What are we supposed to make of the seemingly contradictory statements in the bible (God makes no mistakes vs. God repents, life for life vs. turn the

Hello Patricia

You have brought up at least four issues. Two that you mention directly and the third and fourth ones are implied.

First: Does the Bible contradict itself?
Second: What am I to make of these contradictions?
Third: .Contradictions imply that the one who should be in control is not in control
Fourth: Should any rational person give control of their lives to any being that can’t even control the things it should control?

The questions you have asked are the types that should be asked. After all we can’t come to GOD if we have doubts that He is really there. And we can’t throw ourselves fully into our faith if we have serious doubts about GOD being trustworthy, consistent or even more important understandable.

Let’s look at all four components of this question. We will begin with does the Bible contradict itself?

I. Does the Bible contradict itself?
A. Is the Bible infallible?
The Bible claims that all of its words are true, that they are the words of GOD and that they supersede any statements that contradict it.

All your words are true;

all your righteous laws are eternal
---Psalm 119:160

All Scripture is God-breathed
and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness,
---2 Timothy 3:16

For the word of God is living and active.
Sharper than any double-edged sword,
it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow;
it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.
---Hebrews 4:12

B. Just because it says it is true doesn’t mean it is true
It may be you are thinking,”Just because something says it is true does not mean it is true.”
The major way that we know without any shadow of a doubt that the word of GOD is true is through predictions (Isaiah 41:23b). The Bible has made many hundreds of them. Only a few remain to be fulfilled. All the rest have been fulfilled.

tell us what the future holds, so we may know that you are gods.
---Isaiah 41:23b

In an earlier post I showed that just a few dozen predictions fulfilled sequentially lead to numbers like one chance in one hundred million trillion. The numbers become so outrageous that you are forced to conclude that indeed GOD exists and the Bible is His word to us.

C The contradiction question
We see that GOD exists and the Bible is His word. God being who He is (All Knowing, All Wise etc) should be smart enough to not contradict Himself. So then why does it seem that He contradicts Himself?

Near and far context
Suppose a man has taught his six year old son to help people in need. One day they are at a gas station in Pinecrest. The man is pumping gas and his son is twenty feet away petting a dog.

Before the man can react he sees his son walk over to a street person sleeping in an alley and give him the five dollars he had received for his birthday. I an instant the derelict is gone.

On the way home the father has to add to what he taught about helping the needy. He now adds that you should know the person or how it is being spent because your sacrifice could end up being a bottle of Thunderbird wine or a drug.

The point of this not that the father contradicted himself (give vs. no don’t give). What he did was give a more complete picture regarding giving as well as clear up confusion about how we define worthy poor.

So when GOD says an eye for an eye and Jesus says turn the other cheek if you look closely at the surrounding context as well as near and far contexts you will see that together they make the picture more clear as to how to behave toward people who do damage to us.

II. What am I to make of these contradictions?
There really are not any contradictions. I have been studying the Bible for most of my adult life and I can tell you that whenever I took the time to study the issue I found that there were no contradictions.

If you have questions go to someone who is knowledgeable in the Bible or get a book on the subject of apparent contradictions. Your questions will be answered.

III. & IV. Contradictions imply that the one who should be in control is not in control.

Should any rational person give control of their lives to any being that can’t even control the things it should control?


For a person to come to GOD they must believe that He exists and for that person to take the next step of giving rule of their lives to GOD they must have confidence that GOD can do a better job of running their life than they do.

The Bible does not have contradictions. GOD is all wise, all powerful, and all good. Thus He is the perfect one to manage how we live.

And without faith it is impossible to please God,
because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists
and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him
----Hebrews 11:6

Your question was very thought provoking Patricia.

Don
Psalm 119:103, 130

Does Jesus’ Tomb exist?
Anonymous
_________________________________

Dear Curious,

If you visit the sites in modern day Israel, you will find that there are actually two major locations in Jerusalem which are said to be the former burial place of Jesus:

The Church of Holy Sepulchre.
The Garden Tomb.

Without going into the details of these two locations, many do believe that one of these two tombs was where our Savior was buried for a few days. Thanks and blessings to you.

Dean

I believe that once saved always saved. What verses can I show someone who believes they could lose their salvation?

Hello Anonymous-

What you have asked is of extreme importance. Our most important mission while alive is to bring as many people as possible to Christ as we possibly can. Clarity in presenting the gospel should be one of our great driving forces.

If a person does not understand eternal security when they come to Christ for salvation they have not really come to Christ

Before we get specifically to your question let’s take a few moments to see how strongly GOD feels about the clarity of the gospel and the people who bring it to others.

Then as an interesting point of interest, just for the fun of it lets see what happens in heaven when someone gets saved.

I. About the Gospel Message
A. About the Clarity of the Gospel

8) But even if we or an angel from heaven
should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you,
let him be eternally condemned!
9) As we have already said, so now I say again:
If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted,
let him be eternally condemned!
---Galatians 1:8-9--

GOD could not be clearer about it. To tell to someone a false gospel is the most heinous thing we can do. Because that persons eternity may very possibly rest upon understanding it.

Our striving to understand the gospel and to make it clear to others is of massive importance. GOD states it this way:

B. About the Messenger

14) How, then,
can they call on the one they have not believed in?
And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard?
And how can they hear without someone preaching to them?
15) And how can they preach unless they are sent?
As it is written, "How beautiful are the feet
of those who bring good news!"
---Romans 10:14-15---

What makes something particularly valuable? Usually things are valuable because they are rare. Did you notice in this text that even the feet of people who bring others to salvation through Christ are beautiful to GOD?


C. About the Messenger #2
They are beautiful because they are rare. Not many people do this. Yet their value to GOD is so extremely high that for all eternity those people will shine brighter than other people in heaven.

Those who are wise
will shine like the brightness of the heavens,
and those who lead many to righteousness,
like the stars for ever and ever.
---Daniel 12:3---

D. About the Angels

In the same way, I tell you,
there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God
over one sinner who repents."
---Luke 17:10---

The only thing I want to point out here is that angels who see things so much more clearly than we do are wild with joy whenever anyone comes to Christ.

II. Once Saved always Saved
There are several texts which prove that once we are saved it is irrevocable. Let’s start with John 5:24

A. John 5:24

I tell you the truth,
whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me
has eternal life
and will not be condemned;
he has crossed over from death to life.

1. Has
Notice the word has. Think about what that word means. It is a word of right now possession. It is a word of certainty. There is no ambiguity about it.

When we accept Christ we have eternal life.

2. will not
We will not be condemned. It could not be more clear! Some people may say that you can lose your salvation by doing any number of things but this verse exposes that teaching as wrong. We will not be condemned! Under any circumstance.

3. has crossed over
Here is another reason that we cannot lose our salvation. As far as GOD is concerned we are already in heaven. We are just waiting for our bodies to die.

We have passed over from death to life. There are no scriptures that tell us that we can pass from life back to death.

B We are sealed by the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 1:13-14; 4:30)

And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God,
with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.
---Ephesians 4:30---

1. sealed
What is the significance of this word seal? In Paul’ day when a person of power wrote a document of importance and value they would pour hot wax on the edges where it came together when rolled up.

When the wax was still hot he pressed it with a ring or other devise that had a particular design on it that everyone knew was his. No one was permitted by law to open the thing sealed except the one to whom it was addressed.

We, upon salvation, received GOD’S seal on us and no one but GOD Himself can lawfully remove the seal until we arrive at the destination that became our destiny the instant we were saved.

2. For the day of redemption
When is the day of redemption? It is the day we die.

C. No one can take us out of Christ’s hand (John 10:28-29)

28) I give them eternal life,
and they shall never perish;
no one can snatch them out of my hand.
29) My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all
no one can snatch them out of my Father's hand.

1. never
When does never occur? Obviously never , never occurs. So when Christ says we never perish we will do just that we will never perish.

2. No one

That means that no one: a person (ourselves included), the devil or any being that exists can take a believer out of the hand of GOD. Neither will GOD let go of us.

First He said we already passed from death to life
Second He said we will never perish. Because we can not be taken out of the hand of GOD
Third He said we are sealed until we die

Anonymous we have seen some versus that clearly show that once we are saved we are always saved. There are many more. But these are more than sufficient.

Don
Proverbs 24:11-12

The bible tells us to "test the spirits" to determine false doctrine from pure doctrine...

The bible tells us to "test the spirits" to determine false doctrine from pure doctrine. So how should we react when we hear our pastor or leader preaching something that may seem false? Should we disrupt him during the sermon and point out his error in front of everyone? or approach him after the service? Would it be wrong if we stop him while he is preaching to tell him what he is preaching is not accurate?

Mike
____________________________________________




Dear Mike:

Yes Mike, we should indeed “test the spirits.” If you don’t mind, I’ll address your questions separately as you have asked four questions in one.

When you refer to “test the spirits,” you may be referencing 1 John 4ff, which states.

1 Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world. 2 By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God; 3 and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God; and this is the spirit of the antichrist, of which you have heard that it is coming, and now it is already in the world. 4 You are from God, little children, and have overcome them; because greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world. 5 They are from the world; therefore they speak as from the world, and the world listens to them. 6 We are from God; he who knows God listens to us; he who is not from God does not listen to us. By this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error.

1 John 4:1-6.

Without getting too detailed, in this portion of scripture John may be addressing the Gnostics in the first century as well as those who do not believe Jesus is the Christ. This may not be the issues with your Pastor – teacher.

Judging from your questions, it appears that you may be questioning whether or not your pastor is correctly dividing the word of God. Acts informs us that the believers in Berea were quite noble as they heard the word, yet confirmed its veracity on a daily basis. We are to hear the word and then confirm.

11 Now these were more noble-minded than those in Thessalonica, for they received the word with great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily, to see whether these things were so. 12 Many of them therefore believed, along with a number of prominent Greek women and men. Acts 17:11-12

However, if you feel that your leader is preaching a false doctrine, you may want to make an appointment to visit with him. There is a correct forum for us as a civilized society. Imagine if there were one hundred attendees from various churches, religions, sects, and cults in this upcoming Sunday service. Each one of these attendees has a difference of opinion on biblical interpretation. What would happen if each of these attendees would selectively interrupt the Pastor/teacher in his monologue? That would not be such a pretty sight for a preaching service. Not only so, but what if the teacher is trying to make a point, yet he/she keeps being interrupted by nay-sayers. Paul speaks about this in Corinthians.

However, I have listed below a few scripture verses where some folk(s) believed that they were correct in rebuking our Lord, only to find out that they were incorrect:

22 And Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, "God forbid it, Lord! This shall never happen to You." 23 But He turned and said to Peter, "Get behind Me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to Me; for you are not setting your mind on God's interests, but man's." Matt 16:22-23.

39 And some of the Pharisees in the multitude said to Him, "Teacher, rebuke Your disciples." 40 And He answered and said, "I tell you, if these become silent, the stones will cry out!" Luke 19:39-40.

Now, imagine that you decided that you were going to interrupt the teacher, and you go ahead and interrupt… only to find out that you were incorrect. That would not be such a pretty sight. Perhaps, you may want to discuss the issue with your teacher in person - one on one in a private appointment. Many inconsistencies are usually worked out in this fashion.

Finally, please be aware that ‘systematic – biblical theology’ covers a variant of doctrines and beliefs and your particular belief may not be the same as the church, pastor, or teacher. Therefore, work out your faith and doctrinal statements in accordance with God’s word and remember that there may be more that one academic doctrine behind any one portion of scripture. In other words, you and I will have to keep doing our homework on God’s word.

In hopes of continual growth in the Lord. (Hebrews 5:12- 6:1).
Thanks for your question Mike.

Blessings.

Dean

My father-in-law is a physician and an athiest. While at dinner with him last night speaking on creation, he asked me to answer a question that I coul

Hello “Dr. Doesn’t know best”

Do you know what a straw dog is? A straw dog is a false assumption that a person lays down as a foundational truth. From that false assumption a conclusion is reached that is consistent with the false starting point. You have then both a wrong starting point and its inevitable "child" a wrong conclusion.

The problem is that two wrongs don’t make a right. Your father in law is a physician and therefore a scientist. So let’s illustrate this from medical science.

Years ago some doctors thought that when people were sick the problem was in the blood (This was a false assumption, your straw dog). So to return them to health you nicked a blood vessel of one sort or another and let it bleed some of that bad blood out. This was called blood letting.

If the patient was seriously ill several blood lettings were deemed necessary to restore them to health. Perhaps the best known recipient of this procedure was a man named George.

After several sessions the diseases course did indeed come to an end. Unfortunately it came to an end because the host body it lived in died, from blood loss.

George’s last name was Washington. George Washington the first President of our country.

The straw dog here is that GOD cannot possible be all knowing if man has free will.

A. Let's break down all the component parts of this question.

• There is a presumption that GOD is all knowing
• There is a presumption that people's free will and GOD'S knowing things ahead of time are mutually exclusive
• There is a presumption that GOD has chosen some people to salvation and in that choice has condemned those not chosen to hell.

B. Is GOD all knowing?
Let’s begin the response to this question by stating what should be obvious. To say GOD is all knowing is not the same as proving He is all knowing.

1. The Bible says that GOD is all knowing
The Bible states that GOD knows everything. The theological term for this is omniscient.

GOD knows things as they are
GOD knows things as they will be
GOD knows things as they might have been

a. GOD knows things as they are

“Nothing in all creation is hidden from God's sight.
Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him
to whom we must give account”
---Hebrews 4:13

b. GOD knows all future events

“Or declare to us the things to come,
tell us what the future holds,

so we may know that you are gods.”
---Isaiah 41:22b-23a

Through predictive prophecy we see that GOD is above the element of time. He is supernatural as seen by His ability to do what we who are natural cannot do.

Through predictions (many hundreds of them). We knew where Christ was to be born (Micah 5:2); The precise day of his death (Daniel 9:25); and the method of his death (Psalm 22) among other things.

Predictions foretold that Cyrus would deliver the Jews from Babylon about 150 years before it happened. This prediction even names Cyrus by name more than 100 years before he was born.

c. GOD knows what might have happened if man had chosen differently
This is an important truth to notice because one part of the question we were asked was “Either man has free will and God cannot know what man will decide tomorrow”

There is an interesting passage in 1 Samuel that addresses this “on point”.

David had been fleeing from Saul who wanted to kill him. David and his men were living in a town by the name of Keilah.

David asked GOD two questions. First would Saul come to Keilah to attack him? Second if he stayed in the town of Keilah would the people turn him over to Saul?

GOD said yes to both questions so David walked out of the city with his men and moved to desert strongholds and in the mountains. ( 1 Samuel 23:7-14)

Here is the point. GOD knew what would happen if David stayed in Keilah or if he chose not to stay. Man’s free will and GOD’S ability to see the future are not therefore mutually exclusive.

C. "or man does not have free will and God has chosen to save some and condemn others."
I think this may be a secondary sticking point for your father in law. Has GOD chosen people to be saved ? Yes He has.

The scriptures however, indicate that He has chosen not a select number of people to be saved. Instead He has chosen all men to be saved.

3) This is good, and pleases God our Savior, 4) who wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.

----1 Timothy 2:3-4

The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.

----2 Peter 3:9

The reason that all people are not going to enter heaven is that some people decline the invitation.

D. Concluding Thoughts
What have we seen? We have seen that The question to you from your father in law was based on a false assumption. That being that GOD’S ability to see the future and man’s free will were mutually exclusive.

We have also seen that although GOD has chosen all men to be saved not all men have chosen to accept the invitation.

Your question was an interesting spin on questions that are frequently asked.

Don
1 Peter 3:15

Is sex outside of marriage ok?

Hello Yves I am glad that you had the courage to ask that question, most people don’t ask. I will let Scripture do all the talking here because there are so many verses that answer this question for you. I will list a number of them, then it will be up to you to make the choice to the right thing with the information that is given. Here we go!

1 Corinthians 6:13-20

13"Food for the stomach and the stomach for food"—but God will destroy them both. The body is not meant for sexual immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body. 14By his power God raised the Lord from the dead, and he will raise us also. 15Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ himself? Shall I then take the members of Christ and unite them with a prostitute? Never! 16Do you not know that he who unites himself with a prostitute is one with her in body? For it is said, "The two will become one flesh." 17But he who unites himself with the Lord is one with him in spirit. 18Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a man commits are outside his body, but he who sins sexually sins against his own body. 19Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; 20you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body.

1 Thessalonians 4:3-5

3It is God's will that you should be sanctified: that you should avoid sexual immorality; 4that each of you should learn to control his own body in a way that is holy and honorable, 5not in passionate lust like the heathen, who do not know God;

Obviously, God wants us to stay clear of all sexual sins, not because He is mean person, but because He loves us and cares for us. If we stay within God’s boundaries, they will always taken where we need to go; on the other hand, they will never take us where we shouldn’t go. If you have fallen to this trap, and I do mean trap, check out this verse and you’ll see what I mean:

James 1:14-15

14but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed. 15Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.

So if you have fallen into this trap, there is a way out.

Galatians 5:16

“So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature.”

I Corinthians 10:13

No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.

As we walk in the Spirit, God gives us the ability to overcome anything in our lives, sex outside of marriage is no different, but you must be committed to changing the way you think and the way you live, especially if you are a Believer. It is a daily thing and as you do it God will replace the former things with His strength, love and grace. I live you with this one last verse and I hope that it all makes sense to you. Once again thanks for asking that question and I pray that God will honor you as you honor Him. John Lee

Ephesians 4:22-24

22You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; 23to be made new in the attitude of your minds; 24and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.

How do I surrender all to God?

This is a question that most of us, if we’re honest, have struggled with, I know I have, so hopefully I can answer this question for you Yo. I think that the first place to start is to realize that everything already belongs to God. Check out this verse: 1Chronicles 29:11 “Yours, O LORD, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the majesty and the splendor, for everything in heaven and earth is yours. Yours, O LORD, is the kingdom; you are exalted as head over all.”

Secondly, I notice that anytime Jesus called someone He asked them to leave everything and follow Him. Matthew 4:19-20 "Come, follow me," Jesus said, "and I will make you fishers of men." 20 “At once they left their nets and followed him.” Luke 14:33 “In the same way, any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple.”

To be surrendered you must first acknowledge that fact that God owns it all, and if you are going to follow Him you have to deny your ambitions and desires and replace them with His.

Mark 8:34b, 35 "…If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it.”

Remember this one thing: Surrendering you life doesn’t mean that God is automatically going to send you to some far away place to be a missionary, unless that is part of His purpose and plan for your life. What ever it is that God is calling you to do He must have your heart before He can do it. Don’t resist Him, let God use you…remember it’s no longer you, but Christ who lives in you.

Galatians 2:20 “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”

I hope this helps you. Thanks again for your question! John Lee