Implications of the Inerrancy of Scripture
The last two posts have dealt with the inerrancy of Scripture. In discussing inerrancy, I gave the following definition:
The original manuscripts of the Bible, when correctly interpreted in view of the purposes for which it was given, and taking into account the literary standards of the time in which it was written, does not affirm anything that is contrary to fact.
When this is properly understood, there are several key implications that arise for God’s people. Among these are:
- Great care must be given to discerning the original text of Scripture. This is known as textual criticism, which is the study to determine what were the words in the original manuscript written by the authors of Scripture.
- Great care must be given to learning the literary and historical methods of writing during the times of the biblical authors. This is known as literary analysis, and it helps us understand why the Biblical authors wrote the way they did, employing certain terms, phrases, and general methods.
- Great care must be given to the process of interpretation. This is known as hermeneutics, which is the study of how to interpret documents. Hermeneutics is applied to any writing, not just the Scripture. But because the Bible was written thousands of years ago, in different languages, by different authors, using a variety of genres, we must consciously and consistently work to interpret the Bible carefully and properly.
- Scripture can be inerrant and still speak in the ordinary language of everyday people. For example, it can speak in phenomenal rather than scientific terms (the sun rose), round off numbers, or give approximate quotations that communicate the meaning of what was spoken even if the original speech even if it is reported in a different language or if the original speech is only summarized (which was the common method in the ancient world).
- Humility! We must always remember that the Scripture is inerrant but I am not! At the end of the day, my interpretation could always be in error – but the Scripture will never be wrong!
These points are not meant to undermine inerrancy – but rather to actually uphold it! Because Scripture is true, and it is the very inspired Word of God, we must labor diligently to make sure we understand what it is actually teaching. This does take effort and skill, which is why God has given teachers to His Church. We should thank God for these folks who have preserved, translated, published, and helped us understand the Word of God. What a gift they have given to us!
In Christ,
Bret