Problem: Paul writes, “Do not be yoked together with unbelievers” (2 Cor. 6:14 NIV). Paul’s metaphor for being “yoked” would include partnerships of various kinds—not the least of which would be marriage. Why is it wrong for a Christian to marry a non-Christian?
Problem: Paul asserts here that Jesus was “made to be sin.” However, many other Scriptures insist that Jesus was “without sin” (Heb. 4:15; cf. 1 Peter 3:18). But how could Jesus be without sin if He was made sin for us?
Problem: Paul writes, “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad” (2 Cor. 5:10). Elsewhere, Paul writes: “Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Rom. 8:1). Will Christians judged by God or not?
Problem: When a Christian dies, will he/she go immediately to judgment, then to heaven, or is there a waiting period? (2 Cor. 5:8; 1 Thes. 4:16-17). It seems that the question here is whether there is a contradiction between the two passages. 2 Corinthians 5:8 says, “we are of good courage, I say, and prefer rather to be absent from the body and to be at home with the Lord.” This implies that those whom God has justified will be taken into God’s presence immediately upon death.
Problem: Exodus 34:33 (kjv) asserts that, “Till Moses had done speaking with them, he put a vail [sic] on his face” (cf. v. 35). This implies he had the veil on while speaking with them. But this seems to contradict the statement here in 2 Corinthians 3 that they could not look “steadily” on it, which implies that they were looking at it when Moses spoke (vv. 7, 13).
Problem: Paul writes about a believer that was kicked out of the church in Corinth. Who is he referring to?
Problem: Evangelical scholarship is divided as to whether there was a lost letter (often called the “sorrowful letter”) in between 1 and 2 Corinthians. Paul writes, “For out of much affliction and anguish of heart I wrote to you with many tears” (2 Cor. 2:4), and later he writes, “For though I caused you sorrow by my letter, I do not regret it; though I did regret it—for I see that that letter caused you sorrow” (2 Cor. 7:8). When Paul refers to an earlier letter, is he referring to a lost letter, or is he referring to 1 Corinthians?
Problem: Paul writes, “We were burdened excessively, beyond our strength” (2 Cor. 1:8). However, in his first letter to the Corinthians, he wrote, “God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able” (1 Cor. 10:13). Will God give us more than we can handle or not?
Problem: Paul commands Christians to greet each other with a holy kiss? Is this morally binding for today?
Problem: Paul writes, “On the first day of every week [Sunday] each one of you is to put aside and save, as he may prosper, so that no collections be made when I come” (1 Cor. 16:2). Does this mean that Christians are mandated to meet on Sunday morning for church? Is it biblically permissible to meet on another day of the week?
Solution: The NT does not command us to meet on Sundays or any other day of the week. While there are some examples of Christians meeting on Sundays in the early church, these are descriptions –not prescriptions. That is, while we have examples of Sunday meetings, we do not have imperatives or commands for this anywhere in the NT. Moreover, we even have examples of Bible studies occurring on Saturdays, during the Jewish Sabbath (Acts 13:13-14; 16:13; 17:2). We do find an example of Paul breaking bread and teaching on a Sunday in Troas (Acts 20:7), but this was actually a nighttime meeting (“He prolonged his message until midnight.”). This wouldn’t fit with the traditional paradigm (meeting until midnight?). Therefore, these NT examples should not be binding to us. In fact, other NT examples demonstrate that we should meet “daily” (Acts 2:46 NIV).
In addition, the NT explicitly teaches that no days are specifically holy. Paul writes, “One person regards one day above another, another regards every day alike. Each person must be fully convinced in his own mind” (Rom. 14:5). In other words, these are negotiable issues –not morally objective ones. Elsewhere, Paul explicitly writes, “Therefore no one is to act as your judge in regard to… a Sabbath day” (Col. 2:16). Paul even admonishes the legalism of the Galatians, because they were observing “days and months and seasons and years” (Gal. 4:10). Jesus himself taught that he was “Lord even of the Sabbath” (Mk. 2:28; c.f. Lk. 6:5).
1 Corinthians 16:2 does explicitly speak about “the first day of every week,” but this is not referring to a church service. When we consider the context, Paul’s primary purpose was financial giving –not church meetings. Even if this was a church service, this is not at the heart of Paul’s command. Instead, he is commanding them to set aside their money; he is not telling them when to meet together. This would be twisting the spirit of this passage.
“Upon the first day of the week let every one of you lay by him in store, as God hath prospered him, that there be no gatherings when I come.
(1 Cor 16:2)”