The Word
Many unbelievers criticize the written Word of God by claiming that it cannot be inerrant and infallible because it contains contradictions, and God cannot contradict Himself. The defenders of the written Word of God counter these critics by arguments based on logical and contextual grounds which attempt to show that these contradictions do not exist. This means the defenders of the written Word agree with the critics that God cannot contradict Himself. Sometimes, the defenders succeed in countering the arguments of the critics, but in some cases the critics happen to be right, contradictions do exist. The critics believe only in objective truth, and the defenders make the mistake of trying to defend the written Word on their grounds. The greatest truth, by far, is subjective Truth which only happens when the Spirit of Christ indwells the heart of the believer. This means the believer must rely on the guidance of the Holy Spirit in order to obtain a better understanding of the written Truth of God. John 14:26; John 16:13. God has given humanity His objective, written Truth in order to engender His saving subjective Truth into the hearts of His believers.
Contradictions in the Bible (KJB) do not mean that the Bible is fallible and contains errors. God's messages to humanity in the KJB are always inerrant and infallible despite the contradictions. A perfect example of this truth adheres to Proverbs 26:4-5. In these verses, God deliberately contradicts Himself. But the message of that contradiction will be clear and inerrant to all believers who possess the Spirit of God. A believer who keeps himself in tune with the Holy Spirit will be able to hear from God whether to answer a fool or not whenever he hears him speak foolishness.
The inerrant and infallible Word of God always adheres to the messages from God to believers, not in the written words themselves, even if they contain contradictions. Jesus taught many parables. Some are difficult to understand. Jesus directed His parables to those who really desire to learn more about God and who will call on God to reveal His hidden messages in His parables. Those who do not really desire to learn about God will dismiss His parables with the claim that they contain contradictions. Christ reveals His subjective Truth to those who really want to know it. John 6:60-69.
But the truthful messages in some of Jesus' parables can be different for different believers. For example, some believers interpret the parable of the prodigal son in Luke 15 to mean that lost sinners can repent and and return to God for salvation by grace. Other believers interpret this parable to mean that backslidden believers can always repent and return to the Father, and He will always forgive. But the one interpretation does not exclude the other. Both interpretations are inerrant and infallible messages from the Holy Spirit. However, one can misinterpret messages from Jesus' parables, but this always happens because the interpreter fails to seek prayerful guidance from the Holy Spirit.
Some maintain that the written Word of God (KJB) has to be infallible and inerrant because God directly inspired it all. But they base their views on a misunderstanding of II Timothy 3:16. This verse does not state that God directly inspired His entire Word. The key word in this verse is the word "given." God's inspired Word is a gift to mankind. For example, God could not have directly inspired the two pagan poets that Paul quotes in Acts 17:28, but God gave these quotes to the Apostle Paul to include in His inspired Word because of their truthful message. God did not directly inspire the pagan Roman soldier's letter to his governor Felix as recorded in Acts 23:25-30, but somehow Luke acquired this letter and God allowed him to add it to His Word so that readers could better understand Paul's story. God allowed letters written by pagans to be included in the book of Nehemiah so that readers would be able to better understand His messages from that book. Believers must look for the truthful messages that are sometimes hidden in the written words.
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