Introduction

The Scriptures of the Christian faith can be briefly defined as the collection of the books of the Old and New Testaments which comprise the book commonly known as the “Bible.” This only presents the surface of a deeper doctrine which explains the Scriptures as God’s actual words to mankind as they were transmitted through human authors and preserved in oral and written form. Because the Scriptures are accepted as God’s revelation to mankind, they are the foundation for all Christian beliefs and doctrines. Every time an evangelist reaches out to find new converts, a pastor preaches the Gospel, or whenever the faith needs to be defended, the verses of Scripture are the instrument used. The importance of Scripture can best be understood by imagining Christianity existing without the Scriptures. Christianity would lack any authority and have no basis on which to authenticate the truth claims and beliefs of the faith. The Doctrine of Scripture is the collection of the elements of Scripture which provides for its truth, inspiration, inerrancy, necessity, authority, sufficiency, and clarity. These topics will be addressed later in this teaching which will provide the student with confidence in the Scriptures as being the actual Word of God.

The Importance of Scripture

In the above image, King Josiah, (the king of Judah), is informed that the ancient Scriptures containing the Book of the Law had been found hidden in the walls of the temple during repairs. As the words of the Scriptures are read to him, he realizes that the nation is subject to the wrath of God because they have been disobedient to His commandments. Several generations had passed since the death of Kings David and Solomon and the nation had fallen into serious rebellion against God by forsaking Him. The abandonment of God and His law was so extreme that the Scriptures of the royal court had been lost and forgotten. Upon finding the Scriptures, King Josiah realized that they have brought upon themselves the curses of God, “The LORD will send upon you curses, confusion, and rebuke, in all you undertake to do, until you are destroyed and until you perish quickly, on account of the evil of your deeds, because you have forsaken Me,” (Deut. 28:20). In this illustration King Josiah learned the importance of Scripture because the nation was about to experience God’s wrath through their neglect of the Scriptures recorded by their forefathers.

In the same way that King Josiah learned the importance of Scripture, people today learn the importance of Scripture because they are still subject to God’s wrath through disobedience–ignorance is no excuse. In contrast to curses, Scripture presents good tidings for those who are obedient to His commands and place their faith in Christ. For those who obey and follow God’s words, Scripture reveals blessings and honors such as everlasting life and the forgiveness of sin. Another jewel found in Scripture is God’s wisdom that has been highly prized throughout much of history by the various wise men of the world. Here is an excerpt from my teaching, “Reading the Bible: Wisdom Literature of the Old Testament,” which helps explain the value and importance of God’s wisdom which is found in the pages of Scripture.

Biblical wisdom is the talent of studying and gathering the teachings of Scripture to best navigate through life according to God’s purpose and will. In other words, biblical wisdom applies the wisdom of God to the practical issues of life. Can there be any higher source of knowledge and wisdom than the mind of the omniscient God? God’s wisdom has been preserved and recorded in the pages of Scripture. Biblical wisdom is the process of mining the Scriptures for its wisdom and then applying it to the circumstances of life. Since each person’s life is different with different challenges and issues, different aspects of biblical wisdom can be found for these various tribulations. However, the essence of God’s wisdom applies to all humans in the relationship between the Creator and His creation. God has revealed rules, laws, and advice on how to proceed through life, which all depend on submitting to God’s will.

Among the many attributes of Scripture, there is one that has been the most important for past generations as in King Josiah’s time and has again become most important for this current generation–this is truth. A battle for truth currently exists in most parts of the modern world as truth has come under assault for the past several decades by the teachings of the latest world views such as post-modernism and relativism. These teachings have degraded and corroded the meaning of truth to the point that many believe that there are no absolute truths. The consequence of a society that has abandoned truth is that there is no longer a difference between right or wrong, good or evil, or moral or immoral. The results of these worldviews are now evident through increased lawlessness and chaos. Without absolute truth with which to direct life’s pursuits, life becomes meaningless. Mankind’s spirit was made in the image of God with the desire to seek Him and be in relationship with Him–this is impossible in a culture where life is meaningless and there is no truth. This creates an apprehension in the soul as the belief in the meaningless of life conflicts with the teaching of Scripture that life is meaningful because humans possess dignity as they bear the image of God. They also enjoy the future blessing of eternal life in the Kingdom of God through faith. The proof of this is presented by the current revival among the younger generations who are being attracted to religions or denominations with traditional confessions of faith and who strictly adhere to them. These young people have been raised in the false worldviews that proclaim that there is no truth and they have suffered the hopelessness and destruction that results from such views. They now seek hope and meaning which can only be found in absolute truth–which is God’s truth. God’s truth is found only in His Word, and His Word composes Scripture!

Scripture is the Word of God

The Scriptures are the foundation on which Christianity and its beliefs stand. The view that the Scriptures are the actual words of God which proceed from His mind to mankind’s ears are what has elevated the Scriptures to the highest form of revelation that man can acquire. The greatest illustration in Scripture documenting God’s presentation of His words to mankind is the story of the “Ten Commandments,” “Now the LORD said to Moses, “Come up to Me on the mountain and remain there, and I will give you the stone tablets with the law and the commandment which I have written for their instruction,” (Ex. 24:12). In this verse we observe God physically writing His law and commandments on tablets of stone which were preserved by Moses and the people in the Ark of the Covenant. God continued to provide His revelation to Moses which he documented and recorded in written form as the first five books of the Bible, (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy). These five books were followed by the books of the Old Testament as God revealed His revelation through prophets whom He guided and inspired to write the other books of Scripture. The Scriptures continued to be revealed in the New Testament as the New Covenant unfolded with the advent of Christ, the Son of God. The words of God continued to be spoken by God in the person of Christ, and recorded by His apostles and prophets as Scripture, “Long ago God spoke to our ancestors by the prophets at different times and in different ways. In these last days, he has spoken to us by his Son.” (Heb. 1:1-2). The canon of Scripture closed with the last book of the New Testament, Revelation, written by the Apostle John. The Scriptures are complete with the books of the Old and New Testaments, and the Word of God has concluded until the return of Christ. God’s revelation to mankind has concluded but He continues to interact and relate to believers through His Spirit who resides within them.

The Scriptures authenticate themselves as the word of God through the accuracy of the prophecies given by the prophets who have spoken His words, “And if you say in your heart, ‘How shall we know the word which the LORD has not spoken?’—when a prophet speaks in the name of the LORD, if the thing does not happen or come to pass, that is the thing which the LORD has not spoken; the prophet has spoken it presumptuously; you shall not be afraid of him,” (Deut. 18:21-22). Those who were chosen by God to speak His words were given prophecies that were fulfilled by Him so that the people could distinguish a true prophet from a false one. God provided these instructions so that the people can test future prophets who claim to speak in His name. Because God’s presence and relationship to Moses was so visible and undeniable, his status as God’s spokesperson was absolute and beyond question. God would continue to raise other prophets who would speak for Him after Moses so He provides the method by which He would elect them, give them His revelation, and command them to provide His revelation to the people. His instructions also give a warning that those who hear His words and do not listen to them would be held accountable. He gives another warning to those false prophets who attempt to speak in His name or in the name of other Gods that they would suffer death, “Then the LORD said to me, ‘They have spoken well. I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brothers. I will put my words in his mouth, and he will tell them everything I command him. I will hold accountable whoever does not listen to my words that he speaks in my name. But the prophet who presumes to speak a message in my name that I have not commanded him to speak, or who speaks in the name of other gods—that prophet must die,” (Deut. 18:17-20). These verses and many others like them verify the Scriptures as the actual words of God. The ancient prophets of God were verified by the fulfillment of their prophecies. The same God who spoke to Moses and was present among the Israelites as He delivered them from Egypt has provided for His word to be accurately recorded and preserved in the Scriptures that we know as the Holy Bible. Faithful Christians believe this to be true because the same God who created everything that exists is capable of providing true and accurate Scriptures which preserve His revelation.

Inspiration

What is the Church’s teaching regarding the inspiration of Scripture? It is that all of Scripture is inspired by God. Every author of the books of Scripture was divinely inspired by the Holy Spirit as they wrote. Each author was chosen by God and anointed to be the instrument who would document the words of God as they were led by the Spirit. God worked with the individual styles, skills, and qualities of each author as He speaks His word through the human agent so that each word written as Scripture is the actual Word of God. God carried along each man so that what they wrote as Scripture is God’s message to mankind. Each author was directed by the Spirit of God to write in his own distinct style and intellect the word’s that proceeded from God’s mouth, then through the author’s mind and with the author’s hand so that the finished work was the message desired and approved by God. The Holy Spirit also supervised each author through the writing process so that His message was composed and recorded without error. This aspect of the writing of Scripture without error results in a Bible that is infallible and inerrant, which will be further explained later in the teaching.

All Scripture is produced by the Holy Spirit who is known as the “Breath of God.” This describes the method by which the Scriptures are God-breathed as the Word of God. The method helps us to understand the Scriptures as being the words of God as they come from the mouth of God and onto the pages of Scripture–divinely inspired, composed, and recorded. The end-result of this process is described by the Apostle Paul in his 2nd Epistle to Timothy, “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.” The Church fathers, leaders, and theologians from all traditions believed this doctrine to the fullest degree. The various Church councils, decrees, and confessions affirmed this doctrine in their various written statements. The following statement by the reformer John Calvin is an example of the affirmation of the inspiration of Scripture and the prevailing understanding of the doctrine:

“Moses and the prophets did not utter at random what we have from their hand but, since they spoke by divine impulse, they confidently and fearlessly testified, as was actually the case, that it was the mouth of the Lord that spoke—We owe to Scripture the same reverence which we owe to God, because it has proceeded from Him alone, and has nothing of man mixed with it.”

_{(Quote from “Calvin’s New Testament Commentary on the Epistle to Timothy,” pg. 330.)}

The Authority of Scripture

The authority of Scripture rests on the two pillars of the attributes of Scripture which we have already explained; Scripture is the Word of God, and the Inspiration of Scripture. The primary source of authority is God Himself. Having established that Scripture is the word of the living God, then it possesses the same authority as God Himself because Scripture is God speaking. God speaks only truth and His words contain no deception because God cannot lie, “in the hope of eternal life, which God, who cannot lie, promised long ages ago,” (Titus 1:2). Because Scripture carries this degree of authority, to question or deny it is equal to questioning or denying the words of the Lord Himself. The weight of the authority of Scripture falls heavily on the false teachers who deny, contradict, or falsify the clear teachings of Scripture. This is what makes this attribute of Scripture of such importance to the faith. Without the authority of Scripture to support the accuracy and truthfulness of the commands, declarations, and teachings contained within the Bible then Christianity collapses because it has no foundation on which to support its claims. Without the authority of Scripture, the beliefs of the faith are no more credible than a collection of children’s fables or fictional stories that encourage proper ethics and morality.

Just before the publication of this teaching, an article was published on “Protestia.com” titled, “Methodist Pastor Insists the Bible is Full of Mistakes and Contradiction-Compares it to ‘Aesop’s Fables.” Briefly, the article reported that this pastor preached a recent sermon where she stated that the Bible is full of contradictions, errors, mistakes, and falsehoods(lies). She compared the stories of the Bible to Aesop’s Fables, where the stories were not factual but were intended to teach a truth and a moral such as in the stories of The Tortoise and the Hare, or The Boy Who Cried Wolf. The author of the article offers this conclusion, “The pastor excoriated(stripped away) the authority and inerrancy of the Bible.” This is a recent example of the heresy and false teaching that results if the official teaching of the faith regarding the authority and inerrancy of the Bible is disobeyed.

Pastor and theologian, John Stott, in the above quote explains the reason that the Church and its members submit to the authority of Scripture is because Christ the Lord submitted to the authority of Scripture. The Church and all believers who submit to the authority of Christ, must also do Christ did in submitting to the authority of Scripture. Jesus appealed to the authority of Scripture several times, (John 5:39, Matt. 5:18, John 10:35, John 5:33-41, and Luke 24:44). Jesus acknowledged the authority of Scripture as the Word of God every time He repeated the words, “It is written,” as in the following verse, “Then Jesus said to them, “You will all fall away because of Me this night, for it is written, ‘I WILL STRIKE DOWN THE SHEPHERD, AND THE SHEEP OF THE FLOCK SHALL BE SCATTERED,” (Matt. 26:31). The authority of Christ in regard to His teaching on Scripture was acknowledged and believed by His apostles and the Early Church Fathers as they taught the doctrine and passed it on to future generations. The writings of Clement of Rome, Irenaeus, Origen, and Clement of Alexandria all affirmed the authority of Scripture as being the Word of God. This view of the authority of Scripture was confirmed in the ensuing Church councils and was declared as official Church doctrine. The doctrine of Scripture would later be included in the various Articles of Faith, Creeds, and Official Confessions of the various groups of Christianity. The Doctrine of Scripture with its attributes including the authority of Scripture are included as the essential beliefs of the faith and those who claim to be Christian and deny any of the essential beliefs are considered outside of the faith, such as the cults of Christianity. To help students better understand the authority of Scripture, the following teaching of Pastor Timothy Ward from his book “Words of Life,” are submitted for their instruction.

The authority of Scripture is dependent entirely on the authority of God, and comes about only because of what God has chosen to do in presenting Himself to us through Scripture as a God we can know and trust.

Timothy Ward, from “Words of Life,” pg. 128.

Inerrancy and Infallibility

Every book ever written, and every book ever read contains some errors and is not totally accurate or reliable in everything it claims. There is, however, one book that is free from error, and is completely reliable and truthful in all matters contained within it. This is a bold claim and many people with challenge it. How can Christianity make such a claim about their Scriptures. The answer is that Scripture is the actual Word of God, and when God speaks, He does not lie and His words contain no errors. God’s Word is true, and every word that comes from His mouth is truth. Then as God’s words move from His mouth to the pens of the authors of Scripture, the Spirit of God through His inspiration directs the process so that His Word is recorded as His truth and without error. These aspects have already been addressed, and they are displayed here to explain how they support the attributes of inerrancy and infallibility.

Provided below are brief but accurate definitions from “Nelson’s New Christian Dictionary” which help explain the meanings of these terms.

inerrancy-Attribute of the Bible that, when correctly interpreted, it is completely truthful and accurate in all and every respect and that its original autographs are free from error.

infallibility of the Bible-Traditional Protestant doctrine based on (2 Timothy 3:16) that the whole Bible is the inspired Word of God and is free from error in matters of faith and doctrine.

These terms are very closely related and are sometimes used interchangeably. To distinguish the two terms, inerrancy simply means that Scripture is free from error or untruths, while infallibility means that Scripture is incapable of possessing error. In effect, the Bible as the Word of God is without error and is incapable of containing error so that every word is true. Mankind can be confident that the Word of God preserved in Scripture is trustworthy for all things necessary for salvation and godliness.

Note- (Inerrancy applies only to the original autographs of Scripture—those documents which came from the author’s pen as the Holy Spirit moved him to write. This point shows that proponents of inerrancy recognize that transcriptional errors have crept into manuscript copies, and there have also been errors in translations since the documents were originally written. Still, because of the science of textual criticism, there is little doubt that we can construct the equivalents of the autographs. Even so, inerrancy is a quality affirmed of the originals. Even critics of inerrancy understand this). _{Feinberg, J. S. (2018). Light in a Dark Place: The Doctrine of Scripture (J. S. Feinberg, Ed.; pp. 238–239). Crossway.}

Historical Teaching

There may be arguments against the attributes of infallibility and inerrancy such as the view that these teachings were recently developed in the Church and are not taught in the Scriptures. This view is false as there are several verses beginning in the Old Testament that teach these concepts. Jesus and His apostles continued these teachings, and these beliefs were affirmed by later Church fathers and theologians.

“The entirety of Your word is truth, And every one of Your righteous judgments endures forever,” (Psalm 119:160).–The psalmist proclaims the truth of Scripture affirming inerrancy and infallibility.

“Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth,” (John 17:17).–Jesus affirms the teaching.

“because of the hope laid up for you in heaven, of which you previously heard in the word of truth, the gospel,” (Col. 1:5).–The Apostle Paul continues the teaching.

“An effort must be made to bring to a knowledge of the sacred Scriptures a man who will have such an opinion of the holy books that he would refuse to find delight in a well-meant falsehood anywhere in them, and would rather pass over what he does not understand than prefer his own intelligence to their truth.”—Quote from early Church father and theologian Augustine, where he believed that if you admit error in one place, the entire Bible is subject to doubt.

These teachings go far back in the history of the Church and there has been a continuity in teaching these beliefs. These concepts have been necessary to defend the truth of the Gospel and along with the other attributes of the Doctrine of Scripture they have been organized together and presented to equip Christians to defend the faith and the truth of Scripture.

Necessity of Scripture

The attribute of the Necessity of Scripture answers the question, “Why do we need Scripture?” The attribute of the Importance of Scripture helps to answer this question. However, we can dig deeper and access the teachings of Jesus in order to get a more precise answer. In Matthew chapter four, Jesus had retreated to the wilderness and fasted for forty days and was extremely hungry when He was approached by Satan who tempted Him with food. He told Jesus that if He was the Son of God, He could turn stones into bread. Jesus responded with these words, “Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.” Jesus thwarted Satan’s temptation through the use of Scripture where He declared that His allegiance is with the Word of God which feeds the spirit and is therefore of greater importance than food which feeds only the body. The point of Jesus’s teaching is that mankind is more than a physical creature or animal who depends only on food for survival, he is also a spiritual creature who is also dependent on spiritual nourishment, which is the Word of God. Man was created above all other creatures with both body and spirit, with his spirit having priority over the body because it is eternal, (eternal in the sense that it exists eternally following creation and not infinite in the way only God is infinite). Mankind’s spirit is nourished by the Word of God, and it is only believers who can be nourished by Scripture because faith brings the believer into a Union with Christ, who is the fountain from which the nourishment flows.

The Apostle Paul builds on this teaching with his instruction that the follower of Christ is constantly nourished by the words of the faith which are the Scriptures, “In pointing out these things to the brethren, you will be a good servant of Christ Jesus, constantly nourished on the words of the faith and of the sound doctrine which you have been following,” (1Tim.4:6). Here Paul is explaining to Timothy that as a faithful minister of Christ he must constantly seek the Scriptures to receive nourishment for his spirit, and it is evident that Paul is not referring to nourishment for the body. The nourishment from Scripture also extends to Timothy’s preaching of the Gospel, which is the feeding of the flock with the Word of God. The teaching of Christ and of Paul display the necessity of Scripture for the nourishment that the spirit of mankind requires for his/her spiritual life.

The Doctrine of Scripture and False Teachers

The attacks against the faith are relentless and never-ending. They have afflicted the Church since its establishment. The Apostles documented their struggles against false teachers in the books of the New Testament–But the attacks against the faith find their origins in the Garden of Eden when the devil deceived Eve with these words, “Has God said?“ (Gen. 3:1). Or as other translations record it, “Did God really say?“ Satan’s tactic to corrupt God’s creation was to confuse God’s words through deception. The enemy’s primary tactic against God’s Kingdom has not changed as the assault against the Word of God continues today, and will continue until the end of the age. There are currently a growing multitude of false teachers who deny the teachings of the faith through deceit as they attempt to invalidate the truth and authority of Scripture. As the human agents of the dark spiritual forces, false teachers employ the same scheme as their father the devil when they corrupt God’s Word by repeating his words, “Did God really say?”

Failure to Conform to the Doctrine of Scripture Leads to Heresy

Within the past few decades there has been a rise in false teachings related to the abandonment of God’s Word in favor of popular cultural views such as social justice, inclusion, diversity, and sexual identity. In other words, the “gospel of man” has replaced the “Gospel of Christ.” Jesus warned of this attack on Scripture where false teachers were teaching their own false beliefs as true doctrines of the faith, “You hypocrites, rightly did Isaiah prophesy of you: ‘THIS PEOPLE HONORS ME WITH THEIR LIPS, BUT THEIR HEART IS FAR AWAY FROM ME. ‘BUT IN VAIN DO THEY WORSHIP ME, TEACHING AS DOCTRINES THE PRECEPTS OF MEN,” (Matt. 15:7-9). Jesus reprimanded the Pharisee’s for their false teachings which they were trying to present as the Word of God. In effect, these false teachers were presenting teachings that were in opposition to God’s commands and did not have the authority that the true Word of God possesses. Jesus’s words express His anger at these false teachers who were corrupting the Gospel truth with deceptive doctrines which were leading people away from true doctrine. His anger toward false teachers who corrupt God’s words should direct our own response toward false teachers who do the same in this present time.

Currently, one of the most popular verses rejected by these false teachers is John 14:6 because of its exclusive claim that salvation is found only through faith in Jesus Christ, “Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.” These are the words of Christ Himself which have always been understood by the Church in its plain and normal reading that Jesus is the only way to salvation because of His sacrifice on the cross. However, the blasphemy against Christ and His atoning work is increasing as the rejection of Scripture by false prophets becomes commonplace. A 2021 survey by Probe Ministries revealed that 66% of born-again Christians in the U.S. did not believe that Jesus was the only way to heaven. In 2010 the survey statistics indicated that 41% of born-again Christians did not believe that Jesus was the only way to heaven. A comparison of the results between the two surveys reveals that between 2010 and 2020 the number of born-again Christians who did not accept the essential doctrine of the faith that Jesus is the only way to salvation grew by 25%. Based on the growing number of false teachings and the decline of church membership over the previous ten years, then it would be a fair conclusion that the numbers are even higher now.

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For those in other countries who may not be aware of this situation, a few of the actual quotes are provided here as evidence of the growing apostasy in the Church.

“There was a time when you would see people in the pulpit say, ‘well, if you don’t believe in Jesus you going to Hell. That’s insanity in many ways because that is not what Jesus even believes. And so the key is you believe in God. And whatever your path is to God, I celebrate that.”

“Similarly, one can see that each of the major world religions are true, and one can understand that famous/infamous passage where Jesus is presented as saying “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6) as celebrating the uniqueness and distinctiveness of Jesus *and* also celebrating the universal common ground that exists among many religions.”

“This verse has been used more as a gate than as a gift. These words spoken tenderly in a dark room to frighten friends became more of a weapon yielded to tell their Buddhist neighbor that they are not going to make it in. It’s the theological equivalent to a bouncer deciding who’s in and who’s out.”

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An interesting irony in the beliefs of these apostate pastors is that their lack of theological training in understanding and interpreting Scripture is shown by their tendency to concentrate on one verse and ignoring other verses which contradict their argument. This is the case here where these false teachers misinterpret John 14:6 to make salvation inclusive to promote Universalism, (everyone is saved), while neglecting Matt. 7:21-23, where Jesus expresses His opposition to redemptive inclusivity by excluding many from entering the Kingdom of Heaven as He tells them, “I never knew you, depart from me, you evildoers.”

“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. “Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ “And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS,’ (Matt. 7:21-23).

Closing Thoughts

This teaching on the Doctrine of Scripture has presented the various attributes of Scripture which gives it its authority because it is the actual Word of God. It was inspired by God as it proceeded through the authors of Scripture as they composed the books, and it is without error and falsehoods because it flows from the mouth of God and onto the pages of Scripture. As followers of Christ, we are to submit to the authority of Scripture just as Christ submitted to them. Scripture carries the authority of God and the power of the Holy Spirit who moved the men who wrote the Scriptures, “But know this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture is a matter of one’s own interpretation, for no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God,” (2Pet. 1:20-21). In light of these facts, persons are not to change, corrupt or twist the Scriptures to create doctrines which affirm their own beliefs–The Scriptures are spoken by the breath of God and they affirm His beliefs. We are only to submit to Scripture and obey God’s commands.

The Doctrine of Scripture is comprised of the various attributes which form the foundation on which it stands as the divine Word of God. Jesus condemned those who attempted to corrupt and alter it as hypocrites who proclaim holiness, but their works display wickedness. The same is true today for those apostate pastors who corrupt the Scriptures in order to justify their own sinful deeds and to try to make acceptable what is clearly prohibited by the commandments of God. Their scheme is to disrupt God’s holy order so that they can be praised instead of being condemned. The subversion of Scripture by false teachers who are in rebellion against God undermines its divine authority and renders it to the level of flawed human compositions. Holy Scripture documents the Drama of Redemption from Genesis to Revelation, with each book functioning as part of a divine tapestry which provides God’s revelation to mankind. Every false teaching and corruption of God’s revelation is like a loose thread being pulled from the tapestry. Left unchecked, these loose threads will multiply and begin to cause God’s beautiful tapestry of Scripture to unravel until the Gospel message becomes distorted. God’s Word is eternal truth, and it will never be lost–but the spiritual powers of darkness will do everything in their power to corrupt the Scriptures to prevent humans from entering the Kingdom of God. As servants of Christ and defenders of the faith we are duty bound to defend Scripture and oppose false teachings. Let us learn, teach, and defend the Doctrine of Scripture with all of its attributes so that God’s revelation continues to save the lost and bring them into the Kingdom of Light!

Additional References

Defining Our Terms

Authority: The power the Bible possesses, having been issued from God, for which it “ought to be believed and obeyed” (Westminster Confession 1:4). Because of its divine author, the Bible is “the source and norm for such elements as belief, conduct, and the experience of God” (Westminster Dictionary of Theological Terms).

Autographs: The original texts of the biblical books as they issued from the hands of the human authors.

Canon: The authoritative list of inspired biblical books. Within a short time after Jesus’ death, the New Testament canon was affirmed by evaluating the Apostolicity, reception, and teachings of books, but ultimately, the canon is self-authenticating, as the voice of Christ is heard in it (John 10:27; WCF 1:5).

Inerrancy: The position that the Bible affirms no falsehood of any sort; that is, “it is without fault or error in all that it teaches,” in matters of history and science as well as faith (Chicago Statement on Biblical Inerrancy). Inerrancy allows for literary devices, such as metaphors, hyperbole, round numbers, and colloquial expressions.

Infallibility: The position that the Bible cannot err or make mistakes, and that it “is completely trustworthy as a guide to salvation and the life of faith and will not fail to accomplish its purpose” (Westminster Dictionary). As the Christian church has traditionally taught, this doctrine is based on the perfection of the divine author, who cannot speak error.

Inspiration: The process by which God worked through the human authors of the Bible to communicate His revelation. The term derives from the Greek theopneustos, meaning “God-breathed” (2 Tim. 3:16), and refers to God as the ultimate source of the Scriptures.

Organic inspiration: The process by which God guided the human authors of Scripture, working in and through their particular styles and life experiences, so that what they produced was exactly what He wanted them to produce. The text is truly the work of the human authors— God did not typically dictate to them as to a stenographer—and yet the Lord stands behind it as the ultimate source.

Necessity: Refers to mankind’s need for God’s special revelation in the Scriptures in order to obtain knowledge of the gospel and the plan of salvation, which cannot be learned through the general revelation of nature and conscience.

Perspicuity: The clarity of the Bible; that is, that which is necessary to know and believe regarding life and salvation is “so clearly propounded, and opened in some place of Scripture or the other,” that anyone may understand them (WCF 1:7).

Scripture: From the Latin scriptura, meaning “writings”; refers to sacred texts, but more specifically, the Bible as the Word of God written.

Special revelation: The things that God makes known about Himself apart from nature and conscience (general revelation; cf. Rom. 1:19–21). These things, having to do with Christ and the plan of salvation, are found only in the Bible.

Sufficiency: All that is needed to know and believe regarding salvation and what pleases God is found in the Bible.

Verbal, plenary inspiration: The extending of God’s superintendence of the writing of Scripture down to the very choice of words, not merely to overarching themes or concepts; that is, “the whole of Scripture and all of its parts, down to the very words of the original,” were inspired (Chicago Statement).

(Term list from Tabletalk Magazine, March 2015, by Kevin D. Gardner)

The Path of Scripture; From God’s Mind to the Pages of the Bible

Above chart courtesy of (Ryrie, Charles Caldwell. 1999. Basic Theology: A Popular Systematic Guide to Understanding Biblical Truth. Chicago, IL: Moody Press).

For Further Study

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