January 3, 2014 – February 14, 2014
Contradictory Texts
The Bible is God’s holy revelation to us; contained in scripture are the truths we need to know in order to recognize our sinfulness and come to the salvation that God has prepared for us in Christ Jesus. And the Bible is a reliable teacher, but still, the Bible is a big book, and so, perhaps it is not surprising that across the sweep of scriptures you can find texts that seem to contradict each other. In this Groundwork series we study Bible passages that, at first glance, seem to say opposite things; together we'll study and discuss the texts to discover what they really mean and how we can deepen our understanding of scripture when we bring such seemingly contradictory texts together.
Episodes in this Series
January 3 , 2014
Peace: Yes or No?
Contained in Scripture are the truths we need to know in order to recognize our sinfulness and come to the salvation God has prepared for us in Christ Jesus the Lord. Still, the Bible is also a big book and so perhaps it is not surprising that across the sweep of Scripture you can find texts that seem to contradict each other. Today on Groundwork we ponder the question: does Jesus bring peace into our world or conflict?
January 10 , 2014
It's Up to You. No It's Not.
Jesus repeatedly invites us to come to him, like in Matthew 11:28 when he says, "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest." Yet these invitations seem at odds with his claim "No one can come to me unless the Father has enabled them." So which is it; can we come to him or can't we?
January 17 , 2014
All You Gotta Do Is Call. Maybe.
Some Bible passages indicate—that even though to our human eyes a person looks sincere in his or her faith, such a person could be a stranger in God’s eyes? So what do I need to do to be saved? How can I be sure I'm saved?
January 24 , 2014
Jewish Sheep or Other Sheep?
So who did Jesus come to save? In Matthew 15:24 he seems to suggest he came only for the Jews, but in John 10:16 he talks about having sheep, not of this fold. So what gives?
January 31 , 2014
Love the World, Hate the World
What do we do with verses in the Bible that seem to contradict? Take for instance John 3:16 which expresses God's love for the world, but then 1 John 2:15 that says if we love the world we do not have God in us. How is it possible to live our faith in the light of both of these verses?
February 7 , 2014
Everybody's Saved, or Not
How many people will be saved? What about people who don't believe in Christ? What about people who never even heard of Christ? Today on Groundwork we're digging into the question, is everyone saved in the end, or not?
February 14 , 2014
Law or Grace?
How are we saved? How can we know if we are "going to heaven," as we sometimes put it? Is it a sheer gift of grace such that none of our good behavior adds anything to our salvation even as none of our bad behavior subtracts from it? Or is what we do a part of the salvation equation?