In my 13 years of preaching, I’ve seen a lot of different arguments made about the Bible, some that I think are valid, some that I think aren’t. In the latter category, I have to put the arguments that try to pit the Bible against itself. When this happens, somebody tries to deny Scripture A or Concept A by pointing to an apparently contradictory Scripture B or Concept B. Their conclusion is that because B is true, they get to ignore A.
I have problems with that. The Bible is, of course, the word of God. It is inspired and inerrant. As a result, it’s impossible for the Scripture to truly contradict itself. Any contradictions that we think we run into, then, or any two Biblical concepts that we think are opposed to each other, are only that way in our own heads and not in reality. This morning, then, I want to sort out some of the confusion. I want to look at some supposed Biblical opposites that aren’t. Continue reading