“That our idea of God correspond as nearly as possible to the true being of God is of immense importance to us. Compared with our actual thoughts about Him, our creedal statements are of little importance. Our real idea of God may lie buried under the rubbish of conventional religious notions and may require an intelligent and vigorous search before it is finally unearthed and exposed for what it is. Only after an ordeal of painful self-probing are we likely to discover what we actually believe about God” (A.W. Tozer).
I don’t think it requires much thought to know that it is vital to a person and a church to have ideas that are close as possible to being true about God. While that is not what a large number of professing churches hold to today, it is still a true statement and can be seen without a lot of deep thought. God can only be worshipped in spirit and truth (John 4:24). Jesus Christ came to reveal the truth of who God is and no one can come to Him except through Christ because Christ alone gives the correct understanding of God. We are to be centered upon Christ because Christ gives the truth about who God is.
The next part of this statement should give us great pause. Can it be true that our creedal statements that we have worked so hard on to get passed in the church and to teach to our classes are of little importance compared to our actual thoughts about Him? Can it be true, liberalism and nominal believers to the side for the moment, that there are many orthodox people in terms of what they confess in our churches but who might be idolaters in their hearts day after day and Sabbath after Sabbath? Could it be that the heart is so deceitful that we confess things that do not correspond with our ideas of God from the deepest parts of our hearts? Could it be that we even convince ourselves that we believe these things with rational argumentation and in reality we have differing beliefs in our hearts? For example, “I believe God is sovereign.” Really, but how do I act the next time something happens that I don’t like? What is the deep belief about this in the depths of my heart?
What about the teaching that it is God who must make sinners alive and not sinners themselves. That is fine when it comes to teaching it to other people, but what about when I examine my heart to see if Christ is really there? Do I rely on self and what it has done or the work of a sovereign God? What do I really believe? I believe that I am to deny self in order to follow Christ, but what happens when I am really required to deny self? Do I really believe in the glory of God and His Word enough to do the hard things? It is so easy to say that Christ is Lord, but do I really bow to Him in my heart, mind, soul, and strength in order to love Him with them in all things? Okay, my creed says that I must believe it and I have an intellectual argument for it so I must believe it. But what comes out of my heart through my mouth and life when something hard is brought to me? Do I really believe that God is in control? Do I really believe that I must submit to Him in all things?
My creedal statement says that God is love. Fine, that is wonderful. I like the idea that God is love because I like to be loved. I like to think of a God who makes much of me and thinks I am wonderful. First, that is not what it really means for God to be love. But do I believe God is love when He brings hard things to me? Do I really believe that the hard things are from love and are meant to burn the dross and impurities from me? What is the deep belief about God in my heart?
If what Tozer says is true, and I think that it most certainly is, then the churches must be careful to teach people more than just the words of the creeds and confessions. We must teach them about God and His glory. We must make every effort to reach the hearts of people with the truth of and about God. This does not mean that the creeds must go, but simply says that a belief in them is not enough. We must teach the real character and glory of God to their hearts so that they will believe the creeds as they were intended. I may be able to teach young children to memorize and even give argument for some deep theological truths, but that does not mean that they understand or love them. When something hard comes up, they will revert to what they know well and what comes from their sinful little hearts. The same is true of people in the churches. They need to be taught so that their deepest thoughts and beliefs are grounded in the character of God. If this does not happen, all else is in vain. We will essentially have people memorizing things and remain unchanged at the deepest levels of their beings. That may sound familiar because I think that is an accurate description of what is going on today.
God Loves... Himself 
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