Phil Gons

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Introduction to the Doctrines of Man and Sin

I delivered this message at Spring Creek Bible Church on September 20, 2015, as part 1 of The Doctrines of Man and Sin series.

Prefer what I actually said? Read the transcript (lightly edited for readability).

1. Introduction

In this ten-part series, we’ll be continuing our study of systematic theology and covering the doctrines of man and sin.

2. What Is Systematic Theology?

Our study will primarily fall without the discipline of systematic theology, though it will tap into the sister disciplines of biblical theology, historical theology, and pastoral theology.

Systematic theology is . . .

In contrast, biblical theology is . . .

Historical theology is . . .

Practical theology is . . .

3. What Are These Doctrines?

The Doctrine of Man

The doctrine of man is simply what the Bible teaches about humankind. The technical word for this area of systematic theology is anthropology. Like many theological terms, anthropology is based on a Greek word. The Greek word for man is ἄνθρωπος. Anthropology is based on two words: ἄνθρωπος and λόγος. The word λόγος is the word for word. :) In this case it has the idea of study of. Together they mean the study of man.

The Doctrine of Sin

The doctrine of sin as you might guess is simply what the Bible teaches about sin. The technical word for this area of systematic theology is hamartiology. It’s based on the Greek word for sin, which is ἁμαρτία. Hamartiology means the study of sin.

We are going to focus on the doctrine of sin primarily as it pertains to mankind. We’ll touch briefly on the sin of angels, but not delve into a full discussion of angelology.

4. What Will We Cover?

The doctrines of man and sin encompass an impressive number of topics and issues. I’m not sure what we’ll actually have time to cover in our ten sessions together, but here are some of the kinds of things that we’ll likely cover:

Topics and Issues

Class Schedule

  1. Introduction
  2. . . .

5. Why Should We Study These Doctrines?

The Importance of These Doctrines

  1. The main themes of the Bible are God, man, sin, grace.
  2. God and man are at the center of the story of the Bible.
  3. Sin and grace are at the center of the story of the Bible.

The Doctrine of Man

We should study the doctrine of man because

  1. the knowledge of man is tied to the knowledge of God.
  2. the better we know ourselves, the better equipped we’ll be to have reverence for God.
  3. we need to be equipped to defend the truth against the culture tides of compromise (e.g., gender roles, homosexuality, racism, the historicity of Adam and Eve).

1. The knowledge of man is tied to the knowledge of God

John Calvin famously opens his Institutes of the Christian Religion, one of the most important works of theology ever written, with a discussion of the knowledge of man and its relation to the knowledge of God. Book one of four is entitled “The Knowledge of God the Creator.” And chapter one is entitled “The Knowledge of God and That of Ourselves Are Connected. How They Are Interrelated.”

The three sections in that first chapter are entitled

  1. “Without Knowledge of Self There Is No Knowledge of God.”
  2. “Without Knowledge of God There Is No Knowledge of Self.”
  3. “Man before God’s Majesty.”

Calvin begins,

While joined by many bonds, which one precedes and brings forth the other is not easy to discern. In the first place, no one can look upon himself without immediately turning his thoughts to the contemplation of God, in whom he “lives and moves” [Acts 17:28].1

He goes on, “the knowledge of ourselves not only arouses us to seek God, but also, as it were, leads us by the hand to find him.”2

Augustine famously says, “Thou hast made us for Thee and our heart is unquiet till it finds its rest in Thee.”3

It’s not enough to look at ourselves. Calvin quickly points out that we must look at God, or we won’t properly understand ourselves. We won’t see our finiteness clearly unless compared to his infiniteness.

. . . man is never sufficiently touched and affected by the awareness of his lowly state until he has compared himself with God’s majesty.4

There are two things we must hold in tension here:

  1. There is a vast difference. We are the creature. God is the creator.
  2. There is a crucial similarity. We are made in the image of God.

2. The better we know ourselves, the better equipped we’ll be to have reverence for God

If we have a wrong view of ourselves, we’ll be ill-equipped to fear God as he deserves. It’s only as we understand who we are that we’ll properly stand in awe of who God is. The fear of God is fundamentally referential. We’re not impressed by the size of Mount Everest unless we fully understand how large it is compared to us.

We don’t worship God for how he’s like us, but for how he’s different from us. We’re finite; he’s infinite. We’re mortal; he’s immortal. We’re his likeness; he’s the reality. We’re the creature; he’s the creator. As we understand this creator–creature distinction, we’ll grow in our reverence for God.

3. We need to be equipped to defend the truth against the culture tides of compromise

The Doctrine of Sin

We cannot accept the gospel without first seeing our need for it.

The one who is forgiven most loves most

We might be living in unknown sin

Terms?

Conclusion

To Do Tonight

  1. Charge computer.
  2. Finish the why section.
  3. Add Calvin quote.
  4. Add some Bible verses.
  5. Clean up pre-service and post-service loops.

To Do Tomorrow

  1. Add notes on which STs are in our library.
  2. Bring some sample STs.
  3. Make sure to get a clipboard with a piece of paper to sign up to take the survey.

To Do Later

  1. Add a section of key verses on man and sin?
  2. Add section on epics of man and sin?

Notes

1. John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion & 2, ed. John T. McNeill, trans. Ford Lewis Battles, vol. 1, The Library of Christian Classics (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2011), 35. ↩

2. John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion & 2, ed. John T. McNeill, trans. Ford Lewis Battles, vol. 1, The Library of Christian Classics (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2011), 37. ↩

3. Augustine of Hippo, Confessions, ed. Roy Joseph Deferrari, trans. Vernon J. Bourke, vol. 21, The Fathers of the Church (Washington, DC: The Catholic University of America Press, 1953), 4. ↩

4. John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion & 2, ed. John T. McNeill, trans. Ford Lewis Battles, vol. 1, The Library of Christian Classics (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2011), 39. ↩