 | Pastor Dave grew up in northern New Jersey in a very diverse cultural area. He attended Central College in Pella, Iowa received a BA in sociology and psychology. He was an offensive guard for their NCAA Div III National Championship team in 1974. In speaking for the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, he sensed a call to full time ministry. Meeting is future wife Sandy at Central, went to Michigan to finish her college while Dave started Western Seminary in Holland, Michigan. Dave married Sandy in 77 and completed his Masters of Divinity degree in 78. Pastor Dave’s first church was in Fort Lee, New Jersey, home of the George Washington Bridge. Their three children were born there and he also served as a Police and Fire Chaplain for the city. In February 1991, they came to Wichita to start Harvest Community Church. In 2006, he received his Doctor of Ministry degree from Covenant Theological (Presbyterian) Seminary in St Louis. During that year he gained a daughter-in-law with now 2 grandsons of 3 years and 6 months old. Besides Pastoring at HCC for the past 20 years, he has been Director of the SCSD & WPD Police Chaplains for 11.
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Religion
2008-07-01 15:11:00
Can the Bible be contradictory?
Question: The Bible seems contradictory in several areas. For instance: 1) Jesus taught that people who would go to heaven (be saved) must become as little children (Matt 18:3-4 and 19:14; Mark 9:36-37 and 10:14-15; and Luke 18:15-17). But St. Paul wrote that maturity demands us to forsake the things of childhood (1 Cor 13:11). Also, 2) The Bible states that “Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven” (2 Kings 2:11). But Jesus stated, some 900 years after Elijah’s time, that “none has ascended to heaven except the One who came down from heaven, that is, the Son of Man” (John 3:13). Can you explain these two instances, and then give an overall comment in regard to the Bible not being contradictory?
Answer: Most of the seemingly contradictions on the surface have to deal with context, the message needed to be conveyed and who the audience is you are speaking to. This is particularly true of the first instance.
Jesus is stressing in His message the need to have the same humble, unguarded openness and faith that children possess when coming to Him. It is that aspect that Jesus wants His disciples and audience to understand. We see that come to fruition in Jesus’ boldest disciple, Peter, as our Lord restored Him from his humbling brokenness to a much deeper faith and calling to ministry in John 21:18. Jesus tells him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, when you were younger, you used to gird yourself and walk wherever you wished; but when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands and someone else will gird you, and bring you where you do not wish to go.” No more childish cocky rebellion. Now he will have a healthy humble child-like obedience that will take the direction of his Father in heaven.
Paul, on the other hand, was speaking to the Corinthians who were evidencing childish immaturity in many areas. This rose its ugly head in the area of spiritual gifts (1 Cor.14:20) which he speaks about in chapters 12 and 14. Why do you think the chapter on love is between those two chapters on gifts? You’re exactly right! He wanted them to get off the childish attitudes of “my gift is better than your gift,” or “I have more gifts than you” or “my gift makes me more important than you in God’s kingdom.” His desire was to get them to realize that it is not about them but it is about others (12:7; 14:12). Paul emphasizes desiring the gifts given by God to better minister to others but they also need to realize that they are only temporary in nature (13:8-10). Then he downplays them in reference to bearing the fruit of love which is far more excellent (12:31), it is the greatest of all (13:13) and eternal (13:8). He further tries to get them off the childish use of the gifts by explaining to them that without love, one could be mightily endowed with all kinds of gifts but it is just commotion, it doesn’t improve your status or profit a person in any way (13:1-3).
So we see there were two different situations that were being addressed that do not contradict but emphasize two very different and important aspects of the Christian walk.
The second alleged contradiction in John 3:13 takes a little more technical understanding. In the original Greek, in which the NT was written, it becomes clear. The word in English, “ascended” in the Greek is in the perfect tense which denotes a past completed action the effects of which still continue in the present. In the original Greek, Jesus is not discounting others like Elijah or Enoch being taken up, but Jesus is speaking about something totally different. Jesus had not yet ascended physically like them. That would come later after His resurrection in Acts 1. What John has Jesus revealing to his readers was the pre-existent life of Jesus in heaven as part of the trinity was now with mankind having “descended from heaven.” That Jesus, in His pre-existent state in heaven, had already ascended, but it was to the heights of heaven or all the aspects of God’s eternity. This is what gives Jesus such authority to speak on these spiritual mysteries like being born again to Nicodemus in this passage. It was His having “been there, done that” and being that which gave Him the authority! Notice the context. It is answering Nicodemus’ question, “How can these things be?” (vs 9)
The Bible is the most unique book in the world because it covers centuries of time with many different authors and cultures. God used men (2 Peter 1:20-21) by His providence to address situations and circumstances to reveal the truth about Himself and His ways. Now, sometimes the perspectives of the authors can bring what seems to be an inconsistency.
Like the incident in the gospels of Jesus healing of the blind men near Jericho. In Matthew 20:29 “they were going out from Jericho” and Luke 18:35 records “He was approaching Jericho.” To confuse the Bible reader more, Mark 10:46 records, “they came to Jericho. And as he was going out from Jericho with His disciples.” Were they all conflicting with each other and Mark trying to compromise to get everyone to get along? The case is that they all were accurate but telling the incident from the perspective to which their audience could understand. First we must realize that there are two Jericho’s in Jesus day. Old Jewish Jericho which was still around but mostly abandoned. New Jericho was several miles away that was built by Herod the Great and was a very active city. Matthew is writing to Jewish people and is telling it from the Jewish perspective affirming their Jewish heritage. Luke is writing to his gentile friends from a gentile perspective favoring the New Jericho. Mark tells the story from a general perspective, but people in his day understood what he was saying. All are correct but they are all telling it from different points of view.
That is the beauty of God’s word. It is true and consistent in delivering to us God’s word for the salvation of man. It was written by human authors who were directed and inspired to give the consistent message of God without taking away from their own style, perspective and personalities. The word “inspired” does not mean these men were excited by their own emotions like being inspired by a pep talk of a coach or a speaker at a banquet for a cause. The word inspired is used to mean “God breathed” {2 Timothy 3:16} into men His desired message by the Holy Spirit through their personalities and styles.
May the Lord bless you this month living in this fast changing world that you remember, “the grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God stands forever.” {Isaiah 40:9}
