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Bible Contradictions
God does not put mistakes in the Bible. However, different contexts create contradictory verses in the Bible. These contradictions make it impossible to obey every instruction in the Bible. It is necessary to rightly divide the Lord’s instructions for us today from the instructions in time past or for those in the ages to come.
It is usual to separate the Old from the New Testaments. However, both of the Testaments are the subject of prophecy to Israel. The mystery information given to Paul demands another division separate from that which was prophesied.
We can r
econcile the contradictions below by identifying who is speaking, to whom, and under what dispensational context.
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Gospel contradictions
1. Is the gospel the cross or the kingdom? – Mark 1:14-15 & 1 Cor 15:1-4
2. Was the cross glorious or shameful? – Acts 3:13-15 & Gal 6:14
3. Was the gospel made known or kept secret? – Rom 16:25 & Acts 3:21
4. Did the twelve understand the gospel or not? – Luke 9:2 & Luke 18:34
5. Do we preach gospel of the kingdom or of Grace? – Luke 9:2 & Acts 20:24
6. Justification with or without works? – Rom 4:5 & James 2:24
7. Was Christ’s blood shed for many or for all? – Mat 20:28 & 1 Tim 2:6
8. Do animal sacrifices atone for sins? – Lev 16:27 & Heb 10:4
9. Is God imputing sins against us? – Acts 5:1-10 & Rom 4:8
10. Do we need works for righteousness? – James 2:24 & Titus 3:5
11. Is salvation not of works or by our behavior? – Eph 2:8-9 & Luke 10:25-29
12. Was Abraham justified by works or not by works? – James 2:21-23 & Rom 4:2-3
13. How are sins forgiven? – John 20:23 & Col 1:14
14. Is forgiveness conditional or not? – Mat 6:14-15 & Eph 4:32
15. Does grace abound or is their an unforgivable sin? – Mark 3:29 & Rom 5:20
16. Is the gospel believe or repentance and baptism? – Acts 2:38 & Acts 16:31
17. Are we at peace with God? – Mat 3:7 & Rom 5:1Baptism contradictions
18. Are we sent to baptize? – 1 Cor 1:17 & Mark 16:16
19. Does the gospel include water baptism? – 1 Cor 15:1-4 & Mark 1:4
20. One baptism or more? – Eph 4:5 & Mat 3:11Commission contradictions
21. Go to ‘all men’ or just to Israel? – Mat 10:5-6 & Titus 2:11
22. Should they carry money or not? – Luke 10:4-5 & Luke 22:35-36
23. Should the disciples go to all nations or only circumcision?–Mat 28:19 & Gal 2:9
24. Was Paul sent to baptize? – Mat 28:19 & 1 Cor 1:17
25. Are they baptized by Jesus or into Jesus? – John 4:1 & Rom 6:3
26. Are we to witness Christ’s earthly ministry? – 2 Cor 5:16 & Acts 1:22
27. Should Peter take a sword? – Luke 22:36 & Matt 26:52
28. Should we meditate about what to speak? – 1 Tim 4:15 & Luke 21:14
29. Does the Holy Spirit give utterance or do we? – Acts 6:9-10 & Col 4:6
30. Are the gainsayers able to resist? – Luke 21:15 & Titus 1:9
31. Is Paul or Peter the masterbuilder upon Christ? – Mat 16:18-19 & 1 Cor 3:10
32. Is Paul the least or the ‘chiefest’ of the Apostles? – 2 Cor 11:5 & 1 Cor 15:9
33. Was Paul the first or the last? – 1 Cor 15:8 & 1 Tim 1:16
34. How do we know what to say and believe? – Mark 13:11 & 2 Tim 3:15-17Contradictions about the Law
35. Are we under the law or not under the law? – Mat 5:19 & Rom 6:14
36. Is Sabbath observance required? – Exo 20:8-10 & Col 2:16
37. Is circumcision necessary? – Gen 17:10-14 & Gal 5:2-6
38. Is the law for righteous men? – Mat 5:17-18 & 1 Tim 1:7-8
39. Are we dead to the law or should we follow it? – Mat 23:1-3 & Rom 7:3
40. Does righteousness come by the law? – Deut 6:25 & Rom 10:3-6
41. Is the law a sign of strength or weakness? – Josh 1:7 & Gal 4:9
42. Should we tithe? – Mat 23:23 & 2 Cor 9:7
43. Is giving (tithing) a punishable requirement? – Mal 3:8 & 2 Cor 9:7
44. Should Sabbath laws be enforced? – Numbers 15:32-36 & Gal 4:10-11
45. Liberty or bondage of the law? – Mat 23:1-2 & Gal 5:1
46. Do we need a temple? – Acts 2:46 & 1 Cor 3:16
47. Are the laws of abomination still effectual? – Mat 24:15 & Gal 4:9-11
48. Are we secure in Christ or our continued behavior? – 2 Tim 2:13 & Heb 10:26-27Jew/Gentile contradictions
49. Is there a distinction between Jew and Gentile? – Mat 15:26 & Gal 3:28
50. Jews saved ‘in due time’ or ‘out of due time’? – 1 Pet 5:6 & 1 Cor 15:8
51. Salvation of the Jews or the Gentiles? – John 4:22 & Rom 11:11
52. Gentile blessing through Israel’s rise or fall? – Acts 3:25 & Rom 11:11
53. Will the Gentiles receive salvation? – Acts 28:28 & Rom 1:28
54. Did the Lord tell the apostles to go to Jerusalem first? – Luke 24:47 & Gal 1:17
55. Christ is at the right hand for whom? – Acts 5:31-32 & Eph 1:19-23
56. Who is the audience for the gospel? – Mat 10:5-7 & 2 Tim 1:11
57. Are we saved into one nation (Israel) or one Body? – Isa 60:3 & Eph 2:16
58. Are we a part of the seedline or adopted? – Gen 9:9 & Gal 4:5
59. Jesus ministry to circumcision or Paul’s ministry to Gentiles? Rom 15:8 & 15:16
60. Did Paul have mutual faith with uncircumcised Romans or with Jesus ministry to the circumcision? – Rom 1:12 & Rom 15:8Prophecy/Mystery contradictions
61. Were the mysteries revealed before the death of Christ? Mat 13:11 & 1 Cor 2:7-8
62. What was prepared before/since the world began? – Mat 25:34 & Eph 1:3-4
63. Was the work of Jesus prophesied or kept hidden? – Luke 24:44 & Eph 3:9
64. Was the message for today known by the prophets? – Acts 3:24 & Col 1:26
65. Can we understand the things God has prepared? – Isa 64:4 & 1 Cor 2:10
66. Was the book of Acts the end or the beginning? – Acts 2:17 & 1 Tim 1:16Contradictions about our service to God
67. Who is responsible for our soul? – Heb 13:7 & Rom 14:12
68. Do we get the Holy Spirit upon belief or baptism? – Acts 2:38 & Eph 1:13
69. Do we need to confess sins to get forgiveness? – 1 John 1:9 & Col 2:13
70. Do we eat animals? – Gen 1:29 & Gen 9:3
71. Which animals do we eat? – Deut 14:3 & 1 Tim 4:4
72. Are we to keep unity or honor separation? – Eph 4:3 & Rom 16:17
73. Be like the ant or the raven? – Prov 6:6-8 & Luke 12:22-24
74. Should we work for food or not? – Mat 6:25-26 & 1 Tim 5:18
75. Should we sell all or provide for our family? – 1 Tim 3:5-6 & Mark 10:17-22
76. Should we judge? – Mat 7:1-2 & 1 Cor 2:15
77. Should ministers work for food? – Luke 10:4-5 & 2 Thess 3:8-11
78. Is having a child a good or bad thing? – Mat 24:19 & 1 Tim 5:14
79. Does the Holy Spirit stay or leave when we do wrong? Psalm 51:11 & Eph 4:30
80. Do we need a teacher? 1 John 2:27 & 2 Tim 2:2 & Eph 4:11Future events contradictions
81. Peace on earth or not? – Luke 2:14 & Luke 12:51
82. Do the Jews have a special standing before God? – Deut 7:6 & Col 3:11
83. Do we inherit the earth or heaven? – Mat 5:5 & Col 1:3-5
84. Is the coming of the Lord a time of terror or comfort? –Joel 2:1-11 & 1Thess 4:16
85. Looking for earthly dominion or heavenly? – Phil 3:20 & Mat 6:10
86. Will we endure through the wrath or be delivered? – Mat 24:13 & 1 Thess 1:10
87. Plowshares or swords? – Joel 3:10 & Micah 4:3
88. Physical blessings or spiritual blessings in heaven? Luke 12:32 & Eph 1:3
89. Future or present atonement? – Acts 3:19 & Rom 5:11
90. Future or present grace? – 1 Pet 1:13 & Rom 5:2
91. Will we reign in heaven or on earth? – Luke 22:30 & Eph 2:6Prayer contradictions
92. How often do we need to pray before it is answered? – Isa 65:24 & Eph 6:18
93. Do we get anything we ask in prayer? – Mat 21:22 & 2 Cor 12:8-9
94. Should we know how to pray or not? – Luke 11:1 & Rom 8:26
95. Do we get what we ask or more than we ask? – Mat 21:22 & Eph 3:20
96. Do apostles have the power to heal? – Mark 16:18 & 1 Tim 5:23
97. Can we expect a healing from God? – Isa 53:5 & 2 Cor 12:7-10General contradictions
98. Was creation good or bad? – Gen 1:31 & Gen 6:6
99. Were the Jerusalem saints poor or not? – Acts 4:34 & Rom 15:26
100. Do we need to teach ‘Know the Lord’? Jer 31:34 & 1 Tim 4:10-11
101. Are we washed by water or the Spirit? – Acts 22:16 & 1 Cor 6:11
102. Is it greater love to die for your friends or enemies? John 15:13-14 & Rom 5:10
103. Are angels teaching us or are we teaching them? – Zech 1:9 & Eph 3:10
104. Jesus was the stumbling stone or cornerstone? – Rom 9:18-33 & Eph 2:20
Editor’s note:
This is not an exhaustive list. This list is not intended to engender doubt about the truth of the Bible. Mid Acts Pauline right division resolves every contradiction above.
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Slain in the Spirit
You have seen this phenomena occur in the Pentalcostal / Charismatic churches.
This is where you see pastors or ministers laying hands on people, usually on their foreheads, and then they fall backwards.
The charismatics have named this phenomena as being “Slain in the Spirit.” Some people call it “Falling in the Spirit” or “Resting in the Spirit.
There is NOT ONE place in the Bible where people ever “fell” in response to God working through a human (including Paul, Peter, and any other disciple). No one fell as a result of their “anointing” or healing.
When people in the Bible “fell,” they almost always fell “forward,” on their faces. In only one verse (Jn 18:6) does it show people falling backwards.
The people who “fell” did not plan to fall. It was not an “experience” they were seeking, and more often than not, it was not a pleasant experience (see: Rev 1:17, Mt 17:5-7).
When people “fell,” it was in response to seeing God in some way, seeing something God did, or something God showed them. Or, they fell on their faces in prayer, worship, or thanks.
NO ONE ever fell in response to “having hands laid on them.”
Not ONCE did anyone “fall over” when Jesus touched them, or healed them. (If they didn’t fall at the hands of Jesus, who was more “anointed” and “full of the Spirit” than anyone in history, why are people falling today?)
Those in the Bible who fell never needed “catchers.”
There are many stories out there of people who have been involved in this practice, and then gotten out of it.
Nearly all admit that they “fell” on purpose because one of several psychological factors were at work:
Peer pressure, falling because it was expected.
Falling because they desperately wanted to have that “experience” others were having.
Falling so they didn’t make the person laying hands on them look bad.
Falling so they didn’t seem less spiritual.
Falling because they gave in to the power of suggestion.
Falling because of manifestation of a Kundalini Spirit.
In (1 Cor 14:40), when Paul is giving instruction for worship within the Church, he says “all things must be done … in an orderly manner.” Individually, we are told to be “self-controlled and alert”
1 Pet 5:8). Self-control is a “fruit of the Spirit”
(Gal 5:22-23). Being “Slain In The Spirit,” in an altered state of consciousness, seems to run contrary to these Bible commands.
By Becky Brooks