Introduction

The Bible presents several incompatible models of atonement and forgiveness. While Christians have developed theological systems attempting to reconcile these contradictions, the texts themselves present fundamentally different views on how sin is forgiven, whether sacrifice is necessary, and what role Jesus's death plays in salvation.

This page examines some of the most significant contradictions in biblical teachings about atonement and forgiveness.

Sacrifice

Is Blood Sacrifice Required for Forgiveness?

Blood Sacrifice Required

Hebrews 9:22
"Indeed, under the law almost everything is purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins."
Leviticus 17:11
"For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it for you on the altar to make atonement for your souls, for it is the blood that makes atonement by the life."

Blood Sacrifice Not Required

Hosea 6:6
"For I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings."
Psalm 51:16-17
"For you will not delight in sacrifice, or I would give it; you will not be pleased with a burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise."
Jeremiah 7:22-23
"For in the day that I brought them out of the land of Egypt, I did not speak to your fathers or command them concerning burnt offerings and sacrifices. But this command I gave them: 'Obey my voice, and I will be your God, and you shall be my people.'"

Hebrews and Leviticus present blood sacrifice as absolutely necessary for forgiveness, while multiple prophetic and wisdom texts explicitly state that God doesn't desire or require sacrifices and forgives without them. This represents a fundamental contradiction about the mechanism of atonement.

Forgiveness

Is Forgiveness Conditional or Unconditional?

Conditional

Matthew 6:14-15
"For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses."
1 John 1:9
"If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."
Mark 11:25
"And whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father also who is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses."

Unconditional

Ephesians 1:7
"In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace."
Colossians 2:13-14
"And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross."
Romans 5:8
"But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us."

Jesus's teachings in the Gospels make God's forgiveness explicitly conditional on human action (forgiving others, confessing sins), while Pauline texts present forgiveness as an unconditional gift based on grace alone, accomplished through Christ's death regardless of human action.

Is Forgiveness Universal or Limited?

Universal

Colossians 2:13
"And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses."
1 John 1:7
"But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin."
1 John 2:2
"He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world."

Limited

Mark 3:28-29
"Truly, I say to you, all sins will be forgiven the children of man, and whatever blasphemies they utter, but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin."
Hebrews 10:26-27
"For if we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a fearful expectation of judgment, and a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries."
1 John 5:16
"If anyone sees his brother committing a sin not leading to death, he shall ask, and God will give him life... There is sin that leads to death; I do not say that one should pray for that."

Several passages state that Christ's sacrifice removes "all sins" without exception, while others explicitly identify multiple categories of unforgivable sins, including blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, deliberate sin after conversion, and unspecified "sin that leads to death."

Atonement Theory Contradictions

How Does Jesus's Death Provide Salvation?

Substitutionary Punishment

Isaiah 53:5
"But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed."
2 Corinthians 5:21
"For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God."
Galatians 3:13
"Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, 'Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree.'"

Victory Over Evil Powers

Colossians 2:15
"He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him."
Hebrews 2:14-15
"Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery."
1 John 3:8
"The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil."

The Bible presents fundamentally different explanations for how Jesus's death saves. Some passages describe a substitutionary model where Jesus takes the punishment we deserve, while others present a Christus Victor model where Jesus defeats evil powers through his death and resurrection. These models imply different understandings of what the primary problem is (God's justice vs. cosmic evil) and how it's resolved.

Sacrifice or Example?

Jesus as Sacrifice

Romans 3:25
"God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of his blood—to be received by faith."
Hebrews 9:26
"But as it is, he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself."
Ephesians 5:2
"And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God."

Jesus as Moral Example

1 Peter 2:21
"For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps."
Philippians 2:5-8
"Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross."
John 13:15
"For I have given you an example, that you also should do just as I have done to you."

Some passages present Jesus's death primarily as a sacrifice to God that accomplishes atonement, while others present it primarily as a moral example for believers to follow. These models have different implications for how salvation works: is it achieved through a divine transaction, or through moral transformation?

Sin Transfer Contradictions

Can Sin Be Transferred?

Sin Can Be Transferred

Isaiah 53:6
"All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all."
2 Corinthians 5:21
"For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God."
1 Peter 2:24
"He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness."

Sin Cannot Be Transferred

Ezekiel 18:20
"The soul who sins shall die. The son shall not suffer for the iniquity of the father, nor the father suffer for the iniquity of the son. The righteousness of the righteous shall be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon himself."
Deuteronomy 24:16
"Fathers shall not be put to death because of their children, nor shall children be put to death because of their fathers. Each one shall be put to death for his own sin."
Jeremiah 31:29-30
"In those days they shall no longer say: 'The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children's teeth are set on edge.' But everyone shall die for his own iniquity."

The substitutionary model of atonement relies on the premise that sins can be transferred from guilty people to an innocent sacrifice. However, multiple Old Testament passages explicitly state moral responsibility cannot be transferred—each person bears the consequences of their own sins, not another's. This contradiction strikes at the conceptual foundation of substitutionary atonement.

Justice and Mercy Contradictions

Does Forgiveness Require Justice?

Justice Required First

Romans 3:25-26
"God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of his blood... he did this to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished—he did it to demonstrate his righteousness at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus."
Hebrews 9:22
"Indeed, under the law almost everything is purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins."

Forgiveness Without Punishment

Luke 6:35-36
"But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil. Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful."
Micah 7:18-19
"Who is a God like you, pardoning iniquity and passing over transgression for the remnant of his inheritance? He does not retain his anger forever, because he delights in steadfast love. He will again have compassion on us; he will tread our iniquities underfoot. You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea."
Psalm 103:10-12
"He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us."

Some passages present God's forgiveness as requiring justice to be satisfied first through sacrifice or punishment, while others present God as simply forgiving without requiring punishment or payment. These present contradictory views of whether God's forgiveness is contingent on justice being served.

Conclusion

The Bible presents multiple, incompatible models of atonement and forgiveness. These contradictions reveal that the Bible is not a unified text with a single theological perspective but rather a compilation of writings reflecting diverse and sometimes conflicting views about sin, forgiveness, and salvation.

Traditional attempts to harmonize these contradictions often prioritize certain passages (typically those supporting substitutionary atonement) while minimizing or reinterpreting others. A more historically informed approach recognizes that these represent genuinely different theological perspectives within the biblical tradition.