Theology: Inerrancy of Scripture

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Theology: Inerrancy of Scripture


Inerrancy is the doctrine that the Bible is fully truthful in all of its teachings.[1]  The word inerrancy is not found or defined in the Bible.  However, the writers of Scripture imply the full truthfulness of the Bible.  The doctrine of inerrancy has many far reaching implications connected to the Christian faith.  For if the Bible is not trustworthy, then our knowledge of God could be called into question and our knowledge of God could be unreliable.  The direct implication being that the very truth or hope of the Gospel could be called into question.  Inerrancy is also linked to the Bible being the authority in our lives.  The goal of this post is to simply explain the biblical foundation for inerrancy of scripture.

Divine inspiration is directly tied to inerrancy, so it is wise for one to begin at inspiration.  The Bible in its original manuscripts was written by men divinely inspired by the Holy Spirit.  In the previous post we discussed the Apostle Peter explaining that no prophecy of Scripture comes from man, but men spoke from God and were carried along by the Holy Spirit (2 Peter 1:20-21).  The Apostle Paul also explains that all Scripture is breathed out by God (2 Tim. 3:16).

There are two strategies used to prove inerrancy:

The most direct method relies on the fact that God cannot lie.  In 2 Samuel 7:28, one learns that God’s words are true.  The Bible also clearly teaches that God cannot lie and always tells the truth (Titus 1:2, Heb. 6:18).  Jesus also makes the argument that God’s word is the standard of truth and that God’s word is truth (John 17:17).  When one combines the fact that the Bible is the inspired word of God and God cannot lie, then one can trust that the Scriptures in their original manuscripts are inerrant and trustworthy.     

The second method some use to prove inerrancy requires a few more steps, but is overall beneficial. This method begins with the fact that God is Omniscient, or that he knows all things. John states, “God is greater than our heart, and he knows everything” (1 John 3:20).  If God knows all then he cannot be uniformed or err in any matter.  Not only does God know everything, but he is everywhere or is Omnipresent (Psalm 139:7-12; Jer. 23:23-24).  Scripture also informs the reader that God has unlimited power and is able to do anything. In other words, He is Omnipotent. An angel told Mary, “For nothing will be impossible for God” (Luke 1:37).  Jesus stated, “With God all things are possible” (Mat. 19:26). Being that God is Omniscient, Omnipresent, Omnipotent, and that He divinely inspired the Scriptures, one can trust the Scriptures.  This biblical evidence uses the attributes of God to form the biblical basis of inerrancy. 

The biblical truth of inerrancy answers the natural question formed in the heart of new and mature believers:  Why should I trust the Bible?  Why is the Bible the authority in my life?  All of this evidence, proves that one can trust the Bible and points right back to the fact that one can trust God and the Gospel.

Previous Related Post:
https://musingsfromnightshift.blogspot.com/2020/01/theology-inspiration-of-scripture.html

Books for Further Study:
Millard J. Erickson, Christian Theology: Chapter 9 “The Dependability of God’s Word: Inerrancy”
Wayne Gruden, Systematic Theology: Chapter 5 “The Inerrancy of Scripture”



[1] Millard J. Erickson, Christian Theology (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2013), 188.



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