In 2 Timothy 3:16, St. Paul wrote: “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.” However, in Hebrews 7:18 he also said, “For on the one hand there is an annulling of the former commandment because of its weakness and unprofitableness.” At first glance this may seem like a contradiction, but with a little context, the message becomes clear—even pointing to Salvation.
The person who pointed out this “obvious contradiction in the Bible” did not recognise the Christian dogma. God is just and righteous, and therefore the sins of mankind require a form of punishment or consequence. In the time of Moses, God laid out commandments and rules to guide humanity on what is righteous and what is sinful. During that time, the method of “payment” (so to speak) was the sacrificial system in the Tabernacle and later the Temple in Jerusalem. God established in His covenant with His people Israel a system where they would offer sacrifices, animals to be killed, in order for God to forgive them of their sins; particularly what God calls in Leviticus chapters 4 to 6 the “sin offering” and the “guilt offering.”
However, this was never intended to be a permanent solution. In Hebrews 10:4, St. Paul wrote, “For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and goats could take away sins.” The atonement people received from the old sacrificial system acted as a type of covering over the sin. The Hebrew word translated as “atonement” in the Old Testament is kaphar, which has the idea of “covering” and not total removal. When we read the verse that follows Hebrews 7:18, he clarified: “19 for the law made nothing perfect; on the other hand, there is the bringing in of a better hope, through which we draw near to God.”
After the crucifixion of Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, our sins are taken away, redeemed and forgiven by His divine blood that was shed on the cross as the ultimate sacrifice, and so there is no longer a need for animal sacrifices and offerings.
All the scriptures coming from God are profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, and for instruction in righteousness, as St. Paul said to his disciple St. Timothy; just because the old sacrificial system is no longer applicable to us doesn’t mean that part of scripture is no longer useful. Hence, we can find no contradiction between the two verses; they just need to be interpreted within the proper context.
You can find more articles dealing with the alleged contradictions in the Bible at the link below:
Category: Bible-Difficulties
