To put it another way, since God cannot lie and the Scriptures are breathed out by God, then the Word of God is free from error or inerrant.
Inerrancy means that “the Scriptures… are exempt from the liability to mistake, incapable of error. In all their teachings, they are in perfect accord with truth.”1 Truth includes “approximations, free quotations, language of appearances, and different accounts of the same event as long as those do not contradict.”2 In other words, different writers might use different words to describe the same incident. Also, inherency allows the writers to record the same event from different points of view.
Inerrancy extends to all issues upon which Scripture speaks. When the Bible speaks on these matters, it must be inerrant; otherwise, it is not trustworthy. If the Bible is not trustworthy on earthly matters, how can it be trustworthy on heavenly matters? Often what the Scriptures teach about heavenly matters is uniquely tied to earthly matters. For example, in Romans 5:12 and 17, Paul links the reality of a literal, historical Jesus to a literal, historical Adam. As well, consider Micah 5:2. The same verse in which predicts the location of Jesus’ birth and also teaches the eternality of Jesus.
ENDNOTES:
1. E. J. Young, Thy Word Is Truth. (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1957), 113.
2. Charles C. Ryrie, What You Should Know About Inerrancy. (Chicago: Moody, 1981), 30.
- For the word of the LORD is upright; - Psalm 33:4a
- The sum of Your word is truth: - Psalm 119:160
- thy word is truth. - John 17:17b
Inerrancy means that “the Scriptures… are exempt from the liability to mistake, incapable of error. In all their teachings, they are in perfect accord with truth.”1 Truth includes “approximations, free quotations, language of appearances, and different accounts of the same event as long as those do not contradict.”2 In other words, different writers might use different words to describe the same incident. Also, inherency allows the writers to record the same event from different points of view.
Inerrancy extends to all issues upon which Scripture speaks. When the Bible speaks on these matters, it must be inerrant; otherwise, it is not trustworthy. If the Bible is not trustworthy on earthly matters, how can it be trustworthy on heavenly matters? Often what the Scriptures teach about heavenly matters is uniquely tied to earthly matters. For example, in Romans 5:12 and 17, Paul links the reality of a literal, historical Jesus to a literal, historical Adam. As well, consider Micah 5:2. The same verse in which predicts the location of Jesus’ birth and also teaches the eternality of Jesus.
ENDNOTES:
1. E. J. Young, Thy Word Is Truth. (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1957), 113.
2. Charles C. Ryrie, What You Should Know About Inerrancy. (Chicago: Moody, 1981), 30.
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