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Richie White
If we believe that the Bible is inspired by God,
we must also believe that He is capable of revealing His will to
us without error or contradiction.
There are many passages that seem to contradict each other, so it
is up to us to study those passages and understand them in a way that
harmonize with each other.
Let's look at
some of those passages and see how we can harmonize them.
| Once
saved, always saved? |
| Verse |
Scripture |
Verse |
Contradiction? |
| Romans 8:38-39 |
neither death nor life,
nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present
nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any
other created thing, shall be able to separate us from
the love of God
which
is in Christ Jesus our Lord. |
2Thes 1:8,9 |
those who do not obey the
gospel of our Lord Jesus. These will pay the penalty of
eternal destruction, away from the presence of the
Lord
|
| John 10:29 |
My sheep hear My voice,
and I know them, and they follow Me; and I give eternal
life to them, and they will never perish; and no one
will snatch them out of My hand.
|
James 5:19-20 |
Brethren, if
anyone among you wanders from the truth, and someone
turns him back, let him know that he who turns a
sinner from the error of his way will save a soul from death
and cover a multitude of sins. |
| Harmonized |
|
There is no
contradiction. Obedience and love go hand and hand. God loves
us so much, that no-one and no-thing can separate us from His
love. On the other hand, we can separate ourselves from Him by
being being disobedient.
|
| Predestination? |
| Verse |
Scripture |
Verse |
Contradiction? |
| Ephesians 1:11 |
In Him also we have
obtained an inheritance, being predestined
according to the
purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will |
1 Tim 2:3,4 |
God our
Savior, who desires all men to be saved and
to come to the knowledge of the truth
|
| 1Peter 1:1,2 |
Peter, an
apostle of Jesus Christ, To God's elect, strangers in
the world, scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia,
Asia and Bithynia, who have been chosen according to
the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying
work of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and
sprinkling by his blood: Grace and peace be yours in
abundance. |
John 3:16 |
God so loved the world
that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever
believes in Him should not perish
but have everlasting life
|
| Harmonized |
|
There is no
contradiction. God predestined that a group of people
(Christians) would be saved. In order to be part of that
predestined people, we must believe and obey His
commands.
|
| Faith
only?, Confession only? |
| Verse |
Scripture |
Verse |
Contradiction? |
| John 3:16 |
God so loved the world
that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever
believes in Him should not perish but have
everlasting life
|
Mark 16:16 |
He who believes
and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not
believe will be condemned.
|
| Romans 10:9 |
if you confess with your
mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your
heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will
be saved
. |
Luke 13:3 |
I tell you, no; but
unless you repent you will all likewise perish.
|
| Harmonized |
|
There is no contradiction. If you
truly believe, you will obey. In order to obey, you must
believe, repent, confess, and be baptized to be
saved.
|
| Works
not important? |
| Verse |
Scripture |
Verse |
Contradiction? |
| Ephesians 2:8,9 |
For by grace you
have been saved through faith, and that not of
yourselves; [it is] the gift of God, not of
works, lest anyone should boast
|
James 2:24 |
You see then that a
man is justified by works, and not by faith
only
|
| Romans 3:28 |
Therefore we conclude that a
man is justified by faith without the deeds of the
law.
|
Rom 2:6 |
God "will render
to each one according to his deeds"
|
| Harmonized |
|
There is no contradiction. Ephesians
2:8,9 says "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that
not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest
any man should boast." This passage was written to the
Gentiles during a period when many Jews were still trying to
be justified by the Law of Moses (See verses 11-15). Consider
the parallel passage in Romans 3:28 "a man is justified by
faith without the deeds of the law." These passages do not
exclude the necessity of us doing anything to receive from God
the gift of salvation. They simply state that
we cannot save ourselves solely on
the basis of our own good works or by trying to
follow the law of Moses which has been
abolished.
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