By Jody Apple
The supervisor of an apartment building usually has a master key. This key allows him to open any locked door in the building—if indeed he wants to enter.
To many, issues of Biblical authority and doctrine seem liked locked doors. Is the Bible really divinely produced? How can we know? If it is, how do we know what God requires of us? How do we unlock difficult doctrinal questions? Is there a key, a singular solution, which resolves all difficulties? We do have a key. Our key is reason (logic) and the “laws of thought” that all proceed from God’s own rational nature. The question is what will we do once we have unlocked a door?
Whether or not we use a logician’s formal parlance, we are familiar with using logic when we deal with various Biblical questions. For example, concerning the question of whether or not the Bible is inspired and credible, we know how to use the Law of Excluded Middle. The simple logic of “X is either true or not true” stems from God’s logical thought patterns. Any rational person understands that a statement of “fact” is either a true statement, or it is not a true statement.
“The Bible is divinely inspired.” This statement is either true or false. The Bible is either from God, or it is not from God. How do we know? We engage in the intellectual task of determining whether the evidence proves that the Bible did originate with God. If we truly want to find the answer, we evaluate the Bible’s characteristics. If God authored the Bible, it will possess attributes that prove it to be beyond human capabilities. For example, we find that the Bible reveals information that man simply did not know or understand until much later in history. This demands an explanation: Who supplied this knowledge? Since such information is beyond human production, its source must be God.
The same principles that enable us to determine the Bible’s inspiration and authority also apply to specific questions of faith and practice. Jesus presented a straightforward logical argument when Jewish priests and elders challenged his authority (Matthew 21:23ff). In response, He asked a question: “The baptism of John—where was it from? From Heaven or from men?” (vs. 25). Though His answer might appear to have been a diversion, it was not—because their answer to that question would apply with equal force to the questions about His own authority.
Jesus presented a choice between two diametrically opposed propositions. The religious leaders understood that there existed only two possibilities for the source of John’s baptism: God or man. A logic teacher would identify this as a “strong disjunction,” in which only one of the two can be true. Once again, we recognize this as an intellectually simple task. Examine the evidence, and determine whether John acted on authority from God or from man. Why was this so hard for Jesus’ challengers? Their difficulty was not intellectual; it was moral and volitional.
If John’s baptism was from Heaven, why had they not obeyed? Applying the question to Jesus’ authority—if Jesus’ teaching and miracles were clearly from Heaven, why did they not submit? The leaders’ thought process is extremely significant. Among themselves they fully acknowledged the consequences of the first option. If John’s baptism (or any other teaching) were from God, they were obliged to obey. Intellectually, they had no problem understanding that there were only two options—that something was either from God or not from God. Since they did not want to obey, however, they responded disingenuously: “We do not know” (vs. 27).
Unfortunately, evidence and logic do not always lead to belief and obedience, because the process by which facts produce faith can be interrupted. It is man who interrupts the process, never God.
John 11 recounts the resurrection of Lazarus—a miracle that produced two very different responses. Based on what they saw, some witnesses came to believe Jesus was the Messiah. Others who witnessed the same evidence concluded that Jesus should be put to death. What derailed the evidence-to-faith process was not the lack of proof, but rather the unbelievers’ unwillingness to bring their souls into harmony with what God had demonstrated to them.
More often than not, unbelief has little to do with the facts and our ability to access them. It has more to do with our will, moral integrity, and emotions. It is no wonder, then, that God repeatedly encourages people to make the right (and righteous) choice.

  • In Deuteronomy 11, God (through Moses) urged Israel to obey and receive blessing rather than disobey and be cursed.
  • Moses directed Israel to choose life over death (Deuteronomy 30).
  • Joshua urged Israel to choose God rather than “gods” (Joshua 24).

Remember that in these three instances, God (through His spokesmen) was speaking to people who had witnessed dramatic evidence of His power and authority. They could hardly have doubted His existence or been ignorant of His will. Nonetheless, they needed to overcome their stubborn will, their moral weakness, and their lack of love toward God.
When we face evidence that leads to inevitable conclusions, how do we respond? We must ask ourselves:

  • Do I actively seek God’s will?
  • Am I willing to submit to God’s authority, wherever that leads?
  • Am I fearful of the results of obeying God?
  • Am I so attached to my long-held beliefs or practices that I resist the truth?
  • Am I honest enough to accept truth and its consequences, even when it contradicts what I thought was right?
  • Do I love God?
  • Do I love His way more than my own?

We must examine the evidence, arrive at logically correct conclusions—and love God enough to obey His will in everything.
A master key is valuable and useful, but only when we are willing to use it. It’s not enough to unlock the door; we must go through it.