3. The Attributes of Holy Scripture Flashcards
Number of books in OT?
39
The Bible’s attribute #1
The Bible’s necessity
Number of books in NT?
27
Number of biblical books?
66
The Bible’s attribute #2
The Bible’s inspiration
Criteria to determine canonicity
- Apostolic (authored or endorsed by an apostle)
- Antiquity (written in apostolic age)
- Orthodoxy (is the book doctrinally correct?)
- Catholicity (universally accepted throughout the church?)
- Lection (widely used in churches?)
- Inspiration (is the book inspired?)
The Bible’s attribute #3
Biblical infallibility
Definition of infallibility
The Bible is true – devoid of and incapable of teaching falsehood or error of any kind in all that it intends to affirm.
Definition of inerrancy
The Bible does not err in any of its affirmations, whether those affirmations be in the spheres of spiritual realities, morals, history or science, and is therefore incapable of teaching error.
Objection to inerrancy: The Bible writers do not claim inerrancy.
They do:
John 17:17
2 Peter 1:20–21
Objection to inerrancy: It leads to bondage to a book and therefore spiritual bondage.
Inerrancy guarantees the truthfulness of Scripture, and truth never binds one unwholesomely. Truth sets us free from bondage to sin – John 8:32.
Objection to inerrancy: it denies the human element (all humans err, therefore scripture must err)
A fallacious argument. Humans may often err, but it is not intrinsic to human nature to always err. It is possible to say things that contain no errors, and the Holy Spirit ensures human erring is not present in scripture. Compare to Jesus, fully human, who did not err.
Objection: Inerrancy makes Scripture the object of the Christian’s worship.
A groundless charge – no evangelical has ever worshipped the Bible, but is convinced we must never separate Christ’s words in scripture from Christ himself.
Objection to inerrancy: it is a ploy to justify a narrow theological stance.
Biblical inerrancy flows out of a submission to the Scripture’s teaching about the nature of God – by nature God is trustworthy, he cannot lie. It the Bible is God’s word, the Bible must be likewise trustworthy and true.
The Bible’s Attribute #4
The Bible’s Authority
Why ought the Bible to be believed?
…it is to be believed because it is the word of God.
WCF I/iv