TENSIONS IN BIBLICAL THEOLOGY

There is actually a fairly fine line between the concepts of a tension and a contradiction so that a critic can often cite two passages in Scripture and point out that they appear to express exactly opposite or incompatible ideas. At the same time, one who is committed to the truth of the Bible will delve into the matter a little deeper in order to see if both concepts can be held simultaneously without giving up any intellectual integrity. A former pastor once compared it to stretching a rubber band between your two hands. It forms a taut support as long as you don't let go of it with one hand. If you do, all the tension is gone and you are left with a limp rubber band in the other hand.

Generally speaking, there are several ways in which this desirable tension can be maintained. For example, the contexts of the two passages might represent entirely different situations or even dispensations. Then there is the possibility that the perspectives differ between the conflicting teachings (i.e. divine vs. human). Or each individual passage might only give half of the story, and both are needed to get the complete message. Here is how those tensions play out concerning certain points of theology.

Faith and Works

The relationship between these two seemingly diametrically opposed concepts related to the question of salvation has been worked to death over the centuries by many theologians, and so I won't bore you with rehearsing all the ins and outs of that subject. One simple-minded way of resolving this issue is to say that your works save you only if they are considered as evidence of a prior faith. But at the same time, without works, there is the real question as to whether you in fact have that faith. However, those who think they can earn their way to heaven through their works alone are also sadly mistaken.

There are similar discussions regarding whether our salvation is solely due to God's grace or to our faith. The best approach there appears to be treatment of God's grace being first extended to all and leaving it up to human beings to respond or not respond in faith. Some Calvinists would deny that there is any free will for man and in addition quote Bible passages that can be made to say that even faith itself is not up to us but given only to certain pre-chosen persons. To me, that is a prime example of letting go of the rubber band with one hand.

Steps of Salvation

I was raised in the Restoration tradition which came up with the simple mnemonic preaching device of holding up one hand and showing how each of the five fingers represented one of the steps necessary for salvation. That was their approach, and in my mind a good one, to help their audience keep in mind all of the New Testament passages dealing with this subject. These various passages, taken individually as if they were in a vacuum, might easily lead one to think that all was needed was either faith, repentance, confession of faith in front of others, baptism, or persistence in belief. Taking your pick of which one or ones you happen to feel are sufficient (as do most Christian denominations) and trying to explain away the others as not necessary, is again a case of letting go one end of the rubber band.

God's Omniscience and Human Actions

After Jacob dies in Egypt, Joseph's brothers are afraid that he will then seek revenge on them for selling him into slavery. But Joseph replies, “Even though you intended to do harm to me, God intended it for good, in order to preserve a numerous people, as he is doing today. So have no fear.” Here we see that Joseph is able to overlook the sin against him because he can see events from God's viewpoint rather than from his own limited perspective. God was able to turn man's evil intent around and use it instead as a means of saving the Jewish people.

A close parallel to this type of tension is seen in the NT account of Christ's Passion in which He foretells Judas' betrayal with the words: “For the Son of Man is going as it has been determined, but woe to that one by whom he is betrayed.” (Mark 14:21; Luke 22:22) Thus, God is again seen to utilize an evil act to accomplish His purposes. But in addition, we see here that Judas was no mere puppet to carry out God's will; he was held fully responsible for his own actions.