Lesson 1

Introduction To Our Belief About God

Concise Bible Doctrine, by Elmer Towns, AMG Publishers,

Chattanooga, Tennessee, 2006

UNDERSTANDING
CHRISTIANITY

And the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch.

—ACTS 11:26

INTRODUCTION

Someone has said, “Christianity is Jesus Christ.” That embryonic answer is an adequate
description, but the problem is that many people do not understand who Jesus Christ is. The
popular conception of Christ is not always correct. Even in the Scriptures, individuals did not
always properly understand Christ. To illustrate, observe the two disciples on the road to
Emmaus on the first Easter Sunday afternoon. They thought they knew Christ and were even
discussing the events of Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection. But they were wrong in their
understanding of him. When Jesus joined them and spoke to them, they did not recognize him
because their eyes were blinded with unbelief (Luke 24:16, 31).

These were his disciples who now were perplexed at the events of the morning. They had heard
reports that someone had stolen his body or that he had disappeared. Obviously, these two
disciples had apparent spiritual needs, just as many in today’s world have needs. How Jesus met
their needs, then, is an indication of how he meets needs today.
Jesus began teaching these two disciples at the first books of the Bible (the Law) and surveyed
Old Testament history to the last books (the Prophets). Some might think Jesus would have
comforted them with a psalm or a devotional challenge. Instead, he met their needs by laying the
foundation of biblical teaching. “He expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things
concerning himself” (Luke 24:27). The basis of his ministry to them was doctrine. The verb for
“teaching” is the same root from which we get the word “doctrine.”

The church has the same mandate today; our lives and ministry must be based on sound doctrine.
Nevertheless, most people are afraid of the word “doctrine.” The world thinks that doctrine is
dusty and irrelevant, or hidden in old theology books. However, biblical doctrine is as spiritually
alive as a new born-again Christian is. It is as practical as a growing Sunday school and as
enjoyable as reading a favorite text.

Christian doctrine is similar to the wrench in a plumber’s toolbox— it is there to fix something.
Those who just keep the wrench shiny are similar to the theologian who is always perfecting his
doctrine but does not apply it to his life or ministry. Others deny the “doctrine-wrench”
illustration by saying, “That sermon is good in theory [doctrine] but it will never work in life.”
They are wrong. When true doctrine touches life, it is always practical.
The Bible and doctrine walk hand in hand with practical Christianity. “All scripture is given by
inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in
righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works”
(2 Tim. 3:16, 17). Therefore, the purpose of Bible doctrine is the communication of the gospel to
people at a point of need. The first section of this chapter will deal with the topic: What is man’s
point of need? The second topic in this section is, What is communication? The third section is,
What is the Gospel? The answer to these questions formulate the necessity and function of
doctrine.

CHRISTIAN DOCTRINE SPEAKS TO THE POINT OF NEED

All doctrine begins with God and has its eternal existence in God, but there was no need of
doctrine until God created man. As soon as man was created, a need existed. Man was made in
the image of God, which means among other things that he had the ability to reason. His
intellectual ability reflects the thought processes of God. Man also had emotions, as expressed in
the feelings of love and hate, to mention just two. Finally, man was a volitional being who could
decide his own fate. Therefore, when Satan came and tempted, “Ye shall be as gods,” man, who
had the ability to make a moral choice, fell into sin. Sin produced the greatest need in man and
doctrine is the channel through which God told how he would meet that need.

Man is cut off from God. Not only Adam and Eve, but everyone from that time forth was
excluded from God’s presence. The Scriptures teach, “For all have sinned and come short of the
glory of God” (Rom. 3:23). This included every child who was born in the line of Adam and
Eve, since “as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; ... so death passed upon
all men, for all have sinned” (Rom. 5:12).

Man’s sin is classified into three aspects. First, anything less than God’s perfect holiness is sin.
Sin is similar to an arrow falling short of the target. It does not attain to the perfect standard.
Therefore, no person born into the world measures up to God’s perfect standard.

Rebellion is the second aspect of sin, usually translated “transgression.” Sin is the breaking of
God’s law, either volitionally or ignorantly. God prohibits the worship of idols, but man sins
when he worships a wooden statue or something more precious to him than God. He has
transgressed God’s commandment.

The third aspect of sin is inherent wickedness or moral impurity. This is described as filth or
uncleanness and is abhorred by God, who is pure and holy.

The result of sin is that it blinds the sinner (2 Cor. 4:3, 4; Eph. 4:17). Usually man does not
recognize that he is a sinner and that he is cut off from God. Therefore a sinner needs the gospel
communicated to him at his point of need, to reveal to him that he is a sinner.
Man becomes his own point of reference. When Satan promised Eve, “Ye shall be as gods”
(Gen. 3:5), he fulfilled that promise. As a result, each man today is his own standard of
measurement. Each has become the focus of the circle in which he lives. A wise man once
observed, “There is some divinity in us all.” By that he meant that each man justifies his own
actions and thinks that everything he does is perfect, or at least almost perfect.

The Fall of man has created an upside-down condition. Instead of man’s placing God on the
throne, man sits there in supreme ignorance that he has usurped the place of God. Doctrine
teaches man that God must be placed on the throne and only when man understands God’s nature
and program can man begin to get his problem solved.
Man suffers alienation and isolation. Too often it has been said that sin is punished after death.
That is only part of the picture. People also suffer the consequences of sin in this life. Sin results
in isolation or alienation from God. Spiritual death is the ultimate form of isolation from God. As
a result of man’s sin, he needs eternal salvation to bring him into fellowship with God. But there
is a second problem. Modern education speaks of “felt needs,” those problems we are aware of,
and “ultimate needs,” usually the problems that are real but unexperienced. The “ultimate need”
is salvation for man to be rejoined to God from whom he was cut off. But let us not forget the
“felt need,” the deliverance from the affliction in this life that also springs from our sin.

Isolation from God may not be a felt need, but severe depression is an experience that needs
immediate help. To this person, the doctrinal message of fellowship with God may not be
enough, but it is the foundation of all ministry to that person. Since man is a social creature, his
problem of isolation may be the root of many of his other mental or psychological problems.

The answer to isolation is that God took the initiative with man. “When the fullness of time was
come, God sent forth his Son” (Gal. 4:4). Again, we read “God ... hath in these last days spoken
unto us by his Son” (Heb. 1:1, 2).

Man is filled with anxiety. Any life that is separated from ultimate authority is like a boat
without an anchor; it is drifting. A person may be anxious because he does not have all the
answers to the questions raised by others, or even the questions asked in his heart.
Every person has within his heart a need, something missing that only God can fill. He knows
that something is missing but he usually refuses to identify it as God. He looks for answers
elsewhere and does not find any. He becomes his own point of reference, but he makes mistakes
and is aware of his own stupidity.

People are anxious because they have a problem keeping their emotional lives together. God
should function in man’s immaterial nature, but the vacuum created by his absence produces
anxiety. “Anxiety” is another word for fear, depression, jealousy, or any other condition that
keeps man in an emotional disequilibrium.

Man searches for meaning. Because man is isolated and affected by sin in every part of his life,
the lack of meaning in life becomes a felt need. Those who are slaves to drugs know that
narcotics do not lead to happiness or meaning. The same can be said for wealth, fame, or even
success.

Many people do not know where to go or how to get where they want to go. But they want to go
somewhere. They are like a fine-tuned car that has a full tank of fuel but is without direction or
purpose. Others are bewitched or have dropped out of the human race. They have no drive or no
desire. They are like a car without fuel, without a battery, and with a rusting engine. Both have
problems with meaning-they have not found the secret in life. They need the revelation of God
that gives his purpose for which men should live.

Man marches inevitably toward death. We are frightened when we see a young friend struck
down with cancer, and yet thousands die annually of some form of cancer. We experience the
same fear when a child is killed or we hear of a young son who is missing in war.

The threat of death is all about us. Then we look within our decaying bodies and realize death is
our enemy. We are spirits that want to rise above the limitations of the body. Yet we see dimly
because our eyes are wearing out. Our arms ache because of arthritis. Even the thirty-year-old
feels the inevitable rising tide of age when a younger man takes his place on the team.

The Bible teaches that “the wages of sin is death” (Rom. 6:23), and the ultimate need of man is a
means of overcoming the power of death. A little boy was standing next to his father on the front
seat of their Mercedes Benz. The father had given his son everything. Then the little boy asked,
“Does everyone have to die?” The father thought a moment then answered, “Yes.” The young
son pondered that answer, then blurted out, “Even if they are lucky?”

THE PURPOSE OF CHRISTIAN DOCTRINE IS COMMUNICATION

The word “communicate” actually means “to have in common.” When we communicate with a
friend, the two of us have something in common. Language is the usual means of
communication. Though much of human communication is nonverbal, language difficulty is the
most significant cause of communication failures.
God communicated to man in many ways, but the greatest was through Jesus Christ. Christianity
is a relationship between God and man, based on the life, death, and resurrection of his Son,
Jesus Christ. Now, every person who is saved has a living relationship to God. Those Christians
who allow their relationship to God to affect their whole personality prosper.

Christians are expected to reach out in relationships to other people— to the unsaved in soul
winning and to other Christians in fellowship. Every man is potentially a loner, but he can reach
out of his shell for meaningful relationships when he has a full understanding of the relationship
between God and himself. It takes strength to reach another person. The ultimate strength is in
Jesus Christ who forgives our sins, gives us meaning in life, and gives us strength to rise above
our circumstances.

The record of God’s communication to man is the Word of God. But it is more than a history of
how God has reached out to man. It is the basis of man’s communication with God today. Since
the Bible is the communication of the gospel to people at their point of need, then it must be
rational and logical. God reveals himself as rational and logical. Since the Bible teaches that man
is made in the image and likeness of God, we may conclude that human beings are rational and
logical, and that the channel of communication between God and man proceeds in a logical and
rational manner.
When God speaks to man (revelation) it will follow rational and logical means. We can conclude
that God is not illogical nor does he do foolish things. When man seeks God he cannot forsake
his God-given intellect, nor can he find God by seeking the Lord in foolish ways. The channel of
communication between God and man runs in both directions, and Christianity must always be
rational. That does not mean we will understand all the Bible nor does it mean God will reveal
everything to us. But it does mean that God will never ask us to violate our minds to be
Christians.

When the gospel is presented to us, it must be communicated to us so that we understand it.
(That does not mean the content is changed but that the method of expressing it is revised.) Since
we are rational and logical beings, the gospel must be communicated to us in a rational manner.
This means that the gospel must be systematic in content and presentation. From this we get the
term “systematic theology.” However, this book uses the biblical term “doctrine” instead of the
word “theology.”

Several steps are taken in making doctrine systematic and logical. First, we must look at all of
the facts on every topic of doctrine. We begin by looking at biblical content, but we also include
truth (not conjecture) from any and every source: biology, history, sociology, and philosophy. As
an illustration, when we are studying the nature of God we must consider all the facts of God that
are taught in the Bible concerning the nature of God. But we also include all information
concerning him that we learn from nature.

Second, we must classify the facts into a consistent whole. This means that the verses that deal
with the holiness of God must be correlated with those that teach the justice of God. Then we
write the results of our study into statements that give a total picture of the person of God.

Finally, we must analyze all of our statements, making sure they are consistent, so that we do not
contradict ourselves.

In addition, we analyze them to make sure our statements correspond to the reality of the world
and the people who live here. The result is doctrine. Now we must express it as simply and
clearly as possible, so that others will be able to understand the total revelation of God on each
subject.

The final step in communication between God and man is worship. Since man is spiritual he has
an innate desire to worship someone. The problem is that man, the worshiper, has invented his
own ways to worship God or has created his own gods to worship. God recognizes this weakness
and commands that we should have no other gods before him (Exod. 20:3).

However, the obvious question remains: “Which worship is correct?” Actually, this book is not
an apologetic answer to the philosophical questions of man. The answer to true worship is found
in what Jesus told the woman at the well. “God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must
worship him in spirit and in truth” (John 4:24). God must be worshiped according to truth, which
is biblical doctrine. But to worship God by correct doctrine is only part of worship. The worship
of God must also be an expression of the deepest feelings, a sincere mind, and the honest heart of
man, which is-what is meant by worshiping him in spirit.
THE CONTENT OF CHRISTIAN DOCTRINE IS GOD’S GOOD NEWS

We have talked of man’s need and God’s method of communication to him. Now we come to the
content of the gospel, or what must be believed to solve man’s problem. God meets the need of
man on this basis. The word “gospel” means “good news” and is usually applied to mean the
good news of salvation. The gospel is the first message of good news that God gave to sinful
man. After Adam and Eve sinned, the Lord came walking in the cool of the Garden looking for
man. Even though man had hidden, God, who knows all things, knew where Adam was hiding.
God took the initiative. God wanted to save Adam—that is the good news. Moreover, the good
news (gospel), which is doctrine, grows out of the first encounter of God and man after man had
sinned.

The gospel has two aspects, a proposition and a Person. The average church member thinks of
only one concept, that the gospel is a propositional statement of faith. Many people miss
Christianity because they think it is belief in a historical statement.

The gospel—a proposition. The basis of good news is the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
This message is best expressed in these words of Paul: “I declare unto you that gospel which I
preached unto you,... that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures; and that he was
buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures” (1 Cor. 15:1–4). The
gospel message is simply the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ for our sins. Those
who deny the reality of these truths deny the foundation of Christianity. This gospel must be
affirmed in our doctrinal statements. For a person to be saved, mere mental agreement to a
propositional statement is not enough.

The gospel—a Person. The gospel is more than a proposition; it is a Person—Jesus Christ. A
person’s becoming a Christian involves more than giving mental assent to the fact of the death,
burial, and resurrection of Jesus. The gospel enters our lives when Jesus Christ enters our hearts.
“But as many as received him [Christ] to them gave he power to become the sons of God” (John
1:12).
By definition we have said that the purpose of doctrine is the communication of the gospel to
people at their point of need. We communicate doctrine not only by writing, but also by speaking
it in words. The gospel is a Person—Jesus Christ. Therefore, to be doctrinally correct, we must
know the content of Christianity and be in right relationship to Jesus Christ.

A few years ago when the street people were converted, they were called “Jesus people.” They
claimed to have a deep relationship to Jesus Christ, but many of them ignored doctrine. On the
other extreme are some orthodox churches that correctly teach the Word of God, but their
legalistic approach to Christianity has squeezed an emotional or spiritual relationship to Jesus
Christ out of the church. Both extremes are unbiblical. A person must be correct in his
relationship to the person of Jesus Christ. And correct words are the vehicle that expresses a
man’s doctrine. One cannot have Christianity without Christ; and the revelation of Christ is the
substance and content of doctrine.

CONCLUSION
This doctrine book is written to communicate doctrine for the modern-day Christian. It is written
to the head and to the heart. Sound doctrine proves itself sound if it can be related to the needs of
man.