Bible Contradictions

I always think of the 1849 gold rush in America when thinking of this topic. In 1849 they discovered gold in California. It was yours for the taking if you wanted it. But you couldn't mine for gold if you continued to live on the East Coast. You would have to give up everything in order to obtain the treasure out West. You could not be on the East Coast and West Coast at the same time. One coast would cause you to forsake the other coast.

Yes; JESUS is our great example and
HE left the glories and splendor of
heaven to become to Son of Man and
HE willingly sacrifice all so we could
have hope, joy, life, and peace in
HIM forever!! HIS life was surrender,
sacrifice, and self-denial!! HE lived
for the glory of GOD, for the purpose
of GOD, for the will of GOD!! We must
do the same.

To be more blunt in case the analogy is confusing: if you were to grab something with both of your hands, you cannot grab something else without letting go of what you are holding on to.

The grace of God is a free gift. But it is the free gift that will cost you everything to partake of it.

I really like the posts by Jimmy.

Here is something else to consider.

The scripture is stating that salvation is the gift of God to the one who trusts in Jesus who made atonement for our sins. We are sinners and therefore can’t earn it or buy it because Jesus is the only one who could pay the price for our redemption.

When the scriptures talk about renouncing everything in order to be his disciple, he is not saying that we are to earn or buy discipleship because salvation is still a gift from God fully paid for by the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. He is saying that we must give up everything that would hinder our full devotion to the one who loves us and gave himself for us. The gift of eternal life in Jesus Christ is so precious we must give up everything that is not from the Lord. We have a new master and Lord now and we are to love him with our whole heart.

The gift of eternal life changes everything and you are a new person and you must give up the old life. For example let’s say you live in a broken down mobile home worth about $5000 and you are trying to save to get a better home but you are a long ways from getting there. A friend comes by and see’s your situation and says to you I have a house on 1st street and let’s say it is worth $200,000 that he is going to give you. He tells you that there is no way you can pay him for what it is worth because you don’t have that kind of money. He says to you that he is going to give it to you as a free gift but you will have to move into it and live on 1st street. He says to you that he doesn’t want any payment or your mobile home but you must give up your mobile home and where you live now. You see brother eternal life is an exchanged life where you give up your old life for a new eternal life. You don’t add on to what you already have but you give up everything in this life for eternal life which is far better.

Blessings to you!

I have had this same question in my heart as of late, codek.

thanks for having the courage ask it!

These analogies were very helpful.

Seek ye first the Kingdom.

Perhaps it's the exchanging of Kingdoms as well. How can we live for two kingdoms?? If you want the Kingdom of God and to live unto Him, we must forsake all of which this world holds dear, longs for, and desires.

Oh to be more like Him and seek the things that He longs to give us!

I believe it is a gift in the sense that God gave it to us voluntarily, He was in no way obligated to do so. I would not insert the word "free" here anywhere just because this is how we understand the word gift in our culture.

Obtaining our salvation wasn't "free", it cost God everything, His very own Son, and so in turn we lay down everything out of thankfulness for what He has done for us. If we don't, we do not fulfill the most important commandment to love the Lord our God with all our hearts and minds and souls. Does that make any sense?

A contradiction is not necessarily the same thing as a PARADOX. I think the scriptures are, by God's planning, paradoxical.

Well Jesus said "Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat"

You cant take everything in through a narrow gate, that is why Jesus also said "It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God."

The needle's eye is the old gates they had in the cities in that time that looked like a needle's eye. In those days the people coming into the city had to sometimes leave their stuff outside and could only take in stuff that could fit through the eye of the needle (door) so the people inside could make sure they are not hiding anything in their luggage, like bandits and stuff.

The needle's eye is the old gates they had in the cities in that time that looked like a needle's eye. In those days the people coming into the city had to sometimes leave their stuff outside and could only take in stuff that could fit through the eye of the needle (door) so the people inside could make sure they are not hiding anything in their luggage, like bandits and stuff

Not to be nit picky, but this commentary which has been floating around for years now is simply not true. Some people still teach it, but, when Jesus talked about a camel not being able to fit through an eye of a needle, he was talking literally about a needle, not the entrance to a city. A good scholarly commentary shows this to be the case.

The needle's eye is the old gates they had in the cities in that time that looked like a needle's eye. In those days the people coming into the city had to sometimes leave their stuff outside and could only take in stuff that could fit through the eye of the needle (door) so the people inside could make sure they are not hiding anything in their luggage, like bandits and stuff

Not to be nit picky, but this commentary which has been floating around for years now is simply not true. Some people still teach it, but, when Jesus talked about a camel not being able to fit through an eye of a needle, he was talking literally about a needle, not the entrance to a city. A good scholarly commentary shows this to be the case.

True, True. I know of a particular lady who has some connections with some government people in Israel and the tours she leads are not the typical tourist tour. She confronted a tour guide one time about this very issue. He said, "Well, OK, you are right. The Christians who come believe in the proverbial needle gate, and so the tour guides are taught to tell the story to satisfy them." The needle gate and the kneeling camels is just an Israeli tourist legend.

The purpose of paradox is to draw your attention. There are more than a few paradox's in scripture. As a matter of fact they are quite common. Some of these paradox's are written by the same writer one verse after another. It is a way in which we are forced to seriously consider.

Paradox's exist in nature, since God is the creator, and his word is both the method to dispense truth, as well as the method for creation, it would stand to reason that we would see both of these consistently true through natural law as well as through scriptural exigesis.

There is a passage of scripture I am meditating on right now and have been for weeks that is not just a paradox, by all logical standards it is a complete and total contradiction. I believe God has drawn my attention to it because there is a truth there that I cannot see.

But through meditation on the word...day in and day out, the Lord may give me a string to pull at and hopefully unravel the knot. This is for our good. It gets us thinking deeply and praying to the Holy Spirit whom is our teacher. (You need that no man teach you.)

Some of my 'personal' growth as a believer has been a ferocious dialogue between me and the Lord as I meditate and mull over some of the more difficult passages, and hardest sayings in the word.

These paradoxes are for your good.

As a matter of fact I think there is an Art Katz sermon on here where he said that a mark of maturity in a believer is when they have come to be at peace with the "tensions" in scripture. I thought it was a wise and astute observation.

Ok so the whole gate thing was a legend?
Thats disappointing.

I really dont know then why Jesus would use the example of a needle then. Why not just say something else, why a needle?

The scripture cannot contradict itself as God is not the author of confusion. What we do not understand lets just say they are mysteries. Some mysteries have been revealed in part.....

A very simple analogue would be that Mr Sin owns the "deeds" on Mr Man. Mr Saviour comes along and frees Mr Man from the clutches of Mr Sin. Mr Man is now free from Mr Sin and could have not paid the debt for his own sins to Mr Sin. Mr Man is now free and his freedom is was given to him freely he just had to believe. Now that Mr Man is free Mr Savior asks Mr Man to join him and help spread the liberating message of belief to others under slavery to Mr Sin. Mr Savior says Mr Man has to love every other thing in his life a [little less](often translated hate from Greek to English) than his saviour. He says this to him because as he once stated in parable the cares of the world is one of the ways the word is choked out in a believers life. His new master is simply giving him a heads up as to the snares that could prevent Mr man from achieving success (fruitfulness). Mr Man complains as he doesnt yet fully understand "give up my house and car and wife" Mr Saviour tells him he would recieved a hundred fold what ever he hasd to give up in this life and the life the come. Mr man sees that he is freedom is free and he is reimbursed at 10000% return for any expense occured. At this point he understands just how loving his new master is. Mr Saviour anoints Mr Man with the same power he had so he is empowered in his new task. Mr Man realises there is no greater love than to lay down ones life for a friend. He now looks at his master as his saviour a friend in the time of need. He is so in love with his new master he thinks it nothing to die to the world in service of the one that redeemed him. The End