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Scriptural Inerrancy (Protestant/Evangelical Caucus and Devotional)
Ligonier.Org ^ | 2/13/2017

Posted on 02/13/2017 5:02:01 AM PST by Gamecock

“This God—his way is perfect; the word of the LORD proves true; he is a shield for all those who take refuge in him.” - Psalm 18:30

Because Scripture is the only source of special revelation that we possess, it is the only infallible and final authority for the church. This is the doctrine of sola Scriptura, which the Protestant Reformers embraced in order to correct errors that said other authorities such as post-biblical church tradition are equivalent to Scripture as a rule of faith. As we have seen, the doctrine of sola Scriptura is a necessary consequence of passages such as 2 Timothy 3:16–17, which identifies only Scripture as “God-breathed,” or divinely inspired. And because God is incapable of erring, whatever He inspires is likewise incapable of teaching error.

Our doctrine of biblical infallibility, which says that the Bible cannot teach error, has to do with the capability of Scripture—what it can and cannot do. But if Scripture is unable to teach falsehood, that has implications for Scripture regarding what it actually is. Because the Bible is incapable of teaching error, Scripture is actually free from error. The Word of God does not affirm anything that is false, and we refer to this doctrine as the doctrine of Scriptural or biblical inerrancy.

Scriptural inerrancy is a good and necessary consequence of biblical infallibility, but it is also taught explicitly by the biblical writings. In today’s passage, for example, we find a strong affirmation that every word of the Lord proves to be true (Ps. 18:30). Commenting on this text, John Calvin writes, “The word of God is pure, and without any mixture of fraud and deceit, like silver which is well refined and purified from all its dross.” Other important passages that demonstrate the inerrancy of Scripture include John 17:17, wherein Jesus says to His Father, “Your word is truth.”

Importantly, when we speak of biblical inerrancy, we are speaking of the original text of Scripture, not its manuscript copies. We do not possess the actual hard copies that the Apostles and prophets wrote; instead, we have copies of these writings. Since only the Apostles and prophets were inspired, only the text that they wrote is inerrant. Various copies may, and do, contain differences, additional words, and other discrepancies between them. This is not a problem, however, for the Bible is preserved better than any other ancient book, and we are able to reconstruct the original text that the Apostles and prophets wrote even though all we possess is many, many manuscripts from scribes who copied the Bible.

Coram Deo

We do not have the original manuscript copies that the Apostles and prophets wrote; however, we can determine what the original text is that they wrote by comparing the various manuscripts that we do have. We can be confident, then, that we have an inerrant Bible in its original languages. We need not fear that the Scriptures have any errors, so we may fully trust these writings. In so doing, we are trusting God Himself.

Passages for Further Study

2 Samuel 7:28 And now, O Lord God, you are God, and your words are true, and you have promised this good thing to your servant.

Psalm 12:6 The words of the Lord are pure words, like silver refined in a furnace on the ground, purified seven times.

Ecclesiastes 12:10 The Preacher sought to find words of delight, and uprightly he wrote words of truth.

Colossians 1:5 because of the hope laid up for you in heaven. Of this you have heard before in the word of the truth, the gospel,


TOPICS: General Discusssion
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1 posted on 02/13/2017 5:02:01 AM PST by Gamecock
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To: Alex Murphy; bkaycee; blue-duncan; boatbums; caww; CynicalBear; daniel1212; Dutchboy88; ealgeone; ..

Ping


2 posted on 02/13/2017 5:02:39 AM PST by Gamecock
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To: Gamecock

Ping


3 posted on 02/13/2017 5:40:21 AM PST by circlecity
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To: Gamecock

“The word of God is pure, and without any mixture of fraud and deceit, like silver which is well refined and purified from all its dross.”


Do we really believe that? Do we really believe what we say we believe?


5 posted on 02/13/2017 5:54:55 AM PST by PeterPrinciple (Thinking Caps are no longer being issued but there must be a warehouse full of them somewhere.)
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To: Gamecock

We need not fear that the Scriptures have any errors, so we may fully trust these writings. In so doing, we are trusting God Himself.


I will add my personal observations regarding reading the Bible.

1) It doesn’t say what I thought it said.

2) It doesn’t say I have been taught it says.

3) It says a lot of things that OFFEND my human spirit.

Bottom line folks. Read it your self. DON’T LET ANYONE TELL YOU WHAT IT SAYS WITHOUT TESTING IT TO WHAT GOD SAYS.


6 posted on 02/13/2017 6:42:10 AM PST by PeterPrinciple (Thinking Caps are no longer being issued but there must be a warehouse full of them somewhere.)
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To: PeterPrinciple

Amen.

I was raised in a church where a lot of Scripture that differed from their theology was ignored.

Once I read the Scripture for myself multiple times and made sure I understood the context by looking at the underlying Hebrew and Greek definitions of the words, it was a real eye-opener and changed me from Arminian to Calvinist.


7 posted on 02/13/2017 7:21:31 AM PST by afsnco (18 of 20 in AF JAG)
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To: afsnco

I had a similar experience. These days I’m a Reformed Baptist. The believers I am surrounded by do read it. I can’t get enough of it and long to dive even deeper.

I hate to say it, but many who call themselves Christians have never been regenerated. A “Christian” disinterested in the Bible, who doesn’t want to know the Word of God, hasn’t been born again.


8 posted on 02/13/2017 7:51:48 AM PST by .45 Long Colt
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To: Gamecock

Another gem. Thanks for posting.


9 posted on 02/13/2017 1:04:14 PM PST by redleghunter (Truly my soul waiteth upon God: from him cometh my salvation. He only is my rock and my salvation)
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To: Gamecock
Since we are on topic. Thought I would add the following:

Westminster Confession of Faith on Holy Scriptures

Chicago Statement on Biblical Inerrancy

10 posted on 02/13/2017 1:07:48 PM PST by redleghunter (Truly my soul waiteth upon God: from him cometh my salvation. He only is my rock and my salvation)
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To: redleghunter

My pleasure!


11 posted on 02/13/2017 2:03:30 PM PST by Gamecock
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To: Gamecock

Heaven and earth will pass away but the word of God will NEVER pass away. The grass withers and the flowers fade, but the word of the Lord stands forever.


13 posted on 02/13/2017 10:27:21 PM PST by boatbums (God is ready to assume full responsibility for the life wholly yielded to Him.)
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