God wants us to be good thinkers!

• Introduction

  • Isaiah 1:10-18 – God will not bear it when we sin and then try to worship Him. “I cannot endure sin and the solemn assembly.”

  • Psalms 32:8-9 – Don’t be like an unthinking animal!

  • Ephesians 4:11-13

• What is logic?

  • A study of how to think correctly and reach true conclusions.

  • Romans 1:20

  • Logic is not a study of facts. It is a study of what we can correctly deduce from facts.

  • John 9:33

• Logic comes from God

  • We are not perfect thinkers, but God is. All truth emanates from Him. Isaiah 55:7-9. The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are perfectly united in truth.

  • Jesus left us with many examples of logical behavior and thinking.

    • Luke 2:47 – People were amazed at Jesus’ understanding and answers at age 12!

    • Matthew 4:1-11 – Jesus refuted Satan by appealing to scripture.

    • Matthew 22:41-46 – Jesus prompted others to think about His own Deity by what the Scriptural facts implied.

    • John 14:6

    • Luke 11:14-20 – Jesus used logic to refute the charge that He is casting out demons by Beelzebul (Luke 10:17).

    • His teaching was coherent and profound!

      • John 10:21; Matthew 7:28-29; John 7:15, 46

    • Jesus’ perfect knowledge allowed Him to identify their faulty logic so that they could no longer answer Him a word. Matthew 22:15-46

  • I Corinthians 2:11 – The Bible helps us become better thinkers as we develop and try to mimic the mind of God, and becoming better thinkers helps us to become better Bible students.

• Christians will strive to be good thinkers.

  • Genesis 1:27

  • Ephesians 5:1

  • God has always prompted His people to use their minds to examine things critically and make good decisions.

    • I Thessalonians 5:21; Romans 12:2; Mark 16:17-20; John 3:2; Hebrews 2:1-4; Acts 17:1-3

  • Serving God involves using the mind He blessed us with.

• Logic is not the absence of emotion.

  • God Himself is described as having emotions. Genesis 6:6; Isaiah 65:19; Mark 3:5

• Logic is not opposed to faith.

  • The very existence of logic points toward the existence of an immaterial Mind (God).

    • Law of non-contradiction

    • Law of the excluded middle

  • How would you explain the existence of such immaterial laws from an atheistic perspective?

  • “Secular thinkers cannot make sense of the laws of logic. …”

Courage

• II Timothy 1:7 – We must use this “spirit of power” to spread God’s word.

• Psalm 27

• II Timothy 1:7 tells us not to fear. Compare Psalms 111:10; Acts 13:16, 26; Romans 3:18; II Corinthians 5:11; 7:1; Hebrews 10:31. These are different types of fear. We should have a reverent fear of God.

• Luke 12:23-31 – God is in control. This should give us great comfort!

• Philippians 1:27-30

• Matthew 10:28

• I Corinthians 16:13-14 – We must stand firm like men, but in a loving way.

• John 14:27 – Jesus gives us great peace, which should help us have courage.

Elders rule by:

• Leading

  • Hebrews 13:17; I Timothy 5:17 – Elders are to lead in a way similar to how fathers lead in families.

  • I Peter 5:2 – Elders are shepherds of the flock.

• Service

  • Luke 22:25-26 – Those that serve are the greatest.

  • Matthew 20:25-28

• Warning and admonishing

  • Acts 20:31; Ezekiel 3:17

• Teaching

  • I Timothy 3:2; I Peter 5:2; Titus 1:9 – Elders should be able to teach and are to feed the flock.

• Example

Christians are to be crucified, peaceful, and loving.

• Matthew 22:37, 39

• Galatians 5:13-23

• Ephesians 4:1-3

• Philippians 4:2; 2:1-4 – Regard one another as more important than yourself.

• Romans 14-15 – Eating meat and principles of conscience.

• I John 2:9-11; 3:10, 15; 4:20-21

New Testament Christians were actually able to pull this off!

• Thessalonica – Acts 17:4-5; I Thessalonians 1:6-9

• Antioch – Acts 11:19

• Even Corinth! – I Corinthians 1:11; 6:1-8; 11:18; II Corinthians 7:6-16

Attitudes are contagious.

• Hebrews 10:24

Unnecessary conflict is embarrassing.

• Romans 2:17-24

There will virtually never be a unanimous matter of opinion.

• Acts 2, 6

James 1:22

Putting it all together

• The beginning of knowledge!

  • Proverbs 1:7, 29; 2:5; 3:7; 8:13; 9:10; 10:27; 14:2, 26-27; 15:16, 33; 16:6; 19:23; 22:4; 23:17; 31:30

  • The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge.

• Where am I heading?

  • Proverbs 5:11; 14:12-14; 16:25; 19:20; 20:21; 23:17-18; 23:32; 24:14, 20; 25:8

  • We have to keep the end in mind.

  • Our goal is to glorify God as long as we’re on earth, and then live with Him in eternity. Our decisions should lead us toward that goal.

• It’s time to make application!

  • Proverbs 3:5-7; 19:3, 21; 28:25

  • It takes a lot of character and deliberate willpower to truly, genuinely, fully trust in God!

  • Let Solomon be a warning to us! Deuteronomy 17:7 à I Kings 11:4

• “My son …” – Passing wisdom down as a legacy

  • Proverbs 1:8

  • This book gives parents wisdom to discuss with their children in order to guide them in the Divinely-ordained ways of life. Let’s use it for that!

Proverbs 9:1-2 – Wisdom is described as a character quality.