The Inerrancy and Infallibility of Scripture

As Reformed thinkers and theologians, we are quick to affirm the sovereignty of God as well as the authority and veracity of Scripture, and so we should. Throughout human history there have been times in which heresies assailed the sound doctrine of the church which necessitated the church to provide clarity on doctrinal issues. The hypostatic union, the doctrine that affirms that Jesus Christ is fully God and fully man, which was so biblically and beautifully articulated and defended by Athanasius at the Council of Nicaea in 325 A.D., is one such example.

In our own day, we post post-moderns at the outset of the 21st century face a broader culture outside the church that posits a post-truth view of the world, that is, that there is no such thing as absolute truth, which, for anyone paying attention, is clearly a self-refuting claim of absolutism. Moreover, the many machinations of such alethieaphobic worldviews have also made significant inroads into the church, challenging both its orthodox theology and the gossamer facades of many professing Christians’ tenuous worldviews. Therefore, it is of the utmost importance that genuine believers understand both the meaning and importance of the doctrines of  the inerrancy and the infallibility of the Word of God, and the difference between the two.

Firstly, we define inerrancy as the idea that in the original manuscripts (autographs), Scripture does not affirm anything that is contrary to fact. In other words, regarding everything about which the Bible speaks, the Bible speaks the truth. Professor and theologian Dr. Wayne Grudem offers helpful parameters for understanding inerrancy. To sum up Dr. Grudem’s writing on the topic of inerrancy, the Bible is considered inerrant while it still speaks using the ordinary language of everyday speech. For example, the Word of God can describe the sun as rising, rather than the earth circling the sun, or the rain as falling, rather than coming down at an angle, because that is how the biblical writer observes the natural phenomena. Moreover, the aftermath of a battle may be described in Scripture as seeing 10,000 people killed while 9,997 or 10,012 were actually slain. In a personal account by a biblical writer, the limits of truthfulness in reporting events “would depend to the degree of precision implied by the original speaker or expected by his original hearers.”¹ Another consideration offered by Grudem for the inerrancy of Scripture is that this doctrine is not weakened by the Word of God containing the free quotes of human beings who may themselves be incorrect. In such cases, Scripture is reporting correctly regarding error spoken by people.² Thus, the inerrancy of Scripture does not affirm anything that is contrary to fact.

Secondly, we define infallibility as Scripture being incapable of being in error or making mistakes. In other words, Scripture does not lead us astray in matters of faith and practice. In infallibility, we affirm that the closed canon of the Word of God is a fixed and authoritative document preserved by God for His church. Christian belief, therefore, holds that it is inconceivable that Scripture could be wrong or contain error.

In sum, our doctrine of the Word of God must include the inerrancy and infallibility of Scripture which are necessarily connected to the veracity (truthfulness) and immutability (unchangeableness) of the Word of God. This, dear friends, is what we may rightly refer to as a high view of Scripture. In these days in which far too many errant souls believe that there is no such thing as absolute truth, let us demonstrate our obedience to Christ in this foundational way, that we believe His Word without reservation or excuse.

“Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, handling accurately the word of truth.” (2 Timothy 2:15 NAS)