kleinig, “Oratio, Meditatio, Tentatio: What Makes A Theologian?” Concordia Theological Quarterly 66.3. 255-267.
[4] https://lutheranreformation.org/theology/tentatio/
Thank you so much for this.