Is the Bible infallible? Bob Prichard Topic(s): Bible Infallibility Yes. Infallible means “incapable of erring, sure, certain, unerring.” A close synonym for infallible is inerrant, which means “free from error.” The Bible as revealed by God in the “original autographs” (original written copies) is both infallible and inerrant. The infallible Bible does not just “contain the Word of God,” it IS the Word of God. Because it is infallible, it gives us all that we need for faith and practice in serving God. The Bible claims infallibility for itself. More than 2,000 times in the Old Testament “thus saith the Lord,” or a similar phrase occurs. Surely the Lord was able to communicate His will accurately! Peter spoke of inspiration saying, “the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost” (2 Peter 1:21). The inspired writers wrote what God revealed to them. It was not their own message but the message of God that they recorded. Jesus said “the scripture cannot be broken” (John 10:35), meaning that it must be true. He said, “Verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled” (Matthew 5:18). The “jot” was yodh, the smallest letter of the Hebrew alphabet and the “tittle” was a simple pen stroke, or part of a letter. Thus Jesus asserted the infallibility of the written Word of God, even in the smallest details. The New Testament claims the same inspired infallibility for the whole Bible. “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness” (2 Timothy 3:16). Since “all scripture is given by inspiration of God,” then it must all be regarded as authoritative and infallible. If only part of it is authoritative or infallible, how will we choose what is authoritative and infallible, and what is not authoritative or without error? If we use man’s subjective opinion, we will end up being mislead. How much better it is to just accept all that God has revealed, rather than choosing the opinions of men! Skeptics have long attacked what they perceived as errors in the Bible. When all the evidence is considered, however, the Bible still stands without error. All too often, what are perceived as errors are not errors at all, but simply the expression of different points of view of biblical authors, or misinterpretations of obscure texts, or simple misunderstandings. Too often the “errors” come from the preconceptions of critics concerning what they think the Bible ought to say, rather than what it really says. What is really at stake in the question of biblical infallibility is the character of God. God cannot lie (Titus 1:2). He is omniscient or all knowing (Psalm 139). Since He knows all things and cannot lie, then His written Word, all of it, must be infallible. An infallible God can do no less than produce an infallible Bible. Just one error in His revealed Will would be enough to show that God is not God. Because we are limited in our understanding, we may not be able to explain every perceived error or inconsistency in the Bible, but we can accept it as the infallible Word of God because it comes from Him.
Posted on: Thu, 02 Oct 2014 08:21:19 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015