SOLVING THE CONFUSION

God does not put mistakes in the Bible. However, different contexts create contradictory verses in the Bible. These contradictions make it impossible to obey every instruction in the Bible. It is necessary to rightly divide the Lord’s instructions for us today from the instructions in time past or for those in the ages to come.

It is usual to separate the Old from the New Testaments. However, both of the Testaments are the subject of prophecy to Israel. The mystery information given to Paul demands another division separate from that which was prophesied.

We can reconcile the contradictions below by identifying who is speaking, to whom, and under what dispensational context.

Some of the So-Called Bible Contradictions

Gospel contradictions

1. Is the gospel the cross or the kingdom? – Mark 1:14-15 & 1 Cor 15:1-4

2. Was the cross glorious or shameful? – Acts 3:13-15 & Gal 6:14

3. Was the gospel made known or kept secret? – Rom 16:25 & Acts 3:21

4. Did the twelve understand the gospel or not? – Luke 9:2 & Luke 18:34

5. Do we preach gospel of the kingdom or of Grace? – Luke 9:2 & Acts 20:24

6. Justification with or without works? – Rom 4:5 & James 2:24

7. Was Christ’s blood shed for many or for all? – Mat 20:28 & 1 Tim 2:6

8. Do animal sacrifices atone for sins? – Lev 16:27 & Heb 10:4

9. Is God imputing sins against us? – Acts 5:1-10 & Rom 4:8

10. Do we need works for righteousness? – James 2:24 & Titus 3:5

11. Is salvation not of works or by our behavior? – Eph 2:8-9 & Luke 10:25-29

12. Was Abraham justified by works or not by works? – James 2:21-23 & Rom 4:2-3

13. How are sins forgiven? – John 20:23 & Col 1:14

14. Is forgiveness conditional or not? – Mat 6:14-15 & Eph 4:32

15. Does grace abound or is their an unforgivable sin? – Mark 3:29 & Rom 5:20

16. Is the gospel believe or repentance and baptism? – Acts 2:38 & Acts 16:31

17. Are we at peace with God? – Mat 3:7 & Rom 5:1

Baptism contradictions

18. Are we sent to baptize? – 1 Cor 1:17 & Mark 16:16

19. Does the gospel include water baptism? – 1 Cor 15:1-4 & Mark 1:4

20. One baptism or more? – Eph 4:5 & Mat 3:11

Commission contradictions

21. Go to ‘all men’ or just to Israel? – Mat 10:5-6 & Titus 2:11

22. Should they carry money or not? – Luke 10:4-5 & Luke 22:35-36

23. Should the disciples go to all nations or only circumcision?–Mat 28:19 & Gal 2:9

24. Was Paul sent to baptize? – Mat 28:19 & 1 Cor 1:17

25. Are they baptized by Jesus or into Jesus? – John 4:1 & Rom 6:3

26. Are we to witness Christ’s earthly ministry? – 2 Cor 5:16 & Acts 1:22

27. Should Peter take a sword? – Luke 22:36 & Matt 26:52

28. Should we meditate about what to speak? – 1 Tim 4:15 & Luke 21:14

29. Does the Holy Spirit give utterance or do we? – Acts 6:9-10 & Col 4:6

30. Are the gainsayers able to resist? – Luke 21:15 & Titus 1:9

31. Is Paul or Peter the masterbuilder upon Christ? – Mat 16:18-19 & 1 Cor 3:10

32. Is Paul the least or the ‘chiefest’ of the Apostles? – 2 Cor 11:5 & 1 Cor 15:9

33. Was Paul the first or the last? – 1 Cor 15:8 & 1 Tim 1:16

34. How do we know what to say and believe? – Mark 13:11 & 2 Tim 3:15-17

Contradictions about the Law

35. Are we under the law or not under the law? – Mat 5:19 & Rom 6:14

36. Is Sabbath observance required? – Exo 20:8-10 & Col 2:16

37. Is circumcision necessary? – Gen 17:10-14 & Gal 5:2-6

38. Is the law for righteous men? – Mat 5:17-18 & 1 Tim 1:7-8

39. Are we dead to the law or should we follow it? – Mat 23:1-3 & Rom 7:3

40. Does righteousness come by the law? – Deut 6:25 & Rom 10:3-6

41. Is the law a sign of strength or weakness? – Josh 1:7 & Gal 4:9

42. Should we tithe? – Mat 23:23 & 2 Cor 9:7

43. Is giving (tithing) a punishable requirement? – Mal 3:8 & 2 Cor 9:7

44. Should Sabbath laws be enforced? – Numbers 15:32-36 & Gal 4:10-11

45. Liberty or bondage of the law? – Mat 23:1-2 & Gal 5:1

46. Do we need a temple? – Acts 2:46 & 1 Cor 3:16

47. Are the laws of abomination still effectual? – Mat 24:15 & Gal 4:9-11

48. Are we secure in Christ or our continued behavior? – 2 Tim 2:13 & Heb 10:26-27

Jew/Gentile contradictions

49. Is there a distinction between Jew and Gentile? – Mat 15:26 & Gal 3:28

50. Jews saved ‘in due time’ or ‘out of due time’? – 1 Pet 5:6 & 1 Cor 15:8

51. Salvation of the Jews or the Gentiles? – John 4:22 & Rom 11:11

52. Gentile blessing through Israel’s rise or fall? – Acts 3:25 & Rom 11:11

53. Will the Gentiles receive salvation? – Acts 28:28 & Rom 1:28

54. Did the Lord tell the apostles to go to Jerusalem first? – Luke 24:47 & Gal 1:17

55. Christ is at the right hand for whom? – Acts 5:31-32 & Eph 1:19-23

56. Who is the audience for the gospel? – Mat 10:5-7 & 2 Tim 1:11

57. Are we saved into one nation (Israel) or one Body? – Isa 60:3 & Eph 2:16

58. Are we a part of the seedline or adopted? – Gen 9:9 & Gal 4:5

59. Jesus ministry to circumcision or Paul’s ministry to Gentiles? Rom 15:8 & 15:16

60. Did Paul have mutual faith with uncircumcised Romans or with Jesus ministry to the circumcision? – Rom 1:12 & Rom 15:8

Prophecy/Mystery contradictions

61. Were the mysteries revealed before the death of Christ? Mat 13:11 & 1 Cor 2:7-8

62. What was prepared before/since the world began? – Mat 25:34 & Eph 1:3-4

63. Was the work of Jesus prophesied or kept hidden? – Luke 24:44 & Eph 3:9

64. Was the message for today known by the prophets? – Acts 3:24 & Col 1:26\

65. Can we understand the things God has prepared? – Isa 64:4 & 1 Cor 2:10

66. Was the book of Acts the end or the beginning? – Acts 2:17 & 1 Tim 1:16

Contradictions about our service to God

67. Who is responsible for our soul? – Heb 13:7 & Rom 14:12

68. Do we get the Holy Spirit upon belief or baptism? – Acts 2:38 & Eph 1:13

69. Do we need to confess sins to get forgiveness? – 1 John 1:9 & Col 2:13

70. Do we eat animals? – Gen 1:29 & Gen 9:3

71. Which animals do we eat? – Deut 14:3 & 1 Tim 4:4

72. Are we to keep unity or honor separation? – Eph 4:3 & Rom 16:17

73. Be like the ant or the raven? – Prov 6:6-8 & Luke 12:22-24

74. Should we work for food or not? – Mat 6:25-26 & 1 Tim 5:18

75. Should we sell all or provide for our family? – 1 Tim 3:5-6 & Mark 10:17-22

76. Should we judge? – Mat 7:1-2 & 1 Cor 2:15

77. Should ministers work for food? – Luke 10:4-5 & 2 Thess 3:8-11

78. Is having a child a good or bad thing? – Mat 24:19 & 1 Tim 5:14

79. Does the Holy Spirit stay or leave when we do wrong? Psalm 51:11 & Eph 4:30

80. Do we need a teacher? 1 John 2:27 & 2 Tim 2:2 & Eph 4:11

Future events contradictions

81. Peace on earth or not? – Luke 2:14 & Luke 12:51

82. Do the Jews have a special standing before God? – Deut 7:6 & Col 3:11

83. Do we inherit the earth or heaven? – Mat 5:5 & Col 1:3-5

84. Is the coming of the Lord a time of terror or comfort? –Joel 2:1-11 & 1Thess 4:16

85. Looking for earthly dominion or heavenly? – Phil 3:20 & Mat 6:10

86. Will we endure through the wrath or be delivered? – Mat 24:13 & 1 Thess 1:10\

87. Plowshares or swords? – Joel 3:10 & Micah 4:3

88. Physical blessings or spiritual blessings in heaven? Luke 12:32 & Eph 1:3

89. Future or present atonement? – Acts 3:19 & Rom 5:11

90. Future or present grace? – 1 Pet 1:13 & Rom 5:2

91. Will we reign in heaven or on earth? – Luke 22:30 & Eph 2:6

Prayer contradictions

92. How often do we need to pray before it is answered? – Isa 65:24 & Eph 6:18

93. Do we get anything we ask in prayer? – Mat 21:22 & 2 Cor 12:8-9

94. Should we know how to pray or not? – Luke 11:1 & Rom 8:26

95. Do we get what we ask or more than we ask? – Mat 21:22 & Eph 3:20

96. Do apostles have the power to heal? – Mark 16:18 & 1 Tim 5:23

97. Can we expect a healing from God? – Isa 53:5 & 2 Cor 12:7-10

General contradictions

98. Was creation good or bad? – Gen 1:31 & Gen 6:6

99. Were the Jerusalem saints poor or not? – Acts 4:34 & Rom 15:26

100. Do we need to teach ‘Know the Lord’? Jer 31:34 & 1 Tim 4:10-11

101. Are we washed by water or the Spirit? – Acts 22:16 & 1 Cor 6:11

102. Is it greater love to die for your friends or enemies? John 15:13-14 & Rom 5:10

103. Are angels teaching us or are we teaching them? – Zech 1:9 & Eph 3:10

104. Jesus was the stumbling stone or cornerstone? – Rom 9:18-33 & Eph 2:23-18

This is not an exhaustive list. This list is not intended to engender doubt about the truth of the Bible. Pauline right division resolves every contradiction above.

Failing to recognize the distinctiveness of “the revelation of the mystery” given to Paul by the risen Christ leads to confusion, even with respect to something as basic and important as the gospel. This is because mixing the kingdom gospel with the gospel of the grace of God perverts the gospel for today. When Christ and the 12 preached the kingdom gospel, the law was still in effect. Christ said, “Whosoever shall do and teach the same [the commandments of the law], shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:17-20; See also Matt. 23:1-3; 8:4; Luke 5:14). Also, Christ and the 12 commanded various works. For example, Christ said, “He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved” (Mark 16:16) and “Sell that ye have” (Luke 12:33). Peter preached, “Repent and be baptized . . . for the remission of sins.” (Acts 2:38). These are NOT the gospel of the grace of God for today.

In addition, Christians who try to apply verses given to Israel living under the law (or in the tribulation period) to today often doubt their eternal security. Verses such as the following cause them to question their security in Christ:

• “He that shall endure to the end, . . . shall be saved” (Matt 24:13).

• “For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, . . . If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance . . .” (Heb. 6:4-6).

These verses mean what they say for the time and situation in which they were said. However, they do not apply today. In this age of grace, no works of any kind are required for salvation and all believers are eternally secure. It is through Paul that God explains how we are justified apart from the law and works:

“ . . . being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood . . .” (Romans 3:24-25).

Another area of confusion among Christians concerns signs, wonders, and miraculous healings. In the gospels and Acts, these were a foretaste of the kingdom and validated the message that the kingdom was then at hand (Heb. 2:3-4; Matt. 11:3-6 w/ Isa. 35; Lk. 11:20). However, today the kingdom is not at hand. And, today, the outer man is not the focus of God’s activity. Instead, God is doing something far more wonderful and eternal than temporary healing and outward signs: he is working in the inner man of the believer, strengthening him by his Spirit to be able to glorify Him in any circumstance (II Cor. 4:16-18; II Cor. 4:7-10; Phil. 4:11-13). Even Paul, who at the beginning of his ministry had performed many signs and healings, was unable to do so by the end of his ministry (II Cor. 12:8-10; II Tim. 4:20; I Tim. 5:23). But he said, “I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content” (Philippians 4:11).

Today, believers are blessed with “all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ (Ephesians 1:3).” We understand that “though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day” (II Cor. 4:16-18). In II Cor. 12:9-10, Paul explains:

“And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.”

And God would have us, too, learn to rest in the sufficiency of his wonderful grace, no matter what our outward circumstances! “For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, . . . for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal”(II Cor. 4:17-18).

When the Bible is not rightly divided, understanding the will of God also becomes confusing. In time past, under the law, God gave Israel detailed instructions about every aspect of their lives. The law is likened to “tutors and governors”; Israel, under the law, is likened to children and servants (Galatians 4:1-2). When Israel disobeyed, they were chastised. When they obeyed, they were blessed. External signs told them whether or not they were in the will of God (Leviticus 26).

Today, however, God deals with believers as adult sons who no longer need tutors and governors (Galatians 4:4-7). We do not need external signs to determine if we are in the will of God. God has given us the indwelling Holy Spirit and his complete Word to instruct us (Rom. 8:14; Col. 3:16). Walking in the will of God today is simply walking in line with what God is doing today—letting Christ in you live out of you, and letting his word effectually work in you as you believe it and rely on it (Gal. 2:20; I Thes. 2:13).

In some areas of life, God’s Word gives specific instructions. When we obey these instructions by faith, we are doing the will of God. For example, husbands are instructed to love their wives; wives to submit to their husbands; and children to obey their parents (Eph. 5:21-6:1). But there are many areas about which the Bible is silent. In these areas, God gives the believer, as an adult son, freedom to choose. God does not reveal his will today by external signs. God is not giving extra-biblical revelations. His word is complete, making “the man of God . . . throughly furnished unto all good works (II Tim 3:16-17).” We discern his will by “the renewing of [our] minds” in the Word of God (Rom. 12:1-2). As long as a decision is not contrary to sound doctrine for this dispensation of grace, a believer is free to make it without fear of being out of the will of God.

Understanding how God is working today is exciting and liberating! We do not have to wonder what God is trying to tell us—we have his complete word!

Evangelist Rodgie Quirante

The Workman's Treasure Study Series