Does Scripture Contradict Itself?

Does Scripture contradict itself?

The Apostle Peter tells us that

no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit. (2 Peter 1:21)

Or, as the Apostle Paul puts it, “All Scripture is breathed out by God” (2 Timothy 3:16). If the Bible were simply the writings of dozens of men written over the course of hundreds of years, we would expect some writings to contradict others. But if, as Peter and Paul claim, God is behind everything in the Bible, there should be no genuine contradictions.

Sometimes different authors seem to contradict one another. Most famously, Paul in Romans and James in his letter speak in sharp contrast about justification, faith, and works:

For we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law. (Romans 3:28)

You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone. (James 2:24)

But there are issues not only between different authors. Jesus Himself sometimes speaks in seeming contradictions. I well remember as a teen being disturbed when encountering these two statements by our Lord:

For the one who is not against us is for us. (Mark 9:40)

Whoever is not with me is against me (Matthew 12:30a)

Which is it, Jesus? Are those who are neutral for You? Or are the neutral ones against You?

Seeing such examples, we might think the Bible needed a good editor who would clean up such statements, modifying what was written in one place so that it is in accord with what was written in another place. Good publishers check book manuscripts for such issues all the time.

However, the seeming contradictions in Scripture are not limited to those written by different authors. Some are clearly intended by the author of a particular book – for they are placed right next to each other. For example, see Proverbs 26:4-5:

Answer not a fool according to his folly, lest you be like him yourself. Answer a fool according to his folly, lest he be wise in his own eyes.

Clearly the compiler of Proverbs is getting at something deeper than giving us a general rule about how we should respond to those who are foolish.

When we begin to look for apparent contradictions, we see them throughout Scripture. Many deal with issues of central importance to the Christian faith, such as our freedom in Christ:

Live as free people, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as God’s slaves. (1 Peter 2:16 NIV)

Or our attitude towards “life:”

For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel’s will save it. (Mark 8:35)

Or especially the nature of God, the relationship between God the Father and Jesus:

I and the Father are one. (John 10:30)

Or the interplay between wrath and mercy, judgment and grace:

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. … Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him. (John 3:16, 36)

These and other examples of apparent contradictions right next to each other indicate that these paradoxes are not mistakes in need of a good editor, but intended by the authors of individual books to help communicate their message. And if that is the case, it is reasonable to ask if the Holy Spirit, as the claimed author of the entirety of Scripture, uses the same technique across books of the Bible to communicate His revelation – truths that are best communicated through this literary style.

Such apparent contradictions are hard to understand – but in a book that purports to be the words of the sovereign God of the universe, that is not surprising. Peter himself tells us that:

There are some things in [Paul’s letters] that are hard to understand, which the ignorant and unstable twist to their own destruction, as they do the other Scriptures. (2 Peter 3:16)

Let us not be among the ignorant and unstable, twisting Scripture and thus headed to destruction. Let us instead follow the exhortation Paul gives Timothy after making some of those hard to understand statements:

Think over what I say, for the Lord will give you understanding in everything. (2 Timothy 2:7)

Over the next several months, beginning Sunday January 20, we will do just that: Think over seeming contradictions, all the while praying that the Lord would indeed give us understanding, so that we might know Him better, love Him more, and follow Him more closely. In this sermon series, entitled, “Contradictions? How Delving Into Challenging Topics Unlocks the Riches of God’s Revelation”, we’ll consider issues in salvation and judgment, in living the Christian life, and in understanding who God is. After introducing the series this Sunday, on January 27 we’ll consider the topic of prayer: If God does whatever He pleases, how can our prayers have any impact on what happens?

Join us as we think over what God says. May the promise of 2 Timothy 2:7 prove true, as His Spirit unlocks for us the riches of God’s revelation of Who He is, who we are, and how we can follow Him and grow in Him in this world.

[Biblical citations are from the ESV unless otherwise indicated.]

 

What Book Are You Writing With Your Life?

Why did John write his Gospel account? He tells us at the end of chapter 20:

Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name (John 20:30-31).

John did not write the definitive biography of Jesus. He did not write for the sake of history, or to satisfy anyone’s curiosity. He was not trying to write great literature or to tell a good story. He was not trying to gain accolades from critics or to gain status as one of the Four Evangelists.

Instead, what did he write?

Note first that he wrote what was true – most of which he had seen himself. As John states after recalling blood and water pouring out of Jesus’ side after His lung was pierced, showing that He really died on the cross:

He who saw it has borne witness – his testimony is true, and he knows that he is telling the truth – that you also may believe. (John 19:35)

Second, in selecting among the many true events he could have related about Jesus, John chose those that would show most clearly that Jesus is who He claimed to be: The One sent from the Father, who always did the will of the Father, who always spoke the Father’s words: that is, the Word made flesh, the Son of God, the long-promised Messiah on whom the Lord would lay the iniquities of us all.

Third, John is not writing as a neutral observer, relating what he has seen, leaving other neutral observers to draw their conclusions. For John heard Jesus Himself say that there are no neutral observers of Him: “Because I tell the truth, you do not believe me” (John 8:45). John instead writes as a recipient of God’s love, as one invited into friendship with the Son of God Himself (John 15:14), as one who is connected to Jesus the Vine, as one who can do nothing apart from Jesus’ life-giving power (John 15:4-5), as one who will spend eternity knowing Him and performing His work (John 12:50, 17:3). Therefore, John writes to show his readers what they most need to know:

Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him. Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life. (John 5:23b-24)

So John writes with the hope and expectation that his readers will honor the Son; that they will believe and so have eternal life.

That’s the book John wrote.

Shouldn’t we live our lives in the same way?

What book are you writing with your life? A book that leads to your fame and accomplishment? A book that leads to a relaxed, comfortable, easy life? Or are you, with John, writing a book that shows others what they most need to know: That Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life; that no one comes to the Father, that no one has true life, abundant life, apart from Him? (John 10:10, 14:6)

That is what those around you most need to hear. That is their greatest need. Communicating that truth in word and in deed is the most effective way to love them.

As we choose how to live, what to speak, what to do, may we all with our lives write books like John’s Gospel, so that many will believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and believing have life in His Name.