Tag Archives: bible

Logic

Posted on by
Reply

I would say that i’m a logical person.  Some say they see the glass half full other the glass half empty but there are those of us who would say, “well technically both are equally true”.  We’re sometimes labeled realist, but i prefer the label: Biblical.

In the Bible what you’ll find is an infinite and unconditionally all-sovereign God.  He’s the creator and He calls the shots.  He knows the end from the beginning and He makes no bones about it.  This for me defines every aspect of my thinking.  If it wasn’t for this reality i don’t believe it would be possible to worship God with all my mind.

I’ve heard it said and more frequently hinted at that to believe or have faith in God we must reject what is logical—this is a lie.

God doesn’t defy logic, He infinitely exceeds it, you can’t reject logic to receive God.

Just to be clear, what i’m saying is that logic and truth go hand in hand. You cant have one without the other.  I make this claim by defining truth as Jesus Christ.  In other words the God (the person and His nature and work) revealed in the Bible is the very definition of truth—it is the standard by which we discern what is good and evil, what is truth and what is a lie.  What is true is logical and what is logical is true.  This isn’t to say that truth is logic, they are the same thing but they describe one another.  That being said, truth can be beyond our comprehension and thereby not appear to us as logical.

When things happen to us that don’t seem logical (i.e. someone we love dies or we’re sold into slavery for no apparent reason), that doesn’t mean they aren’t, it just means we don’t fully understand God’s logic or God’s purpose.  This is not because God defies logic or contradicts logic, rather He infinitely exceeds it.  Do you see the difference?  If something happens and i don’t understand the purpose, i can still trust that God’s the good author, who knows the end from the beginning and i can and should do so logically for this very reason.

Now if things happen that in fact do contradict our logic, this only means our logic isn’t logic at all, it’s really foolish ignorance and we’re on the slippery slope of doubt and almost there.  The remedy for such foolishness is to repent and trust on Christ our treasure.  If you are on this slippery slope, and you find your “logic” being defied by God, there is a recorded prayer from the Bible that you should pray, “I believe, help my unbelief!”.  Amen.

Devote Yourself

Posted on by
Reply

The Holy Spirit has been prodding and convicting me the last few months about my knowledge of the Word of God.  In Acts 2:42 we see that the birthing of the Church started with people devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching.  There are other things listed in the passage but i believe that their devotion to true teaching was the fundamental because the fellowship, breaking of bread, and prayers all flowed from an understanding, a mindset or worldview.  If you disagree then examine the writings of the New Testament.  It is full of correction and exhortation.

Ecclesiastes 12:11-13 says this, “The words of the wise are like goads, and the nails firmly fixed are the collected sayings; they are given by one Shepherd.  My son, beware of anything beyond these.  Of making many books there is no end, and much study is a weariness of the flesh.  The end of the matter; all has been heard.  Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is the whole duty of man.”

This passage isn’t referring to anyone who thinks he is wise but rather the one Shepherd via the writers of what we know as the Bible.  Proverbs 2:1-6 alludes to this in that wisdom and instruction and the words of insight are none other than the spoken Word of God, hence what is found and confirmed in the Holy Scriptures as revealed by the Holy Spirit.  Proverbs 1:7 says that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; and fools despise wisdom and instruction.

Our duty as christians is to be conformed to Truth who is Jesus Christ our Savior (Rom. 8:29) and in 2 Timothy 2:15 we see the working out of this.  ”Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth.” How are we to rightly handle what we do not even know or understand.  Mankind since the fall has always wanted the benefit without the labor.  How can someone who doesn’t know how to use a sickle be deemed a harvester?  We all want to quote the great commission and in our zeal go out and see instant results but the great commission was given to disciples of Christ.  Christians and disciples are the same thing however we call ourselves christians when we “accept Jesus into our heart”, in other words we adopt a title, but disciples had a much greater entrance exam, if you don’t believe me then go read Luke 14 starting in verse 25, heck go read anywhere in your Bible and you will be hard pressed to find anything that backs up that convenient theory.  Wisdom is justified by her children.  How can we go out and preach what we do not know and don’t even try and tell me that because you know John 3:16, Romans 3:23, and Romans 10:9 you know all you need to know.  Paul said in 1 Corinthians 2:2 that his desire is to know nothing except Jesus Christ and Him crucified, that was written to believers who were ignorantly dividing and creating their own doctrines and teachings.

Romans 10:2-4 speaks of an alarming situation where zeal is embraced without the tension of wisdom.  “For I bear witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge.  For, being ignorant of the righteousness of God, and seeking to establish their own, they did not submit to God’s righteousness.  For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.” We most definitely don’t want to find ourselves in this situation.  The remedy upon recieving salvation is found  in Ephesians 1:17 where Paul prays for the believers that the Father would give us a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of Him.  We like this because we improperly assume that all we are responsible for is to sit around and pray pray pray and ask ask ask for this wisdom, revelation, and knowledge.  The truth is that these are gifts from God and cannot be manufactured by our own study or working however as we have come full circle again we see that as disciples (christians or the Church) we are to devote ourselves to the apostles’ teaching.