Does the Bible contradict itself?

We trust that God’s Word does not contradict itself because the God who gave it is truthful. Scripture describes Him as:

In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began;

Jesus says to the Father:

Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.

And the psalmist declares:

Thy word is true from the beginning: and every one of thy righteous judgments endureth for ever.

Hard does not mean contradictory

That does not mean every passage is easy to understand. Peter acknowledges that Paul’s letters contain:

As also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction.

When two passages appear to conflict, we should examine them carefully: who is speaking, whom they are addressing, and what the surrounding passage means. Different details or instructions for different circumstances do not necessarily amount to a contradiction.

Jesus’ own attitude toward Scripture gives us our starting point:

If he called them gods, unto whom the word of God came, and the scripture cannot be broken;

These verses explain our confidence in Scripture; a particular alleged contradiction still deserves a particular answer. We can take difficult questions seriously, study patiently, and acknowledge when we do not yet understand how passages fit together.