(8) Of Christ the Mediator

One complaint against theology is that it complicates simple matters. Do we need doctrine if we believe the Bible and trust Jesus? Might we not lose our first love while stockpiling spiritual information? We might. And we must resist replacing faith with mere knowledge.

But the objection that theology complicates faith is also naïve. In no other endeavor does it make sense to reject deep and intimate knowledge in favor of a primitive attachment to an idea. Love should be fed by knowledge.

Faith in Jesus must be child-like but not childish. We should press on, leaving behind "the elementary doctrine of Christ and go on to maturity" (Heb. 6:1). Faith can be as simple as "Jesus loves me." But it should want to know more of how Christ the mediator loves sinners, even when that knowledge is intricate.