"A fool gives full vent to his anger, but a wise man keeps himself under control." Proverbs 29:11
I once had a class called Symbolic Logic. I really liked it. It was basically math problems, just using words instead of numbers. (Well it was a bit more complicated than that, but I'm never one to be accused of being complicated.) In the class, we learned that Circular logic was never a good reason for proving something right. Basically, you're saying that something is true because you say it's true.
One day my family and I took a vacation trip to go see Mount Rushmore. We decided to drive and it's a really long drive. Of course, three boys, cramped backseat and a bathroom virtually non-existent in the plains of North Central United States lead to a lot of tension.
"Are we there yet?" was the question of the day.
"Daddy I need to go to the bathroom" was another.
"He's touching me!" was a runner up.
And of course, "Make him stop!" was always a prelude to a response from Mommy and Daddy that usually included, "Don't make me pull over."
During the trip, we got into a discussion about superheroes. Wolverine, Iron Man and Thor were the main topics. Of course each boy liked a different superhero. So they would make a list of all of the superhero's abilities and how they were better than the others. What started as a simple discussion soon turned into an intense argument. (You just can't diss the Incredible Hulk and not expect repercussions.)
So in order to settle the argument, one of the boys said, "Daddy which superhero is best?"
"Captain America," I said matter-or-factly. "No question."
There was a chorus of, "Nu-uhs" when finally one of the boys said, "Why do you think he's the best?"
So I answered in the best way I knew (and the way in which I give most answers to the boys). I said, "Because Daddy says so!"
There was a pause and one of them says, "That's not a real reason!"
And he was right. I wasn't playing the game by the rules. I just said it was so because of who I was. Circular logic.
The Apostle Paul tells us that the Jewish priests of his day believed all gentiles were sinners by birth. Because they weren't born a Jew, then their sins were so great that they couldn't know the true grace of God. Because of that belief, Paul tells us in Galatians that he stopped following the Jewish law and started to preach the gospel of grace. Paul would tell us that no rule or regulation that man makes can ever be better than the love of Jesus Christ.
Ironically, because he stopped following the Jewish law, he has become a "gentile sinner." And in the eyes of the Jews, Paul was unrighteous.
Circular logic. You can't be righteous unless you follow Jewish law. And if you're a Jew and stopped following Jewish law then you have to be a gentile sinner.
But God uses circular logic too.
In the eyes of God, Christ makes us holy. Not because we are holy, but because Christ is.
So somebody had it wrong.
An educated guess is that God had it right. In Christ we are made holy by faith. Not by following the rules. And in Christ that faith is shared to others, without condition. That is the very definition of grace. God can use circular logic too.
Not because God has to or because God says so. But because God loved us so much He sent us Jesus.
Let us pray.
Our Gracious God. Sometimes, we think we know all the answers and that we're always right. But truly, we're all wrong. In the way we act and in the way we treat others. Open our eyes today so that we can see the glory of God revealed by your son. In Christ's name we pray. Amen.
The Blessings of our Lord Jesus Christ be With You.
PASTOR TROY CONRAD IS MINISTER OF FARMINGTON UNITED METHODIST CHURCH. EMAIL: [email protected].
Religion on 06/15/2016