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Part XII: Doctrine of Biblical Inerrancy Part I

I. Motivation: Why is Biblical Inerrancy Important?

A. If there are errors in the bible, then everything we have studied thus far is weak and loosely founded.

B. Authority of the Scripture- if there are errors, then the passages that point to its own authority may be in error.

C. The Special revelation of God- if the direct and clear revelation of God is tarnished with errors, how can you take any of it as true and authoritative.

D. The character of God- we will be unable to trust God's account of Himself if we know this from an error ridden bible.

E. This extends to all aspects of teachings and knowing God. If there are errors in the bible, then everything we will study about God (Jesus, salvation, the Holy Spirit, etc.) will be weak and loosely founded. How can you possibly reliably know anything about God?

F. The character and essence of God then comes into question.

G. If you deny inerrancy and choose some things to be truthful and other things to be false, then something else (namely yourself) becomes a higher standard of truth than God.

II. What is Biblical Inerrancy?

A. Definition- Biblical inerrancy says that the bible is free from error, or put positively, that it tells the truth.

B. The bible points to its own truthfulness and inerrancy directly

1. John 17:17, God's Word is Truth

C. It also points to its own truthfulness indirectly

1. Romans 3:4, God is true

2. 2 Timothy 3:16-17, The bible is inspired/breathed/given by God

3. Thus, we can conclude that the bible is true.

D. Inerrancy refers to the original writings of the people who wrote them.

1. We have only copies of the original written texts and sometimes there are small variants.

2. However, even with variants, the copies of the original texts still convey the exact same meaning and intent of the author.

Example: "Oscar is gr3at!" We can still clearly understand the intent and meaning of the statement even though there is an error of 1 out of 12 letters or 8.3% error.

3. We can attribute errors to the copies of the original texts, but not the original texts themselves. The people who copied the bible were not guaranteed by God to be inerrant, but the original texts are. The difference is between man making a mistake (which we clearly understand that we do) and God making a mistake (which we clearly understand that He cannot)

E. Inerrancy allows for certain things

1. Allows for different styles used by the many different men who wrote the books in the bible which is attributed to their very diverse backgrounds: rich, poor, educated, uneducated, doctors, lawyers, fishermen, princes, kings, prophets, etc. These all point to the grace and sovereignty of God in writing the bible: using fallen men's personalities and characters to convey inerrant truth.

2. Allows for "loose" quotations of texts. Many of the writers had to translate from Hebrew to Greek, or Aramaic to Greek. Inerrancy allows for the differences in translation without affecting truthfulness. It was common for the original writers at the time not to make quotations verbatim, but to express the content of what was being said. Example: Red Letter bible

3. Allows for differences in the details of accounts of the same events. It is OK for 2 people to describe the same event differently. Example: Vantage Point

4. Allows for common language and understanding.

Examples: In terms of descriptions like the sun rising, setting, or sitting still in the air, technically, the sun is not doing anything and the earth is circling the sun, but the understanding is clear. In regards to numbers, someone may say, "Dinner last night at small group was 20 bucks!" where technically, it was $20.02. The meaning is still truthful and the understanding is clear.

5. Allows for unusual grammar. Stylistic and grammatically irregular verses: truthfulness, affect they do not.

III. What does Jesus say about the Inerrancy of Scripture?

A. Matthew 4:4- Jesus accepted the complete inspiration of the bible and refers to every word being able to sustain mankind.

B. Jesus references historical accounts and people found in the Old Testament. If He did not believe in a completely inerrant Scripture, than it would serve Him to reference such detailed events.

a. Luke 17:28-29, Lot and the judgement on Sodom

b. Matthew 8:11, the patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

c. Matthew 19:3-5, the creation of man and woman

d. Matthew 24:38-39, the ark Noah built and the biblical description of the times

e. Matthew 12:17, the reliability of Isaiah's prophecy

f. Matthew 22:42-45, prophecy and historicity of King David.

g. John 5:45-46, Moses

C. Matthew 5:17-18, Jesus has a very clear understanding of the importance and truthfulness of Scripture

a. Not even the smallest letter or part of a letter will pass away. Implying the importance of every stroke of the Scripture.

b. The Scripture will be fulfilled and the claims and prophecies written in the Scripture will be accomplished for sure.

D. John 10:31-38, Jesus takes a relatively obscure passage like Psalm 82 and points to its truthfulness, authority, and reliability

a. Verse 34, it is written in your Law

b. Jesus makes an argument from the single word "god"

c. Verse 35, states that the Scriptures cannot be broken

E. Matthew 22:41-46, Jesus relies on the reliability and prophetic nature of Psalm 110.

a. Describing the different words, YHWH and Adonai, Jesus points to his own messiahship.

b. Verse 46, Even the Pharisees submit and are silenced when confronted by the inerrant authority of Scripture, how can we not?