please help

alexmurphy · Apr 11, 2016

My friend isn't Christan. We talk about religion sometimes. He sent me the below on which i have no answers. Um stuck. His point is that there are contradictions in Bible. Please help

Jesus said:
"I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel."[Matthew 15:24]

But Pauls says:
"For so hath the Lord commanded us, saying, I have set thee to be a light of the Gentiles"[Acts 13:47]

Jesus said:
"Think not that I have come to abolish the law and the prophets; I have come not to abolish them but to fulfil them."[Matt. 5:17,18]

But Paul said:
"Christ is the end of the law, that every one who has faith may be justified."[Rom. 10:4]

Jesus said:
"If you want to enter life, obey the commandments."[Matthew 19:17]

But Paul said:
"He (Jesus) brought an end to the commandments and demands found in Moses'Teachings..."[Eph. 2

Jesus said:
"And do not call anyone on earth'father,'for you have one Father, and he is in heaven."[Matthew 23:9]

But Paul says:
"For I became your father in Christ Jesus when I preached the Good News to you."[1 Corinthians 4:15]

Jesus says:
"Go and learn what this means,`I desire mercy, and not sacrifice."[Matt. 9:13]

But Paul says:
"For Christ, our paschal lamb, has been sacrificed."[1Cor. 5:7]

James said:
"You see that a man is justified by works and not by faith alone."[James 2:24]

But Paul says:
"For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from works of the Law. [Romans 3:28]

Old Testment says:
"The law of the LORD is perfect, reviving the soul."[Psalm 19:7]

But Paul said:
"Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law."[Galatians 3:13]

TMS · Apr 11, 2016

If your friend is willing to seek answers they are there, (it will vary depending on who gives them), To answer some of them i found answers in understanding the way God deals with Israel (the Jews) and how God went to the gentiles. see Rom 10 & 11
They were given 70 years Dan 9 and failed because as a nation they didn't accept Jesus (didn't want Jesus), But again there was a remnant that did.
Rom 11:15 For if the casting away of them be the reconciling of the world, what shall the receiving of them be, but life from the dead?
Rom 11:19 Thou wilt say then, The branches were broken off, that I might be graffed in.
Rom 11:20 Well; because of unbelief they were broken off, and thou standest by faith. Be not highminded, but fear:
Rom 11:21 For if God spared not the natural branches, take heed lest he also spare not thee.
Rom 11:22 Behold therefore the goodness and severity of God: on them which fell, severity; but toward thee, goodness, if thou continue in his goodness: otherwise thou also shalt be cut off.

When it come to apparent contradictions about the law and faith it is something that everyone need to work out, some people struggle with it for a lifetime, faith is how we are saved, works are the fruit of being saved.

peacefulbeliever · Apr 11, 2016

alexmurphy said:

Jesus was sent unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel but . . . Then Paul and Barnabas, waxed bold and said, It was necessary that the word of God should first have been spoken to you: but seeing you put it from you, and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, lo, we turn to the Gentiles. For so hath the Lord commanded us, saying, I have set thee to be a light of the Gentiles, that thou shouldest be for salvation unto the ends of the earth. Acts 13:46,47

Jesus Christ did fulfill the law and the prophets . . . therefore salvation by works, or by the law is no more but only by God's grace through faith in Jesus Christ.

Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets. Matt. 22:37-40 The law is fulfilled in love.

Well . . . really the quote from 1 Cor. 4:15 does't say that they called Paul "Father" but that he became their father in, through, or by Christ Jesus through preaching the good news - IOW he was the first to give them the good news.

Your friend needs to read whole passages and not just pull out one verse . . . Jesus was eating with publicans and sinners and the Jewish leaders thought that was just horrible. Jesus said: Those that are whole need not a physician, but they that are sick. But go ye and learn what that meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice: for I am not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance. In the same manner we are to have mercy and compassion toward sinners. Jesus Christ was our paschal lamb . . He was our sacrifice once for all time . . no other sacrifices!

Man is justified and made righteous apart from the works of the law through faith . . . that faith will produce good works towards others out of love . . . love fulfills the law.

The Law of of the LORD is perfect . . . God had a greater plan for salvation through the sacrifice of his Son redeeming us from the curse of the law . . . by tying up the law into the two great commandments . . . LOVE.

Word_Swordsman · Apr 11, 2016

alexmurphy said:

Paul referred to Isa 49:6And he said, It is a light thing that thou shouldest be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the preserved of Israel: I will also give thee for a light to the Gentiles, that thou mayest be my salvation unto the end of the earth.
All along the Jews were supposed to obey God, reach out to the lost world of Gentiles. Yet stood they complaining, jealous of the crowds of Gentiles coming to hear the gospel.
Jesus stayed with the Father's plan all his life, not going off to Rome or some other Gentile area. He was sent to Israel, to offer them one last chance to obey.

Maybe some common knowledge will help. I am servicing some very old contracts that are fulfilled as to their purpose, to establish or revive ponds, lakes, wetlands. I fulfilled all those contracts. But they are not abolished, still in existence, such that I now reap the greatest blessing from them, offering a maintenance service to protect what was built. From that I employed people to go around collecting data. Now, with remote sensors installed, I can monitor everything by internet without help, then advise the rancher of things to tend to, or arrange a new contract for a service from a provider near them. What is abolished is the old contract demands that required much blood, sweat and tears fulfilling, which was against me, not fun, hard on any body.

Jesus met all the requirements of the old covenant. He didn't destroy it. It's simply been finished as to its purpose, to be a schoolmaster unto Christ. So where the Law came to a stop, Jesus advanced the gospel. The old laws pertaining to animal sacrifice pointed to Christ, who gave himself as the final acceptable sacrifice for sin. However, that didn't end the necessity of the moral commandments, but in fact Jesus magnified those to a much higher standard of righteousness only possible for us to accomplish with Christ in us, and we in Christ.

Point out to your friend that all such claims of error/contradiction in the Bible are the product of a lack of knowledge of the scriptures, due in part to a spiritual blindness from Satan, agreed to in our own lusty flesh selves. Now you should try to solve the remaining points without our help. If you can't, then you need to read the Bible for the first time and keep studying it. When you truly abide in Jesus, he will see to it that you can solve all the riddles of the lost and dying world.

garee · Apr 11, 2016

Hi thanks. If I could add my two cents to the brew...

I would agree it’s how we view faith from another perspective rather than our own heart . This is seeing God is greater and knows all things even the intents . .

The faith of God does not come without the works of God . Faith without works as a labor of Christ love is dead. No easy fix we can offer the gospel. Christ alone can work by faith to apply it to the individual heart.

Ultimately when offering the gospel to another the question arising; from where does a person get their faith from to believe another? Are God thoughts ours or that of our neighbors?

When another person presents what seems to be a dilemma and they say there is conflict. One thing a person could do is ask them, according to whose authority did they come to their conclusion that they are irreconcilable?
Looking at the first example which to this person offered, it I believe shows the gospel is sent to the lost sheep of Israel which today would be according to the new name he named His people in Acts that he calls Christians, a word which simply means residents of the heavenly City, the New Jerusalem . The bride of Christ made up of many lively stones that does make the spiritual house of god called the church.
Jesus said:

The bride of Christ, Christians, in respect to the glory of God is the light that cannot be hidden under a bushel . We are considered as the light of the world,. A city prepared as the bride that is set on a hill /high mountain cannot be hid.
As a side note...Interestingly the word "hill" in the greek “oros” is the same word translated "high mountain" in Revelation 21.

This helps to reconcile the seemingly difference and helps to spell out who the lost sheep are.

And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and "high mountain", and shewed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God,Having the "glory of God": and her light was like unto a stone most precious, even like a jasper stone, clear as crystal; Rev 21:10

wattie · Apr 11, 2016

Yes.. as others have posted.. there are good answers.

The bible really doesn't contradict itself. The key to understanding it, is putting a verse within the surrounds of the paragraph, chapter and book it is in.

Few verses in the bible have all full meaning conveyed in one sentence.

Time, place, who is speaking to whom, what is the main subject.. etc..

Eg. 'faith without works is dead'.. oft quoted verse.. gets taken out of its surrounding paragraph and chapter.

The surrounding verses being not about getting salvation.. or losing it.. but what a believer does with the THE faith. Eg.. sharing with others.. regular bible study.. attendance in a NT congregation etc..

And another-- 'where two or three are gathered, there I am with them' Matthew 18:20.. also gets taken out of its surrounds.

The surrounding verses? Are about resolving conflicts within a NT congregation of saved baptised believers.

It is kind of an update on the process Israel used for resolving sin issues in the congregation in the OT.. in Deuteronomy.

CONTEXT CONTEXT CONTEXT

alexmurphy · Apr 11, 2016

Thanks. Points taken

4enlightment · Apr 11, 2016

alexmurphy said:

Jesus' first coming was to fulfilled the old covenant, and once fulfilled, the one that has fulfilled it will be granted authority over all, that He can decides what will happen to the world. Jesus requested for forgiveness, and it was granted to Him. But now Jesus is doing it His way, to teach the true purpose why the laws were made. At first the people had just followed the laws by the letters, word by word; but they did not understand the purpose of them. They just done them because they were told to do so. Like a child, you will tell them to watch their hands before they eat. But the child will do it as if it were a ritual of some sort, but without understanding the true meaning of washing of the hands will leads to acts that leads to death. Now that child that is without understanding will go around stoning other children for not washing their hands before they eat. And so the people ignore the laws but just had performed them without researching them. And so now Jesus had made sort of a New covenant that isn't a covenant at all. He gave it to them because that they needed to be under some sort of a law for them to followed. They weren't ready to be free from bondage, they still needed to be under the control of a whip and chains. Most of the new covenant were more like what is recommended but not actually rules to followed. It is giving to us to make our own decisions but then the spirit of God will show us the outcomes of our decisions very quickly. Before it would be shown centuries later, but now we will get to see them before it affect many of lives.

Isaiah 27:11 When its twigs are dry, they are broken off and women come and make fires with them. For this is a people without understanding; so their Maker has no compassion on them, and their Creator shows them no favor.

Hosea 4:14 “I will not punish your daughters when they turn to prostitution, nor your daughters-in-law when they commit adultery, because the men themselves consort with harlots and sacrifice with shrine prostitutes— a people without understanding will come to ruin!

Hosea 4:6 my people are destroyed from lack of knowledge. “Because you have rejected knowledge, I also reject you as my priests; because you have ignored the law of your God, I also will ignore your children.

Job 38:2 “Who is this that obscures my plans with words without knowledge?

Proverbs 18:15 The heart of the discerning acquires knowledge, for the ears of the wise seek it out.

Matthew 7:7 “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.

Depleted · Apr 19, 2016

Is this the same friend that was a Muslim last time, and is your latest post for you, this friend, the muslim or who, considering you're always stuck on the typical "errors" pointed out at low level sites that like to post supposed "fallacies" and "contradiction" junk to give trolls easy access for endless post on Christian sites?

pottersclay · Apr 19, 2016

And there we have it.......C.S.I. ...agent depleted

DP · Apr 20, 2016

alexmurphy said:

My friend isn't Christan. We talk about religion sometimes. He sent me the below on which i have no answers. Um stuck. His point is that there are contradictions in Bible. Please help

UNBELIEVING TROLL!

UNBELIEVING TROLL!

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please help

alexmurphy

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TMS

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peacefulbeliever

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Word_Swordsman

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garee

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wattie

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alexmurphy

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4enlightment

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pottersclay

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DP

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