There is a spiritual activity that is on the decline nowadays, an exertion which requires a clean heart as well as love for God and men. I am referring to the Christian art depicted by the words: “Reasoning from the Scriptures”.

Unfortunately, through the passing of the years, the importance of that skill has been inadvertently trivialized and in some milieu virtually obliterated. The fathers of old didn’t fall in that trap, for they had understood both their responsibility and the importance of the Holy Scriptures. Their quest was not driven by mere intellectualism, but by a fervent desire to be loyal to God and to the truth that is in Jesus (Eph. 4:21). The Scriptures were for them more than a mere compass; it was the artery that brought an understanding of God to the soul. Therefore they trained themselves on their knees and called on the Spirit for guidance. Obviously, time had to be invested and therefore redeemed. This was done with diligence as they were moved by eternal values.

Regrettably, today, that focal point has been encroached upon and diffused in such a way that the resulting outcome has become nearly unprofitable. In all evidences it is time to refocus, and only through a reformation of our daily habits are we going to get it done.

Paul’s custom

The apostle to the gentiles knew the benefit of the costly practice. We read:

Then Paul, as his custom was, went in to them, and for three Sabbaths reasoned with them from the Scriptures, ³ explaining and demonstrating that the Christ had to suffer and rise again from the dead, and saying, “This Jesus whom I preach to you is the Christ. (Acts 17:2–3)

Here we are told that it was Paul’s custom to reason from the Scriptures with others. And he was able to do it efficiently with others because he was accustomed to do it with himself, and this, before God’s throne. That’s right! To debate rationally with oneself at the light of God’s word can only be beneficial, but only if sincerity is the touchstone of our inquest.

Reasoning with oneself from the Scriptures

There are two basic reasons why a person should reason from the Scriptures with himself . First, because it is the only way a person can reach the certainty of valid knowledge.

Have I not written to you excellent things of counsels and knowledge, ²¹ That I may make you know the certainty of the words of truth, that you may answer words of truth to those who send to you?” (Proverbs 22:20,21)

The second reason is: Because it is the only way we can develop skill to defend and confirm the Gospel (Philippians 1:7).

I repeat! This activity, i.e., reasoning from the Scriptures, is not primarily intellectual; it is fundamentally spiritual and therefore will never succeed without God’s help and guidance. That’s why a clean heart is primordial. Without it we will be inclined to subjectivity and therefore will tend to twist the Scriptures to our own convenience.

In what follows I will present three examples of wrong reasoning and explain why the reasoning was wrong. These examples will help us to see the complexity of the task, for as we are about to see, to reason from the Scriptures is not as easy as it may appear. We must be trained. It demands time, consecration, a clean heart, and faith in God’s assistance.

First example

“Now some of them from Jerusalem said, “Is this not He whom they seek to kill? ²⁶ But look! He speaks boldly, and they say nothing to Him. Do the rulers know indeed that this is truly the Christ? ²⁷ However, we know where this Man is from; but when the Christ comes, no one knows where He is from.” (John 7:25–27)

The problem with these people was a lack of valid knowledge. They thought they knew but they didn’t. Their so-called “knowledge” was invalid. And its invalidity led them to construct the following syllogism:

First premise: When the Christ comes, no one will know where He is from.

Second premise: We know where this man is from.

Conclusion: This man is not the Christ.

Here their conclusion was wrong because their first premise was inaccurate. Their incomplete knowledge of the Scriptures misled them, for the prophet Micah had foretold where the Christ was to be born: “But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of you shall come forth to Me the One to be Ruler in Israel, whose goings forth are from of old, from everlasting” (Micah 5:2).

In another occasion, speaking to some Sadducees, Jesus had rightly pointed out that their mistaken conclusion was based on a lack of knowledge, namely, of the Scriptures and power of God (Matt. 22:29).

Now some might say: “But how could that be? After all, in Jesus’ days, Sadducees were guiding the two most important institutions of Jewish society: The Jerusalem Temple and the Sanhedrin. The Sanhedrin was the governing body of religious and legal issues in Jewish society. A High Priest was leading that body and was, most of the time, a Sadducee. How can these people, holding high positions, be ignorant of the Scriptures?” Well, obviously the position a person occupies doesn’t necessarily mean he knows the Scriptures. The words of Jesus make it clear enough.

In the syllogism mentioned above, the people might have known the Scriptures to a certain extend, but they had overlooked a passage in the little book of Micah and were about to reject the Messiah on the basis of their wrong reasoning.

The classroom

To think that a few years of Bible school is sufficient to teach a person how to reason from the Scriptures is to trifle with the subject. And sadly enough this sort of trifling is taking place among us Christians. The only classroom where the art of reasoning from the Scriptures can be learned is there where the battle of faith is being fought, i.e., a place covering the whole spectrum of daily life where obedience is of utmost importance. There are no shortcuts. A person must climb and keep climbing while meditating on the Scriptures with a clean heart.

On my next post we will continue to look at some wrong reasonings and ponder on some common mistakes engendering them.

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