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How do you approach passages that seem to contradict each other? Is it appropriate to fit every passage into an organized system? Explain your response.
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Pray first for the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Without that I can mush things up so badly that nothing makes sense anymore. I study the context – in fact I am having an ongoing discussion with a fellow Christian regarding why Jesus wept, the shortest verse in the Bible but one that is very important to me to understand because I do weep. She keeps coming back to me to say that when Jesus makes a statement in scripture it means the same thing every time He makes that statement. I point her to context because it certainly doesn’t always mean the same, it depends on the context of the situation. If I am really confused as to the true meaning of a verse I pray and meditate on the scriptures involved until I get something of a “break-through” in my understanding that I’m comfortable enough with, at least for the time being.
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If passages seem to contradict each other we must make sure that 1) we are reading them in context, 2) seek understanding through commentaries and 3) if possible, look inot the original language words with the help of language aids to make sure the words in question have the same root meaning. The overarching theme of the Bible should be the standard and many Scriptures can and should be group together where there is a cohesiveness.
