Beth-El Baptist Church

03/18/2012

Greg Tomlinson


What is meant by the infallibility of the Bible?


The doctrine of the infallibility of the Bible at its core means that the Bible is completely reliable and trustworthy. It will never fail in anything that it says. The doctrine of the infallibility of the Bible is tightly related to the inerrancy of the Bible. This is because everything that the Bible states is completely reliable and thus completely true. More specifically, the doctrine of the infallibility of the Bible tends to be used in association with the various promises that it makes.


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

Titus 1:2 2 Corinthians 1:19-21

Jeremiah 4:28 Hebrews 8:6-10; 11:13-16

John 14:1-4 2 Peter 1:19


Beyond the doctrine of the inerrancy of the Bible, the doctrine of the infallibility of the Bible is based upon the nature and character of God, who cannot and will not lie. It is based upon the idea that when God says that something will happen, then it absolutely positively will happen. The original biblical languages often use language that indicates a past act or event when describing something that will take place in the future. This is because the promise is so assured that it can be thought of as having already been done.


  1. How do we know that it is infallible?

1 Corinthians 15:1-4 Hebrews 11:17-19

1 Peter 1:10-13 Isaiah 41:26; 45:1-3

Isaiah 55:6-9 (prophecy 680BC : fulfilled 536BC)

1 Kings 13:1-5 (930BC : 630BC) Daniel 8:20-22 (570BC : 330BC)


Just as the verification of inerrancy is the fulfillment of prophecy so is the verification of infallibility. Of particular note for the Christian are the prophecies concerning the first coming of Jesus Christ. Of historical note though are the prophecies of kingdoms and specific events that were to come to be. Some of these events were 300 or more years before the event. Such as the naming of King Josiah (300 years before) and identifying Alexander the Great (200 years before).


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

2 Corinthians 7:1 2 Peter 1:3-4; 1:5-9

James 1:12-15; 2:5 1 Timothy 1:15

2 Timothy 3:15 Matthew 25:46

2 Corinthians 4:15-18


If the scriptures are infallible, then it is imperative that Christians tell others what their future looks like. Without having faith in the person and work and the Lord Jesus Christ, the person will spend eternity in the lake of fire, a place of torment and anguish. It is only if the Bible is infallible that we can consider the difficulties of life to be but a “light affliction, which is but for a moment”. Because the Bible is infallible, that the Christian can look forward to greater things, even eternal life.


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

Job 7:6-7 Ephesians 2:12

Isaiah 22:13 1 Corinthians 15:32

John 18:38 Ecclesiastes 2:17-19


If the Bible was fallable (unreliable, untrustworthy), then all of man would be without hope. The end of every man would be death and thus life itself would have not purpose. Furthermore, the very concept of “truth” would be meaningless. Every person could and would “rightly” have their own definition of truth resulting in no one ever being wrong. There is right and there is wrong but the only way to discover such is through the Word of God, the Bible.