Module 3 - Anthropology: The Doctrine of Man

The scope of this third module is to explore what the Bible teaches about man. And what we learn from Scripture about God leads us to a right understanding of man. Men are tireless in their pursuit of understanding themselves. Their origin, their makeup, their identity, their purpose, and destiny, and so on. But true knowledge of man is not found within himself. It is discovered in what God reveals in Scripture. So if you wish to gain a deeper understanding of man, these lectures aim to benefit you. The lectures in this third module, on the Doctrine of Man, are introductory, not exhaustive, and they are intended to furnish you with a foundation that you can build upon in your further studies.

Let me begin with a question: Why do we do what we do? Now, I’m speaking broadly. In all the various situations and circumstances of life, the little things and the big things, what prompts us to do the things we do? Well that is a far more difficult question than we sometimes realize. Why? Well, because there are many complex factors—various layers of motivations within us that influence our decisions. It is true that circumstances outside of us, including other people, may impact us. But in the end, we decide to do what we do. They are our decisions that flow from our own motivations. Ultimately, we do what we want to do, and what we want is the real issue. Con- sequently, we have to know something about our heart to ascertain the reason behind our actions. Jesus notes this, in reference to our words. He says, “Out of the heart the mouth speaketh.” The heart is the source for our speech. The mouth is a window to the soul. As someone aptly said, the matter of the heart is the heart of the matter. The exercise of our will is the fruit, but our spiritual nature is the root from which our will springs.

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Rev. Robert McCurley is the minister of the Gospel at Greenville Presbyterian Church in Taylors, SC, a congregation of the Free Church of Scotland (Continuing). https://www.greenvillepresbyterian.com