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Jesus, the Bible, and You

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Throughout history, the church has rarely seen an attack on the inerrancy, inspiration and authority of the Bible of the magnitude that we find in modern debates—debates which really only gained academic credibility in the last two centuries and popular consensus within the last generation. And make no mistake, the attack against inerrancy is inextricably linked to inspiration—certainly in the way we have traditionally responded to our critical scholars. By proving the words of the Bible are accurate we are, at the very least, implicitly answering the attack on the inerrancy of Scripture. Therefore, the answers to inerrancy and inspiration will be given together.

Inspiration, like its sister doctrine inerrancy, is not something invented by theologians and forced on the church. The arguments for them arise from the Bible itself and are based upon the internal consistency of the Bible. Make no mistake, the Scriptures are equated with God’s revelation in words (Matt. 19:4-5; Heb. 3:7; Acts 4:24-25; see also 2 Tim. 3:16; 2 Pet. 1:21).

How Jesus Understood (and Understands) the Bible

As we look to Scripture, it’s crystal clear that Jesus recognized the authority and inerrancy of Scripture—indeed, the way he uses it explicitly affirms their inspiration. He made constant appeal to it when tempted by Satan (Matt. 4:1-11) and used it often in his ministry to defend his actions (Matt. 11:15-17, 26:54-56). This demonstrates the authority Jesus placed in the Scriptures, but we are not left to make assumptions on the basis of Jesus’ actions alone. He, on at least four occasions taught the Scriptures in such a way as to make clear His position on inerrancy.

In a confrontation with the Sadducees over the doctrine of the resurrection (which that group denied), Jesus silenced His opposition, arguing the entire resurrection belief on the tense of a simple verb, “to be” (Matt. 22:32). Jehovah had told Moses at the burning bush, “I am the God of Abraham,” but as Jesus implied, Abraham had been dead 480 years when the statement was made. Arguing that God was the God of the living, not the dead, Jesus claimed life after death must be true. Jesus used the tense of a verb to prove Abraham was not simply physically dead, but was living in the presence of God. The fact that Jesus used this word and its tense demonstrates His deep confidence in inspiration and inerrancy.

The final statement of Jesus that we will look at pertaining to inerrancy occurred during the Sermon on the Mount. In identifying His relationship to the Law, Jesus said, “For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished” (Matt. 5:18). Most scholars agree the reference to a jot and tittle referred to theyod, the smallest letter of the Hebrew alphabet and a small id distinguishing several similar letters. Dr. Gaussen notes, “All the words of Scripture, accordingly, even to the smallest stroke of a letter, are no less than the words of Jesus Christ.”1 Dr. Ed Young notes, “If, therefore, the inspiration of the Bible is plenary, it should be evidence that it is one which extends to the very words.”

Five Truths About Why Inerrancy Matters

The question of ultimate authority is of tremendous importance for Christians, which is why understanding it matters so much. By way of conclusion, I want to look at five ways that inerrancy affects our Christian lives:

First, inerrancy governs our confidence in the Truth of the Gospel. A pilot will ground his aircraft even on suspicion of the most minor fault, because he is aware that one fault destroys confidence in the complete machine. If the history contained in the Bible is wrong, how can we be sure its doctrine or moral teaching is correct? The heart of the Christian message is history. The Incarnation (God becoming man) was demonstrated by the Virgin Birth of Christ. Redemption (the price paid for our rebellion) was obtained by the death of Christ on the Cross. Reconciliation (the privilege other sinners becoming a friend of God) was gained through the Resurrection and Ascension of Christ. If these recorded events are not true, how do we know the theology behind them is true?

Second, inerrancy governs our faith in the value of Christ. We cannot have a reliable Savior without a reliable Scripture. For example many people teach that the Gospels and that the recorded words of Christ are occasionally His. If this is true then how do we know what we can trust about Christ’s teaching? If this is the case as these teachers want God’s people to believe then it follows according to their logic that the Gospel stories are merely wishful thinking or the personal views of the Gospel writers. If this is the case then believers cannot base their faith on Jesus, but rather on the opinions of men.

Third, inerrancy governs our response to the conclusions of science. Those who believe the Bible has errors are quick to accept scientific theories that prove the Bible is wrong. When we allow the conclusions of science to dictate the accuracy of the Word of God one places the authority of science over the Word of God. The consequence of doing this results in having to invent new principles of interpreting Scripture in light of science turning history into poetry and facts into myths. Another result of this line of thinking is that people will not know how reliable a passage is but instead decide what to make out of it. On the other hand those who believe in inerrancy test all theories including scientific theories according to Scripture.

Fourth, inerrancy governs our attitude in the preaching of Scripture. Denying biblical inerrancy leads to a loss of confidence in Scripture in the pulpit and the pew. The problem is not science or education it is the cold deadness of theological liberalism. Doubting the Bible’s history opens one calling into question its words, which results in people losing confidence in Scripture. The people of God don’t want opinions they want to know what God has said from His Word.

Finally, a church without the authority of Scripture is like a crocodile without teeth. It can open its mouth as wide and as often as it likes—but who cares? Thankfully, God has given us His inspired, inerrant, and infallible Word. His people can speak His Word with authority and boldness, and can be confident, because His Word contains His instructions for our lives.

Comments

  1. If i go to the bible book store there are many versions to choose from, all different many contridicting each other.
    I want to know the truth.
    Which bible is perfect? My Pastor says the KJV, and i do use it daily & believe it.
    I am a Ford diesel technician. 23ftlbs is the perfect spec. for a 6.0L engine fuel injector.
    What is the perfect Word of God?
    Thanks, Todd.

  2. How can you say that the Savior’s use of a verb tense tells us that Abraham was/is in the presence of The Almighty when the Savior himself said in John 3:13 that no man has ascended up to heaven? And if the dead are already in heaven-not asleep in the grave as it says in 1 Thess. 4-then how can the dead be raised on his return? What need is there to have a resurrection upon the Savior’s return?

  3. I would say that we all have had our doubts about the inerrancy of scripture and have had ample opportunities to put it to the test. The Holy Spirit will show us and cause us to recognize the truth of the Scriptures as we walk through this dark world. We may not be educated in apologetics enough to give a great dissertation on the inerrancy of the Scriptures, but be have the witness of our own lives and the Holy Spirit that these words are true. The beginning of our faith is the hearing of the Word. The Gospel of our salvation, spoken and then received, is a work of the Spirit and is a great blessing. We are a people of the Book.

    • Linda & Donna

      May the grace from our father & the peace from our lord abound forever in our lives, Aman

    • Thought your article was right on point. I often say that we all have different opinions about politics and religion and it’s hard to get people to agree on anything. But one thing I think people would agree with that the world would be a far better place if people were just more kind to one another. You never know the impact of a kind gesture; a kind word or just a kind smile will have on someone. I think that’s what Jesus was getting it when he said, this is my commandment that you love one another.

      God Bless you in your ministry,

      DavidMorgan
      Audio Bible Editor
      Litchfield Associates

  4. I agree Linda, we are his people and we are His offspring, His children…..

    He comforts and teaches me ALL THE DAY LONG !!!
    He protects me from any errors in my live I might have and do have, He convicts me if I am wrong.

    He gives me an ear to His Wisdom when I think. He keeps me on track. He is with me always and forever.

    Glorious Praise Be To YHWH and My Savior Yeshua for this Promise fullfilled and Word brought to Life!!!

    One of my most comforting scripture is John 14:16

    I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever;

    Forever, I will never be alone nor do I ever have to worry myself with anything if I Love Him, Yield to His will & Listen Closely to His Word !!!!

  5. someone once said: “the Bible is an anvil that has broken many hammers.” seems to me, challenges to the inerrancy of scripture basically come down to “pride of life”. When one faces the Truth of God’s Word, we also face the reality of out sinful nature. Pride raises its ugly head and we can decide to be who God wants us to be (the best “us”) we can be or we can resist like a rebellious child. We also have an enemy who looks for any opening to sew doubt, failure, pump up our ego/pride… whatever. Had an algebra teacher who showed this short multistep equation that proved 1=2. Looked good but had 1 faulty step whereby 1=2. Same with the folks who challenge truth of scripture… there will always be a fault in their logic. Or.. let’s contiually print Bible easy to read versions that lose so much in translation and/or we’ll find one that says what we want it to say, and the depth/reality of God’s truth suffers. such as the ESV version used here. 2 Tim 3:16 is referenced: “teaching” is used rather than “doctrine”. check a thesaurus and see if they mean the same thing. the word doctrine itself- 51 times in KJV vs. 5-6 in most “other versions”. does “teaching” imply the same importance as “doctrine”. Or “our version will use Jehovah in all references to God and we’ll change some other stuff too” or “the Bible’s good but this book tells the rest of the story.” seems to me it all points to man’s inherrent desire to “go his own way” and an enemy who never sleeps.

  7. Brethren,

    The word of God (Bible) states “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness” (2 Tim 3:16) and Jesus speaking the Sermon on the Mount says to us “I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished.” (Matt 5:18)

    Jesus also tells us the Spirit will lead and guide us in to the truth, “However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come.” John 16:13

    The word of God has been attacked by the devil and the demons throughout history. For instance the accuracy of archeological statements the Bible makes like Hezekiah’s water tunnel and the walls of Jericho falling down. Many doubted (because demons tempted to) that there was no tunnel but it was found and many doubted the walls did not fall in but they found archeological evidence it did.

    There are over 300 prophecies of Jesus Christ coming, birth, linage of King David, that have been fulfilled. What are the odds? If you gave each one of these prophecies a one in three chance to be fulfilled you’d have a probability of 1 in xxxxE chance of it being fulfilled. The number xxx3 is 1/3 times an exponent of 300 which is a number so large I can not write it. It shows that the Word of God is continuing to prove it self to be true and without error.

    There is a Bible verse that states that Word of God goes out and when it does it does not return void but accomplishes all it sets out to do. See Isaiah 55:11 “..so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.”

    God’s word tells us not to be “ignorant of the devil’s devices” 2 Cr 2:11 “…so that we would not be outwitted by Satan; for we are not ignorant of his designs.”

    On of these devices is unbelief and doubt. The devil tempted Eve with doubt and and said, “Has God said in the day you eat you shall surely die?” Gen 3:1 “Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You* shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?”

    I encourage each of us to take our stand on the word of God and rebuke in the name of Jesus every demonic spirit of doubt and unbelief when we are tempted. Jesus, our High Priest and Savior did the same when tempted. He took His stand on the Word of God and said to the devil, “But Jesus answered him, saying,* “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.”

    God Bless you with His LOVE and Grace!

    Agape,
    Abob