First and Last Name: Bradley Bynum
Course and Section Number: THEO201_D08_201030
Short Essay # 1
Short Essay on the Inerrancy and Inspiration of the Bible
I was studying my Bible in a park one day, when I was approached by a curious jogger who sat
down next to me. He began a conversation nicely enough, but quickly turned from the weather
to what I was doing. After learning I was studying my Bible, he confessed his opinion that the
Bible was a nice book, but that is all it really is. He continued, saying that in his mind, it held no
authority and was written by men and not God. After his short speech, I began to share with him
my faith in Scripture and God.
The authority of the Bible is most definitely divine. You find that divinity in its very pages; in
the sermons, parables, and lessons recorded that Jesus Christ taught and the words God spoke to
his people personally. All authority originates with God because there is nothing outside of him
that his authority is based on. As God made his promise to Abraham in his own name, it shows
there was nothing greater for him to swear on (Heb 6:13 NIV). This grounds the claim that God
is the final authority (Heb. 6:17 NIV). As such, the Bible is God’s word (John 1:1 NIV), and
since God is the final authority, His word has that same authority. God’s authority is shown
through who He is, and since revelation is how we know who He is, then God’s revelation of
authority and power through His word also reveals His word, or the Bible, as authoritative.
Inspiration comes from God. The inspiration that caused the Bible is the same revelation of God
to the authors of the separate books, and to the men who put them together to form the Bible.
Jesus speaks in the New Testament about fulfilling the prophecies of the Old Testament
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prophets. In his Sermon on the Mount in the book of Matthew, Jesus states explicitly that He has
come to fulfill the Law and the prophets, not to abolish them. Jesus continues stating that
nothing will change about the Law given by Moses, or what the prophets of the Old Testament
have said until every word and declaration has been brought to pass (Matt. 5:17-18 NIV). That
statement by the authority of God in Jesus Christ reveals the sovereign authority of the
inspiration given by the Holy Spirit to the writers of Scripture.
As inspiration is translated “breathed” in the NIV translation, we are reminded again of the
inerrancy of those things inspired by God. Inerrancy is defined as “the view that when all the
facts become known, they will demonstrate that the Bible in its original autographs and correctly
interpreted is entirely true and never false in all it affirms.” If we apply the authority and the
truthfulness of God as stated in His self-revelation, the Bible, in Psalm 117:2; we can understand
that God does not lie, and reveals the truth in His word. If God only reveals truth, then His word
has no errors.
The Bible backs inerrancy and infallibility in that it teaches of its own authority. If it contains
errors, it would teach errors. However, as the written Word of God was “breathed” into the
authors of Scripture by God through the Holy Spirit, then there can be no errors in the written
Word of God. Also, the Bible gives an account of what to watch for in false teachers and
doctrine in both the Old and New Testaments. In Deuteronomy 13:1-5 and 18:20-22, and in 1
Timothy 1:3-12, there are instructions about what false teachers look and sound like in their
teaching. Measuring the Bible against these examples, we can clearly see they are not with error.
Now I hear you saying that the Bible never says it is inerrant, and that furthermore its inerrancy
cannot be proven. The Bible was written by men, and that those same original autographs no
longer exist. Yet, the Bible teaches that all Scripture is from God (2 Tim 3:16 NIV). As more
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data becomes available, such as when the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered, they have shown
the Bible to be true and trustworthy. Yet still, as the Holy Spirit is God, and is the same
inspiration by which the authors, men, of Scripture wrote, then there is no error in their writings.
Finally, though the original texts are no longer available for study, the inerrancy of the original
cannot be compared to the inevitable errors found in translated documents.
Having finished the conclusion of my beliefs, I looked to the jogger for further questions. Having
none, he stood, made a feint at stretching, and slowly, and I should say quite thoughtfully, began
again his run through the park. I resumed studying, grateful for the chance to share the faith I
practice every day.
Word count: 800
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Bibliography
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Second Edition edited by Walter A Elwell, 156-59. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2001.
Henry, Carl F. H.. “Bible, Inspiration of,” In Evangelical Dictionary of Theology Second Edition
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McDonald, Hugh D.. “Bible, Authority of,” In Evangelical Dictionary of Theology Second
Edition edited by Walter A. Elwell, 153-55. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2001.
McKim, Donald K.. “Plenary Inspiration,” In Evangelical Dictionary of Theology Second
Edition edited by Walter A. Elwell, 929-30. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2001.
Robert A. Peterson. “Chicago Statement on Biblical Inerrancy,” In Evangelical Dictionary of
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2001.
Rennie, Ian S.. “Verbal Inspiration,” In Evangelical Dictionary of Theology Second Edition
edited by Walter A. Elwell, 1242-1244. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2001.
Turabian, Kate L.. A Manual for Writers of Research Papers, Theses, and Dissertations.
Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2007.
http://www.press.uchicago.edu/books/turabian/turabian_citationguide.html (accessed July 9,
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