Pursuing a seminary education entails many unique risks and rewards. There are immense payoffs to theological studies, but there are also dangers that must be faced by everyone involved.
One of those dangers is that seminarians would grow in an unbiblical fear of man. There is a proper and right reverence for other humans (e.g. Heb. 13:17, 1 Pet. 5:5, 1 Thes. 5:12), but that is not what I have in mind here. I am talking about the sinful fear of man as is described in Proverbs 29:25: “The fear of man brings a snare, But he who trusts in the LORD will be exalted.” There is a real danger in regarding other men as if they had the power of God to harm or to bless—it is essentially idolatry, replacing the Creator with a creature.
This sinful fear of man has a number of manifestations in the context of seminary. First, seminarians can begin to ‘fear’ theological authors. Reading books by people who are much smarter than we are can lead us to honor their opinions in an unhealthy way, as if their intelligence or study protected them from any error. Just because someone has dedicated their life to researching a single area of theology does not mean that they are infallible. Every human author is to be judged by the infallible standard, which is the Bible, the product of the divine Author. The danger is that we would be afraid to disagree with a brilliant human when that human disagrees with Scripture. We must guard our minds so that we do not value even the best author’s opinion over the Word of God.
Second, seminarians can fear theological traditions. This is similar to fearing theological authors, but with a broader effect. Some students and pastors are afraid to disagree with the theological traditions in which they are raised. Systems of theology can become shackles that prevent biblical thinking. I am not promoting the idea that we should rid ourselves of traditions, but we must recognize that even the best human traditions are fallible. We must maintain standards of doctrinal purity, no doubt, but we must always be bound by the Bible. The Bible will always correct the imperfect thoughts of the clearest human thinkers. The danger is that, when confronted with a theological question, we would first ask, “What does the tradition say?” instead of, “What does the Bible say?” We must be ruled by the Scriptures—it is happy bondage!
Finally, seminarians can be led astray by the sinful fear of other people with whom they interact. Students can fear their professors and hold them in an unbiblical awe, fearing to question their authority. Students may be overwhelmed with unbiblical fear, causing them to fail to stand up against a system they feel is in contradiction to the Word of God. This danger is also present for professors, however. Professors can be hindered by an unbiblical fear of students when they bend to pressure to hold students to a lower standard. Professors can be afraid to rebuke laziness and lack of diligence in students—and this is an ungodly fear of man. Everyone at seminary must ensure that they sanctify the Lord as the One whom they fear. No human being should be put on par with God, and much less should such a creature wholly displace God from His rightful throne in our hearts!
May God grant us grace to fear Him, that we would heed His Word against all earthly powers and that we would fear Him above all of His creatures. We need help in this area, maybe more than some would care to admit! So, check your heart today. Whom do you fear?
--Dean of Admissions
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