Inerrancy: The events in the biblical record have been recorded accurately.
The integrity of the Bible is supported by both manuscript and archaeological evidence. Biblical orthodoxy affirms that the Scriptures, as they were given, were accurate (inerrant) in its recording. That is, the Bible, as originally given, contained no errors and was accurate in all matters it discussed.
In this post, I want to provide three more avenues in which the Bible demonstrates that it is trustworthy: Historically, Scientifically, and Prophetically.
Our Bible is Historically Accurate
F.F. Bruce wrote concerning the Bible that there was “no body of literature in the world that has been exposed to the stringent analytical study that the four gospels have sustained for the past 200 years…Scholars today who treat the gospels as credible historical documents do so in the full light of this analytical study.”
Skeptics at one time objected to Moses being the human writer for the Pentateuch because “writing was unknown in his day.” This all changed when Hammurabi’s Code (1700 BC), the Lipit-Ishtar Code (1860 BC), and the Laws of Eshnunna (1950 BC) were uncovered.
Skeptics at one time ridiculed the Bible’s description of a non-existent race of people, the Hittites. Yet, when the shovel was placed in the dirt in Turkey in 1906, archaeology confirmed that the historical account of the Hittites, as found in the Bible, was accurate.
Skeptics have tried to deny that Jesus was actually a real person. Yet, within 110 years of the crucifixion, approximately 18 non-Christian sources mention more than 100 facts, beliefs, and teachings from the life of Christ, including His miracles, resurrection, and His claim to be God.
Wherever the Bible is historically verifiable, it has always passed the test.
Our Bible is Scientifically Accurate
The Bible is not a science book, but when it speaks about scientific facts, it is accurate. A few of the common areas in which this is demonstrated include:
- The shape of the earth (Isaiah 40.22)
- The earth hangs on nothing (Job 26.7)
- The stars are innumerable (Genesis 15.5)
- The sanitation laws of Leviticus (bury your waste; don’t touch dead bodies, etc)
- The universe had a beginning (Genesis 1.1)
- There is only one human race (Genesis 2; Acts 17.26)
- Bloodletting actually kills people (Leviticus 17.11)
Our Bible is Prophetically Accurate
The Bible does not simply give prophecies that are open to interpretation. Rather, the prophecies are specific – they either come to pass or they do not. Here are a few statements the Bible has made that has come to pass:
- Cyrus was named 150 years before his birth (Isaiah 44.28; 45.1)
- Ezekiel prophecies how Tyre would be brought to the sea (Ezekiel 26) – this was fulfilled 250 years later with Alexander the Great
- Messiah would be born in Bethlehem (Micah 5.2)
- Messiah would be born of a virgin (Isaiah 7.14)
- Messiah would be sold for 30 pieces (Zechariah 11.12-13)
- Messiah would be a sacrifice for sins (Isaiah 53)
- Messiah would resurrect from the dead (Psalm 16.10; Isaiah 53)
Three avenues (historically, scientifically, and prophetically) can all be used to confirm the trustworthiness of the text. Its integrity and inerrancy is intact. God has left His children with a “more sure Word” that is accurate and worthy of our attention, respect, and trust.