The Inerrancy of Scripture
Verbal Plenary Theory
Every word in the Bible is exactly the word
that the Divine Author intended (the Holy
Spirit) and exactly the word that the human
author intended .
Compatibilist View
In God’s divine providence the life, taste,
education, experiences, and research of the
Biblical authors in conjunction or compatible
with the direct inspiration of the Holy Spirit
gave us God’s words, the Bible.
Can we trust the Bible?
The Chicago Statement on Biblical
Inerrancy (1/5)
God, who is Himself Truth and speaks truth
only, has inspired Holy Scripture in order
thereby to reveal Himself to lost mankind
through Jesus Christ as Creator and Lord,
Redeemer and Judge. Holy Scripture is God's
witness to Himself.
The Chicago Statement on Biblical
Inerrancy (2/5)
Holy Scripture, being God's own Word, written
by men prepared and superintended by His
Spirit, is of infallible divine authority in all
matters upon which it touches: it is to be
believed, as God's instruction, in all that it
affirms, obeyed, as God's command, in all
that it requires; embraced, as God's pledge,
in all that it promises.
The Chicago Statement on Biblical
Inerrancy (3/5)
The Holy Spirit, Scripture's divine Author, both
authenticates it to us by His inward witness
and opens our minds to understand its
meaning.
The Chicago Statement on Biblical
Inerrancy (4/5)
Being wholly and verbally God-given, Scripture
is without error or fault in all its teaching, no
less in what it states about God's acts in
creation, about the events of world history,
and about its own literary origins under God,
than in its witness to God's saving grace in
individual lives.
The Chicago Statement on Biblical
Inerrancy (5/5)
The authority of Scripture is inescapably
impaired if this total divine inerrancy is in any
way limited or disregarded, or made relative
to a view of truth contrary to the Bible's own;
and such lapses bring serious loss to both the
individual and the Church.
The Holy Bible was written by
men divinely inspired and is
the record of Gods revelation
of Himself to man. It is a
perfect treasure of divine
instruction. It has God for its
author, salvation for its end,
and truth, without any mixture
of error, for its matter.
The Holy Bible was written by
men divinely inspired and is
God's revelation of Himself to
man. It is a perfect treasure of
divine instruction. It has God
for its author, salvation for its
end, and truth, without any
mixture of error, for its matter.
Therefore, all Scripture
is totally true and
trustworthy.
Wayne Grudem on Inerrancy:
The inerrancy of Scripture means that Scripture
in the original manuscripts does not affirm
anything that is contrary to fact.
David Dockery on Inerrancy
Inerrancy is the idea that when all the facts are
known, the Bible (in its autographs, that is,
the original documents), properly interpreted
in the light of the culture and the means of
communication that had developed by the
time of its composition, is completely true in
all that it affirms, to the degree of precision
intended by the author’s purpose, in all
matters relating to God and His creation.
Biblical Manuscript Facts
• 5,686 Ancient Greek manuscript copies for the
New Testament
– Plato? Only 7 manuscripts, the nearest only 1200
years away from the original.
– Aristotle? 49 manuscript, the nearest 1400 years
away from the original.
– Julius Caesar? 10 copies, the earliest being 1000
years after he lived.
Manuscript Facts Cont’d
• The internal consistency of the New
Testament: The NT is 96-99.5% textually pure
in the manuscript copy tradition.
• There are over 19,000 translated copies of the
New Testament in Syriac, Latin, Coptic, and
Aramaic.
John Warrick Montgomery
If we disregard the NT all other ancient history
must also be seen unreliable.
• Perspectives
– Matt. 27:3-4
– Acts 1:18-19
• Story Differences
– Matthew 20
– Mark 10
• Time
– John 2
– Matthew 21
Issues
Issues
• Genealogies
• Proximity
– Luke 24:50
– Acts 1:4
• Anachronism
– Genesis 11:31
• Location
– Mark 5:1
• Theological
– Paul and James?
Is Jesus Just a Myth?
• No
– Too Early
– Too Counterproductive
– Too Detailed in Form
“I have been reading poems, legends, myths,
and vision literature all of my life. I know what
they are like. I know none of them are like
this.”
C.S. Lewis
Next Week:
The Attributes of God
Grudem: Part 2, Chapters 9-13
Other Recommended Books:
A.W. Tozer: Knowledge of the Holy