I've heard my whole Christian life there are no contradictions in the Bible. I'm sure the intentions of the speaker were well intended although just not accurate. People assume contradictory information in scripture is a mistake and with that definition will defend their position. Contradictory information is just that, contradictory information. There are many passages that contradict each other in scripture. We'll look at one of the commonly mentioned contradictions in scripture and see how modern Christianity handles it and then how a Bible believing dispensational right divider handles it. Romans 4:5 "But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness. This scripture very clearly says works are not required for justification. Now lets read James 2:24. "Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only". If we are being honest with ourselves we cannot deny these verses say different things about justification. As a Bible believer I don't try to change them to fit my doctrine or denominational stance. I leave them alone and let them say what they say. Modern Christianity will run to the Greek to find alternate meanings for words and different shades of definitions to tweak the verses to fit their agenda. These Bible correctors leave you thinking you must read Greek to understand the Bible and leave you with a Bible that needs correcting. A contradiction in the Bible is not a mistake! And there are plenty of contradictions, every one of them with a clear dispensational answer leaving me with a Bible that does not need corrected. Let's ask ourselves the three questions you must always ask yourself when reading the Bible. Who is speaking, to whom, and am I in the audience? James clearly tells us in James 1:1 he is speaking to the "twelve tribes which are scattered abroad". It would then be important to know when they were scattered. We can see clearly they were scattered abroad in Acts 8:1, "and they were all scattered abroad throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles" The third question being; am i in the audience? Obviously not unless your from one of the twelve tribes of Israel. Several other important points must be mentioned here. Galatians 2:7-9 very clearly states that James, Peter, John, Paul and Barnabus made a decision on who would go to whom. It is clear that James ministry was to the circumcision and our Apostle Paul clearly going to the uncircumcision. A very important point not to miss is when the twelve tribes were scattered. Acts chapter 8, which is one chapter before our Apostle Paul is called by Jesus himself and receives the revelation of the mystery. The mystery of salvation by grace alone is only revealed in scripture by the Apostle Paul and James is writing to the little flock of Israel before Paul receives this information. So you can choose to continue to wrest the scriptures to fit your view of scripture or you can rightly divide as God intended and see the Bible come into perfect harmony. God separates his Bible by prophecy and mystery not the OT and NT. All the contradictions in scripture become clear when we follow Paul's pattern for Bible study. The gospel of the kingdom and the gospel of the grace of God cannot harmonize because they are different. Unfortunately the Covenant position of most of Christianity today has them forcing Paul's mystery information back into the gospels, creating the confusion that created the scores of denominations we see today.
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AuthorSteve Schoenberger is a student of the Bible and the minister at Abundant Grace Bible Fellowship, A Mid-Acts Dispensational Bible church teaching the Bible rightly divided according the revelation of the mystery delivered to the Apostle Paul Archives
August 2024
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