{"id":61910,"date":"2006-07-15T21:33:00","date_gmt":"2006-07-16T02:33:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/?p=61910"},"modified":"2024-12-08T15:45:52","modified_gmt":"2024-12-08T21:45:52","slug":"biblical-infallibility-can-we-trust-the-bible","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/biblical-infallibility-can-we-trust-the-bible\/","title":{"rendered":"Biblical Infallibility: Can We Trust the Bible?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\t

by Jeffrey W. Hamilton<\/p>\n\t\t I.       Trust in the scriptures is important to every Christian. The Bible is the center of\n our faith.\n\t           A.      We are Christians because we believe that God exists and that the Bible is\n God’s word – II Tim. 3:16\n\t           B.      Believing in the Bible’s message will save our souls – James 1:21, I Thess.\n 2:13\n\t

          C.      The scriptures are powerful, alive and relevant – Heb. 4:12, II Pet. 1:3<\/p>\n\t

          D.      But many people don’t trust the Bible<\/p>\n\t                     1.       It is the most widely circulated and read book in the world and the\n most criticized.\n\t                     2.       Atheists, evolutionists, modern theologians and even entertainers are\n constantly questioning the integrity of the scriptures.\n\t

II.      Why is it important to trust the Bible<\/p>\n\t           A.      Unless a person is convinced that the Bible is true, he has no reason to\n according to its teachings.\n\t

          B.      If the Bible is not true, then Christianity is a hoax.<\/p>\n\t           C.      If it is not true, then it must be a lie. A product of men and not worth\n following.\n\t           D.      If the Bible is the product of a holy God who cannot lie (Heb. 6:18), then\n\t the only thing that He could inspire men to write is a perfect account of His\n will.\n\t

          E.      Without the Bible, there is no standard of right and wrong.<\/p>\n\t

III.     What do we mean by the statement "The Bible is inspired by God?"<\/p>\n\t           A.      "The Bible in its entirety is God’s written word to man, free of error in its\n\t original autographs, wholly reliable in history and doctrine. Its divine\n\t inspiration has rendered the Book ‘infallible’ (incapable of teaching\n\t deception) and ‘inerrant’ (not liable to prove false or mistaken). Its\n\t inspiration is ‘plenary’ (extending to all parts alike), ‘verbal’ (including the\n\t actual language form), and ‘confluent’ (a product of two free agents, human\n\t and divine). Inspiration involves infallibility as essential property, and\n\t infallibility in turn implies inerrancy." (Clark H. Pinnock, A Defense of\n Biblical Infallibility<\/i>, page 1)\n\t

          B.      Let us examine each point carefully:<\/p>\n\t                     1.       The entire Bible is God’s word to man (Heb. 1:1-2). We cannot pick\n and choose the parts that we like.\n\t                     2.       It is free of errors in the original manuscripts. We do not mean that\n\t there has never been errors in the copies and translations of the text,\n\t but we are certain that these errors are slight. We have no reason to\n doubt our translations.\n\t

                    3.       It is completely reliable in history and doctrine. <\/p>\n\t                               a.       The history recorded in the Bible is true and accurate. No\n\t evidence has ever shown it otherwise. Archaeology has\n backed it up repeatedly, to the embarrassment of skeptics. \n\t                               b.       The doctrine is pure, entire, and true (II Tim. 3:16-17).\n Following the teaching in the Bible is our only safe course.\n\t                     4.       It is ‘infallible’. It cannot teach deception. It will not teach anything\n false.\n\t                     5.       It is ‘inerrant’. It will not be proven false. The claim in I Pet. 1:22-25\n still stands.\n\t                     6.       It is ‘inspired’ or "God breathed" (II Tim. 3:16). In other words it\n came directly from God.\n\t

                              a.       ’Plenary’ means wholly, all parts. All<\/i> scriptures are inspired.<\/p>\n\t                               b.       Verbal means that the very selection of words were inspired.\n\t (I Cor. 2:13). God did not merely give the writers ideas to put\n down on paper. \n\t                     7.       ’Confluent’ means that both God and man were involved in the\n writing of the Bible. God used men to reveal his will.\n\t                     8.       The ideas of inspiration, infallibility, and inerrancy stand or fall\n together. Without one, the rest are meaningless.\n\t IV.     In our next lesson, we will examine what the Bible teaches about itself and Jesus’\n view of the scriptures.\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tBiblical Infallibility\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Jeffrey W. Hamilton I.       Trust in the scriptures is important to every Christian. The Bible is the center of our faith.           A.      We are Christians because we believe that God exists and that the Bible is God’s word – II Tim. 3:16           B.      Believing in the Bible’s message will save our souls – James 1:21, I Thess.…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[32],"tags":[219,225],"class_list":["post-61910","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sermon","tag-bible","tag-inspiration"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":17615,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/reading-the-bible-from-cover-to-cover\/","url_meta":{"origin":61910,"position":0},"title":"Reading the Bible from Cover to Cover","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 2, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"by Abraham Smith We should read the Bible from cover to cover. We should want to know what the Lord said. Many of us, while acknowledging that the Bible is the word of God, have not read it in its entirety. We have been hindered from reading the Bible completely\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/01\/Bible-Reading-4.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":32602,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/biblical-infallibility-the-bibles-claims-for-itself\/","url_meta":{"origin":61910,"position":1},"title":"Biblical Infallibility: The Bible’s Claims for Itself","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"May 4, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Deuteronomy 31:24-29 \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0When talking about whether we can trust the Bible or not, it may seem strange to turn to the very book we are considering. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0B.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0We want to show that it is not a optional belief. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0C.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0The Bible claims to be infallible. If\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Audio"","block_context":{"text":"Audio","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/audio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":31962,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/how-can-i-be-sure-that-the-bible-is-fully-correct\/","url_meta":{"origin":61910,"position":2},"title":"How can I be sure that the Bible is fully correct?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 27, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I'm a teenager wanting to know the truth, so please help me out. How can I be sure that the Bible is fully correct? I mean people must have added or taken out scriptures to try to confuse us. How can I know what religion is correct? I know\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":32211,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/doubts\/","url_meta":{"origin":61910,"position":3},"title":"Doubts","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 5, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Jeremiah 17:5-8 \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0I had the opportunity to study with a member of the International Church of Christ. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Many of their core beliefs are similar to our own, but they diverge from the plain teachings of the Scriptures in a number of significant ways. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0B.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0While\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Audio"","block_context":{"text":"Audio","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/audio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":81327,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/can-inspiration-of-the-bible-be-proven\/","url_meta":{"origin":61910,"position":4},"title":"Can inspiration of the Bible be proven?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"December 8, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I know II Timothy 3:16: \"All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.\" I had a discussion with a person who is not a member of the Church of Christ and, therefore, not a Christian. I\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":11699,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/the-scriptures\/","url_meta":{"origin":61910,"position":5},"title":"The Scriptures","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"May 10, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"Download Audio by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Luke 24:33-49 \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0How do you look at the Bible? \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0I\u2019ve talked to people with wide opinions concerning the things written \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a01.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0One person seems to take great pleasure in locating and pointing every apparent inconsistency he can find in God\u2019s Word. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0a.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0It is\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Audio"","block_context":{"text":"Audio","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/audio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61910","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=61910"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61910\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=61910"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=61910"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=61910"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}