Beth-El Baptist Church

03/11/2012

Greg Tomlinson


What is meant by the inerrancy of the Bible?


Many people mock Christians for claiming that the Bible is inerrant. To be inerrant is to be without error. The doctrine of the inerrancy of the scriptures is to lay claim that what the scriptures state is true regardless of whether or not they are believed. They are true because they are found in the scriptures.


  1. Why would Christians claim that the Bible is inerrant?

1 Thessalonians 2:13 John 8:46

2 Timothy 3:16-17 Titus 1:2

Jeremiah 4:28 2 Peter 1:20-21


The doctrine of the inerrancy of the scriptures is foundational to the idea that the scriptures are in reality the very “Word of God”. The Bible claims in both the Old and New Testaments to be the words of God. They are the writings of men who wrote EXACTLY what God wanted them to write. Since the scriptures are considered to be the Words of God and not the words of men, they must be believed and they must carry the same authority as the one who spoke the words. They carry the authority of God Himself.


  1. How do we know that it is inerrant?

John 3:12 Isaiah 41:21-26

Isaiah 40:22 Ecclesiastes 1:7

Acts 17:26 1 Kings 8:46


The study of history has demonstrated over and over again that what the scriptures document as historical events have in fact taken place. While there are many historical events that have not been fully confirmed, there has yet to be any proof that the Bible was wrong on any event. Even en the realm of scientific discoveries, the Bible recorded the events first. The book of Isaiah reports that the earth is a sphere – thousands of years before science “discovered” it. The book of Ecclesiastes documents the existence of the hydrological cycle – thousands of years before science “discovered” it. The book of Genesis and Acts records that every human being is a descendant of one set of parents – science is just now beginning to understand that. Test the scriptures and you will find them historically and spiritually accurate.


  1. What are the ramifications of the Bible being inerrant?

2 Peter 3:16-18 Proverbs 3:5-6

Jeremiah 44:14-21 Isaiah 55:7-9

2 Corinthians 10:5


The scriptures are full of things that are very difficult to understand and to accept. As a result, we must be willing to set aside our own understanding of even our own experiences and evaluate them in light of the scriptures (the Word of God). It is only when we evaluate everything with the scriptures in mind that we can have any hope of properly understanding them. Our natural inclination is to sin against God seeking to satisfy our own desires and fulfill our own selfish pleasures. Only by understanding things according to the scriptures can we hope to properly understand them as God has designed them to be understood.


  1. What would it mean if the Bible was errant?

2 Timothy 3:15 John 18:37-38

1 Corinthians 15:14-19 John 17:17

Proverbs 21:2


If the Bible was in error, it would mean that there is nothing that could be trusted to be true in order to correct our own thoughts and behaviors. It would be necessary to accept everything that everyone wanted to do or to think as equally valid for there would be no standard for comparison. This would likewise mean that there really is no salvation, no truth, no error for who and by what basis could anyone claim that another is wrong on any point and on any issue?