The Logos: Is the Bible Logical?

For Christianity is not romantic; it is realistic. Christianity is realistic because it says that if there is no truth, there is also no hope; and there can be no truth if there is no adequate base. It is prepared to face the consequences of being proved false and say with Paul: If you find the body of Christ, the discussion is finished, let us eat and drink for tomorrow we die. It leaves absolutely no room for a romantic answer. For example, in the realm of morals, Christianity does not look over this tired and burdened world and say that it is slightly flawed, a little chipped, but easily mended. Christianity is realistic and says the world is marked with evil and man is truly guilty all along the line. Christianity refuses to say that you can be hopeful for the future if you are basing your hope on evidence of change for the better in mankind. The Christian agrees with the man in real despair, that the world must be looked at realistically, whether in the area of Being or in morals.

Francis Schaeffer, The God Who is There (Intervarsity Press: Downers Grove, 1968), 46 (emphasis mine).

Christianity is a Reasoned Faith

Biblically speaking, faith and reason go hand in hand.

Hebrews 11:1 NASB95

1 Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.

Christianity is not a blind leap in the dark. It is a confident expectation in something we cannot see, but have good reason to believe.

Next week, I have faith that gravity will act in the same way it is acting today. While I cannot see the future, my faith is well reasoned because I have experience with gravity.

We are to reason from God’s Word.

How am I saved?

By faith

Ephesians 2:8 CSB

8 For you are saved by grace through faith, and this is not from yourselves; it is God’s gift—

I have a confident expectation of salvation because it is not of my works, but is the freely given gift of God.

God promises salvation to those who come to Him in faith, and the Christian’s faith is not blind, but reasoned upon the faithfulness of God.

How do I know I am saved?

By reason

Romans 10:9–10 NLT

9 If you openly declare that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by openly declaring your faith that you are saved.

I have openly declared that Jesus is Lord, and I believe that God has raised Him from the dead, therefore I am saved.

The logic (reasonableness) of Christianity presents the only acceptable understanding of the world we live in.

Acts 17:16–34 NLT

16 While Paul was waiting for them in Athens, he was deeply troubled by all the idols he saw everywhere in the city. 17 He went to the synagogue to reason with the Jews and the God-fearing Gentiles, and he spoke daily in the public square to all who happened to be there. 18 He also had a debate with some of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers. When he told them about Jesus and his resurrection, they said, “What’s this babbler trying to say with these strange ideas he’s picked up?” Others said, “He seems to be preaching about some foreign gods.” 19 Then they took him to the high council [Areopagus, Mars Hill] of the city. “Come and tell us about this new teaching,” they said. 20 “You are saying some rather strange things, and we want to know what it’s all about.” 21 (It should be explained that all the Athenians as well as the foreigners in Athens seemed to spend all their time discussing the latest ideas.) 22 So Paul, standing before the council, addressed them as follows: “Men of Athens, I notice that you are very religious in every way, 23 for as I was walking along I saw your many shrines. And one of your altars had this inscription on it: ‘To an Unknown God.’ This God, whom you worship without knowing, is the one I’m telling you about. 24 “He is the God who made the world and everything in it. Since he is Lord of heaven and earth, he doesn’t live in man-made temples, 25 and human hands can’t serve his needs—for he has no needs. He himself gives life and breath to everything, and he satisfies every need. 26 From one man he created all the nations throughout the whole earth. He decided beforehand when they should rise and fall, and he determined their boundaries. 27 “His purpose was for the nations to seek after God and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him—though he is not far from any one of us. 28 For in him we live and move and exist. As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.’ 29 And since this is true, we shouldn’t think of God as an idol designed by craftsmen from gold or silver or stone. 30 “God overlooked people’s ignorance about these things in earlier times, but now he commands everyone everywhere to repent of their sins and turn to him. 31 For he has set a day for judging the world with justice by the man he has appointed, and he proved to everyone who this is by raising him from the dead.” 32 When they heard Paul speak about the resurrection of the dead, some laughed in contempt, but others said, “We want to hear more about this later.” 33 That ended Paul’s discussion with them, 34 but some joined him and became believers. Among them were Dionysius, a member of the council, a woman named Damaris, and others with them.

So, beginning with the premise that Christianity is a reasoned faith, we will examine five points of logic that Paul uses in his explanation for the truth and reality of the Christian faith:

The universe had a beginning …

I. Therefore There is a Self-Sufficient Creator—God (Acts 17:24-25)

The Origin of the Universe

Law of Causality — every material effect must have a cause

In other words, something cannot come from nothing.

Since the universe had a beginning, and since the universe is something, it cannot have come from nothing.

Christianity teaches that “in the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth” (Gen. 1:1).

So who created God?

No one—God is the uncaused cause.

The Uncaused Cause

There cannot be an infinite regression of causes.

At some point, there must be something that existed eternally.

If nothing ever existed, including God, then nothing would exist today, since something cannot come from nothing.

However, something exists (e.g., the universe). Therefore:

There must be an eternal something.

The eternal something cannot be physical or material, as such things do not last forever (2nd Law of Thermodynamics).

The Bible teaches that God is:

Immaterial

John 4:24 NASB95

24 “God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”

Eternal

Psalm 90:2 NASB95

2 Before the mountains were born Or You gave birth to the earth and the world, Even from everlasting to everlasting, You are God.

Self-Sufficient

Hebrews 3:4 NASB95

4 For every house is built by someone, but the builder of all things is God.

God is not bound to the Law of Causality.

He is the uncaused Causer

He is the Builder of all things

In spite of His self-sufficiency …

II. God Created Mankind Unique & Set Apart (Acts 17:26-28)

Does God Need Us?

Because God is self-sufficient, He does not need His creation. However, His decision to create is a powerful example of both His love and the importance of His creation.

The Uniqueness of Humanity

Humanity was created from one man.

In other words, there is one race: the human race.

What we call “race” is a social construct.

Humanity was the crown of God’s creation.

Genesis tells us humans—male and female—were made in the image of God.

The ability to think, to reason, to create, to love, etc. is because God created us in His image.

Humanity was designed to fill the earth and subdue it. To have dominion.

Humanity was created equally.

The nations and their boundaries were determined by God.

Any changes in nations and rulers is ultimately directed by God.

Wherever people live was ultimately chosen by God.

How many problems today are caused by “race”, ethnicity, nationality, etc.?

Designed to Seek Him

God does not need humanity, but He chose to create them because He desired a relationship with them.

Every nation—and therefore every person—was created for the purpose of seeking God and thus has the ability to do so.

To seek — to contemplate, to understand, to know

God has extended the invitation for a relationship, but is the choice of each individual whether to pursue it.

Perhaps denotes possibility.

Feel their way/Grope denotes intentional pursuit and intimate knowledge (i.e., to know distinctly and certainly).

God is not far from every person.

Regardless of circumstances, God can be easily found by every person because He desires to be found if only we will look for Him.

1 Timothy 2:4 NASB95

4 who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.

God has made His existence obvious

Romans 1:19–20 NLT

19 They know the truth about God because he has made it obvious to them. 20 For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God.

Accountable Because He Sustains Us

Everything has a cause, and we are dependent upon our Causer.

He is the reason we are alive. God breathed life into lifeless dust.

Genesis 2:7 NASB95

7 Then the Lord God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.

He is the reason we are able to move. God created life with the intention of action.

Genesis 2:15 NASB95

15 Then the Lord God took the man and put him into the garden of Eden to cultivate it and keep it.

He is the reason we exist. Our continued knowledge and understanding of our existence (e.g., living, intelligent beings) is wholly dependent upon God.

Paul takes these truths and summarizes them with the words of Greek poets that, “We are his offspring.”

It is not that we are little gods, but that just a child owes their existence to their parents, so a human being entirely owes their existence to their Creator.

Since humanity—the image-bearers—are unique …

III. God—the Image-Giver— is Infinitely Holy (Acts 17:29)

The Greatest

The source of all life cannot be confined to a lifeless block of wood, stone, or metal shaped by the creation.

If the purpose of idols was worship and reverence, Paul’s listeners might have recognized the force of his reasoning: an idol demeans the God of the universe, subjugating him to a lower level.

The creation cannot even fathom, much less depict, the fullness of its Creator.

Because God is infinitely holy …

IV. The Sins of Humanity Bear Infinite, Righteous Judgment (Acts 17:30-31)

Times of Ignorance

God allowed humanity to walk in their ignorant and destructive ways.

He did not immediately come in judgment

Nor did He immediately reveal the mystery of Christ

A wizard is never late, Frodo Baggins. Nor is he early. He arrives precisely when he means to.

Following the revelation of His Son, the call of God is now for everyone everywhere to repent of their sins and turn to him.

The reason is because there is a fixed, determined day in which God will righteously judge the world.

Sin against an infinite God bears infinite consequences.

Illustration: scratched rock, scratched junkyard car, scratched used car, scratched Ferrari

As the value of a thing increases, so do the consequences/punishment

The proof of this reality …

V. Is the Resurrection of Jesus (Acts 17:31)

Jesus declared He would judge the world:

John 5:25–27 NASB95

25 “Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live. 26 “For just as the Father has life in Himself, even so He gave to the Son also to have life in Himself; 27 and He gave Him authority to execute judgment, because He is the Son of Man.

By raising Jesus from the dead, God the Father affirmed His ministry, witness, and testimony.

The resurrection of Jesus is …

Conclusion: An Inflection Point for All (Acts 17:32-34)

Three Responses

Some laughed

Some wanted to know more

Some believed and followed