IS THE BIBLE GOD'S INERRANT WORD?

CONFESSIONS OF A CHRISTIAN

To those who say that the Bible is not the inerrant Word of God, my response is that the Bible, having proved its credentials in many ways including by prophecies that have come to pass and by the inspirational nature of its contents and by the consistency of its teachings, has to have been inspired by God, the Creator of the universe. What are the credentials of those who say it is not the inerrant word of God? Who gives them the authority to decide what parts of the Bible are of value and what parts must be rejected? Personally, I don't believe there is anyone in the world who has the capacity to determine what in the Bible is acceptable and what is not. For me the simple answer is that what has come to us as God's word has to be what He intended us to receive 'as is' (2 Timothy 3:16-17). I don't believe that the God Who made the earth, the heavens and all life that exists in such a wonderful way together will screw up when it comes to putting together the inspired word that we need for our guidance.
That said, I am not claiming that everything recorded in the Bible is completely correct or accurate. For example there are statements made by some of the characters which are not true, such as the false prophecies by false prophets. These records are included because the Bible is a 'warts and all' account of matters that God wants us to know or learn about. Take King David, for instance. We are shown that he is not a perfect man, yet he is a 'man after God's own heart' because of his honesty about his own great sinfulness. Under the guidance of the Holy Spirit we are able to learn lessons from his life.
In saying that the Bible is the inerrant word of God I believe that in order to know its great truths it must be read under the guidance of the Holy Spirit of God Who inspired its writers in the first place (1 Corinthians 2:13). This can only be done by those who are born again for they alone, of all so-called Christians, have the Holy Spirit indwelling them.
As an example of where we need to exercise care in understanding the Bible we will look briefly at the subject of women preachers. The most influential verses on this matter, the ones quoted the most by those who refuse to acknowledge the right of women to preach, is found in Paul's first letter to Timothy 2:12-14.
1. Which authority is quoted? 'I do not allow a woman to teach.' Note the personal 'I'. I have no problem with identifying this as Paul's private opinion. He does this in other places such as 1 Corinthians 7:12. We need to take care to be sure who Paul mentions as his authority: himself or God?
2. When speaking on his own authority does Paul always get it right? In 1 Timothy 2:13-14. Paul claims that Adam was not deceived. Was he right? Genesis 3:6-7 supplies the answer. There is no doubt that Adam was with Eve when she took the fruit, so he was equally deceived with Eve. We must be careful to note that it's not the Bible account that is incorrect; it was Paul's recollection of what took place that is wrong. I believe that Paul's bias against women in authority made him put all the blame on Eve. It is not that the Bible is wrong; what we have is a simple record of Paul's thoughts faithfully recorded, just as it was in the case of the false prophets in Old Testament times. In Paul's case I see it as a genuine personal mistake of the kind that many people can make unintentionally. Does this mean that we must be wary of Pauline thoughts? Not at all. I believe Paul's teachings are based on the full Bible record and are sound - except, as we have seen, when he admits to [not being guided by God but is] stating his own beliefs.
3. It is important to distinguish between essential and non-essential doctrine. Whatever our thinking about women preachers - whether they should be allowed to preach or not - does not alter an essential doctrine (such as the one that Jesus set out about the need to be born again in order to go to heaven in John 3:3-6). Even if your views about women preachers is absolutely correct, that will be of no consequence compared with the essential need to love God and your neighbour with all that you have got(Matthew 22:37-9). That requirement to love is a more important matter than 'having all knowledge about' baptisms, communion, washing of feet, as Paul points out in 1 Corinthians 13. Displaying a lack of love for others while religiously espousing church traditions will not help you when you stand before God (Revelation 2:4).
MY CONCLUSION: I believe the Bible is God's inerrant, reliable word. As Jesus put it: 'Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my word shall not pass away' (Matthew 24:35). It will all be fulfilled!