The tension: Matthew 6:9-13 has Jesus teach the Lord's Prayer with the formula *houtōs oun proseuchesthe hymeis* — 'therefore pray in this way.' Romans 8:26 then says *to g…
The tension: Matthew 8:12 has Jesus say that *hoi huioi tēs basileias ekblēthēsontai eis to skotos to exōteron* — 'the sons of the kingdom will be cast out into the outer d…
The tension: Luke 1:6 calls Zacharias and Elisabeth righteous specifically because they walked in all the Lord's commandments blameless, and Romans 2:13 states that doers o…
The tension: Galatians 5:4, Hebrews 6:4-6, and 2 Peter 2:20-21 all explicitly treat falling away from saving grace as possible — Hebrews even pronounces it irrevocable.
The tension: Hebrews 11:1 defines faith as the evidence of things not seen; 2 Corinthians 4:18 says we look at things unseen rather than seen; 2 Corinthians 5:7 — "we walk…
The tension: Paul in Romans 1:20 says God's invisible attributes — his eternal power and divine nature — are "clearly seen" from the creation, so that humans are "without e…
The tension: Romans 13:1-6 commands universal submission to governing authorities on the grounds that they are ordained by God, are God's ministers, and punish only evildoe…
The tension: Romans 4:19 and Hebrews 11:12 both emphasize that Abraham's body was "as good as dead" and Sarah's womb was barren, so the birth of Isaac required miraculous d…
The tension: John 15:13 and 10:11 describe Jesus laying down his life for his friends (philoi) and for the sheep — the in-group, the disciples, those who love him.
