Cheat Sheet #20

As you read this section, keep in mind that the New Testament is not merely a history book, it's meant to change us to become more and more like Jesus. When we read any passages in the New Testament, our goal should be to discern what God wants us to believe and do so that we can be obedient to Him.

This section contains several examples of passages that seem to contradict each other, or passages that make it easy for Christians to form wrong assumptions, demonstrating how important it is to search for the full picture of a topic in the Bible rather than basing our views on only one passage or just a few passages. To understand why it's so important to try to find everything that the Bible says for each doctrine (rather than looking at only a few Scripture passages), see my article called How to Study the Bible.

One example is that when we understand the way that inward faith and outward works go together, this helps us resolve these two seemingly contradictory passages about Abraham:
1. "If, in fact, Abraham was justified by works, he had something to boast about - but not before God. What does Scripture say? "Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness." Now to the one who works, wages are not credited as a gift but as an obligation. However, to the one who does not work but trusts God who justifies the ungodly, their faith is credited as righteousness." (Romans 4:2-5)
2. "You foolish person, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless? Was not our father Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. And the scripture was fulfilled that says, "Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness," and he was called God's friend. You see that a person is considered righteous by what they do and not by faith alone." (James 2:20-24)
Imagine two people, Alice and Bob. If Alice only looks at passage #1, she would be adamant that Abraham was justified (declared righteous) based on his inward faith and not based on any outward works.

If Bob only looks at passage #2, he would be equally adamant that Abraham was justified (declared righteous) based on his inward faith plus his outward works.

Notice that Alice and Bob have completely contradictory views. This demonstrates why it's so important to try to see the full picture of a topic in the Bible, because looking at only a partial picture (as Alice and Bob have done) leads to contradictions and wrong views.

In passage #1, Paul was explaining that we are justified solely through our inward faith, and that we can't earn or merit or deserve justification through any outward works. In passage #2, James was explaining that our inward faith needs to be the type of faith that's willing to do outward works of obedience because otherwise we have nothing but a dead faith. These are two sides of the same coin, so to speak. James was not saying that our outward works can save us, but instead he was describing the type of inward faith that we need to have in order to receive salvation.
Speaking of receiving salvation, some denominations teach that we only need to believe in Jesus, and some denominations teach that we must believe and be baptized in water, and some denominations teach that we must believe and confess something (e.g., confessing Jesus or confessing our sins and repenting).

We can make a convincing case for each of those views if we only focus on certain passages below. But in order to understand the full New Testament teaching on how to be saved and have our sins forgiven and wiped out, we need to take into account all of these representative passages:
Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved (Acts 16:31, spoken by Paul)

Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out (Acts 3:19, spoken by Peter)

Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved (Mark 16:16, spoken by Jesus)

Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins (Acts 2:38, spoken by Peter)

And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. (Acts 2:21, quoted by Peter from Joel 2:32)

If you declare with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved. (Romans 10:9-10, dictated by Paul)
The above passages demonstrate that different people in the New Testament described receiving salvation and forgiveness in different ways. They're all Scripture, so they're all true and they don't contradict each other. Therefore, there's more to being saved and forgiven than just believing in Jesus. For example, what do we need to believe about Him? Is water baptism a requirement for going to heaven, and if so then how does it need to be done? (Different denominations have different views about how baptism should be done, but for the full New Testament teaching see my series called Everything We Need to Know about Water Baptism.) Is repentance a separate requirement for being forgiven and saved? Do we need to confess our sins or confess anything else? Is calling on the name of the Lord a separate requirement for being forgiven and saved? All of these questions are easily answered when we look for the full picture and see the patterns that God has given us.

Notice that even demons believe and confess that there is one God and that Jesus is the Son of God and the Messiah:
"When he arrived at the other side in the region of the Gadarenes, two demon-possessed men coming from the tombs met him. They were so violent that no one could pass that way. "What do you want with us, Son of God?" they shouted. "Have you come here to torture us before the appointed time?" Some distance from them a large herd of pigs was feeding. The demons begged Jesus, "If you drive us out, send us into the herd of pigs."" (Matthew 8:28-31)

"In the synagogue there was a man possessed by a demon, an impure spirit. He cried out at the top of his voice, "Go away! What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are - the Holy One of God!" "Be quiet!" Jesus said sternly. "Come out of him!" Then the demon threw the man down before them all and came out without injuring him." (Luke 4:33-35)

"Moreover, demons came out of many people, shouting, "You are the Son of God!" But he rebuked them and would not allow them to speak, because they knew he was the Messiah." (Luke 4:41)

"You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that - and shudder." (James 2:19)
Demons believe and confess that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, yet they are doomed to destruction and cannot receive salvation (see my article in the next paragraph). So the complete picture of receiving salvation involves more than believing in Jesus and confessing Him as the Son of God.

For the full New Testament teaching on how to receive salvation and be allowed into heaven, and how to have the assurance of your salvation, see my article called How to Receive Salvation.
Notice that these two passages appear to contradict each other:
For he himself is our peace, who has made the two one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, by abolishing [katargeo] in his flesh the law with its commandments and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new man out of the two, thus making peace (Ephesians 2:14-15 NIV - 1984 edition)

Do not think that I have come to abolish [kataluo] the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish [kataluo] them but to fulfill them. (Matthew 5:17 NIV - 1984 edition)
Prior to the 2011 edition, the NIV used the word "abolish" in both of the above passages, which makes it appear as if Paul's statement in Ephesians 2:14-15 contradicts Jesus' statement in Matthew 5:17. However, Paul and Jesus actually used different Greek words for "abolish" that have different meanings.

In Ephesians 2:14-15 (above), Paul used the Greek word katargeo, which means "to render idle," "to render inactive," "to cause to cease," "put an end to" (see Strong's Hebrew and Greek Dictionary, Thayer's Greek Dictionary, and Zodhiates' Greek Dictionary).

In Matthew 5:17 (above), Jesus used the Greek word kataluo, which means "to destroy," "demolish," "throw down," "subvert," "overthrow" (see Strong's Hebrew and Greek Dictionary, Thayer's Greek Dictionary, and Zodhiates' Greek Dictionary).

So Jesus said that He was not overthrowing or subverting or destroying the Law of Moses, which is the meaning of the Greek word for "abolish" that He used. On the other hand, Paul said that Jesus had put an end to the Law of Moses, rendering it inactive, which is the meaning of the Greek word for "abolish" that he used. For the full New Testament teaching on the Old Covenant and the Law of Moses being canceled at the cross, see my article called Covenants, Dispensations, and the Ten Commandments - Part Three.

When we dig deeper rather than just reading what's on the surface, this helps us resolve any apparent contradictions and wrong assumptions.
Many Christians assume that all of Jesus' healings happened instantly, but they haven't seen the full picture. For example, in one case Jesus laid hands on a blind man twice before his sight was restored, and in another case some lepers were healed "as they went" (i.e., not instantly):
They came to Bethsaida, and some people brought a blind man and begged Jesus to touch him. He took the blind man by the hand and led him outside the village. When he had spit on the man's eyes and put his hands on him, Jesus asked, "Do you see anything?" He looked up and said, "I see people; they look like trees walking around." Once more Jesus put his hands on the man's eyes. Then his eyes were opened, his sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly. (Mark 8:22-25)

Now on his way to Jerusalem, Jesus traveled along the border between Samaria and Galilee. As he was going into a village, ten men who had leprosy met him. They stood at a distance and called out in a loud voice, "Jesus, Master, have pity on us!" When he saw them, he said, "Go, show yourselves to the priests." And as they went, they were cleansed. One of them, when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice. (Luke 17:11-15)
It's easy to have wrong assumptions if we don't look for the full picture of a topic in the Bible.
In the first century, Jesus ascended up to heaven from the Mount of Olives, and many Christians believe that He will descend directly to the Mount of Olives when He returns to the earth. This view is based on the following passages:
"After [Jesus] said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight. They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. "Men of Galilee," they said, "why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven." Then they returned to Jerusalem from the hill called the Mount of Olives, a Sabbath day's walk from the city." (Acts 1:9-12)

"A day of the LORD is coming, Jerusalem, when your possessions will be plundered and divided up within your very walls...On that day [the Day of the Lord] his feet will stand on the Mount of Olives" (Zechariah 14:1-4)
On the surface, these two passages seem to imply that Jesus will descend directly to the Mount of Olives at the Second Coming, but let's look carefully at what the above passages actually say. Acts 1:9-12 (above) tells us that Jesus will return in the same way that He went, but notice that it doesn't tell us where He will return to. Zechariah 14:1-4 (above) says that Jesus will stand on the Mount of Olives on the Day of the Lord (the future seven-year Tribulation period followed by the Second Coming and on into eternity as my article called Cheat Sheet #25 shows), but notice that it doesn't say that He will descend directly to that spot.

It turns out that there are no passages of Scripture which say that Jesus will descend from heaven straight back to the Mount of Olives at the Second Coming. This is just an assumption that many Christians make because they're reading things into the above passages, which is very easy to do if we study the Bible without trying to be thorough, objective, and unbiased in order to see the full picture for a topic.

Jesus will return in the same way that He left, just as Acts 1:9-12 (above) says, and He will stand on the Mount of Olives on the Day of the Lord, just as Zechariah 14:1-4 (above) says. However, the Bible gives us a great deal of specific information about what will happen after Jesus descends to the earth and before He stands on the Mount of Olives. At the Second Coming, Jesus will return to the earth in southern Jordan rather than descending directly to the Mount of Olives as is commonly believed. For all of the fascinating scriptural details, see my article called The Second Coming.

The Bible also gives us an amazing amount of specific information about what will happen after the Second Coming and on into eternity (see my article called What Will Happen after the Second Coming?).

Again, these are examples of passages that seem to contradict each other, or passages that make it easy for Christians to form wrong assumptions, demonstrating how important it is to search for the full picture of a topic in the Bible rather than basing our views on only one passage or just a few passages. To understand why it's so important to try to find everything that the Bible says for each doctrine (rather than looking at only a few Scripture passages), see my article called How to Study the Bible.

For more on alleged contradictions in the Bible, see my article called Cheat Sheet #28 and also see Inspired!: 191 Supposed Biblical Contradictions Resolved

.

Are your Christian views based on only a few passages rather than being based on the full picture? Have you ever tried to find the full picture for each scriptural doctrine or topic?