Help me understand the doctrine of Biblical Inerrancy

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Permalink Reply by Derek Hill on February 9, 2009 at 3:05am

Hello,

I take it that after 3 decades you have read extensively on the subject, and that you read the Bible regularly. Therefore I will not weary you with repeating what you already know or have read.

1. It is as old as the revelation of God in the Scriptures from the beginning.

2. If you do not believe that what God says to you in his word is true, then how can you be saved by faith? It is important here to realize that salvation by faith is faith in what God says to you in his word as regards your salvation.

3. There is no "downside" to the doctrine. There is when people do not understand it correctly or twist it to their own ends.

Yours in the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ who died and rose again that we might put our faith in God and be saved.

Derek Hill

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Permalink Reply by reprobate on February 9, 2009 at 7:35am

I appreciate the responses. BTW, I chose my moniker not as a wind up but to reflect how some people view my Christian faith...

I haven't figured out the subtleties of posting here so please be patient if I err in technique.

>>2. If you do not believe that what God says to you in his word is true, then how can you be saved by faith? It is important here to realize that salvation by faith is faith in what God says to you in his word as regards your salvation.

I have been led to believe (I believe by God) that my faith should be in the Word by which I mean Jesus. I have no desire to offend but it has become my considered opinion some people have virtually supplanted Jesus with the Bible and to do so is a mistake.

>>3. There is no "downside" to the doctrine. There is when people do not understand it correctly or twist it to their own ends.

So please explain to me the correct understanding of the doctrine and how to avoid twisting it to my end.


>>We live in a day that tends to shrug its shoulders when confronted with error. Instead of asking, like Pilate, “What is truth?,” postmodern man says, “Nothing is truth” or perhaps “There is truth, but we can’t know it.” We’ve grown accustomed to being lied to, and many people seem comfortable with the notion that the Bible contains errors, too.

I don't so much shrug my shoulders as sigh recognizing how likely I am to be flawed in my interpretation. I believe 'absolute truth' exists; indeed, we are likely awash in it. But IMNSHO our (certainly 'my') grasp is tenuous at best and for me personally any allegation otherwise approaches the sin of pride.

It is worth noting I routinely find myself practically eaten up with pride; I've almost come to consider it my thorn in the flesh.

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Permalink Reply by Derek Hill on February 11, 2009 at 3:59am

As I said, after 3 decades you have probably read extensively on the subject and so I won't weary you with repeating what you already know.
However, I don't know what you have read. So I wonder if it would be possible for you say how you distinguish Jesus, the Word, from the revelation of the Word [Jesus] that we have in the Scriptures?

There are wide differences here.

One important aspect of this is what you believe Jesus to be. That is, what is your own interpretation of the Bible as it speaks to us about Jesus? Who is he to you? Do you accept Jesus as he is presented to us in the Bible and interpreted for us in the creeds?

And I am not supplanting Jesus with the Bible here, you will notice I said "what God says to you in his word". The Bible is the word of God to us. It is the means of grace by which we can hear him speak to us. The apostle Paul put it this way when writing to Timothy [2 tim 3.15-17] "from infancy you have known the holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work."

To define what "God-breathed" means TC Hammond in his work "In Understanding be men" says: "theopneustos" or "God breathed" may be defined as the Divine "inbreathing" into a man by His controlling Spirit, with the result that he speaks, or writes, with a quality, insight, accuracy and authority which is possible in no other form of human speaking or writing. NB theopneustos really means out-breathed and refers to the utterance as inspired." page 34,35.

And this is why it is so important to realise that that same Holy Spirit of God who inspired the word of God, speaks to us today in his word. This is the point that Paul is making to Timothy. And it helps us to come to the Bible with hungry hearts and minds to meet with the living God.

Your are quite right to say that our grasp of the truth is imperfect. But that is to be expected given our human limitations and sinfulness. But I think it is wrong to say that therefore we cannot know what is true and to apply this to everything including the Bible. Saying that we cannot know what is true is a philosophy of despair.

I take your point that some have supplanted Jesus [the Word] with the Bible. But what has happened here [I talk only of true Christians here] is that they have left their first love [Jesus] and have been left with advocating and defending God's word as something in itself, often in an angry, self-righteous manner that gives no glory to God whatsoever.

Others use the Scriptures to advocate their own doctrines. Christian liberals, the Jehovah Witnesses, the Mormons come to mind as examples. These are they that distort the truth to their own ends.

Derek

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Permalink Reply by reprobate on February 16, 2009 at 10:18am

>>However, I don't know what you have read. So I wonder if it would be possible for you say how you distinguish Jesus, the Word, from the revelation of the Word [Jesus] that we have in the Scriptures?

I'll give it a go. I believe Jesus the Word is undoubtedly 'larger' than the Jesus described in the Bible. By larger I mean less constrained by men manipulating his image for their own ends, and I'm specifically referring to the powers that be who run the institutions that purport to speak for Christianity.

>>One important aspect of this is what you believe Jesus to be. That is, what is your own interpretation of the Bible as it speaks to us about Jesus? Who is he to you? Do you accept Jesus as he is presented to us in the Bible and interpreted for us in the creeds?

I think the Bible points us toward Jesus. He is Lord. No: giving the various authors the benefit of the doubt I think they were routinely overstating their various cases. In their defense, I believe it is a common human failing to attempt to find certainty where none is demonstrated, particularly when you have a vested interest.

And I think that desire for certaintly flies in the face of having faith.

>>And this is why it is so important to realise that that same Holy Spirit of God who inspired the word of God, speaks to us today in his word. This is the point that Paul is making to Timothy. And it helps us to come to the Bible with hungry hearts and minds to meet with the living God.

Agreed. Will you agree with me that God speaks to us outside the Bible? That his creation shouts his glory?

If so, I hope you'll also agree that a miniscule part of that creation, our individual reason, ought to be weighed when we evalute what, and what isn't, God speaking to us.

Not that MY reason is any big thing, but it, and yours, is not nothing.

>>Saying that we cannot know what is true is a philosophy of despair.

I vehemently disagree: I believe it is a philosophy of faith and humility.

>>I talk only of true Christians here

This gives the game away. I used to believe I could be an arbiter of who was and wasn't a 'true' Christian.

Thanks be to God he disavowed me of that ignorant arrogance.

Praise be to Him.

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Permalink Reply by Carla on February 13, 2009 at 8:12am

Hi Mike, Derek and ML. I received this devotion today and it seems to fit into this discussion.

Thy Word Is Settled Forever
February 13, 2009

"For ever, O LORD, thy word is settled in heaven." (Psalm 119:89)

This is the central verse in the longest chapter in the longest book in the Bible, and it is surely one of the greatest verses in the Bible. It conveys the amazing news that the Word of God (which is the theme of the entire 119th Psalm) has existed from eternity past and will continue to exist forever in the future. It was eternally settled in the mind of God before the world was created, then gradually inscripturated "at sundry times and in divers manners |as God| spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets" (Hebrews 1:1).

Other verses in this psalm likewise stress the eternal validity of God's words: "The righteousness of thy testimonies is everlasting. . . . Concerning thy testimonies, I have known of old that thou hast founded them for ever. . . . Thy word is true from the beginning: and every one of thy righteous judgments endureth for ever" (Psalm 119:144, 152, 160). In the Book of Isaiah appears a magnificent claim: "The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever" (Isaiah 40:8). This contrast is expanded by the apostle Peter: "Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever" (1 Peter 1:23).

To guarantee this great truth beyond any further question, the Lord Jesus Christ Himself made the following tremendous claim: "Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away" (Matthew 24:35). "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 entire physical universe is (literally) "passing away," heading inexorably downhill toward ultimate death--with one exception! The words of our Bible and its glorious promises are eternal and immutable. HMM

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Permalink Reply by Rita Cullimore on April 7, 2009 at 7:23am

Always keep in mind, Reprobate, Satan will try to malign everything we are learning. You would think that he would attack new believers but he comes after us all, especially if we lower our guard for any reason. Faith in Jesus and His Word is what protects us. Keep reading and believing in the inerrant Word of God. Prayer while reading, conducting a private study with the Holy Spirit will give you peace.
Blessings
Rita

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