Are there contradictions in the Word?




COMMENT:

Paul says that dead in sin we are saved by grace. That means even sinning your saved. Then in Hebrews which is accredited to Paul, he says after knowing the truth, if you sin, there is no longer a sacrifice for sin. Just damnation. The bible is a contradiction. 

REPLY:

You are not taking the following into consideration. Even if Paul wrote Hebrews, the point is that Hebrews is NOT written to the Body of Christ. You cannot take doctrine from Hebrews and mix it with Paul’s 13-other epistles, which are all addressed clearly to Gentile churches. The book of Hebrews is not concerning Gentiles, but concerning the new covenant for Israel.

As "Romans" is the foundational doctrine for the grace believer today, "Hebrews" is the foundational doctrine for Jews in the 7-year Tribulation. The epistles could not have been named more clearly.

RETURN COMMENT:

Clearly that makes no difference that it's a contradiction. Paul contradicts himself which means there's a lie in there and I know which one is the lie.

I know I believe in God. I've heard God all my life. That's how I know even sinning we going to heaven is a lie. You have to truly repent, stop sinning, and you go to heaven, --as long as you ain't serving mammon. And well, the govt got us all almost on that.

REPLY:

There are two different doctrines involved in your argument; (1) “being dead to sin”, which is grace (or mystery) doctrine for the Body of Christ, and (2) “no more sacrifice for sin”, which is Kingdom (or prophecy) doctrine for Israel. These two doctrines cannot be merged as they absolutely contradict each other. They are opposing statements.

This is exactly why Paul tells us to rightly divide, 2Tim.2:15. There are many contradictions between the prophecy and mystery doctrines.

Take for example:

  • Prophecy, which is spoken by the mouth of God’s holy prophets since the world began, Act 3:21, versus mystery, which was kept secret since the world began, but now (in Paul’s day) made manifest, Rom 16:25-26.
  • Is Christ’s blood shed for many or for all? – Mat 20:28 & 1 Tim 2:6
  • Are sins imputed against us or not? – Acts 5:1-10 & Rom 4:8
  • Works for righteousness? – James 2:24 & Titus 3:5
  • Is forgiveness conditional or not? – Mat 6:14-15 & Eph 4:32
  • Does the gospel include water baptism? – 1 Cor 15:1-4 & Mark 1:4
  • Are we under the law or not under the law? – Mat 5:19 & Rom 6:14
  • Are Gentiles blessed through Israel’s rise or fall? – Acts 3:25 & Rom 11:11
  • etc… (many, many, more examples….)

I’m not trying to be difficult or argumentative. The list above is not my words or something I’m trying to defend. These contradictions are right there in the Bible, and plain to see.

But, it's important to note that they ARE NOT ERRORS. The point is that they are there because there are two different (or opposing) programs in God’s redemption plan. If you try to merge them, then YES….we have contradictions, BUT, they are to be kept apart as two separate and distinct doctrines. When you keep them apart, there are NO CONTRADICTIONS. The prophecy doctrine is for Israel and the mystery doctrine is for the Body of Christ. God uses these two different doctrines for two different purposes, to fix the earth through Israel and to fix the heavens through the Body of Christ.

So, one more time, in summary. When you blend them together, they contradict, which is sadly what most churches do today, causing the terrible doctrinal confusions. To avoid contradiction and confusion, KEEP THEM FAR APART.



Comments

Post a Comment