WHAT IS THE BIBLE? PART 2
This is a continuation of What is the Bible?
Inerrant (without error)
Proverbs 30:5 says that every word of God is true. John 10:35 says that Scripture cannot be broken. Psalm 12:6 says the words of the Lord are pure. Obviously, if God is perfect, and God has spoken, it would naturally mean that all that was written in the inspired documents is without error. Infallibility is related to inerrancy--but means more powerfully: not able to be wrong.
This is important to understand: Writers are fallible--but the writings are not. When someone says something in Scripture that is not true, the Bible records it. Satan lies in the Bible; Job's friends offer him foolish counsel; the fool says in his heart there is no god; in Ecclesiastes it is stated that any enjoyment attained under the sun is meaningless. These examples all show us that there is philosophical and theological error stated in the Bible by those who are ignorant, but just because they are included in the Bible does not mean their affirmations are accurate! If anything, including them is not affirming their error but rather contradicting it! We believe the Bible is without error (inerrancy), and we believe that it is unable to be wrong (infallible).
From the opening pages of Scripture, we see that by twisting God's Word, error will occur. In Genesis 3, the first thing that the serpent asks Eve is: "Did God really say?" In other words, Satan took advantage of the very first opportunity he had to question God's word. And he has exploited every opportunity ever since. Satan will always challenge the Word of God. That isn't a novelty to the Enlightenment or Postmodernism. It has been this way since the beginning.
One person said it best: "Men don't disagree with the Bible because it contradicts itself, but because it contradicts them." That makes it incredibly important--I'd even say CRITICAL--that we know what God's word actually says.
Authoritative
The authority of Scripture simply means that in light of the Bible being the very words of God, we should and must submit our lives to its teachings as the commands and will of God.
Wayne Grudem says, "The authority of Scripture means that all the words in Scripture are God’s words in such a way that to disbelieve or disobey any word of Scripture is to disbelieve or disobey God."
If we believe in the Revelation, Inspiration, Inerrancy, and Authority of Scripture, than we must order our lives accordingly! The Reformers believed in what was called SOLA SCRIPTURA, that means that SCRIPTURE ALONE is the highest authority in our lives. What do you believe and practice in regards to sexuality, and marriage, and in business, and in politics, and in how you pay your taxes and treat your parents or your kids? It should all be submitted to the authority of Scripture.
As one person said:
What the Reformers sought to affirm—and what we must continue to uphold—is that the Bible alone, because it is God’s direct and inspired word to us, should be the “decider.” In essence, we should all look at our Bibles and think, The buck stops here. This submission to scriptural authority does not prevent people from having differing views or interpretations about what the Bible teaches, but it does at least unify us in acknowledging that our views or interpretations should be derived from and judged by the Bible and not by our own preferences or feelings. This is by virtue of the fact that the words of the Bible originated with the eternal and holy God of the universe.
May we submit to the Scriptures as the infallible, inerrant, authoritative, inspired word of God!
