Preaching the Word
Preaching the Word
The Written Word - The Bible's Inerrancy, Infallibility and Inspiration Explored
We discuss "The Written Word," emphasizing the Bible as our Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth. Through engaging stories and insightful discussions, we highlight the Bible's extraordinary consistency and divine inspiration. With 66 books penned by 40 authors across various continents and languages, all harmonizing to reveal God's master plan, you'll gain a deeper understanding of its prophetic accuracy, concerning Jesus Christ.
We explore modern challenges to the Bible's authority. Startling findings reveal that many Christians and clergy no longer believe in Scripture's inerrancy. We examine the profound implications of this disbelief on the Gospel's reliability, drawing on insights from Professor Robert Dick Wilson to underscore the Bible's unparalleled historical accuracy. Furthermore, we dissect the concepts of inerrancy, infallibility, and divine inspiration, highlighting Scriptural affirmations from 2 Timothy and 2 Peter. By the end, you'll be equipped with a renewed confidence in the eternal truth of God's Word, unified across millennia, and pointing unwaveringly to Jesus Christ.
Email: nathan@nathandietsche.com
Blessings to you in the name of Jesus Christ. To begin this short grouping of sermons, we start with a sermon entitled the Written Word, the Bible, is our basic instructions before leaving Earth. The B-I-B-L-E. Oh, that's the book for me. That's the book for me B-I-B-L-E. Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth.
Speaker 1:You know, not long ago I purchased a cupboard from Amazon and, being the guy that I am, I only skimmed over the instructions as I was putting it together. Halfway through, I attached both of the ends before inserting the middle shelf, which I was required to do, and I had to take one of the ends off. Then, when I had finished, I noticed I still had some hardware left. So I went back to the instruction book and I found out where that hardware went. Then, when I went to hang it up, I realized I'd put the mounting bracket on upside down. Isn't it amazing how much time and effort I could have saved if I would have read those instructions before beginning my project? Perhaps it could be best said, if I'd not been so prideful in my own ability and tried to accomplish the task on my own and instead humbled myself before the instructions of the one who created the cupboard. Things would have been much simpler, much simpler. Isn't that just a picture of us? If we humble ourselves before our Creator, the Creator of heaven and earth, and read the instructions he's given us, how many errors could we avoid? How precious is the Word of God that he's entrusted to us, that he's preserved for us.
Speaker 1:In the letter to the Romans, the Apostle Paul speaks of the Old Testament in this way. He says, in chapter 15, verse 4, for whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope. You see, the instructions that we have been given in Scripture are given so we might have hope, hope in the message about the coming Messiah, jesus Christ, and that through faith in Jesus Christ alone we might have eternal life. The words of the Bible consistently and unerringly point to Christ. From the very first book of Genesis to the last book of Revelation, there's a constant message about man's rebellion against his holy creator and our need for salvation. The scriptures teach us that God is saving a people who are zealous to come back into a right relationship with God, a people zealous for the goodness of God. In the Gospel of John, the Apostle speaks this way, this way, but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.
Speaker 1:The Bible is unlike any other book on earth. In fact, it's not one book at all. It's 66 different books written over a period of 2,000 years by 40 different authors. And those 40 different authors came from three different continents. They wrote in three different continents. They wrote in three different languages. They had different professions, like statesman, doctor, priest, prophet, tax collector, farmer or fisherman.
Speaker 1:All 66 books of the Bible throughout history weave together in perfect harmony. Books of the Bible throughout history weave together in perfect harmony because the Creator himself ordained a plan from eternity and throughout history God has given his faithful servants, whoever they are from, whatever walk of life they come from. He gives them words to give the people. Men of God have declared the word of God to the world and even prophetically proclaimed the future before it happened. And that's exactly what the scriptures declare the God of the Bible to be An all-knowing, all-powerful God, for God alone can declare the future. Isaiah 42.9 reads Behold, the former things have come to pass and new things I now declare, before they spring forth. I tell you of them.
Speaker 1:There are literally thousands of prophecies in Scripture that have been declared and been fulfilled, and there are hundreds of prophetic predictions that surround the first coming of the Messiah, and there are even more that surround his second coming. Let's just examine a few. The Messiah was to be born of a virgin. Isaiah 7.14 reads Therefore, the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son and shall call his name Emmanuel. The Messiah was to be born in Bethlehem. Micah 5.2 reads but you, o Bethlehem Ephrath, who are too little to be among the clans of Judah, micah 5.2 reads the Messiah is prophesied to be a descendant of Abraham, from Isaac and of Jacob. The Messiah was prophesied to be betrayed by a friend for 30 pieces of silver that were to be used to purchase the potter's field. The Messiah was to be mocked, ridiculed, pierced in his hands and his feet, and lots were to be cast for the Messiah's clothing. The Messiah was to die as a sacrifice for sins and he was to be buried in a rich man's tomb, according to Isaiah 53, 5-8. And then, after a short time in the grave, he was to rise again Isaiah 53, 10.
Speaker 1:These prophetic facts alone declare the Bible's authenticity, but there's so much more, as authoritative as the life, death and resurrection of Jesus are, to show us that the Word of God is true. Sometimes, in the weakness of our flesh, we simply question, we doubt, and sometimes those doubts rule over us. I mean, the world is attacking us. The world attacks the Word of God. In our flesh, we're weak and there's another force that's diametrically opposed to the Word of God, the prince of this world. We must intentionally choose to walk. We must intentionally choose to walk with God If we're still trying to make peace with this world. The truth is, we're not standing in Christ.
Speaker 1:I want to dig a little deeper into some of the issues that face the church today, and I want to dig into some of those common doubts that we often have. Let's start with one of the big issues. This perhaps may even be a shocking statement for some of you, but much of the church today, in its formal structure, has rejected the God of the Bible. Now, before I go any further, let me say there are congregations that stand on God's word and are not afraid to preach it.
Speaker 1:However, I want to give you some recent statistics, and this comes from an Arizona Christian university that surveyed over 176 million American adults who identify as Christian. The study found that while a majority of self-identified Christians believe that God is all-powerful, all-knowing and the creator of the universe All-knowing and the creator of the universe more than half reject seminaries, stated they do not believe in the inerrancy of Scripture. Furthermore, when clergy were asked if they believed in the inspired and inerrant Word of God in matters of faith, history and government, 87% of Methodists said no, 82% of Presbyterians said no, 77% of American Lutherans said no and 67% of Baptists said no. I want that to sink in for a moment. Altogether, roughly 85% of sitting clergy today in churches do not believe in the inerrancy of Scripture, and the percentage is the same for those being formally trained to be leaders in the church.
Speaker 1:My friends, how does the church intend to offer a reliable gospel without believing in a reliable scripture? How can we be sure of any issue in scripture if we question the foundation upon which we've received the message? If the church believes the history contained in the Bible is wrong, how can they trust its doctrine or its moral teachings? The very heart of the Christian message is history. Jesus is the Christ because he was prophesied throughout history, because he lived historically in space and time and because he physically died and rose from the dead.
Speaker 1:As believers, we must formally come back to recognizing the inerrant, infallible and inspired Word of God. So let's talk about some of these terms for a moment. What does this even mean? When we talk about the Scripture being inerrant, what are we saying? Well, what we're saying is that the original writings of scriptures had no textual errors. Every single word penned by the original author was the very word of God. Proverbs 35 reads every word of God proves true. He is a shield to those who take refuge in him.
Speaker 1:Now, a common question that arises with inerrancy is that we're not certain we have the original manuscript that was penned by the Apostle Paul or the Apostle John, which brings into question. Can we trust the copies of these manuscripts that we have? And this falls into what is known as textual criticism. The reality is that the Bible has so many early copies, or what we would call ancient manuscripts, that when it comes to textual criticism or the study of ancient texts to show the validity of the original manuscript, the Bible blows every other ancient manuscript completely out of the water.
Speaker 1:I'd like to read you a quote. This is from Professor Robert Dick Wilson of Princeton, who held several doctorates and knew 45 languages and dialects of the Near East. He says I have come to the conviction that no man knows enough to attack the veracity of the Old Testament. Every time when anyone has been able to get together enough documentary, quote-unquote proofs to undertake an investigation, the biblical facts and the original text have victoriously met the test. As we consider Professor Robert Dick Wilson's quote, I want you to consider this. If we were to simply take the scientific and historical evidence at face value, not even considering the prophetic truths of scripture that we've already discussed, the Bible is the most reliable ancient book in all existence. There is no other book that even comes close to the amount of ancient documentation that the Bible has. My friends, the unmatched accuracy of both the Old Testament and the New Testament have been well established beyond any other book. Even the most minor of details has been confirmed over and over again. Therefore, we can be confident that the Bible we have in our hands today is a highly trustworthy copy of the original, the pens of the prophets and the apostles.
Speaker 1:So now that we've talked about inerrancy, what does infallible mean? In John 17, 17,. Jesus said Sanctify them in the truth. Your word is truth. The word infallible is actually closely related to inerrant, in that it carries the idea of being without error. But while inerrant means the original text is without error, infallible means the teaching is without error. The doctrine contained within is sound doctrine. As Jesus said, your word is truth. The Bible doesn't simply contain nice things or things that make us feel good, because the Bible records people rebelling against God, lying, murdering, drunkenness, adultery. Infallible means that the teachings contained in the Scripture are without contradiction. It's completely true in what it's teaching us about these things. When we say the Bible is infallible, we're not saying the Bible is reasonably accurate in what it's teaching us. Rather, we're saying the Bible is fully capable of teaching us all things that pertain to life and godliness.
Speaker 1:Now let's talk about the Bible being inspired. This is perhaps my favorite of the three. What does inspired mean? People often use the term inspired today to mean a variety of things, including in their Christian lingo. But do we truly know what inspired means biblically? The term is used in 2 Timothy 3.16, where it reads All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction and for training in righteousness. This term inspired means to be God-breathed, or breathed out by God.
Speaker 1:In 2 Timothy we're learning where the Bible came from. We learn that the scriptures are God-breathed. But to understand exactly how this process takes place we can turn to 2 Peter 1.21, which reads For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke by God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit. In this verse of 2 Peter 1.21, the word for being carried by the Holy Spirit is the same word that's used to describe ships that are carried along by the wind in Acts 27.15. So much like the sail in a ship is carried by the wind. The human author's minds were present and active as part of the process, but their minds were filled with the wind of the Holy Spirit as the Holy Spirit carried them along as they were writing. So the only words that were recorded were those that were God-breathed into their thinking. God breathed out his word through men directly submitted to the Holy Spirit's guidance.
Speaker 1:The Bible really has but one author, but it has many writers. In Matthew 22, 31 through 32, jesus claimed that the words of Exodus 6 in the Old Testament were given to them by God. Then later, in Matthew, chapter 22, our Lord Jesus quoted from Psalm 110 and pointed out that David wrote these words in the Spirit, meaning that he was actually carried along by the Spirit while he wrote these words of God. Now that we've touched on some of these finer points, let's wrap up again looking at the big picture. The scripture is given to us by God.
Speaker 1:Despite there being 40 different writers from three different continents over 2,000 years, the Bible maintains a perfect consistency of message, and this is because the written word of God is inspired by the Holy Spirit, consistently pointing to the Son of God, jesus Christ. The unity of Scripture in its message about the Messiah demonstrates its supernatural inspiration. Finally, there is an eternal nature to God's word. The prophet Isaiah declares the grass withers and the flowers fade, but the word of our God will stand forever. The Lord Jesus himself said Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away. May the everlasting and eternal God of all creation guard your heart and your mind in Christ Jesus, amen.