Barnes church of Christ

Contradictions can also be erroneously claimed by regarding one item as two different items. Two men had a never-ending argument over the authorship of Tom Sawyer. One claimed it was Mark Twain. The other insisted it was Samuel Clemens.
When a Bible character (as well as a place or event) has more than one name, the reader ought to check to see if the two passages are using different names of the same person before he calls it a contradiction. One Bible character had the names: Joseph, Barsabas and Justis. Another was called: Simon, Simeon, Simon Bar-jona, Simon son of Jonas, Simon Peter, Cephas and Peter. The two men who argued over the authorship of Tom Sawyer would have room for five more when considering the writer of First and Second Peter.
This explains the apparent contra-dictions in the four listings of the Apostles (Matt.10:2-4; Mark 3:16-19; Luke 6:13-16; Acts 1:13). It answers why the same area was called the country of the Gergesenes (Matt. 8:28) and the country of the Gadarenes (Mark 5:1). It explains why the woman was a Canaanite in Matthew 15:32, but a Syro-phenician in Mark 7:26. No, there are no contradictions in these verses or verses like them. They are simply cases in which one item has two or more names.
Under A Different Covenant
Recognizing that the people in the four Gospels and the people in Acts to Revelation were living under two different covenants will clarify some supposed contradictions. It is not a contradiction to say that Mr. Smith legally drives on both sides of the road – – if Mr. Smith frequently travels to and drives in London (a nation with a different traffic law).
Jesus’ crucifixion made the law of Moses (under which Christ lived) old (Heb. 8:13). Thus, it is not a contradiction for Jesus to have observed the Passover and the Sabbath when Colossians 2:16 makes clear that such is no part of Christianity. This principle also explains why Hebrews 7:19 states “the law made nothing perfect,” while James 1:25 mentions “the perfect law.” The first was the old law and the second was the new. The principle of “different laws” also explains why the Jews said “by our law he ought to die” (John 19:7) and “it is not lawful for us to put any man to death” (John 18:31). The first refers to the Mosaic law, the second to the restrictions of the Roman law.
We would pray that our religious friends would apply this crucial principle of “different covenants” to the thief on the cross. He lived under a different law than those who received the instructions of the necessity of baptism for salvation (Acts 2:38; 22:16; et.al). To claim that the case of the thief on the cross proves that baptism is not essential, is to make the Bible contradict itself – – which would imply that the Bible is not inspired.
Gary Henson

• – A Series of Articles – –

The word “contradiction” means to make two statements in which it is impossible for both to be true. For example, the statement, “This page is totally white,” contradicts the statement, “This page is not totally white.” Both cannot be true. They contradict.
Human beings make contradictions. We are faulty; we make errors; we are not perfect. But not so with God. God is perfect; He does not make errors; He does not make contradictions. Thus, if the Bible is authored by God, there will be no contradictions.
Since critics deceive multitudes, even in the church, by proclaiming that the Bible does contain contradictions, what, then, is a general response in answering reputed New Testament contradictions?

Different Meaning of Words

Many apparent contradictions are easily explained when it is understood that some words have two different meanings. As two hunters walked near a cliff, one saw a rock falling directly at his friend, and yelled “duck.” Immediately, the friend raised his rifle and his head directly into the oncoming rock. Words such as fly, bear, sore, comb and many others remind us that some words have more then one meaning. Thus, when there appears to be a contradiction, it is only fair and honest to first check to see if two different things are being described by the same word.
When the Bible says that we are not justified by works (Rom. 4:2; Gal.2:16) and that we are justified by works (Jas. 2:24), it needs to be asked, “Are two different meanings to the word ‘work’ being applied?” Indeed there are. Actually, in this case, there are three different meanings. In Galatians 2:16, the works are the works of the old law which had been done away (Col. 2:14). Obviously, no one could be justified by a law that was no longer in effect. In Romans 4:2, the works are self-righteous, meritorious works with which no one can save himself (Acts 4:12). Yet, the works of James 2:24 are the works which God set out for us to do (John 6:28-29) in faith and in love (Gal. 5:6). They are works of righteousness (Acts 10:35). No, there are no contradictions in these verses. They are simply cases in which one word has two or more meanings. [Also cf., “Fear God” (Eccl. 12:13) and “Do not fear God” (Luke 1:74); “God repents: (Gen. 6:6) and “God does not repent” (1 Sam. 15:29).]
It also must be recognized, there are occasions in which the same English word is translated from two different Greek words. Such is the case in Galatians 6:2,5, “Bear ye one another’s burdens…For every man shall bear his own burden.” The first “burden” is from baros which refers to the difficulties and hardships of life. The second is phortion which refers to personal obligations which no one else can do for another. Once again, with a little investigation, there is no contradiction.
Gary Henson

There are hundreds of charitable organizations to which people give millions of dollars every year. With such amazing sums of contributions, one might wonder: “Why do people give so much? Is it a requirement, like taxes?” No, people give freely because they are convinced of the great good their contribution accomplishes. Christians, too, need to know of the great good their giving does.
Our giving accomplishes the preaching of the Gospel. The mission and purpose of the church is to preach the Gospel (Mark 16:15; Mat. 28:19-20), and funds are needed to finance this work. The church of Philippi knew this and they gave toward that end (Phil. 4:15-16). The various telethons are noble indeed as they strive to help ailing bodies, but the church and it only has the highest work of all–to help ailing and lost souls. Yes, our giving accomplishes much.
Our giving accomplishes the edification of the church. As Ephesians 4:16 makes clear, the church is to edify (self teach) itself. Thus, as we purchase materials for our classroom to help educate ourselves in the Scriptures, we are helping ourselves to keep from stumbling (2 Pet. 1:5), to know the truth which sets us free (John 8:32) and to learn how to live right (Col. 1:9). Yes, our giving accomplishes much.
Our giving accomplishes much in helping the needy. God has told us, “as we therefore have opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them of the household of faith” (Gal.6:10; cf., Jas. 1:27). Yes, God wants His children to help the needy. An example of a giving church is the congregation at Antioch, who, upon hearing of the needy, “every man according to his ability, determined to send relief unto the brethren which dwelt at Jerusalem”. As we today give to orphan homes and various needy families and individuals, our giving accomplishes much.
Our giving also accomplishes much good for ourselves. Philippians 4:17 states, “It is more blessed to give, than to receive.” Find a person who gives, not of necessity, but willfully, and you will find a person who is rich in contentment and inner happiness.
May each of us be encouraged and reassured of the importance of giving, for our giving does accomplish much!
Gary Henson

Truly, one of the major decisions of life is that of choosing a career. The choice that a person makes in this matter sets the course for one’s life. Only an imprudent person would approach this crucial decision without looking far down the road to where the various options lead, or without listening to the invaluable advice of those who have been there. Yet, the most cherished principles for choosing a career come from Him whose principles do not fail.
ONE: Choose A Career That Will Not Keep You From Having A Family Life. If you choose a career that will have you: (1) spending too much time in work; (2) on the road always away from your home; (3) exhausted when you go home; or (4) still thinking about your work while at home—then you will find that you have chosen a career that will keep you from having a family life.
Like the strong, energetic man who thought he could hike across the Sahara Desert because he felt so good at the beginning, the person who ignores this principle will eventually find his life quite dry. A man has the obligation (as well as the need) to love (and be loved by) his wife (Eph. 5:25) and to be involved in the raising and the life of his children (Eph. 6:4). The same is true for the woman (Titus 2:4; 1 Tim. 2:15). Yet, some careers make this prohibiting. Thus, choose a career that will not keep you from having a family life.
TWO: Choose A Career That Will Not Lead You Into Temptation. The real purpose of life is not to see: what a great career you have; how much money you earn; how much you gain materially; how high you can get as a supervisor or chairman of the board. Rather, the real purpose of life is to live a life as a faithful Christian. Thus, you need to select a career that will not easily lead you into temptation (Mat. 6:13).
THREE: Choose A Career That You Will Not Love. Yes, it is hoped that you will be able to do that which you like and are happy with, but like it—don’t love it. Never choose anything other than God of which you will “love with all your heart, mind, soul and strength” (Luke 10:27). Loving God is first; loving your family is second; liking your job is somewhere down the ladder.
If you are arriving at the exciting time of choosing your career, protect yourself and better your life by following these principles from Him whose principles do not fail.
Gary Henson

One of the most popular doctrines of Satan is the unbiblical teaching that once a person becomes saved he will never loose his salvation. In spite of the fact that the Bible very plainly states that some Christians had “fallen from grace” (Gal. 5:4 [See also: Heb. 6:4-6; 2 Pet. 2:20-22; James 5:19-20; John 15:1-6]) the false belief in the impossibility of apostasy has firmly ensnared many good souls.
Unknown (because it has been hidden) to those who present their verses in the attempt to establish their case for “once saved, always saved,” are the other verses which show that those which they have presented are conditional—that is, the promise of the certainty of a Christian’s salvation is dependent upon the Christian remaining faithful to God and His teachings in the Bible.
Below are a few verses which are often presented in the effort to teach the impossibility of apostasy. Following each of these is a verse which makes clear that the promise is conditional.

“A child of God has eternal life (John 5:24), and ‘eternal’ is forever—it cannot be lost.” But, “If any does not provide for his own, and specially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel [non-Christian]” (1 Tim. 5:8).
“A child of God will not come into condemnation—thus he will not ever be judged as condemned.” But, “If he discern not the body” when he takes the Lord’s Supper, he “eats and drinks judgment to himself” (1 Cor. 11:29).
“A child of God will not be cast out (John 6:37).” But, “If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and they gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned” (John 15:6).
“A child of God shall live forever—thus, he can never be lost (John 6:58). But, “For now we live if ye stand fast in the Lord” (1 Thes. 3:8).
“A child of God cannot be plucked out of God’s hand (John 10:27). But, “Who is he that will harm you, if ye be followers of that which is good?” (1 Pet. 3:13).
“A child of God shall never perish (John 10:29). But, “If a man keep my word, he shall never see death” (John 8:51).

If only those who now believe in the impossibility of apostasy would have been shown these conditional verses they surely never would have believed this false doctrine. May it be that such good people can yet see this truth.
Gary Henson

You might be able to find someone who is as friendly as Mike Tillery, but you cannot find one who is friendlier. Mike was a friend’s friend. If you are unable to claim him as your friend, it is simply because you had not met him. Actually, I think it is fair to say that he was your friend even if you did not know him.
Mike passed away. Two years and four months before, he was told he had lung cancer. Mike underwent four chemotherapy treatments–the inducing of chemicals to poison cancer cells (but ask anyone who has gone through it, you physically pay a heavy price). He then had one-half of a lung removed by chest surgery. This was followed by two more chemotherapies. Mike then began to have seizures–the lung cancer had spread to his brain. He received ten radiation treatments on his brain and fifty radiation treatments on his lungs–an attempt to burn the cancer cells (but such a procedure comes with the possibility of producing serious and permanent damage to other parts of the body if they too are burned). The radiation on his brain did not work; the tumors continued to grow. Mike underwent brain surgery. The tumors were removed. Yet, more came back. There was a second surgery. They came back. A third surgery. Again they returned. Then, a fourth surgery was scheduled.
As Mike left this world, because he was such a good friend, he sought our best by urging his fellowman to quit doing the very thing which he had done that led him into all these nightmare medical difficulties of health–”Stop smoking!”
Years ago, when many began smoking, the health hazards of smoking were unknown. It was begun, often, in innocence. But now we know. Smoking is hazardous to a person’s health. Consider just a few statements issued by the American Cancer Society:

1. “Smoking cigarettes has been identified by official commissions and scientific studies in many countries (Denmark, France, Australia, Finland, Sweden, Holland, Canada, the United States, Great Britain, New Zealand) as the cause of the enormous rise in the incidence of lung cancer in those countries since World War II, a rise so steep that it has been characterized as an epidemic.”
2. “Tobacco smoking causes, or is strongly associated with, besides lung cancer, cancers of the larynx, mouth, esophagus, and urinary bladder.”
3. “Cigarette smoking causes a higher death rate from circulatory diseases, heart attacks and strokes; and contributes to more than 188,000 excess deaths from these diseases each year in the Unites States.”
4. “Cigarette smoking is the most important cause of chronic obstructive broncho-pulmonary disease in the United States.”
   Such is why the Surgeon General went from the old hesitant warning of many years ago: “Cigarette Smoking May Be Dangerous To Your Health”; to today’s bold statement of conclusive certainty: “Smoking Causes Lung Cancer, Heart Disease, Emphysema, And May Complicate Pregnancy.”
   When a man chooses to become a preacher, he does so because he wants to help people know the Will of God. Thus, he is a friend, not an enemy (Gal. 4:16). As a friend, it is pointed out that God’s Will declares that our bodies belong to God (1 Cor. 6:19-20). Thus, we have not the right to destroy the body with tobacco (as we have now discovered it does).
   The passage also teaches that we are to “glorify God in your body.” How can a Christian give glory to God with his body in the eyes of non-Christians when those onlookers today know so well what smoking does to the human body?
   Your friends: Mike, medicine and this minister, plead with all who smoke to stop. With the help of various non-prescription methods, and with the help of God [“I can do all things in him that strengtheneth me” (Phil 4:13)] you can do it!
   Gary Henson

The fact that a man named Jesus who lived nearly 2000 years ago in the land just east of the Mediterranean Sea cannot be successfully denied. The question that effects each human being is: Was he merely another human being, or was He (as is commonly claimed) the Son of God? If he was but a man, he ought to be rejected and ignored; but if He was the Son of God, then every human being ought to seek and follow His every word. Thus, was He or was he not the Son of God?

HIS PRE-EXISTENCE PROVES THAT HE IS GOD. If Jesus existed before He existed on earth in the form of a man (yea, even since eternity), then Jesus is God (for only God has such a pre-existence). The Scriptures reveal that Jesus did have such a pre-existence. In Matthew 22:41-46 the question was pressed “How could Jesus be both, David’s Lord (i.e., before David) and David’s descendant (i.e., after David)?” The answer was in the dual nature of Jesus: He was man born after David, but He was also God who existed before David. Thus, Jesus had a pre-existence as God!

CLAIMS BY GOD THE FATHER PROVE THAT HE IS GOD. If God the Father declared that Jesus was the Son of God, then Jesus is God. God the Father, who neither was mistaken nor lying, announced for all mankind to know that “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased” (Mat. 3:17). This statement, along with the same exclamation in Matthew 17:5, makes clear that Jesus was indeed the Son of God.

JESUS’ OWN CLAIMS PROVE THAT HE WAS THE SON OF GOD. In Mark 2:9-12, Jesus established that He was God by forgiving a man of his sins (something of which only God can do) and confirmed His statement by performing the miracle of healing the lame man’s legs. Also, in Matthew 26:63-65, He affirmed in His trial that He was the Son of God. Then, in John 20:27-29, following His resurrection, Thomas called Him God, of which Jesus accepted. Yes, Jesus’ own claims (which are endorsed by the Holy Spirit Who inspired the writing of the Bible) prove that He was God.

Was this man who lived 2000 years ago the Son of God or not? The inspired Word of God makes clear that He is the Son of God. Thus, every human being ought to seek and follow His every word, for “He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words, hath one that judgeth him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day” (John 12:48).
Gary Henson

What grade would you be in if you went through public school at the same rate you went through Bible School? In public school, you stayed for an average of 7 hours a day. Yet, in allowing for lunch, recess and class breaks, actual class time comes to about 5 1/2 hours. Multiply this by 180 school days, and you have 936 hours of class time a year.
Sunday and Wednesday Bible classes may last up to 45 minutes. Thus, if you attend class on both days, you spend 90 minutes in class each week or 78 hours a year.
The 936 hours of public school is 12 times as much as the 78 hours of Bible school. Thus, at that rate, it would take you 12 years to complete the 1st grade! 144 years to graduate from high school! If a man is presently 78 years old, and he started 1st grade at the age of 6, he would presently be in the 6th grade! [Note: The age factor would double in the above examples if one attends but one of the two Bible classes.]
The facts do not lie. Truly, this reveals the great imbalance in our secular education (which is to prepare us for some 47 years of work) in comparison to our spiritual education (which prepares us for eternity).
This should help us to see clearly that: (1) as parents, we need to be teaching the Bible to our children at home (Eph. 6:4; Deut. 6:4-9); (2) as individuals, we need to take it upon ourselves to read (1 Tim. 4:13) and study (2 Tim. 2:15) the Bible; (3) as teachers, your time with the students is most precious; (4) as elders, the curriculum chosen is critical; (5) as students, your attention is crucial; and (6) as parents, we must see that our children make it to class.
It is my prayer that each Christian be great students of the Bible—the words of eternal life (John 6:68).
Gary Henson