Is This A Contradiction?

Romans 3:28
For we maintain that a person is justified by faith apart from the works of the law.

Romans 3:31
Do we, then, nullify the law by this faith? Not at all! Rather, we uphold the law.

A contradiction is when there is no coherence and agreement between given facts. When ideas disagree they are said to contradict. When concepts that should agree are opposing each other they are in contradiction. Where there is a contradiction, something is wrong and the truth is hidden and is yet to be established.

When you claim to be wealthy but live a life that lacks basic needs, that becomes a contradiction. When you claim to be in a relationship with someone who doesn’t confirm to be in a relationship with you, it becomes a contradiction. When you believe in a powerful God and after prayer, you are still in fear that something will go wrong, that is a contradiction.

The Bible does not contradict itself. The Bible was written by approximately forty different people who lived at different times that spanned a period of approximately one thousand five hundred years. This kind of work is most likely to have contradictions, but it doesn’t. The reason why it doesn’t have contradictions is that the writers were just penmen acting on behalf of one author – the Holy Spirit. That is why we say the Bible is inspired. A holy and inspired book cannot contradict itself because it only had one author – God the Holy Spirit. The Bible does not therefore in any way contradict itself!

The message of the Bible does not contradict itself. There may be typographical differences in stories told and in perspectives given by different writers telling the same story, but the core message remains the same. The gospels tell the same story from different eyes and after many years, differences are obvious but the message of a coming saving Saviour remains intact. Books of Samuel, Kings, and Chronicles may tell the same story with different details because they were written at different times. The core message is how God intervened and guided His people. The message of the Bible does not contradict itself!

However, there are parts of the Bible that seem to contradict each other in the core message. The keyword is – seem. Our text today is an example of the seeming contradiction that is not. The Bible tells us that salvation is by faith and the law has no place in it. Then a few verses later the same text tells us that we cannot nullify the law, we instead uphold it. Why uphold a law that has no use in our salvation? Isn’t that a contradiction? Is this a contradiction?

Justification is when God declares a person saved and sinless. Justification is a declaration made when we accept salvation. Justification is instant, the moment you accept the call to salvation. After justification, we now begin a lifetime process known as sanctification. Sanctification is the daily growth into being what God wants you to be. Sanctification is the process God takes us through. Sanctification is a process where slowly but surely the Holy Spirit changes us from who we are to who we should be. Both Justification and sanctification are different aspects of salvation.

If you died immediately after justification, like the thief on the cross, you will still inherit eternal life. Sanctification only happens to those who are justified and are still alive. Sanctification is as long as your life will be. You cannot complete sanctification while still alive. Justification is admission into salvation. Sanctification is being trained the ways of salvation.

What you need for Justification is only faith that it has happened. We are justified by faith. The prodigal son had to accept by faith that all was well when the father welcomed him. Justification is by faith. You receive it and accept it by faith. There is nothing else you can do to be justified, nothing, just believe by faith, and it’s all yours!

Sin is among many things breaking God’s law. Sin is also the inability to keep God’s law. A sinner cannot keep God’s law even if the sinner wanted. The only way a sinner can keep God’s law is if the Holy Spirit empowers the sinner. The Holy Spirit empowers the sinner after justification. Sanctification is a process where the Holy Spirit enables us to keep God’s law because we are now already saved.

To be saved you don’t need God’s law. After salvation, you need God’s law as a standard of the lifestyle of a saved person. Our texts which seem contradictory can therefore be explained as follows, you don’t need God’s law for salvation, you need it after salvation. You are saved without meeting any requirements of God’s law, but after salvation, you live a life that is according to the law of God. Therefore you don’t need the law for salvation but you need it after salvation.

Our text uses the word justified. If you don’t understand the word justified, you will be quick to conclude that the Bible contradicts itself. There is no contradiction. The law of God doesn’t save, but those who are saved live by it. If you don’t live according to the law of God, it could be because you are not yet saved, or you just got saved and are still struggling slowly by God’s grace to live according to it.

May God save us completely from sin and its consequences. May God save us from Satan, his agents, and people who seek to harm us. May God save us from daily situations and ultimately from this world into an eternal blissful world, in Jesus’ name, Amen!

1. Rei Kesis YouTube Channel (subscribe, click on notification and share) –http://youtube.com/reikesis
2. Rei Kesis books on Amazon (Amazon will sell and deliver anywhere in the world. For those in Kenya you can buy from any ABC close to you. ABC is Adventist Book Center) –https://www.amazon.com/s?k=rei+kesis&ref=nb_sb_noss
3. Rei Kesis daily blog –https://reikesis.com/