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“The Inerrant Word”
Gen 3:1-5; Luke 24:27; Matthew 22:24-33; 24:37-39
Definitions:
Inerrancy: The basic Christian belief that the Bible is fully inspired by Almighty God and is therefore reliable, trustworthy, and sufficient to govern and guide the Christian life. All 66 books of the Bible are the inspired words of God, contain no errors or contradictions, and do not state as fact anything contrary to truth.
The logic of inerrancy:
• Scripture tells us God is omniscient and knows everything (Ps 139:1-4). Therefore, God cannot speak inaccurately through accident, ignorance, or another’s deception.
• Scripture tells us God cannot lie (Num 23:19). Therefore, God cannot knowingly reveal as truth that which he knows to be false.
• Scripture tells us that all Scripture is inspired by God and intended to communicate divine truth (2 Tim 3:16).
• In conclusion, if God knows everything, and God is incapable of lying, then the natural and logical conclusion must be that God’s revealed word must be wholly and factually accurate about everything it asserts.
Inerrancy prooftexts:
Ps 139:1-4, “O Lord, you have searched me and known me! You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from afar. You search out my path and my lying down and are acquainted with all my ways. Even before a word is on my tongue, behold, O Lord, you know it altogether.”
Num 23:19, “God is not a man that he should lie, or a son of man, that he should change his mind. Has he said, and will he not do it? Or has he spoken, and will he not fulfill it?”
2 Peter 1:20-21, “Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet’s own interpretation of things. For prophecy never had its origin in the human will, but prophets, though human, spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.”
2 Tim 3:16, “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.”
How did Jesus view the inerrancy and authority of the Scriptures?
1. Jesus affirmed the inspiration of the Bible.
2. Jesus affirmed the persons and events of the Bible.
3. Jesus affirmed the preservation of the Bible.