Contradictions in the Bible...

If you are a devout Christian, the above title may seem undoubtedly offensive, but please don't take offense to this article until you've read it entirely.

"In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father. (Matthew 5:16)

“Watch out! Don’t do your good deeds publicly, to be admired by others, for you will lose the reward from your Father in heaven. (Matthew 6:1)

“Do not judge others, and you will not be judged. (Matthew 7:1)

"It isn’t my responsibility to judge outsiders, but it certainly is your responsibility to judge those inside the church who are sinning. (1 Corinthians 5:12)

"God alone, who gave the law, is the Judge. He alone has the power to save or to destroy. So what right do you have to judge your neighbor? (James 4:12)

*all verses in the New Living Translation

These are a few texts directly from the Holy Bible. I posted them for their obvious "contradictions." First, I want to be very clear on why I chose to review this topic. These very verses that I quoted above made me question my own faith at one time and I don't want to see others stumble when I can shed a light on such a controversial topic.

So above we see Jesus telling people to do good deeds publicly and then telling them NOT to do good deeds publicly. We then see Jesus saying if we judge we will be judged, but the Apostle Paul states to judge those sinning in the church, and then James says that only God can judge.

Sooooo.... What is it? Do we hide our deeds, or show them? Do we judge, not judge, or judge a little, or judge sometimes, or judge on weekends and holidays? What is it? Do the writers of the Holy, Written Word of God not agree with each-other or even themselves?

The answer to all of these questions can be found in one simple word... context.

Let's start with the first example. Jesus plainly states to do good works publicly. Why, then, does he state in the next quoted verse in His SAME sermon, not to do good works publicly? The answer is in the wording. He doesn't. What Christ is speaking against is NOT the outward doing of good works, but rather the seeking of praise from men as stated by the context of His words, "to be admired by others." In this we find that these verses have no contradiction.

But judgement..? That was a blatant contradiction right? ... wrong.

“Do not judge others, and you will not be judged.
"For you will be treated as you treat others. The standard you use in judging is the standard by which you will be judged.
“And why worry about a speck in your friend’s eye when you have a log in your own? "Hypocrite! First get rid of the log in your own eye; then you will see well enough to deal with the speck in your friend’s eye.
(Matthew 7:1-3, 5)

Jesus is calling out hypocrisy, not judgement. He calls us to examine ourselves so we CAN deal with the speck in our friend's eye.

Paul the Apostle's quote is very clear and now we see it doesn't contradict the teaching of Christ. Don't judge the world, but judge those who claim Christianity and don't live up to it's guidelines. Remove the speck. But does this contradict James?

"Don’t speak evil against each other, dear brothers and sisters. If you criticize and judge each other, then you are criticizing and judging God’s law. But your job is to obey the law, not to judge whether it applies to you. God alone, who gave the law, is the Judge. He alone has the power to save or to destroy. So what right do you have to judge your neighbor?
(James 4:11, 12)

Read that again... carefully. Don't speak evil against eachother. What is another word for speaking evil of someone? Slander? Gossip? Defamation? False Judgement? See what we need to keep in mind is that words like judge, judgment, conviction, and speaking evil all have multiple meanings and synonyms that can be associated with them. Upon first glance these all seemed to be as blatant of contradictions as any, but through use of context we see that Jesus is addressing hypocrisy, Paul was addressing handling sin within the church, and James was telling us not to slander eachother.

So can you find contradiction in the following statement? Don't be a hypocrite, don't claim Christianity while living in sin, and don't slander your neighbor.

I'd say no. There are no contradictions in the Bible itself...



.. just in the way many read it.