Is Scripture “inerrant”?
2nd Timothy 3:15-17
And that from childhood you have known the sacred writings which are able to give you the wisdom that leads to salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.
This is written like a Christian creed, which all Christians agree upon. But let’s consider something.
Jesus states: “But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven; for He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.” (Matthew 5:45)
Questions like whether the sun rises and sets, or is just a matter of speaking, in the figurative language that we use, even today, raises questions about inerrancy, infallibility, reliability and authority. One thing that I’ve learned from the book of Job is that God was there (speaking of creation) and therefore, He is the authority. This shows that you can trust God in all situations, bright or bleak. The Scriptures, as originally given by God, both Old and New Testaments, I believe to be the inspired Word of God, as both reliable and authoritative. But what about infallible and inerrant? Was a mustard seed truly the smallest of all seeds? Does it matter, though? The context of that discussion wasn’t a lecture on seeds. Rather, it was a lecture on faith, and what even a tiny, tiny amount of faith in God can accomplish. So I see reliability and authority in Scripture. When the Scriptures speaks on infallibility and inerrancy, then I take it as such. For example, I believe that Genesis chapter one was not speaking in a parable about faith and morals, but instead, speaking specifically about the origin of the universe, and therefore I take it as such, infallible and inerrant. I believe that someday we will find out that that’s exactly how it happened, scientifically. But in terms of the sun rising and setting, in an altogether distinct context, Jesus wasn’t giving a lecture on the motion of the stars. So, ultimately, a plain and reasonable understanding of Scripture affirms inerrancy, infallibility, reliability and authority. It’s only when one attempts to twist and contort Scripture, wrenching it from the plain and reasonable reading of its context, in an attempt to disprove it, that one can then launch a challenge against its credibility, but again, that is merely spurious.
