The Doctrine of Inerrancy-Part 1

One of my greatest concerns today is the departure of many churches (of course I am speaking of visible churches because such could never be a problem of those who are a part of the true invisible church who submits to her head, the Lord Jesus Christ) and so-called Christian organizations from holding to the doctrine of the inerrancy of Scripture. In 1976, Harold Lindsell wrote a book entitled "The Battle For The Bible" where he documented the sad denial of inerrancy by several groups at the time. Over 30 years later such a "battle for the Bible" still is needed. Many denominations are in decline today and have plunged towards liberalism; all because they have quit viewing the Bible to be inerrant and have played fast and loose with its teachings. Such churches who deny the inerrancy of the text of Scripture properly can no longer be called a true church and have no firm foundation to stand upon. Personally, in tears I witness this occurring in the denomination that I serve. My goal in the next two blog posts is to argue for the validity of the doctrine of inerrancy and the dangers of denying it. First, we will look at the evidence for the Bible's inerrancy and then, in a separate post, I will post voices throughout church history who agree with the Bible's teaching concerning its own trustworthiness.

Defining the Doctrine
The first issue we need to discuss concerning the doctrine of inerrancy is just what is meant by the term. Granted it is not a word we normally throw around at the dinner table. (However, if you do, please let me know because I would love to join you then! If the terms propitiation or superlapsarianism often come up, then I am there!) Inerrant basically means without error. It comes from the Latin word errare, to wander. Therefore, to describe something as inerrant is to state that it does not stray from the truth. In relation to the Bible, it communicates the idea that the original autographs of Scripture contain no falsehood pertaining to anything that they claim. “The Chicago Statement on Biblical Inerrancy” defines inerrancy as the “quality of being free from all falsehood or mistake and so safeguards the truth that Holy Scripture is entirely true and trustworthy in all its assertions." Everything the Bible says is true and can be trusted. Whether historical, sociological, scientific, biological, or psychological, the Bible can be found to be accurate. It makes no mistakes in anything it asserts. The Bible may not communicate every fact in existence but in what it does share, it can be described as accurate in those facts. So to say that the Bible is inerrant means that it does not contain any errors of any kind in whatever it may say. Please note that this only refers to the first writings of the Scripture that came from the dripping of the pens of the original authors and copies and translations today only as they accurate represent them.

Deduction From the Doctrine of Inspiration
We know that the Bible is without error because its author is One who cannot err. The fact that the Bible is the inspired Word of God leads to the conclusion that is it inerrant. At least 3,808 times the Old Testament authors refer to a statement as being Thus said the LORD or something equivalent to it. The prophets are described as having the word of the LORD coming down upon them before they spoke His words (Jeremiah 1:1-2; Ezekiel 1:2-3; Joel 1:1; Hosea 1:1). The clear implication is that the prophets spoke what God had told them to speak and thus were delivering His message.

The New Testament authors also viewed the Old Testament writings as being God's very word. Peter tells us that But know this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture is a matter of one's own interpretation, for no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God (2 Peter 1:20-21). Though written down by the instrument of man, the ultimate author of Scripture is God whose Holy Spirit moved men to write down His very words. Paul refers to all Scripture as inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work (2 Timothy 3:16-17). Literally, the Greek reads that all Scripture is God-breathed. The all Scripture that Paul refers to is the Old Testament as that would have been Scripture for both the apostle and Timothy. The author of Hebrews even states that the author of Psalm 95 is ultimately the Holy Spirit and not David. Therefore, just as the Holy Spirit says, . . . (Hebrews 3:7). A similar case may be found in Peter's discussion of the necessity to choose Judas' successor based on Scripture in Acts 1:16. He states that the Holy Spirit foretold by the mouth of David (Acts 1:16) indicating the Holy Spirit as the author and David as the means. The New Testament writers are unwavering in their testimony to God's inspiration of the Old Testament writings.

Although the New Testament as we have it today had yet to be completed at the time, there is evidence that the New Testament authors considered their own writings as Scripture, God's very word, as well. For instance, Paul quotes a statement of Jesus recorded by the author Luke and calls it Scripture in I Timothy 5:18. The quote is alongside one from Deuteronomy. Luke's writing is deemed authoritative by Paul in teaching that elders should be paid for their service. Also, Peter explicitly labels Paul's letters as Scripture. He states that the untaught and unstable distort his writings as they do the rest of the Scriptures (2 Peter 3:16). So, according to Peter, Paul's letters are a part of Scripture. Furthermore, these letters were intended to be read aloud to the congregations and admonish them (Colossians 4:16).

So the Bible itself claims to be more than just any words but God's very words. If the Bible is God's Word as it claims, then it must be inerrant. Otherwise it cannot be described as God's Word. As R. C. Sproul explains, “If [the Bible] is the Word of God, it does not err. If it errs, it is not the Word of God. Surely we can have a word about God that errs, but we cannot have a word from God that errs.” To deny the inerrancy of Scripture is to deny the inspiration of the Scripture. The two doctrines rise and fall together.

Declaration of Scripture Concerning It's Own Inerrancy
Though we don't have to just deduce the doctrine of inerrancy from the claims of Scripture that they are God's actual words. The Bible explicitly refers to itself as inerrant throughout its pages. In Psalm 19:7 we read, The law of the LORD is perfect, restoring the soul; the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple. The Hebrew word for perfect literally means complete or sound. Something that is in accordance with the truth. Likewise, several verses in Psalm 119 point out the inerrancy of Scripture (vv.42,96,140,142,151,160,172). Jesus Himself acknowledged the fact that Scripture contains no errors and thus can be completely trusted. He says in Matthew 5:18: For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the Law until all is accomplished. He mentions in John 10:35 that the Scripture cannot be broken and states in John 17:17, Sanctify then in the truth; Your word is truth. James refers to Scripture as the perfect law (James 1:25). All of this attests to Scripture being without error.

Drawing a Circle?
Now I know that someone reading this right now is crying "foul" and will accuse me of using circular logic in coming to my conclusion that Scripture is inerrant. That I say that Scripture is inerrant because it says it is inerrant and it says that it is inerrant because it is inerrant. However, this is not simply the case with my argument. Logically, the Bible, like anything written or spoken, makes assertions. Those assertions can either be valid or invalid (to use some of the technical logical terms for "right" or "wrong"). The Bible claims that it is the Word of God that does not err. That is either a correct assertion or an incorrect one. As one who has dedicated my life to studying the Bible, I can testify that I have found the Bible's claim to be true. Examining several so-called "apparent contradictions" within Scripture, I have discovered them to be just that, "apparent." I find that most people are too quick to jump to conclusions before actually studying in depth what the text is saying to realize that the passages in discussion do not conflict at all. Also, the greatest validation of Scripture's claim to be God's Word that does not err is the witness of the Holy Spirit within me. He has wrought a conviction in my heart that the Bible is just what it claims. John Calvin puts it well when he points out: "For as God alone can properly bear witness to his own words, so these words will not obtain full credit in the hearts of men, until they are sealed by the inward testimony of the Spirit." I pray that God would open up any eyes who are currently closed to these facts and not only would He give them a conviction that the Bible is indeed His Word that does not err in anything that it asserts but also give a desire to read, study, mediate, and live out this Word. And if you have been given eyes to see that the Bible is true, you must deal with the ramifications of what God's Word says about God's holiness and your sin. You cannot deny its truth. May we not only honor the Word of God but in so doing also honor the God of the Word.

In Christ,
Lee
Soli Deo Gloria!!!