Problem:Why did Paul encourage Christians to pray everywhere, but Jesus said to pray in secret?
A couple passages in Scripture regarding prayer have been cited as a contradiction. Here are the verses in question:
I desire therefore that the men pray everywhere, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting. (1 Timothy 2:8)
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Problem: When examining the various lists of alleged Bible contradictions that skeptics have compiled, a person likely will notice how some alleged contradictions seem to appear on almost every list. The question, “Has anyone seen God?” (cf. John 1:18; Genesis 32:30), appears quite frequently, as does the supposed difficulty of Joseph being the son of two different men (cf. Matthew 1:16; Luke 3:23). One question that also has made its way onto numerous skeptics’ lists (somewhat to my surprise) is that of whether or not God wants His disciples to do good works to be seen of men. Purportedly, two statements that Jesus made within the “Sermon on the Mount” (Matthew 5-7) are incompatible. First, Jesus stated:
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Problem: As with any piece of literature, to best understand its statements you must read them in context. The Bible is no different. Matthew 5:16 is in the context of the beatitudes (Matt. 5:1 – 7:29) where Jesus is teaching proper, good, and moral behavior. Disciples of Jesus are to light; that is, doers of good. 1 Peter 2:12 is where Peter is admonishing the Christians to live godly and holy lives before the unbelievers. We Christians live in the world among unbelievers and they are going to see how we live. Peter is telling us to act properly with unbelievers so that false accusations will not stand against us because we have lived with integrity among them.
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Problem: This and many other verses (cf. Hosea 4:2; Matt. 5:33–37) condemn oath-taking. In James’ words, “Above all, my brethren, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or with any other oath.” Jesus had said the same thing, namely, “Do not swear at all: neither by heaven … nor by the earth” (Matt. 5:34–35). On the other hand, there are many places in the Bible where oaths were taken and blessed by God (cf. Gen. 21:24; Deut. 6:13). Indeed, angels took oaths (Rev. 10:5–6), as did God Himself (Heb. 6:13).
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Problem: A man who instructs a person to refrain from doing something he deems inappropriate, but then proceeds to do the very thing he forbade the other person to do, is considered a hypocrite. A preacher who teaches about the sinfulness of drunkenness (cf. Galatians 5:21), but then is seen a short while later stumbling down the street, intoxicated with alcohol, could be accused of being guilty of hypocrisy. Some have accused Jesus of such insincere teaching. Allegedly, in the very sermon in which He condemned the Pharisees for their unrighteousness (Matthew 5:20), Jesus revealed His own sinfulness by way of condemning those who used a word He sometimes uttered. Based upon His forbiddance of the use of the word “fool” in Matthew 5:22, and His use of this word elsewhere, skeptics have asserted that Jesus (Whom the Bible claims “committed no sin, nor was deceit found in His mouth”—1 Peter 2:22; cf. 2 Corinthians 5:21), was guilty of hypocrisy (see Morgan, 2003; Wells, 2001). In Matthew 5:21-22 Jesus stated:
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Problem: Can we call someone a fool or not? Matthew 5:22 and Matthew 23:17; Psalm 14:1
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Problem: Jesus seems to say that He did not do away with the law, but Paul implies that Jesus did abolish the law. Is this a contradiction? Let’s consider the verses:
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Problem: As with any piece of literature, to best understand its statements you must read them in context. The Bible is no different. Matthew 5:16 is in the context of the beatitudes (Matt. 5:1 – 7:29) where Jesus is teaching proper, good, and moral behavior. Disciples of Jesus are to light; that is, doers of good. 1 Peter 2:12 is where Peter is admonishing the Christians to live godly and holy lives before the unbelievers. We Christians live in the world among unbelievers and they are going to see how we live. Peter is telling us to act properly with unbelievers so that false accusations will not stand against us because we have lived with integrity among them.
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If Jesus is God’s “only begotten Son,” then how can angels and Christians also be God’s sons?
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Problem: Does Matt. 5:8 contradict 1 Tim. 6:16 about not seeing God? No, it does not, especially when we consider the immediate context of each verse and the overall context of Scripture. Matt. 5:8 is a poetic style of wisdom literature that contains poetry and prose, where 1 Tim. 6:16 is more literal and doctrinal. Matt. 5:8 is housed in the Beatitudes, which are the teachings from Jesus Christ that appear in Matthew 5:3-12 and Luke 6:20-23.
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