Sermonettes 53
The Gospel According to LOGIC
"But grow in grace, and in the knowledge if our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To Him be glory both now and for ever. Amen" (2 Pet.3:18, AV).
One of the common falacies that unbelievers maintain about Christianity is that it is illogical and entirely based on superstition and feelings. Unfortunately, though, there are many so-called Christians who maintain such a prosposition themselves, viz. that Christianity is purely subjective and cannot be subjected to the scrutiny of logical processes. I disagree, and I disagree strongly, not just because I believe that God is the master Logician and the master Intelligence of the universe but because the Word of God itself declares that Christians should be logical in their thinking.
The growth of a believer in Christ rests, according to the apostle Peter in our scriptural passage today, on two vital principles: (a) grace, and (b) knowledge of Christ, which together give glory to Him (Eph.4:15). Take any of these alone -- all grace or all knowledge -- and you either end up as many of the modern charismatics and existentialist whose gospel is entirely subjective or as the gnostics who teach that knowledge, and knowledge alone, saves. Like so many other dual gospel principles, grace and knowledge must exist in balance.
You might perhaps be wondering what logic has to do will all of this and even if it is mentioned in scripture. As a matter of fact it is though it is rarely, if ever, translated as such into English and is swallowed up in that big scriptural term called "word" which has come to mean different things to different Christians depending on their theological dispositions and doctrinal ax-grinding habits.
"In the beginning was the Word...all things were made through Him, and without Him was not anything made that was made" (John 1:1,3, RSV). Words are parts of sentences which are derived from thinking patterns. They are only useful if they have syntax and structure, which is what makes a language. The Bible everywhere portrays God as a Being of order, discipline and structure and we are told that nothing He says ever returns empty. His ideas are perfectly logical once understood.
No Christian should ever be afraid of logic provided all assumptions are first clearly stated. The Gospel of Jesus Christ is perfectly logical and for thinking people as the materials on this site show, we hope. May the God of Logic bless you!
This page was created on 7 February 1999
Last updated on 7 February 1999
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