The Great Doctrines of the Bible — Key Ideas to Explore

A Pattern of Study from Scripture

Evans states that the book originated from classroom lectures, shaped by student requests for a permanent reference. The method is explicitly indebted to R. A. Torrey's What the Bible Teaches, but Evans adapts it to his own systematic ends. Each doctrine is treated by first assembling all relevant passages, then narrowing to representative ones, then analyzing meaning through text, context, and parallels. This procedure is demonstrated most fully in the doctrine of God, which serves as a template. The result is a work that functions less as a continuous argument and more as a structured reference, inviting the reader to follow the same inductive steps.

Recurring Images of Boundaries and Transgression

In the excerpt on the Fall, Evans repeatedly uses spatial and boundary language: sin is "a deliberate transgressing of a divinely marked boundary" and "an overstepping of the divine limits." The first sin is described as "an elevation of the will of man over the will of God." This imagery of crossing a line recurs in the discussion of temptation, where Evans notes that the same lines of temptation presented to Adam and Eve were also presented to Christ in the wilderness. The pattern suggests a consistent conceptual framework: sin as boundary violation, and redemption as restoration of proper order.

Movement Between Theories and Scripture

Evans's treatment of the Fall's effects on the race moves through three theological theories—Pelagian, Semi-Pelagian, and Augustinian—before turning to "Scriptural Teaching." He presents each theory in a compressed summary, then evaluates it as false based on scriptural evidence. The structure creates a clear movement from human reasoning to biblical authority. The scriptural section then lists verses (Rom. 3:9, 10, 22, 23; Psa. 14; Isa. 53:6) with brief commentary, emphasizing that all men are sinners "without respect of condition or class." This movement from theory to proof-text is characteristic of the book's method.

The Role of the Will in Sin and Salvation

Evans repeatedly emphasizes the will's centrality. The first sin is described as "purely volitional" and "a voluntary act of the will." In the discussion of the Semi-Pelagian theory, he critiques the idea that man can "allow his will to co-operate with God's Spirit," insisting instead that man is "totally unable to do anything to save himself." This emphasis on human inability and divine initiative recurs throughout the excerpt. The will is not absent but is portrayed as captive to sin, requiring external intervention. The language of "voluntary act" and "determination" in the Fall contrasts with the later assertion of total inability, creating a tension that the book's systematic structure aims to resolve.

Readers approaching The Great Doctrines of the Bible will benefit from having a Bible at hand to follow the cited passages. The work is best used as a study companion rather than a continuous narrative: each section can be consulted independently, and the pattern established in the early chapters provides a key to the method applied throughout. Evans's reliance on representative proof-texts and his movement from theory to scriptural teaching reward careful attention to the selection and arrangement of verses.

The rain had kept me indoors with Evans’s orderly chapters, his quiet way of letting Scripture speak for itself. Somewhere between the doctrine of the Spirit and the Father’s love, I felt a hunger for something spoken, not outlined. That afternoon I found Twenty-Five Village Sermons — A Reader’s Guide, and the same biblical simplicity met me, but warmer, more human.