Articles - The Bible

INTRODUCTION

   (1) The only reason for accepting any religious doctrine. I want to begin this study by asking a very important question: “What is the only real good reason for accepting and following any particular religious doctrine?” The true answer is: the only really good reason for advocating that a particular religious doctrine be accepted is that that doctrine is true! The Bible is God’s word; it is true! (John 17:17). God does not lie (Hebrews 6:18; Titus 1:2).

   God’s truth is not changed by what any man thinks of it. It is the definite body of doctrine which is the Bible. And—it can be learned by ordinary men and women.

   (2) The Lord Jesus Himself said, “. . . and ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free” (John 8:32). Thus, He made clear that His truth is a definite body of doctrine, that men can learn it, and that by it men can be made free from their sins and thus—becoming children of God. So, the really important question about a given religious doctrine is, “Is it true?”

   But, we are living in a time when many men hold that this question is really not very important. As a matter of fact, however, no more important question could ever be considered by any human being. If the question as to whether Christianity is true is not important, then one could be a Buddhist, an agnostic or even an atheist and still be pleasing to God. But such is not the case; to be saved one must believe and obey the truth.

   What does it mean to say that a sentence or a statement is “true”? A sentence is true if when it says something is the case, it really is the case. A sentence is false if when it says something is the case, it really is not the case.

   (3) Jesus made clear that God’s word is truth. Jesus said, in praying to God, the Father, “. . . thy word is truth” (John 17:17). What that word says has been, is, or will be is just what has been, is, or will be.

   (4) Now for a little while I would like for us to consider some very crucial matters about truth!

   In this essay I wish to do five things: (1) Make clear some wonderful truths, (2) Remind us of a fact which we surely all know, (3) Make an admission, (4) Set out a list, and (5) Discuss in some detail two items on the list. I shall consider these matters in the order in which I have listed them.

    l. SOME WONDERFUL TRUTHS. Before considering the basic problem with which this essay is to be concerned, I wish to make clear that: (l) I hold that the church which Jesus Christ purchased with His own blood (Acts 20:28) exists on earth today; that is, there are men and women who are living today who are actually members of that church; (2) that all who obey the gospel, being baptized into Christ (2 Timothy 2:10; Romans 6:3-5; Galatians 3:26-27), are saved from their past sins in such action (Mark 16:15-16; Acts 2:38; 3:16; Romans 6:17-18), being added by the Lord Himself to the church (Acts 2:41, 47); (3) that all members of the church who live a faithful life (living a life of “sowing to the spirit” or “walking in the light” of His word, the Bible, (Galatians 6:7-9; 1 John 1:7) will go “into eternal life at the judgment” (Matthew 25:46); (4) that since salvation is in the body of Christ, (the church), no one is saved so long as he remains outside of the church (Acts 2:47; 20:28; Ephesians 2:13-16; 5:26); and (5) that the church is not a denomination, or any part of a denomination. In considering the rest of this essay, no reader should conclude that any statement of concern regarding certain matters should be regarded as constituting grounds for detraction from any of the preceding points.

Some Introductory Matters

   The Bible teaches that men should “prove all things,” and “hold fast” to that which is good (1 Thessalonians 5:21). This means simply that men should draw only such conclusions as are warranted by the evidence which the Bible (the word of God, 2 Timothy 3:16-17) provides. This means that men’s conclusions must be the conclusions of sound arguments: that is, men should draw only such conclusions as are a part of arguments which are valid and have true premises.

   There are a number of reasons why students of the Bible should recognize and honor the Law of Rationality: (1) the way the Bible is written demands that such be the case, (2) specific instances of Bible characters u sing the Law of Rationality demand that such be the case, and (3) the specific passages in the Bible (which teach in various ways) demand that such be the case.

As human beings, men, women, boys, and girls face many kinds of problems. Some of these problems are very important indeed. We want and we need not merely an answer to some of these questions; we need the answer—God’s answer to them! And we can all be thankful to Him that He has given us His answer to every really important question we face.

Logic is the science of valid reasoning. It is not mere wishing. It is not mere thinking. It is not mere wrangling. Logic has to do with inference—that is, the inferring of what is implied by explicit statements. It raises the question, "Do the premises of this argument imply the conclusion of this argument?" (1 Thessalonians 5:21).

Some people think very seldom—if at all—specifically about logic; that is, they do not say such things as, "Let me show you the sound argument which proves that Proposition X is true." However, every one who is intelligent enough to be accountable for what he does is a logician. And most people are "pretty good" logicians, even though they have never formally studied logic in any college or university.

In a recent article the charge is made that the Bible contradicts itself. As incredible as such may seem to faithful Christians, the writer of that article claims to be a member of the Lord’s church.

   The purposes of this article are: (1) to categorically deny the charge that the Bible contradicts itself, (2) to point out some implications of that charge, and (3) to make an appeal to brethren everywhere to awaken to the insidious danger which is posed to the Lord’s church by men who write such articles (as that referred to in the opening sentence) and by the journals which publish them.

A nation is a lot like a person. It is born. It lives. It grows old. It dies.

Many great nations have arisen during the history of the world. Some of them experienced a pattern somewhat like this: they began with strong spiritual, moral conviction; followed by the growth and eventual dominance of materialism, eventually to be destroyed by moral decay, apathy and anarchy.