In some other part of the world, a grand conference on Biblical Inerrancy has just begun. This summit will expect a lot of pastors, laymen, and others to be a part of it. Why should they all flock to a conference which seems a bit bleak to some of us? What in the world is inerrancy?
The Chicago Statement of Biblical Inerrancy says in its summary statement:
1. 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.
2. 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.
3. The Holy Spirit, Scripture's divine Author, both authenticates it to us by His inward witness and opens our minds to understand its meaning.
4. 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.
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.
In recent years this old doctrine has been unnecessarily challenged to deny the Bible's authority and clarity. Well, anything that sets itself against the authority of God has its essence in Sin.
Some have argued that this doctrine is a recent invention of Princeton Theologian B.B.Warfield et al 1. Kevin Vanhoozer, Research Professor of Systematic Theology (TEDS), says "In answer to this question, it is important to remember that doctrines arise only when there is need for them. Doctrine develops when something implicit in the faith is denied; false teaching provokes an explicit rebuttal. This is as true of inerrancy as it is of the doctrines of the Trinity, or of justification by faith. The notion of the Bible's truthfulness was implicitly assumed throughout the history of the church" 2.
As students of Scripture we ought to vigilantly watch ourselves against teachings and sermons that are subtly infused with such an indoctrination. As the summary above states the Scripture is God-breathed, infallibly authoritative, Spirit-superintended, Spirit-illumined and so it is inerrant in all its teachings.
May God use His Word to teach, reprove, correct and train us in righteousness. (2 Tim 3:16)
For live information on the Inerrancy Summit tune in to Challies.com
Couple of online resources on Biblical Inerrancy:
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