There are some people out
there who would love to see the Bible discredited. For some reason, they don’t want the Bible to be true. Perhaps it’s because the Bible points out things
in our lives that are wrong, and it exposes our weaknesses and sin. But no one discredits a doctor if the doctor
finds something wrong with him.
Actually, the patient would thank the good doctor for telling him the
truth about his condition, so that it can
be dealt with. It should be the same
with Scripture. We should be thankful to
God for His Word, which not only points to our many shortcomings, but it also gives
us a way out of our sin problem. But
some say that they can’t trust the Bible because there are contradictions in it. But is this really true?
This will be the first in a
series of articles addressing what some consider to be contradictions in the
Word of God. The Christian Bible is a
large and multi-faceted book that was written by about forty different authors
from different cultures over a period of about 1600 years. It touches on many topics, yet it has an
amazing consistency when studied. We
believe it is truly “God-breathed” (i.e., inspired by God), and it is extremely
relevant to us today. We also consider
it to be the ultimate guide for the church (2 Timothy 3:16-17).
But what about these seeming
contradictions within its pages. Can
they be explained? We will now begin
looking at these “contradictions” and attempt to clarify some of them,
beginning with some that pertain to God’s nature and character.
SEEMING
CONTRADICTION #1
Many people feel that there
is a built-in contradiction between the existence of a merciful, all-powerful
and all-knowing God, and the suffering found in this world. If God really is aware of the horrible
suffering in the world (especially among the innocent), then why doesn’t He do
something about it? Is He too weak to
remedy the problem? If so, then He must
not be all-powerful, as the Bible portrays Him.
But if God really is all-powerful and He is also aware of all the evil
and suffering here on earth, then why
would He not wipe out all evil? Does He
enjoy seeing people suffering? Of course
not.
But the question is, do we REALLY
want God to wipe out all evil and its causes?
Remember, each and every one of us
have caused suffering of one kind or another for someone else in our lifetime,
in some way. So, according to this logic
(since we have been a cause of evil), God would have to destroy each and every one of us in order to
“fix” this problem. But rest assured, He
has a better way. Earthly suffering may
not be pleasant, but it is temporary. God is certainly aware of those who suffer,
but He is not uncaring or unconcerned about it.
In fact, He is always working “behind the scenes,” doing things we
cannot see, and touching the hearts of people we may not even know. For those who trust Him, He is able to make all things work together for good (Romans
8:28), even “senseless suffering.”
This is certainly a tough
topic, especially for the ones going through the actual suffering. We can sympathize with these people. It’s not a sin to humbly ask, “Why,
God?” But those who angrily shake their
fist at God, demanding an answer, will be silenced and shamed when He reveals the
work He was secretly doing all along. Then
with extreme embarrassment, they will whimper, “Oh, I didn’t know that…” We need to always be careful how we approach
the Living God.
It is much like Job, who
questioned God’s fairness about his suffering and was greatly humbled (Job
chapters 38-41). Here is the answer to man’s suffering on
earth. God is sovereign AND
merciful. He will cause things to happen
in each life according to HIS will. But
it will be fair and in everybody’s best
interest. So, let’s trust Him and let
Him do His work. For those who trust
Him, it will end well. That’s a promise
(Job
13:15; 42:10-17; Psalm 9:10; Matthew 25:21; John 11:25; Romans 8:28).
See this link:
SEEMING
CONTRADICTION #2
Scripture tells us that God
is immutable, i.e., He is unchangeble (Numbers 23:19; 1 Samuel 15:29; Malachi 3:6;
James 1:17). But, on the other
hand, there are verses that say that God repented, or changed His mind (e.g., Genesis
6:6; 1 Samuel 15:35; Jonah 3:10).
Does this mean that God lied, or that He’s wishy-washy? Did He contradict Himself? Can we, or can we not, trust what He says?
We can indeed. When Genesis 6:6 says that “It
repented the Lord that He had made man” (KJV), it simply means that He
was sorry, or regretted it. Does this
mean that God made a mistake, or that
He didn’t know what would happen? Not at
all. If God ever changes His mind, it is
never because of “new” information. God
never says, “Wow! I didn’t see that coming!” No, His immutability is tied into His
sovereignty and His all-knowing nature. But
the thing is, God shares in our
day-to-day victories and failures. While
He does indeed know everything before it happens, He is never sitting there,
bored, saying, “Yeah, yeah, yeah, I knew that was going to happen; big
deal…” No, He is interested and involved
in our lives, and He is always wanting us to make the right choices. But mankind (as a whole) had committed itself
to sin (Genesis 6:5). That’s why
He was grieved about creating man. God
already knew it would happen, but AT THIS POINT IN TIME, He was still moved
with regret concerning that situation.
The situation changed, but there was no change in God’s character. The same thing happened in 1
Samuel 15:35, where God regretted that He made Saul
king over Israel.
Concerning Jonah
3:10, God changed His mind about destroying Nineveh. But the destruction of Nineveh was conditional, i.e., it depended on
Nineveh’s continued disobedience. But they repented. God set forth the conditions and He has not
wavered or deviated one bit from His original plan, i.e., blessings for
obedience, and punishment for disobedience.
Again, the situation had changed, but God has not changed in essence or
character. In fact, it is His consistent
character that requires him to treat
the righteous differently from the wicked, as this very informative article
points out:
So, no, God does not change.
SEEMING
CONTRADICTION #3
Does God remember sin? Jeremiah 31:34 tells us that God
says, concerning the sins of His people, “… and their sin I will remember no more.” In Isaiah 43:25 He says, “I,
even I, am the one who wipes out your transgressions for My own sake, And I
will not remember your sins.”
But Exodus 34:7 says that
God “visit[s]
the iniquity of the fathers on the children… to the third and fourth
generations.” In other words, here
He seems to remember their sins (or
their fathers’ sins).
Why does there seem to be a
contradiction here? Does God remember
your sins or not? First of all, God is
omniscient, or all-knowing. He does not literally forget anything. When it says that He won’t “remember” one’s
sins, it means He won’t remember them
against the person, i.e., He won’t hold him accountable for his sins. That person is forgiven… but ONLY if the
person is repentant. If you don’t want
God to remember your sins against you, then you, too, must repent and trust in
the all-sufficient work of Jesus Christ on the cross.
Second, why would God punish
the children and grandchildren, etc., for the sins of the parents? That doesn’t seem fair!
The point here is that sin
always has repercussions. The sin of the
parents can certainly affect the lives of the children, especially in those
cultures long ago when families were much closer and social ties were much
stronger than in today’s society. In
those days, it was much more likely that the customs, habits, and treasured
traditions (whether good or bad) would be embraced by the children. Out of family pride, the kids would be inclined
to act just as their ancestors did. If
there were sinful patterns, they would likely be passed down.
But it’s not like the
children had no choice, or that they’d be directly responsible for sins they didn’t commit. No, in each generation, the choice is there
to either allow the cycle to be
repeated, or not. They always had the
option to confess their sins and the sins of their fathers (Leviticus
26:40-42). But ultimately, each individual is responsible for his own
sin (Deuteronomy
24:16; Ezekiel 18:20). And God
will only “remember” your sin that you refuse to confess.
So, in conclusion, these are
not contradictions at all. Scripture has
a perfect balance. We can be confident
that the Bible is indeed the Word of God, and that we can trust it.
We will continue with these
seeming contradictions in upcoming articles from time to time. Stay tuned and feel free to comment.
