3/6/2015

What Difference Does an Inerrant Bible Make? by R.C. Sproul | Ligonier Ministries Blog

What Difference Does an Inerrant

Bible Make?
FRO M

R.C. S P R O U L

M A R 04, 201 5

C A T EGO R Y : A R T ICLES

Does it matter whether the Bible is errant or inerrant, fallible or infallible,

inspired or uninspired? Whats all the fuss about the doctrine of inerrancy? Why
do Christians debate this issue? What difference does an inerrant Bible make?
Before answering that question, we should consider in what way inerrancy doesnt
make a difference. The Chicago Statement on Biblical Inerrancy states:
We affirm that a confession of the full authority,
infallibility and inerrancy of Scripture is vital to a sound
understanding of the whole of the Christian faith. We
further affirm that such confession should lead to
increasing conformity to the image of Christ. We
denythat such confession is necessary for salvation.
However, we further deny that inerrancy can be rejected
without grave consequences both to the individual and to
the church (Article 19).
The statement strikes a delicate balance. It affirms that the doctrine of inerrancy
is vital to a sound understanding of the whole of the Christian faith and that to
deny it has grave consequences for the individual and the church. However, this
statement also makes clear that belief in inerrancy is not necessary for salvation.
While inerrancy is crucial for understanding the Christian faith and increasing
conformity to the image of Christ, a person does not have to hold to it to be
a Christian.
The Authority of Christ
But what difference does the inerrancy of Scripture make? Why does it matter?
There are many ways in which it matters a great deal. However, ultimately, the
inerrancy of Scripture is not a doctrine about a book. The issue is the person and
work of Christ.
Allow me to illustrate. Years ago I was speaking in Philadelphia on the question of
the authority of Scripture. After my lecture I came down to the front of the

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What Difference Does an Inerrant Bible Make? by R.C. Sproul | Ligonier Ministries Blog

church, and I saw a man making his way toward me. Instantly, I recognized his
face, even though it had been about twenty years since Id seen him last. His name
was Charlie. We were roommates in college and prayer partners. We made our
way through the crowd and embraced one another.
We dismissed ourselves from the conference and went out for dinner. As we sat
down, Charlie said to me, Before we have a conversation, there is something I
have to tell you. I said, Whats that? He told me, I dont believe any more what
I used to believe about Scripture when we were in college together. Back then I
believed in inerrancy, but Ive been to seminary and have been exposed to higher
criticism. I just dont believe that the Bible is inerrant anymore. I wanted to clear
the air so that we can go on from there. I replied, Fine, Charlie, but let me ask
you this. What do you still believe from the old days? And triumphantly Charlie
said, I still believe that Jesus Christ is my Savior and my Lord. I was happy to
hear that, but then I started to ask questions that clearly made
Charlie uncomfortable.
I asked, Charlie, how is Jesus Lord of your life? He replied, What do you
mean? I said, Well, a Lord is someone who exercises authority over you, who
gives you marching orders, who has the ability to compel you to obey, and who
requires you to submit to obligation and duty. If Christ is your Lord, arent you
saying He has sovereign authority over you? Yeah, he said.
I probed a little deeper, How does Christ exercise that sovereignty over you? How
do you get your marching orders from Him? Its apparently not from the Bible.
Charlie thought for a moment, I get it from the church. I said, Okay, which
church? The Methodist Church, the Episcopalian Church, the Roman Catholic
Church, or the Presbyterian Church? He answered, The Presbyterian Church. I
then asked, The Presbyterian Church in Wichita, the Presbyterian Church in
Cincinnati, or the Presbyterian Church in Philadelphiawhich church? He
answered, The General Assembly. I replied, Which General Assembly? He
finally admitted, Well, Ive got some problems that I havent worked out yet. I
said, You certainly do have problems that you havent worked out yet. You want
to affirm the Lordship of Christ, but your Lord is impotent. He has no way of
conveying any mandate to you whatsoever, because you stand above the recorded
mandates of Christ in Scripture. You set yourself over them in critical judgment.
The Integrity of Christ
At this point, our conversation shifted from the question of authority to the
question of salvation. I asked Charlie, What would it take for Jesus to save you? If
Jesus sinned, could He save Himself? Could He save you? He acknowledged that
if Jesus were a sinner, He couldnt save Himself, let alone Charlie and me. But
then Charlie asked, What difference does it make whether we believe in
inerrancy? And how does Jesus being sinless relate to your point? Because
Charlie, I said, Jesus taught inerrancy.
My conversation with Charlie demonstrated an interesting phenomenon. Charlie,

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What Difference Does an Inerrant Bible Make? by R.C. Sproul | Ligonier Ministries Blog

like many contemporary biblical scholars who deny inerrancy, agreed that Jesus
of Nazareth believed and taught what we would today call the doctrine of
inerrancy. At the same time, like many contemporary biblical scholars who deny
inerrancy, Charlie confessed Jesus as His Lord and Savior. But that is inconsistent,
and I wanted to point that out to my friend. So I asked him, Okay, now you are
disagreeing not with me or B. B. Warfield or Charles Hodge of the old Princeton
School. Now you are quarreling with Jesus and the apostles and the prophets.
Were they wrong? He said, Yes, they were wrong. Okay, I said. Think
seriously about it. What are the implications of Jesus being wrong about His
doctrine of Scripture? Charlie, an astute theologian, said, Look, R.C., what
difference does it make whether Jesus was wrong? Jesus doesnt have to be
omniscient to be my Savior. I agreed, He doesnt.
The issue in our conversation, however, was not omniscience. When we talk about
omniscience, we are talking about an attribute of God. That is, God knows
everything. Charlies point was that Jesustouching his human naturedid not
know all things. He then went right to the Bible to prove it, pointing out, for
example, that Jesus does not know the day and hour of His return (Matt. 24:36).
But the conversation I had with Charlie wasnt really about omniscience. It was
actually about sinlessness.
Touching His human nature, Jesus is not required to be omniscient to be my
Savior. However, He is required to be sinless. Jesus would be numbered among
the transgressors for teaching an error. He claimed to speak on the basis on His
Fathers authority (John 8:28; 14:10). He also declared, I am the truth (John
14:6). That is the highest claim to teaching authority ever uttered. If a man who
claims to be the truth and to say nothing except by divine authority teaches error,
thats sin. And if He sins once, we dont have a Savior. Thats what is at stake.
When I spelled this out for Charlie, he told me, Ive got a problem. To which I
replied, Yes, you do. You want to get rid of Jesus view of Scripture and hold onto
Him as your Savior and Lord. Youre on very shaky grounds, if you want to be
consistent. Charlie was living in the delightful breeze of a happy inconsistency.
But do you see what the issue is here? It is the integrity of Christ.
Charlie is a good example of a person who can deny inerrancy but still believe in
Jesus as Lord and Savior. But this is possible only if one is inconsistent. Happily,
God doesnt demand perfect consistency in our theology for salvation. If that were
the case, no sinner could be saved because no sinner holds to a perfect theology.
That doesnt mean, however, that we should be content with inconsistency. At the
end of the day, inerrancy is inseparable from Christology. If Jesus didnt teach this
view of Scripture, the argument would be over. The issue is not the sacrosanctity
of a book, a paper pope, or bibliolatry. The issue at stake is the integrity of the
person and work of Jesus. He can save us only if He is sinless, and He is sinless
only if all of His teachingincluding what He teaches about Scriptureis true.

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What Difference Does an Inerrant Bible Make? by R.C. Sproul | Ligonier Ministries Blog
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