Inerrancy and Inspiration of the Bible

Inerrancy and Inspiration of the Bible

 

            I believe that it is important that we completely understand what “authority” means as a word in the English language first, and the context of the Bible.  Authority is the right and power to command, enforce laws, exact obedience, determine or judge.  Simply put it is the power to influence or command thought, opinion, or behavior.  Authority also refers to spoken and written words and we can establish the accuracy of the information and place trust, confidence, and belief in.  The Bible has authority (exousia), and the authority comes from the spoken and written Word of God and its inerrancy.  The Bible has the power to command thought, opinion, and or behavior.

            Authority means that someone or something claims “power over” something else.  The authority of the Bible comes from God the Father’s authority.  The Creator has authority to make whatever He wants – Romans 9:20-21, God the Father will put down all authorities in the end – 1 Corinthians 15:24.

            I feel that one of the greatest proofs of the Bible's inspiration is prophecy.  The following are some of the prophecies of both secular and religious fulfillment.  In other words, the first section deals with prophecies of the secular world.  The second part deals with prophecies about Jesus.

1 .Secular Prophecies

A. in Daniel 2 four kingdoms are described in the interpretation of the dream of Nebuchadnezzar who was the king of Babylon.  The four were the Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greek and the Roman empire (Dan. 2:39-43).  These four kingdoms occurred just as prophesied.

B. The following cities were prophesied to be destroyed and never rebuilt which has come true since they have not yet been rebuilt.  Nineveh (Nah. 1:10; 3:7,15; Zeph. 2:13-14), Babylon (Isaiah 13:1-22), and Tyre (Ezek. 26:).

C. Daniel 12:4 prophesied that knowledge would increase as well as the ability to travel great distances.  Of course, this has occurred given our present rise in technology.

2.Messianic Prophecies

A. Jesus would be born of a virgin Isaiah 7:14, "Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel." i.Fulfilled in Matt. 1:18,25, "This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary...was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit... But he had no union with her until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus."

B. Jesus' place of birth in Bethlehem Micah 5:2, "But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times." i.Fulfilled in Matt. 2:1, "After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem."

C. Jesus would be preceded by a messenger Isaiah 40:3, "A voice of one calling: 'In the desert prepare the way for the LORD; make straight in the wilderness a highway for our God.'" i.Fulfilled in Matt. 3:1-2, "In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the Desert of Judea and saying, 'Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.'"

 

            The definition of inerrancy is 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, whether that relates to doctrine or ethics or to the social, physical, or life sciences.

            Arguments for inerrancy are made up different views;

                        1. The Biblical Argument – which states that we should believe in inerrancy because the bible teaches its own inerrancy.

                        2. The Historical Argument – which states that the church has historically believed in the inerrancy of Scripture.

                        3. The Epistemological Argument – which states that if you deny inerrancy, you have no sure foundation for knowledge.

                        4. The Slippery Slope Argument – which states, if you give up inerrancy you will begin to give up more and more of the Christian faith.

            The Biblical argument on inerrancy is what I believe in.  It is important to bear in mind that belief in inerrancy is in keeping with the character of God.  If God is true and He is (Rom. 3:4), and if God breathed out the Scripture, then the Scripture, being the product of God, must also be true. This is why the Psalmist affirms, “All your words are true” (Ps. 119:160a).  Revelation 19:9 - These are true sayings of God.  If the men chose the words in the writing of Scripture, some say maybe there are errors in it.  But if every word is from God, then there cannot be errors because God is infallible and makes no errors. This Revelation can serve as inspiration and inerrancy.

            Believers have the authority to become children of God, we either choose to, or choose not.  As for me and my family we choose God and He is the only inspiration we need in life.  Three years ago I was diagnosed with a rare terminal brain disease called (frontotemporal degeneration); this is where the front lobes of the brain die.  I could have chosen to take the doctors life expectancy of 2-5 years, or have believed that God in His inerrancy is the ultimate physician.  They said I couldn’t work anymore because of this disease, but it hasn’t stopped me from working for the Lord.

 

                      

 

Bibliography

                        Walter A Elwell, 2nd ed., 153-55. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker, 2001.

Walter A Elwell, 2nd ed., 159-63. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker, 2001.
Walter A. Elwell, 2nd ed., 156-59. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker, 2001.