We have concluded that the Bible is inerrant—free from essential error in all its parts. While we do find apparent contradictions between passages and between manuscripts, these differences do not compromise the integrity of God’s Word. We believe that it is true, and we trust in it as the source of truth.
It’s easy to think that this issue is simply a meaningless debate taken up by men with big brains, bigger egos, and too much time on their hands. Does inerrancy really matter? Can’t we just believe that the Bible is beneficial and stop arguing over whether or not it’s inerrant? While that would be convenient, I believe a comprehensive understanding of inerrancy is necessary. And I believe that whether or not we believe our Bible is error-free will impact the rest of our Christian lives.
God’s Character
As I’ve brought out several times before, what we believe about the Bible reveals what we believe about God. Either the Bible is a divinely inspired book, or it isn’t. And if it is, then it should be consistent with His character, consistent with who He is. And it is. Since it comes from God, it reflects Him. If we believe God is perfect, we must believe that His Word is also perfect. If we deny that God’s Word is perfect, we either deny that He is perfect, or we deny that it came from Him. Thus, a rejection of the inerrancy of Scripture is a rejection of the inerrancy of God. And that must not be.
Authority
Another consequence of rejecting inerrancy is that it appoints man as the judge of truth. There can only be one ultimate authority. If the Bible is authoritative and inerrant, we must submit to it in obedience. But, if the Bible is not entirely trustworthy, who determines which parts are and which parts are not? Man does. We get to determine which pieces of Scripture are perfect and which are corrupt. What happens, then, when we encounter a teaching we don’t like? We are free to disregard it as errant, and the Bible is removed as the final authority, stripped of its rightful rule over our lives.
While not everyone who denies inerrancy has a flippant view of Scripture, that is the natural conclusion. If we cannot trust all of it, what can we trust? What should we keep? Someone must determine which parts are true and which are not, and a denial of inerrancy hands that authority to man. The individual determines what is and is not true, accepting what he likes and rejecting what offends Him. This quickly creates a god fashioned in that person’s own image. If we do not trust Scripture as our highest authority—and as the perfect authority—we reject the one Source that can tell us who God truly is. The denial of inerrancy is a rejection of Scripture, which is a rejection of a right understanding of the one true God.
By contrast, a firm belief that the Bible we have is inerrant confesses that God has already determined what scriptural writings are inerrant. God has already collected every piece of His inspired, perfect Word, and He has given us those writings in His Word. When we embrace biblical inerrancy, we submit ourselves to all of Scripture as God has delivered it to us. “Inerrancy means the word of God always stands over us and we never stand over the word of God. When we reject inerrancy we put ourselves in judgment over God’s word.”1 Our submission to Scripture is a submission to God; a rejection of Scripture is, I believe, a rejection of God.
Trustworthiness
Additionally, denying inerrancy prevents any confidence in Scripture at all. Not only is the Bible stripped of its universal authority, it is stripped of its reliability—its trustworthiness. If not all of it is true, how can any of it be trusted? A biblical definition of inerrancy includes the fact that the Bible can be trusted as the source of truth. But if, as the errantist says, bits and pieces are untrue, what’s to keep more significant portions from being false as well? While he may argue that some portions are more clearly true than others and can thus be believed and trusted even when other parts cannot, that leaves the verdict in man’s hands. If we get to choose which parts are true and which are false, we are only a few steps from a total rejection of Scripture. And, if not all parts are true, how can any of it be trusted? As Ryrie says:
If the Bible contains some errors, however few or many, how can one be sure that his understanding of Christ is correct? Perhaps one of those errors concerns something about the life of Christ. It would not be impossible that there might be an error about the crucial matter of His death and resurrection. What then would happen to one’s Christology? It would be changed, perhaps even so drastically that there would be no Christian faith to embrace.2
Faithful, God-honoring Christianity relies on the trustworthy text of Scripture. Right doctrine depends on it. Right worship depends on it. Our belief in God and our obedience to Him can only truly glorify Him if they are grounded in the inerrant Word. If our Christianity is built on an errant Bible, we can’t be sure that what we believe is true. And I would argue that a Christianity built on anything but the inerrant Word is not Christianity at all.
Again, I recognize that many who reject the total inerrancy of Scripture still believe that it is a reliable source of truth. But it seems to me that to deny that every part of Scripture is true can only lead us to eventually reject that any part of Scripture is true. The trustworthy Word cannot be partially true. It must be entirely true—inerrant.
A Common Compromise
One of the most common compromises of Biblical inerrancy is pertaining to origins. A straightforward reading of the Genesis creation account leaves us believing what most Christians have historically believed: God supernaturally created the world in six days, by the word of His mouth. But in the last century, it has become commonplace to superimpose science’s creation calendar onto the biblical record in an awkward marriage of Scripture and historical science.3 Many Christians who claim to believe inerrancy have forced the first several chapters of the Bible into serious contortions to fit together the conflicting views of the Bible and the modern scientific community. A commitment to the Bible’s inerrancy has no room for this nonsense.
I’ll own that Christians should not be divisive without good cause. We should be considerate of other’s convictions and perspectives and seek unity. But Genesis is not the place to do that. Either we believe God, or we don’t. The Bible’s description of creation is far from the evolutionistic scientist’s description, and only one can be correct. If we believe the Bible is inerrant, then it must be right about origins. One practical application of inerrancy is a commitment to six-day creation; anything else is a compromised understanding of the Bible’s inerrancy.
The Importance of Inerrancy
Again, discussing whether or not the Bible is inerrant may seem irrelevant or unnecessary, but I believe it’s a pertinent part of faithful Christianity. A compromised Bible is a compromised Christianity. Though we don’t have an answer for every inconsistency between manuscripts and between passages, we must believe that the Bible is God’s perfect Word nonetheless. And the overwhelming truthfulness of Scripture far outweighs these minor discrepancies. Time and again, the Word leads us to truth. It teaches, trains, corrects, and edifies. It builds us up and leads us to God. Not only is the Bible inerrant (free from error in the negative sense), but it is overwhelmingly true (in the positive sense). Through it, we understand and receive the truth.
Diligent study is right and good in our development of biblical doctrine. Intellect and logic, properly applied, do not lead us away from inerrancy but toward it. We can study the Scriptures and rightly conclude that they are inerrant. Yet far greater must be the testimony in our own hearts. We know the Bible is true because, through it, God has spoken to us. He has revealed Himself and His marvelous, saving gospel. We believe the Bible because the Spirit has enabled our understanding and led us to the perfect Word (1 Cor. 2:13-14).
Why believe that the Bible is inerrant? While substantial evidence can be found within the text and without, ultimately we believe every word of the Bible because we believe God Himself. We believe that God has spoken, and He speaks truth. When we read Scripture, we hear our Maker’s divine, inerrant voice. We read God’s word and receive truth. His Word is perfect, sure, right, pure, clean, true, and righteous altogether. I’ll leave you with these verses from Psalm 19:
The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul; The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple; The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart; The commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes; The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever; The judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether. More to be desired are they than gold, Yea, than much fine gold; Sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb. Moreover by them Your servant is warned, And in keeping them there is great reward. - Psalm 19:7-11
I hope that by now your interest is piqued. If you want to study inerrancy further, I recommend the section on inerrancy in John MacArthur’s Biblical Doctrine or, for a more concise read, J.C Wenger’s God’s Word Written. For a thorough study of inerrancy, pick up Light in a Dark Place by John S. Feinberg. It includes a detailed study of all the supposed errors in the Bible and explanations of why they don’t compromise its inerrancy.
- Kevin DeYoung, Taking God at His Word (Nottingham: Inter-Varsity, 2014), 39.
- Charles C. Ryrie, Basic Theology: A Popular Systematic Guide to Understanding Biblical Truth (Chicago, IL: Moody Publishers, 1999), 87.
- Which, by the way, is not based on actual observation and is therefore not really science.