Some have falsely said that theology is for the Christian elite. That’s like saying that food is only for the high class and rich. Theology is much more like bread—something everyone needs. It is edible, digestible, and thoroughly relevant.

Theology comes from two words: “ology” (study of) and “theos” (God). Thus “theology” means “study of God.” There is nothing in the universe more meaningful, exhilarating, or satisfying than to know one’s own creator. Theology is not just for stoic white-bearded intellectuals stuck in ivory towers and smothered in the fragrance of ancient books. It is for every human no matter how common or un-educated. I find nothing more exhilarating in all of life than studying God.

But why is it so important? Next to my desk sits Kazakhstanian money called “tenge” along with some pounds and pence from London. While living in America, what good is money from a country more than 6,000 mile away? Unless I go to an exchange bank it’s completely worthless. Even if I saved up 20 million pounds or 10 billion tenge it would do me no good. In a similar way, trying to make sense of life without an accurate understanding of God is like trying to use foreign money in the US. It won’t work. The money is totally worthless, unless it’s used the way it was intended. Likewise, life is totally pointless, unless it is viewed the way God created us to.

The Cause of a Hundred Evils

In order for your understanding of reality, truth, morals, or your purpose in life to make any sense at all, you must start with a right view of God Himself. There is no more important question in all of life than this one: Who is God?

Most people believe in a God of some sort. But He is usually a product of opinion reflecting a God that makes them feel comfortable or justifies their sin instead of the awesome God spelled out in Scripture. A.W. Tozer wrote, “A low view of God...is the cause of a hundred lesser evils." But a person with a high view of God "is relieved of ten thousand temporal problems” (The Knowledge of the Holy).

A twisted view of God results in a life that screams contradiction. So who is He? The best place to start is where the Bible begins, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth” (Gen 1:1). The “heavens” is not mean heaven where God lives, but space in the outer atmosphere filled with stars, planets, moons, the sun, and asteroids. The “earth” is the planet on which we live and everything in it from mountains to humans to animals to molecules. Put another way: The only thing in existence that was not created by God is God Himself. There are only two things in existence: God and God’s creation. John 1:3 says of the Son of God: “All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being.”

The Theory of Evolution

The most common objection to creation is the theory of evolution. It is good to note that both creationists and evolutionists all have the same facts. The difference is our interpretation of those facts. This happens because Christians and unbelievers have diametrically opposing presuppositions. Their view of the world, morals, and life in general begin from two completely different perspectives. But for the evolutionistic presupposition to work, it must assume a lot of things. For example:

<!--[if !supportLists]-->§ That God did not create the world. In the mind of a typical evolutionist, creation is not even an option. This is not only anti-intellectual, but approaches the subject with a bias. Just a few days ago I engaged an adamant evolutionist named Min on this very topic and he said, “We have figured out a way to explain morals without God.” His statement struck me. It made me realize that humans are looking for a way to explain this universe without a God. It is very important to figure out a non<!--[endif]--> God-caused universe to many people because they can’t handle the idea of a God who allows suffering, who requires perfection, and who says there is only one way.

<!--[if !supportLists]-->§ Evolutionists assume that dating methods work in the past just like they do today. Of course, there is no way of testing our dating methods in a time previous to now, therefore, every effort to date the earth is complete theory. (What is ironic is that 90% of all dating methods give us a very young earth!) <!--[endif]-->

<!--[if !supportLists]-->§ Evolutionists assume that evolution is the only intellectual answer to our origin. This of course is silly since evolution is a theory, not science. <!--[endif]-->

<!--[if !supportLists]-->§ Evolution assumes that life just created itself by chance. Today I asked an evolutionist to give me a single example of a machine or complex system in all of history that produced itself by chance and he admitted that he couldn’t. Yet every battery, car, hair dryer, painting, house, and children’s toy was created by a designer. Life itself around us screams, “Creator!” <!--[endif]-->

Only God's Word Makes Sense of Everything

The greatest worldview evidence in this discussion is this: the Bible holds the only view that makes sense of the world around us. It is the only cohesive, logical, rational system that works. Every other view is a walking contradiction. The Bible answers why there is death. It answers why we have fossils, deep rivers, and mountains (the Flood). It gives reason for the proven law of entropy (which by itself disproves evolution). It explains why name is so noble and so evil at the same time. It answers our sense of morality. It tells us where our creativity comes from. Human’s desire for progress, invention, and technology…all of that is answered by the God of the Bible.

Some believers have tried to adopt a hybrid of Christianity and evolution. They want to still hold onto their Christian faith, but in fear of appearing intellectually deficient, they try to mesh evolution with creation. But here is a simple question: if the Bible lies to us in the first chapter, when does it start telling the truth? If we can rip out the first two chapters, why not chapter three or chapter four? Or maybe it would be best to extract the whole book of Genesis since if one part is not true then the rest must be a lie too. But wait: Moses wrote four other books, so why can we trust those? If Satan can remove the foundation of all things what’s to stop the rest? All you need is a tiny leak to eventually take down a dam.

Who God Is

God is not only Creator, He is also ruler: “But our God is in the heavens; He does whatever He pleases (Ps 115:3). God sits upon His throne and does whatever He wants. He not only does what He wishes, but everything He does is perfectly good and right because He is the standard of true righteousness.

God is the Only. He is the only God and He is above all other so-called “gods.” “Remember the former things long past, for I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is no one like Me, declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times things which have not been done, saying, 'My purpose will be established, and I will accomplish all My good pleasure'” (Is 46:9-10).

God is Holy. “And one called out to another and said, "Holy, Holy, Holy, is the LORD of hosts, the whole earth is full of His glory” (Is 6:30). To be holy means more than moral purity. It means to be “other.” When we get to heaven in glorified bodies, even though we will be morally perfect, free from all sin, God will still be more holy. He is higher than and greater than anything because He is the Holy One. J. Alec Motyer put it well when he said, “God is the utmost threat to all sinfulness.” It was a rejection of God’s holiness that threw open the gates of wicked living for Israel: “Your own wickedness will correct you, and your apostasies will reprove you; know therefore and see that it is evil and bitter for you to forsake the LORD your God, and the dread of Me is not in you," declares the Lord GOD of hosts” (Jer 2:19). Israel forgot to dread God because she dismissed His unutterable holiness.God is Eternal. King Nebuchadnezzar wrote the following words to his entire kingdom filled with hundreds of thousands of people: “But at the end of that period, I, Nebuchadnezzar, raised my eyes toward heaven and my reason returned to me, and I blessed the Most High and praised and honored Him who lives forever; for His dominion is an everlasting dominion, and His kingdom endures from generation to generation” (Dan 4:34). People are born in hospitals and end up dead in graves. One generation epires and another one rises up. People come and people go. But through it all, God lives on. Moses skillfully expressed God’s mind-boggling eternity when he wrote, “Lord, You have been our dwelling place in all generations. Before the mountains were born or You gave birth to the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, You are God” (Ps 90:1-2). Mountains are old but God is older.

God is All-Knowing. Some theologians communicate this concept with the word “omniscience,” which means to know everything in existence. There is no limit to God’s knowledge. In efforts to defend their sacred cows of free will, some men have tried to reconcile God’s knowledge with man’s freedom of choice by saying that God knows all the options, but not what is actually going to happen. But if God doesn’t know what is going to happen then God does not know all things. Instead of trying to make the Scriptures fit our favorite opinions, we must let the Scriptures speak for themselves: “Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways! For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who became His counselor?” (Rom 11:33-34). Job’s wisest friend, Elihu, said that God is “perfect in knowledge” (Job 36:4). “Perfect” means complete. It means without lack. If God does know the exact future then He is not perfect in knowledge, but partial in knowledge, which means He cannot be infinite which means He cannot be God. But Psalm 147:5 says that God’s understanding is infinite and Isaiah 44:7 says that God declares what is going to happen before it happens. If God does not know what is going to happen, then how could He predict the timing, place, and nature of Christ’s birth? How could He predict the rise and fall of six different world power nations? And if He only knows the options but not what is going to happen, the entire book of Revelation is nothing more than a wild guess about the last days.

God is Everywhere. The book of Jeremiah depicts this by describing God as One who is both near and far off: “‘Am I a God who is near,’ declares the LORD, ‘and not a God far off? Can a man hide himself in hiding places so I do not see him?’ declares the LORD. ‘Do I not fill the heavens and the earth?’ declares the LORD” (Jer 23:23-24).

God is Faithful. “If we are faithless, He remains faithful, for He cannot deny Himself” (2 Tim 2:13). Amazing. No matter how sinful or rebellious His children have been, God will never break His promise or turn His back.

God is Merciful. “By lovingkindness and truth iniquity is atoned for” (Prov 16:6). It is not man’s goodly efforts that earn God’s acceptance. God’s acceptance of you is by His pure mercy—pure unwarranted kindness from the love of His own heart. Notice the text does not say “By going to church and being a good person” iniquity is atoned for. The most wicked person in the world who receives God’s mercy is a thousand times closer to heaven than the kindest person alive who thinks He deserves eternal life.

God is Good. “O taste and see that the LORD is good; how blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him!” (Ps 34:8). Like any scrumptious dish, you must taste God before you will ever know His infinite goodness. God is the quintessence of perfect goodness.

God is Love. This trait of God is revealed so visibly through the sacrifice of His own Son that John the Apostle actually calls God a noun, something done with no other trait. “We have come to know and have believed the love which God has for us. God is love, and the one who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him” (1 John 4:16). The Bible does not say that God is holiness (even though He is holy). It does not say that God is mercy (even though He is infinitely merciful). But the Bible says that God not only loves, but is love!

What This Means for the Believer

But what do these outstanding traits of God mean for the believer? If God is Creator, you belong to Him. If God is Ruler, you are called to obey Him. If God is the Only, Eternal, and Holy One, you are to worship Him. If God is All-Knowing, Everywhere and Faithful, you are to trust Him. If God is Merciful, Good, and Love, you are to serve Him.

When was the last time you studied the God's Creation and it blew your mind? Way up at the northern tip of California, just 45 miles south of the Oregon border, sits one of the most beautiful mountains in the world: Mt. Shasta. As part of the Cascade Mountain Range, this mighty piece of snow-capped majesty towers over 14,000 feet into the atmosphere and is one of the largest volcanic peaks in the continental United States.

From a distance, a purple aura hovers over this mountain while clouds encircle the peak in puffy rings. This mountain is so breathtaking, people worship it. I’ve stood just ten feet from people burning incense to Mt. Shasta. The first time I saw Mt. Shasta I had no words to describe it. When people asked me what it was like, all I could say was, “Spectacular.”

The Bible tells you about the Creator of that mountain! Take every sport, every class, every relationship, every theme park, every food, every concert—every possible pleasure you can find on this earth—and you will find nothing as joy-producing and real as the study of God Himself! If you’ve never known that joy, perhaps it’s because you’ve never truly known Him.

Charles Spurgeon tells the story of Boleslaus, the ancient king of Poland. Everywhere King Boleslaus traveled, he carried with him a picture of his own father. When he was about to set his hand to any great work or challenging task, Boleslaus would look at the picture and pray, “Help me to do nothing unworthy of such a great father’s name!"[1]<!--[endif]-->

As you study this awesome God who saved you from your sins, may your prayer be the same.