Biblical Contradictions — The things that cause much confusion. They are what bring many, if not most or all, people to investigate Rightly Dividing OR to abandon religion altogether. We KNOW the Bible does not contradict itself, but look at these verses:

Scroll through these Biblical Contradictions and click on a card to see a discussion.

“You see then that a man is justified by works, and not by faith only.”
— James 2:24
OR
“For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.”
— Ephesians 2:8,9
Which is it???
"For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses."
— Matthew 6:14-15
OR
“Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ”
— Romans 5:1
Which is it???
“For if we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins”
— Hebrews 10:26
OR
“There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus”
— Romans 8:1
Which is it???
“Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, 'If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed.'”
— John 8:31
OR
“In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise”
— Ephesians 1:13
Which is it???

James 2:24 vs Ephesians 2:8–9

James, writing AFTER the Cross, to his readers that works are required to be justified.
But Paul is stating that salvation is through faith. He also wrote this:
"Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith apart from the deeds of the law." — Romans 3:28

They can't both be true - UNLESS James was writing to one group and Paul to another.
That is exactly what was happening. James was writing to still Law abiding Jews that believed Jesus was their long awaited Messiah. They were, also, hoping for the start of His Kingdom. Paul was writing to the Body of Christ - those who were, and are, saved under the current Dispensation of Grace revealed only to Paul, our Apostle.

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Matthew 6:14-15 vs Romans 5:1

Is our salvation conditional upon our forgiving other people? Not according to our Apostle, Paul. In Romans 5:1 he said we are "justified by faith." I can't emphasize enough, Jesus was speaking to Jews and Paul to the Body of Christ.

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Hebrews 10:26 vs Romans 8:1

The writer of Hebrews is saying that by sinning wilfully one will lose his salvation. But, Paul said that if we are in Christ Jesus we have no condemnation.

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John 8:31 vs Ephesians 1:13

Jesus said His listeners were His disciples IF they continued following His word. Who were His listeners? As stated in the James 2 vs Ephesians 2 explanation above, John was writing to the same group as James above - Law abiding Jews who belivied Jesus was Messiah. Paul on the other hand tells us, the Body of Christ, that there is no condition to our relationship. At the moment we trust HIM for our salvation, and nothing of ourselves, we are SEALED by the Holy Spirit.


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Here I'm going to put more to end the discussion of Biblical Contradictions. And I can put however many cards above, I have only 4 in there right now.