Contradictions

The bible takes up all the important and difficult questions of life, dealing in the greatest of complexities.  The bible believer will be confronted by others who; because they are naive, ignorant, deceived, or evil; do not understand this truth (or wish to act as if they do not understand it) and will accordingly pluck various passages of the bible from their contexts and then recombine them as a basis for an assertion that there is contradiction in the bible.  The assertion will usually follow the original Satanic format and be posed in the subtle form of a question:
Genesis 3:1   “Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made.  And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?”
It goes like this:
THE QUESTION:  “What about when the bible says blah, blah, blah (a) and it also says blah, blah, blah (b)?  Which is true?”
ANSWER #1:  There is no contradiction.  The problem is that you do not know what you are talking about.  The answer depends on (1) you and (2) the circumstances and (3) wherein lies the greatest glory to God!
(a) Proverbs 26:4   “Answer not a fool according to his folly, lest thou also be like unto him.”
(b) v. 5   “Answer a fool according to his folly, lest he be wise in his own conceit.”
(It clearly cannot be argued here that the bible “accidentally” contains contradictions, since the two “contradictory” verses are right next to each other.)
(a) Exodus 20:12   “Honour thy father and thy mother. . . .”
(b) Matthew 12:46-50   “But he answered and said unto him that told him, Who is my mother?. . . .”
(Luke 2:34-35   “. . . (Yea, a sword shall pierce through thy own soul also,) that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.”)
(a) Isaiah 9:6   “. . . his name shall be called . . . The Prince of Peace.”
(b) Exodus 15:3   “The Lord is a man of war. . . .”   (These are both totally true!)
(Ecclesiastes 3:1-8   “To every thing there is a season, and a time . . . a time of war, and a time of peace.”)
[The Lord is sufficient to both!]
(a) Psalm 107:35   “He turneth the wilderness into  a standing water, and dry ground into watersprings.”
(b) v. 33   “He turneth rivers into a wilderness, and the watersprings into dry ground. . . .”
(The Lord is not your personal Susie do-gooder.  He is the sovereign power of the universe, and can do whatever he wants, to whomever he wants, whenever he wants;  both blessing and cursing.)
(a) Matthew 5:39   “. . . resist not evil. . . .”  (This pertains to men who are your enemies:  see vs. 38-48)
(b) James 4:7   “Resist the devil. . . .”  (This pertains to the lust of your own flesh, which is your enemy.)
(Ephesians 6:12   “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.”)
(1st Peter 5:8-9   “. . . Whom resist stedfast in the faith. . . .”)
(a) Ephesians 2:8_9   “For by grace are ye saved through faith . . . Not of works. . . .”  (as emphasized by the deceived)
(b) James 2:26   “For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.”
The deceived man reads Ephesians 2:8-9, emphasizing the word “faith” in concluding that the verse compares a man’s faith to his works, when in fact the point of this passage is to compare God’s grace to man’s works.
(1) [Read Ephesians 2:8_9 the right way:  “For by grace are ye saved (through faith). . . .”]  (parentheses mine)
(2) [The “faith” through which God’s grace will be received is living faith, not dead faith.]
James 2:14   “What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him?”
(3) Titus 3:5   “Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us. . . .”
(v. 8   “This is a faithful saying . . . that they which have believed in God might be careful to maintain good works.”)
(v. 10   “For we are his workmanship . . . unto good works. . . that we should walk in them.”)
(a) Galatians 3:1-3   “Are ye so foolish? having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh?”
(b) James 2:22   “Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect?”
[Works do not make “ye” perfect, they make your “faith” perfect:  if your faith does not bear fruit it is “dead” faith.
(Matthew 25:14-30   “And cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness. . . .”)
(1st Corinthians 3:6-9   “For we are labourers together with God. . . .”)
(a) John 3:16   “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son. . . .”  (as emphasized by the deceived)
(b) 1st John 2:15   “Love not the world. . . .”
(see v. 16   “For all that is in the world . . . is of the world.”)
(Except:  John 17:14-16   “They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.”)
(John 13:1   “. . . Jesus . . . having loved his own which were in the world, he loved them unto the end.”)
(Romans 9:13-15   “As it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated.”)
(John 17:6-9   “I pray for them:  I pray not for the world. . . .”
(John 12:25   “He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it. . . .”)
Matthew 7:1-5   “Judge not. . . .”
7:15-20   “Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.”
1st Corinthians 5:11-13   “. . . do not ye judge them that are within?  . . . put away . . . that wicked person.”
John 7:24   “Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment.”
See:  7:14-23  (the context)  They didn’t judge righteous judgment!
(in Revelation 19:1-2   God judges the whore:  we don’t have to.  She’s guilty already)
Matthew 5:17-19   “Think not that I am come to destroy the law . . . I am . . . come . . . to fulfill.”
Romans 10:4   “For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth.”
1st Timothy 1:5   “Now the end of the commandment is charity out of a pure heart. . . .”
[“the end” is defined here as:  final product, result, cause,  purpose, fulfillment;  NOT “STOPPING POINT”]
1st Peter 1:9   “. . . Receiving the end [result] of your faith, even the salvation of your souls.”
John 18:37   “To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world. . . .”
Romans 6:21   “. . . for the end [result] of those things is death.”
14:9   “For to this end [purpose] Christ both died, and rose . . . that he might be Lord. . . .”
2nd Corinthians 2:9   “. . . confirm your love toward him.  For to this end [purpose] also did I write. . . .”
1st Thessalonians 3:12-13   “And the Lord make you to increase . . . To the end he may stablish your hearts. . . .”
Hebrews 13:7   “. . . whose faith follow, considering the end [purpose/result] of their conversation.”
Hebrews 13:2   “Be not forgetful to entertain strangers:  for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.”
2nd John 9-10   “If there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into your house. . . .”
(An “angel” that doesn’t have this doctrine is a “devil.”)
2nd Corinthians 6:15-17   “. . . what part hath he that believeth with an infidel?  . . . be ye separate. . . .”
1st Timothy 5:20   “Them that sin rebuke before all, that others also may fear.”
5:1   “Rebuke not an elder, but entreat him as a father. . . .”
2nd Corinthians 12:6   “For though I would desire to glory [of myself], I shall not be a fool. . . .”
v. 11   “I am become a fool in glorying. . . .”  (in infirmities, reproaches, necessities, persecutions, & distresses)
Is Paul a fool?
1st Corinthians 3:18-20   “If any . . . seemeth to be wise . . . let him become a fool, that he may be wise.”
4:8-10   “We are fools for Christ’s sake, but ye are wise in Christ. . . .”  (Who’s a fool here?)
Psalm 37:23   “The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord:  and he delighteth in his way.”
Proverbs 11:30   “The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life; and he that winneth souls is wise.”
James 5:16   “The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.”
Romans 3:10-12   “. . . There is none righteous, no, not one . . . there is none that doeth good, no, not one.”
Matthew 19:16-17   “. . . there is none good but one, that is, God. . . .”
The Lord thinks and speaks comparatively, just like we do:
Ezekiel 16:46-52   “Neither hath Samaria committed half of thy sins . . . they are more righteous than thou. . . .”
2nd Peter 2:4-8   Lot is referred to as “just” and “righteous.”  (He twice got drunk and slept with his daughters.)
John 19:11   “. . . he that delivered me unto thee hath the greater sin.”
Luke 6:27-29   “And unto him that smiteth thee on the one cheek offer also the other. . . .”  (Context in v. 27)
Exodus 21:24   “Eye for eye, tooth for tooth. . . .”
(Context in vs. 1, 22,  &  22:9  for “the judges”)
Exodus 20:13   “Thou shalt not kill.”  (Matthew 5:21-22  –It’s still true!)
Exodus 29:11   “And thou shalt kill the bullock before the Lord. . . .”  (Acts 10:13  –Killing animals is still OK.)
Leviticus 20:9-16   “And if a woman approach unto any beast . . . thou shalt kill the woman. . . .”  (Sodomy laws)
Numbers 31:14-17   “. . . kill every male among the little ones, and kill every woman. . . .”  (War)
Matthew 19:16-18   “Thou shalt do no murder. . . .”
(Liberals don’t believe in “killing” criminals, but it is OK to “murder” unborn babies.)  (Go figure!)
HERE IS HOW IT WORKS:  (There’s a reason for every strange thing.)
(1)  God said:  (1st Timothy 2:11-12)   “But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man. . . .”
So lesbians and women’s libbers quote Galatians 3:28   “. . . there is neither male nor female. . . .” to justify sodomy and women preachers.
[Of course they are totally out of context.]
(The context for Galatians 3:28 is in vs. 22  &  26-29)
(2)  “It’s not the letter that counts, its the Spirit!”  (When they say that, what in the world is their context?)
Romans 2:29   “But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God.”  (The context is what constitutes being a true Jew!)