Biblical Inerrancy

by David Beatty
Many churches' Statement of Faith declares The Bible is Gods inspired and inerrant Word. Just
exactly what is meant by inspired and inerrant Word?
Inerrant means without error. I believe that because the Bible is God's inspired Word it is without error
because God is perfect and cannot err. Even though the human hands that originally put God's Word to
paper were human (and thus susceptible to error), they were inspired by God to write truthfully and
correctly. God would not permit His original Word to be recorded in error.
While the English word inerrant does not exist in Scripture (since it was written in Greek, Aramaic
and Hebrew), there are at least two instances where the Hebrew word for without flaw is applied to
the Word of God.
2 Samuel 22:31 - As for God, His way is perfect; the word of the Lord is flawless. (NIV)
Proverbs 30:5 - Every word of God is flawless; He is a shield to those who take refuge in Him. (NIV)
The Hebrew word the NIV translates as flawless in both verses is tsaraph (Strong's 6884) which
derives from the process of refining metal by firing away all impurities. The Holman Christian Standard
Bible translates this word as pure. Flawless means without flaw. A flaw is an error. Thus, the
Word of God is without error or inerrant.
Although God's original and inspired Words are inerrant, subsequent translation and interpretation of
those words by fallible humans is frequently in error. This is at the heart of Martin Luther's conflict with
the Roman church. Luther held that the various Vatican councils erred in their interpretation of Scripture
and that where Roman doctrine conflicted with Scripture, God's Word must be obeyed over papal
authority.
Biblical inerrancy was the reason that many churches have broken away from the ELCA. When the
ELCA began teaching that Scripture was not inerrant, i.e. that it contains errors, this opened up each and
every word in the Bible to scrutiny for truth by fallible and biased humans. As discussed in The Truth
Project this is a fundamental lie and one of the most common forms of attack against Christians used by
the enemy. The ELCA is thus the enemy. Biblical inerrancy is foundational to Christianity.
Because the Bible uses different literary styles to convey God's message, different literary rules of
interpretation must be used. For example, Psalm 96 declares that the trees will sing and Isaiah 55:12
that the trees shall clap their hands. This should not be taken to mean that the trees will actually grow
hands and vocal cords and clap and sing; these are personifications (a technical term used in literary
interpretation). We must try to understand what God is telling us through Isaiah and the psalmist. This
is where error creeps in human interpretation of God's Words.
Intentional human bias can affect how the original Scriptures are translated. For example, the TNIV
2005 intentionally biased its translation to change the meaning of the original languages by reducing the
masculinity of many verses (making it more inclusive). Care must be exercised when relying upon a
single translation.
I believe the Bible to be truthful, trustworthy and without error. The Bible is inerrant. For me, as for
Martin Luther, this is not negotiable.

The Lutheran Confessions and Biblical Inerrancy

Do our Lutheran Confessions teach that the Scriptures are inerrant? And do they interpret the Scriptures in such a light? There has been much debate on this issue lately, and therefore we must give the
question our attention.
When we call Scripture inerrant we are using a relatively modern word to express the utter reliability
and truthfulness of Scripture and of all its assertions. The term we use may be somewhat modern, but the
conviction it expresses is as old as Scripture itself. The Scriptures teach and assume everywhere their utter truthfulness, and so do our Lutheran Confessions.
When our Confessions take for granted the divine origin of Scripture, they likewise take for granted its
reliability and inerrancy. In our Confessions the Bible is called "the Holy Scripture of God" (FC SD, V,
3), "the clear Scripture of the Holy Spirit" (Ap, Preface, 9). Again and again "God's Word" and "Holy
Scripture" are used interchangeably in our Confessions. This assurance concerning the divine origin and
nature of Scripture is fundamental to a proper reading and approach to Scripture. The Lutheran Confessions consistently read Scripture as God's Word, carrying with it God's authority, God's power, God's
truthfulness.
In other words, the inerrancy, or truthfulness, of Scripture is a definite result of its divine origin. And so
our Lutheran Confessions speak of Scripture as "the eternal truth" (FC SD, Rule and Norm, 13). They
urge us to believe the Scriptures, for "they will not lie to you" (LC, V, 76; cf. IV, 57) and cannot be
"false or deceitful" (FC SD, VII, 96). And why? Because God, who is eternal Truth, cannot contradict
Himself in Scripture (FC SD, XI, 35). It is His "pure, infallible, and unalterable Word" (Preface to the
Book of Concord, p. 8).
This childlike trust in the truthfulness of Scripture permeates our Confessions as they confidently go
about the business of citing and interpreting and applying the Scripture to the great issues of their day.
The power of our Confessions rests in great measure on their joyful and total submission to the divine
Word.
Source: Getting into the Theology of Concord by Robert D. Preus (St. Louis: Concordia Publishing
House, 1977), pgs. 7-29.
What Lutherans Believe
We speak of it [the Bible] as the inspired Word of God, because this Book was written by holy men as
they were moved to write by the Spirit of God. In giving us this sacred volume, God made use of
human minds and human hands, but He enlightened those minds and He guided those hands to keep
them free from error and to impel them to record His message to men.
Source: What Lutherans Believe by W.E. Schramm (Augsburg Publishing House, 1946), pg. 8.
Martin Luther on Biblical Inerrancy:
It is impossible that Scripture should contradict itself; it only appears so to senseless and obstinate
hypocrites.
Everyone knows that at times they [the fathers] have erred as men will; therefore, I am ready to trust
them only when they prove their opinions from Scripture, which has never erred.
Source: Lessons from Luther on the Inerrancy of Holy Writ by John Warwick Montgomery,
www.mtio.com/articles/bissar37.htm