by Gardner Hall<\/p>\n
True, but careful with “therefore”<\/p>\n
True statement: “We don’t know how far God is going to extend His mercy.”<\/p>\n
“Therefore”\u2026 (fallacies often follow..)<\/p>\n
To draw an unwarranted conclusion from a true statement is to use the non-sequitur fallacy. Perhaps nowhere do we see this fallacy more than when making deductions from the fact that we are saved by God’s grace and mercy. The problem is that the true statement and the common non-sequiturs that follow are in two different realms. The true statement regarding the extension of mercy is in God’s realm. It is His prerogative and His only to determine how far he will extend His mercy. When we make our “therefore” statements, we often are taking upon ourselves a privilege that belongs only to God. It’s as if we think we can decide for God how far He should extend His mercy. That’s dangerous territory!<\/p>\n
The primary application that we should draw from the fact that God will extend His mercy to those He wills is that we should not pronounce judgment on the final destiny of others (I Corinthians 4:5). That includes sentencing them to be lost, or to salvation in spite of their indifference regarding fundamental spiritual principles.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
by Gardner Hall True, but careful with “therefore” True statement: “We don’t know how far God is going to extend His mercy.” “Therefore”\u2026 (fallacies often follow..) “It is not important to be concerned with having scriptural precedent for our spiritual practices.” “We can judge that others who have serious spiritual transgressions are still going to…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[1405,36],"class_list":["post-47377","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article","tag-logic","tag-reasoning"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":94303,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/fallacies-about-singing\/","url_meta":{"origin":47377,"position":0},"title":"Fallacies About Singing","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 3, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"by Roger D. Campbell When it comes to singing songs of praise to the Lord God, our concepts of such need to be based on the teaching of the New Testament. Sometimes, though, when it comes to singing spiritual songs, Christians accept ideas that simply are not true. Since such\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":83552,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/is-it-right-to-say-god-has-mercy-on-some\/","url_meta":{"origin":47377,"position":1},"title":"Is it right to say God has mercy on some?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 24, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Best regards, A few days ago, I came across this article, \"Are We Condemning Those Who Never Heard the Gospel?\" and I have been meditating on it. My observation and comment are not because I do not believe in the perfect righteousness of God, since I am a Christian,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":53521,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/can-a-christian-lose-salvation\/","url_meta":{"origin":47377,"position":2},"title":"Can a Christian Lose Salvation?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"September 16, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"by Matthew W. Bassford The other day, a brother sent me this link (Can a Christian lose salvation?) and asked if I had ever before addressed the topic in a blog post. I replied that I hadn't (at least so far as I can remember), but this seemed like a\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":34240,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/an-eye-for-an-eye-and-a-tooth-for-a-tooth\/","url_meta":{"origin":47377,"position":3},"title":"An Eye for an Eye and a Tooth for a Tooth","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"April 16, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"by Steve Dewhurst Such is modern man's ignorance of God's word, as well as His justice and mercy, that we often misunderstand the simplest Bible expressions and concepts. For example, the age-old principle of justice contained in the phrase \"an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth\"\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/04\/eye.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":66829,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/let-not-many-of-you-be-teachers\/","url_meta":{"origin":47377,"position":4},"title":"Let Not Many of You Be Teachers","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 29, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"by Terry Wane Benton \"Let not many of you become teachers, my brethren, knowing that as such we will incur a stricter judgment\" (James 3:1). James 3:1 makes this statement, but what does it mean? In the context, it was a certain \"you\" that was quick to speak and slow\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":14382,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/i-fear-to-teach-others-because-i-might-be-exposed-as-a-hypocrite\/","url_meta":{"origin":47377,"position":5},"title":"I fear to teach others because I might be exposed as a hypocrite","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 28, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I have this friend I used to like. He is going through a rough time. I want to reach out to him, but I don't approve of his current lifestyle, hence I hesitate. I don't want him to think I like what he does. What should I do? 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