Bulletin Articles
“Understanding inferences”
Categories: Authority, inferencesUnderstanding Inferences
Have you ever wondered how the early Christians knew when to gather together when the Bible didn’t state where and where on Sunday? Was it just a coincidence that all the brethren showed up at the same place and at the same time (Acts 20:7)? It is reasonable to conclude that the church decided this ahead of time.
Knowing there had to a decision that needed to be made, did they do this with Biblical authority? The skeptic will jump in and say no because there isn’t a book, chapter and verse to tells them when and where. That is not true. The passage is found in I Corinthians 11:17-29. This is where Paul pointed out that brethren were to gather to take the Lord’s Supper. You cannot fulfill that command without understanding necessary inferences. No one can function in this world without doing such.
For example, a mother tells her child to clean their room today. Is that enough information for the child to get the job done? Absolutely. They will use their legs to walk into their room. They will use their eyes to look around. They will use their hands to pick up things and put them where they belong. They will schedule time that day to get it done. Now, if the child doesn’t do the job because their mom didn’t provide all those inferences, will the mom accept that? Not a chance.
The question is, does the principle of inference, open the flood gate so people can infer anything they want? No. There are boundaries. Going back to the mother and child example. If the child gets their baby brother to clean the room, they violated the command – “you clean your room.” If the child opts to clean it another day, they violate the command. If the child opts to clean their parent’s room, they violate the command.
Abiding in the teaching of Christ (II Jn. 9), consists of doing what we are told by thinking about the inferences that are connects with what we are told. Look for next week’s bulletin where we deal with aids and additions, in understanding authority.
Chuck
