Listen to the podcast of this post by clicking on the player below, and you can also subscribe on Apple, Spotify, or Audible.
Plato said, “Arguments, like men, are often pretenders.” This is both true and a logical syllogism. It is true because men often pretend, and they design their arguments to support their pretenses.
One of my favorite classes in college was “Introduction to Logic.” In fact, it is one of my few college textbooks that is still in my personal library today. It always struck me that God created logic. That means He is infinitely logical.
So we can restate Plato’s quote like this, “God’s arguments, like God Himself, are always authentic, logical, and valid.”
In my Bible study time, I often highlight the words that denote premisses and conclusions. In just Ezekiel 36 alone I find:
- therefore (6x)
- because (2x)
- then (6x)
- for (1x)
- so that (1x)
We can argue against God’s logic, and we can even try to invalidate His arguments. But to do so makes me illogical. God not only gives the premisses and the conclusion, but He makes them both logical and valid. God told Jeremiah, “I am watching to see that My word is fulfilled” (Jeremiah 1:12).
So any of my attempts to redefine or re-order or invalidate what God has logically presented ultimately brings disorder, collapse, and frustration. It is far better for me to simply follow the premisses and trust God to bring about His promised—and logical—conclusion.
I encourage you to look for these logic statements as you read the Bible yourself. Here is a Bible study from Proverbs 2 that can help get you started.
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Proverbs: Amplified And Applied (book review)
January 10, 2023 — Craig T. OwensListen to the podcast of this post by clicking on the player below, and you can also subscribe on Apple, Spotify, or Audible.
Full disclosure: Dick Brogden is my cousin, so I may be just slightly biased on this book. But I don’t think my bias in any way contradicts my statement about the volume of Scripture contained in this powerfully insightful devotional work.
Dick has taken the Book of Proverbs and gone deep on every single verse. Each note is a treasure trove of insights, cross-references to other biblical concepts, and action steps that can immediately become a prayer request or a daily goal.
Let me give you an example. Provers 2:7 says, “He holds success in store for the upright, He is a shield to those whose walk is blameless.” Dick’s amplification and application for this verse says—
“Wisdom is a supply and a defense. Wisdom gained now provides in the present and protects in the future. God in His benevolence stockpiles wisdom for us. He gives neither Spirit nor wisdom by measure. He delights to flood, saturate, fill, overwhelm, and lavish the spirit of wisdom, counsel, discernment, and understanding upon us. When we walk in the light, in integrity, it is as if we have a library card that allows us free checkout of heaven’s daily living manuals. Our integrity is what gives us access to all the stored-up wisdom of God. Integrity also shields us from the attacks of folly. The grandest folly comes wrapped in deceptive intelligence. The devil is able (cunning angel of light that he is) to make foolish things seem wise. We are able to see through his disguises and be shielded from his traps when we have a legacy of continually checking out, reading, and applying God’s insight. It is the familiarity with the feel of the true that helps us recognize the false.”
I’m reading through the Book of Proverbs very slowly this year, allowing Dick’s commentary to help me let these principles sink in deep. For those who love the wisdom of Proverbs, I would greatly encourage you to get a copy of Dick’s book for yourself.
►► Would you please prayerfully consider supporting this ministry? My Patreon supporters get behind-the-scenes access to exclusive materials. ◀︎◀︎
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