This site is best viewed using Mozilla Firefox browser.

Religion

2011-09-28 16:40:40

Contradictions in scripture?

Q: While I understand from time to time there might be a contradiction in the way a Bible passage is interpreted, there is one that is causing me some difficulty....it says in one passage that if you do not acknowledge God before man, Jesus will not acknowledge you before His Father. In another passage it says that one should not boast of doing things in honor of God for if you do, you will have already received your reward. Are these not contradictory?

A: These two statements are not contradictory. I will consider these statements in their proper contexts, and then show how they complement one another. In Luke 9:29 Jesus is quoted: “Whoever is ashamed of me and my words, of him will the Son of Man be ashamed when he comes in his glory, and that of the Father and of his holy angels.” This idea occurs again in Luke 12:8-9, where Jesus is quoted: “I say to you: everyone who acknowledges me before men, him will the Son of Man also acknowledge before the angels of God. But whoever disowns me before men, will be disowned before the angels of God.” Jesus’ meaning seems quite clear. Loyalty to Jesus will have its reward, and disloyalty its punishment. During this life we must bear faithful witness to Jesus and his teaching, if we wish him to claim us, at the judgment, as his members and friends. But if by our lives we disown him, even though with our lips we sometimes acknowledge him, the day will come when, in honesty, he cannot do other than disown us. Persons, who call themselves Christians and disciples of Jesus ought to live-up to what they profess; otherwise they will be condemned as hypocrites. In his Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 6:1-6), Jesus warns his followers against hypocrisy: “Take heed not to do your good before men in order to be seen by them; otherwise you shall have no reward with your Father in heaven” (verse 1). The saints, and those who bear public witness to Jesus and his teachings, do so out of loyalty and fidelity to Him, rather than “in order to be seen by men.” Their intention is what counts. Sometimes our good works will be noticed by other people and admired; however, those who want to please God are not concerned about what others might think. Really, what is important to them is what God thinks. But some people do act only out of vanity. If they undertake to do good in order to be seen by others, then they will have received their reward, namely being observed by others: they got what they wanted, and that’s all they are going to get. A person may give alms, not really to help the person to whom he gives, but simply to demonstrate his own magnanimity, and to bask in the warmth of someone’s gratitude and praise. Human praise is very short-lived and fickle. A person might pray in such a manner that his prayer is not really addressed to God, but to his audience. A person might fast, not really for the good of his/her soul, nor to humble himself in the sight of God, but for the sake of having a beautiful body or to lose weight. While this might be a good thing for health, it is not necessarily in praise of God. Fasting can be undertaken: both to honor God as well as to lose weight. But the intention to honor God must be explicit. God alone can see what is in the human heart, and knows why individual persons act as they do: whether it is out of love for Him or for themselves. If their witness, however good or worthy, is only for the sake of their own vanity, then their reward will be quite shallow; whereas, if their witness is done for love of God, their reward will be great in heaven. Verse 6 concludes: “Thy Father, who sees in secret, will reward thee.” A person can practice good works simply to win praise from other people, to increase their prestige, and to show the world how good they are. This is frequently the case with prominent and wealthy persons, who are concerned “to establish their legacy” (I am thinking about a certain recent president). This desire for human praise happens often when wealthy persons establish a Foundation, attempting to control beyond the grave the riches they must leave behind in death. To such persons Jesus is saying: “If you give alms to demonstrate your own generosity, you will get the admiration of people. But that is all you will ever get! That is your payment in full.” Jesus is saying: “If your one aim is to get yourself rewards in this world, you might achieve them; but you ought not expect the rewards that God has reserved for his own people, who during their life struggled to be faithful to Him.”