Characteristics
What
are the characteristics of the Bible that set it apart from all other
books? For centuries Christian theologians have used several terms to
summarize the high view of biblical inspiration. Some of these terms
were used to combat false teachers who were undermining the authority of
the Bible. Others were drawn directly from Scripture itself. Let’s
take a closer look at them:
1. Infallible.
This means Scripture will never deceive us, never lead us astray. It is
wholly trustworthy and wholly reliable. It contains no mistakes and is
incapable of error. Psalm 19:7 says, “The law of the Lord is perfect,
reviving the soul. The statutes of the Lord are trustworthy, making
wise the simple.” God cannot lie (Titus 1:2), so his Word will not
mislead us. Think of it this way: if God cannot lie, how could he lie
in his Word?
2. Inerrant.
The Bible is also wholly true. What the Bible says, God says. And he
says it through the human writers yet without error. In 1776 John
Wesley wrote, “If there be any mistakes in the Bible, there may well be
a thousand. If there be one falsehood in that book, it did not come
from the God of truth.”
The
idea of inerrancy comes from the attitude that Christ had toward
Scripture, which was one of total trust, and it comes from Scripture
itself: “I, the Lord, speak the truth; I declare what is right” (Isa.
45:19; also see Prov. 30:5-6).
This
isn’t to say that an error in Scripture would destroy belief in Christ’s
deity, the resurrection, or any other cardinal truth of Christianity.
However, it would undermine our confidence that the Bible is
wholly true and a trustworthy authority and guide in all matters of
faith and practice.
In
recent years much controversy has surrounded the idea of biblical
inerrancy. I’m not suggesting here that belief in inerrancy is
necessary for salvation. In fact, I am the first to admit that many
Christians more mature than I do not believe in an inerrant Bible.
Further, inerrancy is not the basis for church membership or
fellowship. But biblical inerrancy as I have outlined it here is
essential to living a consistent Christian life; it removes all doubt
surrounding the reliability and authority of the Bible in all matters of
faith and practice.
3. Plenary.
Plenary inspiration means the Bible is full, complete, unqualified.
Romans 15:4 says, “For everything that was written in the past was
written to teach us, so that through endurance and encouragement of the
Scriptures we might have hope.” This means all of Scripture is
inspired.
4. Verbal.
Inspiration extends to the words of Scripture themselves and not only to
the ideas. Because inspiration is verbal we know objectively who God
is.
5. Clarity.
The Bible is clear enough for us to read and understand it. Psalm
119:105 says, “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path.”
This
doesn’t mean every passage in the Bible is easy to understand (2
Pet. 3:16), but there is enough clarity to live by. Augustine, a
fourth-century bishop and probably the greatest theologian in church
history, said, “In the clear passages of Scripture everything is found
that pertains to faith and life.”
6. Sufficient.
Clark Pinnock says that “to confess sufficiency and clarity is just to
affirm that Scripture contains enough light to save sinners and
direct the church.”
In 2
Timothy
3:15
Paul reminds Timothy that the Scriptures “are able to make you wise for
salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.” This is not to say that the
Bible exhausts all possible or even all actual revelation (John
21:25)
or that it reveals everything that can be known about God (1 Cor.
13:12).
This means that modern revelations from God are not to be placed on a
level equal to Scripture in authority; they are not to be used as
yardsticks for judging other revelation. In other words, any source of
“revelation” that contradicts Scripture is to be rejected.
7. Efficacy.
Finally, Scripture is effective in bringing people to a personal
relationship with Christ. The Word of God generates eternal life.
Peter says, “For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but
of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God” (1 Pet.
1:23).
Through the power of the Holy Spirit, it also creates saving faith. It
overcomes unbelief and promotes salvation (Rom. 10:17), judging and
penetrating our innermost being. “For the word of God is living and
active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to
dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and
attitudes of the heart” (Heb. 4:12). This passage highlights the
dynamic Word of God, a living power that judges as an all-seeing eye,
penetrating a person’s innermost being.
Conservators
At the
beginning of this article I compared the Bible with an American GI’s
letters to his long-lost Vietnamese daughter. For two years she
received letters while he tried to get her released from Viet Nam. I
imagine that she saved every letter he sent, re-reading them daily,
wondering about the meaning behind some sentences. They were, without
question, the most precious objects she owned. We are called to
conserve the Bible in a similar way, for in so doing we guard God’s
truth and maintain our relationship with him.
The
great leaders of the church have always been conservators of God’s
Word. For example, Augustine wrote, “Do not follow my writings as Holy
Scripture. When you find in Holy Scripture anything you did not believe
before, believe it without doubt; but in my writings, you should hold
nothing for certain.”
Luther, the great reformer, said, “We must make a great difference
between God’s Word and the word of man. A man’s word is a little sound,
that flies into the air, and soon vanishes; but the Word of God is
greater than heaven and earth, yea, greater than death and hell, for it
forms part of the power of God, and endures everlastingly.”
The
most significant aspect of my calling is preaching the Word of God.
For, when any activity in the Christian life is separated from God’s
truth, it soon loses its power and leads us away from the gospel.
Communicators
Of
course, the Vietnamese girl also probably told everyone she came into
contact with about her father. Can’t you see her reading sections from
the letters to friends and strangers, showing them his picture and
describing in detail what she knew about his home and occupation?
Nobody could meet her without learning something about her father,
because the letters were lifelines to a living relationship.
Again,
the analogy to the Christian and the Bible is striking, for we are
called to be communicators as well as conservators of God’s Word. I
preach the gospel, teach, worship, feed the poor, house the homeless,
pray for the sick, prophesy, and so on, because the Bible says that’s
what lovers of God do!
To do
anything less, to fail to combine the Word of God with the works of the
Spirit, is to hold something less than a high view of Scripture. Jesus
said, “If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will
love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. He who
does not love me will not obey my teaching” (John 14:23-24).
The
Bible is unlike any other book. It is a collection of incredible love
letters from God, telling us about our relationship with him. Small
wonder that we are called to be men and women of the Book, meditating on
God’s Word and allowing it to transform our minds, hearts, souls, and
actions.
This article was originally published
Equipping
the Saints, Vol. 3, No. 1 Winter 1989 a magazine of
Vineyard USA.
