Mike,
Please clarify the seeming contradiction:Rom 12:3 For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.
2Th 3:2 And that we may be delivered from unreasonable and wicked men: for all men have not faith.Thanks,
J____
Hi J____,
Thank you for your question concerning what may appear to be a contradiction in the word.
You compare these two verses of scripture which appear to be contrary to each other:
Rom 12:3 For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.
2Th 3:2 And that we may be delivered from unreasonable and wicked men: for all men have not faith.
I understand how we all struggle to understand what appears to us sometimes to be contradictions within the word of God.
In this case Rom 12:3 speaks to “every man that is among you”. “You” refers to those in the church of Rome to whom this epistle is addressed.
Rom 12:3 For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man [“among you” Roman Christians] the measure of faith.
Now let’s notice with whom that verse in 2 Thessalonians is concerned:
2Th 3:2 And that we may be delivered from unreasonable and wicked men: for all men have not faith.
So there it is. No, all men do not have faith. Rom 12:3 is addressed to the saints in the church of Rome who have all been granted a “measure of faith”, and 2Th 3:2 is speaking of an entirely different group of “unreasonable and wicked men” who “have not faith”.
I hope this helps to clear this up for you.
Your brother in Christ,
Mike