The Scriptures do not come from human interpretation (2 Peter 1:20). The ideas did not spring forth from the confused mind of man. More than that, Peter testifies that no prophecy was ever produced by the “will of man” (v. 21 ESV).
We must come to the Bible, Calvin teaches, with a reverence that exists only “when we are convinced that God speaks to us, and not mortal men.” We must believe the prophecies “as the indubitable oracles of God, because they have not emanated from men’s own private suggestions.” The ultimate authorship of Scripture, Peter informs us, is God himself.
There are many texts we could use to show that the Bible is without error, but here’s the simplest argument: Scripture did not come from the will of man; it came from God. And if it is God’s word then it must all be true, for in him there can be no error or deceit.
Inerrancy means the word of God always stands over us and we never stand over the word of God. When we reject inerrancy we put ourselves in judgment over God’s word.
We claim the right to determine which parts of God’s revelation can be trusted and which cannot. When we deny the complete trustworthiness of the Scriptures—in its claims with regard to history; its teachings on the material world; its miracles; in the tiniest “jots and tittles” of all that it affirms—then we are forced to accept one of two conclusions: either Scripture is not all from God, or God is not always dependable.
To make either statement is to affirm a sub-Christian point of view. These conclusions do not express a proper submission to the Father, do not work for our joy in Christ, and do not bring honor to the Spirit, who carried along the men to speak the prophetic word and to author God’s holy book.
Inerrancy means the word of God always stands over us and we never stand over the word of God. When we reject inerrancy we put ourselves in judgment over God’s word.
Defending the doctrine of inerrancy may seem like a fool’s errand to some and a divisive shibboleth to others, but, in truth, the doctrine is at the heart of our faith. To deny, disregard, edit, alter, reject, or rule out anything in God’s word is to commit the sin of unbelief. “Let God be true though every one were a liar” must be our rallying cry (Romans 3:4 ESV).
Finding a halfway house where some things in the Bible are true and other things (as we have judged them) are not is an impossibility. This kind of compromised Christianity, besides flying in the face of the Bible’s own self-understanding, does not satisfy the soul or present to the lost the sort of God they need to meet.
How are we to believe in a God who can do the unimaginable and forgive our trespasses, conquer our sins, and give us hope in a dark world if we cannot believe that this God created the world out of nothing, gave the virgin a child, and raised his Son on the third day?
“One cannot doubt the Bible,” J. I. Packer warns, “without far-reaching loss, both of fullness of truth and of fullness of life. If therefore we have at heart spiritual renewal for society, for churches and for our own lives, we shall make much of the entire trust-worthiness—that is, the inerrancy—of Holy Scripture as the inspired and liberating Word of God.”
Nothing More Sure
The word of God is true. The good news of Jesus Christ has been recorded in the facts of history. There was a man born of a woman in Bethlehem. Thousands of people saw him and knew him. He did miracles witnessed by multitudes. He died, rose again, and appeared to more than five hundred witnesses (1 Corinthians 15:6). Everyone knew the location of the tomb, and it was empty and open to examination. Three disciples in particular were eyewitnesses of his majesty on the Mount of Transfiguration. They saw that event, and simply passed on what they or their closest associates had also seen.
We do not follow myths. We are not interested in stories with a nice moral to them. We are not helped by hoping in spiritual possibilities which we know to be historically impossible. These things in the gospel story happened. God predicted them. He fulfilled them. He inspired the written record of them. Therefore we ought to believe them.
Nothing in all of the Bible was produced solely by the human will. God used men to write the words, but these men did their work carried along by the Holy Spirit. The Bible is an utterly reliable book, an unerring book, a holy book, a divine book.
Do not miss the staggering claim in 2 Peter 1:19. After going into great detail about the awesome events on the Mount of Transfiguration, after taking great pains to explain that he was an eyewitness to these things, after laboring to show us that he is speaking rock-solid, historically verifiable truth, after all this Peter says we now have the “prophetic word more fully confirmed” (ESV). The inscripturated word of God was already true as true can be; Peter’s testimony only confirmed what was already sure.
Some scholars think verse 19 should be translated “and we have something more sure.” In fact, this is how an earlier edition of the ESV translated the verse. In that case, Peter could be seen as saying that the prophetic word of Scripture was a surer testimony than his eyewitness account of the transfiguration. He would be saying, “If you don’t trust my eyes, trust the prophetic word. The Scriptures are more reliable than my senses.”
But even if we stick with the updated ESV translation for verse 19, the point of verses 19–21 is not changed. Whether the prophetic word is, for Peter, confirmed by what he saw or is more sure than what he saw, his view of Scripture is the same. There is no more authoritative declaration than what we find in the word of God, no firmer ground to stand on, no “more final” argument that can be spoken after Scripture has spoken.
Do you talk about Scripture the way the apostles talked about Scripture? You can think too highly of your interpretations of Scripture, but you cannot think too highly of Scripture’s interpretation of itself. You can exaggerate your authority in handling the Scriptures, but you cannot exaggerate the Scriptures’ authority to handle you. You can use the word of God to come to wrong conclusions, but you cannot find any wrong conclusions in the word of God.
You can use the word of God to come to wrong conclusions, but you cannot find any wrong conclusions in the word of God.
You do not need another special revelation from God outside the Bible. You can listen to the voice of God every day. Christ still speaks, because the Spirit has already spoken. If you want to hear from God, go to the book that records only what he has said. Immerse yourself in the word of God. You will not find anything more sure.