Introduction: What We Mean by "Infallible"

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The Bible makes a startling claim about itself. It does not present itself as one more wise book among many. It claims to be God's own word: "All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness" (2 Timothy 3:16). The Greek behind "inspiration" means "God-breathed." The apostle Peter explains the process: "For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost" (2 Peter 1:21).

Definitions

• Inspiration means that God superintended the human authors so that what they wrote is what He intended, in their own styles, vocabularies, and circumstances.
• Infallibility means that Scripture cannot lead the believer astray; it does not fail in its purpose.
• Inerrancy means that Scripture, in its original writings, is without error in all that it affirms. The Chicago Statement on Biblical Inerrancy (1978) is the best-known modern definition [1].
• Authority means that because God is truthful, His word is the final standard of belief and conduct.

The Bible's Own Testimony

The argument begins with the character of God. "God is not a man, that he should lie" (Numbers 23:19), and He is "God, that cannot lie" (Titus 1:2). If God speaks, what He says is true. So the Scriptures say of themselves:

• "The words of the LORD are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times" (Psalm 12:6).
• "Every word of God is pure: he is a shield unto them that put their trust in him" (Proverbs 30:5).
• "Thy word is true from the beginning: and every one of thy righteous judgments endureth for ever" (Psalm 119:160).
• "The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever" (Isaiah 40:8).

The Testimony of Christ

For Christians, the strongest argument is the attitude of Jesus. He treated the Old Testament as the very word of God, down to the smallest detail: "For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled" (Matthew 5:18). He said that "the scripture cannot be broken" (John 10:35), prayed "thy word is truth" (John 17:17), and rebuked His opponents: "Ye do err, not knowing the scriptures, nor the power of God" (Matthew 22:29). He promised that His own words would outlast creation: "Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away" (Matthew 24:35). The apostles shared this view, and Paul thanked the Thessalonians that they received his message "not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God" (1 Thessalonians 2:13).

The Scope of This Book

Infallibility is ultimately a conviction of faith, but it is not a blind one. The same Bible invites testing: "These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so" (Acts 17:11). The chapters that follow gather evidence from several directions: the Bible's unity, its fulfilled prophecy, its preservation, its archaeology and history, its relation to the natural world, its doctrinal coherence, its two Testaments, and its spiritual power. Taken together, believers argue, these form a cumulative case that Scripture is a masterpiece unmatched in human literature.

CHAPTER 2