what difference does an inerrant bible make_ by r.c

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3/6/2015 What Difference Does an Inerrant Bible Make? by R.C. Sproul | Ligonier Ministries Blog data:text/html;charset=utf-8,%3Cdiv%20id%3D%22primary%22%20style%3D%22-webkit-font-smoothing%3A%20antialiased%3B%20text-rendering%3A%… 1/4 What Difference Does an Inerrant Bible Make? FROM R.C. S PROUL MAR 04, 2015 C ATEGORY : A RTICLES Does it matter whether the Bible is errant or inerrant, fallible or infallible, inspired or uninspired? What’s 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 doesn’t 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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  • 3/6/2015 What Difference Does an Inerrant Bible Make? by R.C. Sproul | Ligonier Ministries Blog

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    What Difference Does an InerrantBible Make?FROM R.C. S PRO U L MA R 04, 2015 CA TEGO RY : ARTICLES

    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

    http://www.ligonier.org/blog/category/articles/http://www.ligonier.org/blog/teacher/rc-sproul/http://www.ligonier.org/learn/conferences/inerrancy-and-your-church-2015-winter-conference/the-chicago-statement/

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    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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    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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