One of the most defining aspects of the Christian faith is our belief that God’s Word is infallible and inspired. Believers are able to say with confidence that everything in Scripture is true and without fault.
However, the more you read the Bible, the more you start to come across verses that seem to contradict other verses or even contradict themselves. One of the most common examples of this is the means by which we attain our salvation. Take a look at what Ephesians 2:8-9 says,
"For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast."
This verse doesn’t leave a whole lot of wiggle room. It tells us that salvation comes by grace alone through faith alone. But now let’s take a quick glance at James 2:24:
"You see that a person is considered righteous by what they do and not by faith alone."
Now wait a second, this verse says that Salvation is a result of works and not only by faith. These passages seem to tell us contrary things, so how can they both be correct?
Well, allow me to introduce you to paradoxes. A paradox, as defined by the Merriam-Webster dictionary, is “a statement that is seemingly contradictory or opposed to common sense and yet is perhaps true.”
The Bible is full of paradoxes. Jesus himself loved using them to captivate His audience’s attention. While they definitely can be confusing, taking time to understand them is absolutely vital. Those who are opposed to Scripture will often use paradoxes as a way to justify their disbelief. We believers need to be equipped and ready to counterattack their arguments and defend God’s Word.
Our goal is to help you do just that over the next few weeks! We’re so excited to announce that we are going to be starting a new series about, as you probably already guessed, biblical paradoxes. Throughout this upcoming series, we’re going to be taking a deeper look at a few of these confusing passages and hopefully getting a better grasp of them. Our team of writers has been researching and studying some pretty intense verses, and now they’re eager to share their findings with you.
We hope you can join us over the following weeks as we dig into God’s Word and find the true meaning of these biblical paradoxes!