Many people in false religions teach that salvation and forgiveness of sins are obtained by faith and good works. Many appeal to Scripture to support this idea. But, when these verses are examined in context, they do not teach that works of any kind save us. In fact, the Bible clearly teaches that were saved without the works of the law. This is because nobody can keep the Law perfectly. God requires holiness (1 Pet. 1:16), nothing less.
Problem: The Bible teaches that we do and should seek for God (Acts 17:27; Mt. 7:7-8; Jer. 29:13). However, Paul says that “none seek for God.” Likewise, Jesus taught, “No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him” (Jn. 6:44). However, he also taught, “And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to Myself” (Jn. 12:32). Are these passages of Scripture contradictory?
Have all people sinned or not? The Bible seems to suggest that some people never sinned. So, what is the answer?
Problem: Some amillennial interpreters argue that the church inherits the promises of Israel. Is Paul reinterpreting the concept of being a Jew to apply to Christian believers?
Paul writes, “You who abhor idols, do you rob temples?” (Rom. 2:22). What does this mean?
Problem: Ephesians 2:3 asserts that all humans are “by nature children of wrath.” But Paul speaks here of unbelieving Gentiles who “by nature do the things contained in the law” (Rom. 2:14). These two things seem mutually opposed. Continue reading →
Problem: Ephesians 2:8-9 claims that we cannot earn salvation through good works, but here, Paul writes that good works can earn us salvation. Which is true?
Problem: Paul speaks here of “seeking” immortality. He also refers to acquiring it at the resurrection (1 Cor. 15:53). However, Jesus taught that the soul is immortal, that is, it cannot be destroyed by death (Luke 12:5). Paul also insists that the soul survives death (2 Cor. 5:8; Phil. 1:23; cf. Rev. 6:9). But which is it—do we already possess immortality or do we only acquire it at the resurrection?
Problem: According to some homosexuals, when Paul spoke against what is “unnatural” in Romans 1:26, he was not declaring that homosexuality was morally wrong, but simply that it was unnatural for homosexuals. “Unnatural” is used in a sociological, not a biological way. So rather than condemning homosexual practices, it is argued that this passage actually approves of them for homosexuals. Continue reading →
Problem: Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father, except through Me” (John 14:6). Also, Acts 4:12 says of Christ, “And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men, by which we must be saved” (nasb). But what if someone has never heard the Gospel of Christ, will he be eternally lost? Paul seems to answer this in the affirmative. But is it fair to condemn people who have never even heard about Christ?
Problem: The Bible teaches that God loves the world (Jn. 3:16), but he allows people to get into sin.
Problem: The Bible teaches that God is love (1 Jn. 4:8). However, Paul claims that God is wrathful and angry. Critics argue that this gives God an anthropomorphic quality—being “mad” or “angry.” Is this the case?
Problem: Some Preterist interpreters argue that Paul really believed that the gospel had reached the entire world, as Jesus predicted before the end of human history (Mt. 24:14). However, the gospel has clearly not reached all nations yet.
Problem: Paul writes, “We have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith among all the Gentiles for His name’s sake” (Rom. 1:5). Commentator and NT scholar John Stott writes,
The Greek phrase is very compact. Neither noun (‘obedience’ and ‘faith’) has an article, which we should expect if a distinction was being drawn between them and one were to be conceived as a result of the other. Instead, ‘obedience and faith’ appears to be the one response desired by the evangelist, a personal abandonment of obedience-and-faith or, if you prefer, ‘obedient faith.’[1]
Under this view, Paul is saying that both obedience and faith are both necessary for salvation. While we do desire believers to obey God, is Paul saying that this is a requirement for salvation?
When Paul saw the light at Jesus‘ appearance on the road to Damascus, did he fall down to the ground? Yes, he did. The different verses in Scripture are simply describing the same thing in different ways. Acts 9:3-4 and Acts 26:13-14