In two previous articles, consideration was given to the laws of logic. These laws are fundamental to reason and deriving conclusions; they originate, frankly, in the mind of God inasmuch as they are a part of the fabric of scripture. These laws of logic are used to provide structure, understanding, and comprehensibility to life. Without them, communication is impossible. In these present bulletin articles, a definition for logic has been considered. Additionally, three of the laws of logic have been studied briefly. These laws are the law of identity, the law of non-contradiction, and the law of the excluded middle. The law of identity is that a statement is equal to itself and is different from every other statement. The law of non-contradiction states that a proper statement and its opposite cannot both be true at the same time and in the same way. The law of the excluded middle is that a proper statement is either true or false; there is no other alternative. Let us continue this study by noting the fourth and final law of logic.
The fourth law of logic – the law of rational inference – states that every conclusion reached must follow from absolute reasoning based on accepted premises. A simple example might be presented as follows. Consider the statement: Tommy likes green cars. Consider also the statement: my uncle owns a green Ford car. Then, it follows that Tommy likes my uncle’s Ford car. Notice that the first two statements are independent of one another – one has to do with what Tommy likes and the other has to do with the car my uncle owns. The final statement is one of conclusion based on the first two statements. Apply this law to the interpretation of the Bible.
Consider the text of Mk. 16:16. “He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved” (Mk. 16:16) This passage speaks obviously of requirements for being saved. This sentence is easy to understand in application of the law of rational inference. Once one appreciates the meaning of belief and also of baptism, it follows that the performance of these things places one in a saved state. Rational inference will not permit the neglect of either belief or baptism in regard to the state of being saved.
Consider the text of Jn. 3:3-5. “Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother’s womb, and be born? Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.” As Jesus spoke with Nicodemus, He stated the necessity of being born again. Though Nicodemus was perplexed by that statement, Jesus continued to elaborate, speaking of being born of water and of the Spirit. A certain premise of this discussion is that in order to see the kingdom of God, one must be born again. A second premise is that of being born of water and of the Spirit (an illusion to scriptural baptism). Jesus asserted that both of these yield the blessing of entering the kingdom of God. The law of rational inference teaches that being born again is equivalent to being born of water and of the Spirit. Thus, apart from scriptural baptism, there is no rebirth.
Whether it is a discussion of the plan of salvation, the worship of the church, or any other Biblical theme, the laws of logic – including the law of rational inference – is an essential basis for drawing correct conclusions. When the Holy Spirit wrote, “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth” (2 Tim. 2:15), He insisted that the word of God must be handled rightly. This passage alone demands that the full power of the laws of logic be used to conclude what God desires to be concluded from His word.
Isn’t it interesting how some individuals, schooled in the laws of logic, nonetheless fail to apply them to the Bible? There are atheists, agnostics, and others, for example, who respect highly the laws of logic; yet, they fail to see in them the Mind that established them! (Ps. 119:89) How eternally sad!