It has been said that there is a contradiction between what Jesus said and what Paul wrote in the Bible. Many Christians, including the writer of this article, believe that the Bible is the infallible, inerrant Word of God. There can be no contradictions in the Bible. Having contradictions means the Bible cannot be trusted.
However, some say there is a contradiction between Jesus and Paul in the Bible. In Matthew, Jesus says, “Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few (Matt. 7:13, 14, emphasis added). The contradiction seems to exist when Paul writes in Romans, “But the free gift is not like the trespass. For if many died through one man’s trespass, much more have the grace of God and the free gift by the grace of that one man, Jesus Christ, abounded for many (Rom. 5:15, emphasis added).
It appears that Jesus is saying that only a few will enter heaven, compared to the many who will enter hell. Whereas Paul seems to be saying ‘much more’ will enter heaven than those who go to hell. This appears to be a contradiction, but is it?
The answer to the question in the previous verse is NO!
MATTHEW 7:13, 14
The text of Matthew 7:13, 14 (ESV, emphasis added) is “Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few
Jesus tells us to “Enter by the narrow gate.” Before He tells us what the two gates are called, the results of the two gates, and how many will choose them, He tells us which one to enter. This is getting to the point quickly.
As we proceed through this passage, Jesus tells us of the two gates that will be chosen for humankind’s souls during this life. He tells about the wide gate, which is an easy way to go (v. 13). And He speaks of a narrow gate, which, in contrast, is the hard way to go (v. 14).
Then Jesus tells us the results of choosing one gate or the other. One gate, the wide gate, leads a person to hell forever. The other one is a narrow gate that leads directly to heaven and everlasting life with God. Clearly, a person should choose the narrow gate, but the narrow, hard way is difficult, and therefore some will choose the easier way.
Jesus has the knowledge and tells us that ‘many’ will choose the easier path of the wide gate. He lets us know that only a ‘few’ of the ‘many’ will choose the narrow, hard gate, which will lead them to heaven forever.
From what Jesus says in verses 13 and 14 of Matthew 7, it is clear that only a few people on earth will choose to go to heaven forever. Most humans will choose the easy gate and end up condemned to hell.
ROMANS 5:15
The Bible text of Romans 5:15 (ESV, emphasis added) is “But the free gift is not like the trespass. For if many died through one man’s trespass, much more have the grace of God and the free gift by the grace of that one man Jesus Christ abounded for many.”
The ‘offense’ is the act of Adam when he ate the fruit from the forbidden tree in the Garden of Eden. The ‘free gift’ is the life and works of Jesus Christ. In fact, the ‘offense’ is the type or foreshadowing of the ‘free gift,’ which is the anti-type or fulfillment of Adam’s sin.
The guilt of Adam’s first sin spread to all of his posterity. The grace of God through Jesus Christ spread to His people who believed in Him. The actions of both affected many people who followed them. Though Adam, the type, and Jesus Christ, the anti-type, are alike in this manner, they are very dissimilar in many ways.
One way they differ is that Adam sinned, but Jesus Christ did not. The sin resulted in the death of every human being who was a descendant of Adam, which was all people. But the ‘free gift’ offered by Jesus Christ brought great happiness from certain condemnation and death to those who chose to believe in Him.
Adam brought only death to every human being. But Jesus Christ, by the grace of God, satisfied justice by living a perfect life, dying on the cross, and being resurrected. This gave those who believed in Jesus Christ an everlasting life with God in heaven and happiness forever.
Paul is not writing to say that the number of people who believed in Jesus Christ would be greater than the number affected by Adam’s sin, because it isn’t. Jesus Christ, by the grace of God, took some of those people destined for condemnation to a life of happiness with God in heaven forever.
Therefore, the action of Jesus Christ is much greater than that of Adam. This is what Paul is writing about. That’s why he can write that though Adam’s sin affects ‘many,’ Jesus Christ’s ‘free gift’ has an effect that is ‘much more’ than what Adam gave his posterity.
Although the type, Adam’s sin, affected ‘many,’ the actions of Jesus Christ, the anti-type, had an effect ‘much more’ than Adam’s. Jesus Christ had ‘much more’ effect than Adam’s sin, which had a lesser effect on ‘many.’
As the Reformation Study Bible writes, “Not only are the acts of the two men antithetical, but the Grace of the work of Christ is seen to be greater than the sin, judgment, and condemnation of Adam in the way it brings justification, righteousness, and life to ruined souls.
