The Infallible Revelation of God
Sermon series on biblical trustworthiness. Sermon 5
Infallible means that it does not contain any mistakes. Now that is a big statement. In a post-modern - some would say post-post-modern - world that has refined truth to mean nothing at all and everything you want it to mean, we expect everything to contain a margin of error. For statistics that margin is between 4-8%. For the weather man if he gets it right more often than not, we’re pleased. His margin is somewhere around 30%. Textbooks need revision and what was common knowledge 50 years ago is urban myth today.
Is it any wonder then, that the same attitude is taken with Scripture. You’ve probably heard an unbeliever say the Bible is full of mistakes and contradictions. There is a website called “debijbelzegt.nl” that has devoted hundreds of articles to proving that Scripture contradicts itself. I searched this site yesterday and as I read a few of the articles and scanned the headings I could hear the hiss of the snake. “Did God really say…?” Nearly everything on that website is easily explained, but it can shake your faith if you are not careful. I urge you to steer clear.
I want to return to a quote I used last week:
"The Bible is God’s revelation to man in the form of a library of sixty-six separate books, written in three languages, collected over a period of more than 1500 years with a surprising array of literary styles, written history, personal memoirs, sermons, letters, songs, prayers, moral and theological propositions, credes, love poems, philosophical dialogue, dreams, stories, statistics, law books, rituals, inventories, genealogies and much, much more." (Ligon Duncan)
You see, here is the answer to most seeming contradictions. Many authors, three languages, different centuries and a multitude of cultural backgrounds. Isn’t Judaism the backdrop of all of Scripture? Sure, but when are we talking? The beginning? The period of the Judges? The Kings? Good kings or bad kings? United Kingdom or divided kingdom? In the Promised Land or in Exile? Each of these epochs in the nation of Israel drastically changes one’s cultural practices and understanding of life. When chronologies don’t match, we discover it is because of the calendar that is being used. Jews generally use a lunar calendar, but when they were in exile, they were forced to adopt a solar calendar. This changes things. These don’t become contradictions, but rather proof that Scripture is an incredibly coherent book that remains true to its message despite many authors, three languages and a time span of more than 1500 years.
But let’s get practical. What do you say when an unsaved person that you are witnessing to launches this attack? “The Bible is full of mistakes and contradictions!” Hand them your Bible and say: “Show me one.” 9 times out if 10 that ends the conversation and opens the opportunity for you to share the gospel.
There is however another attack on infallibility that I want to spend more time on this morning… and this one comes from within - from within the Church. It is deceitful and sows more doubt and destroys more people’s faith than the website I mentioned. Let me lay some groundwork first.
God’s revelation is infallible for faith and life
2 Peter 1:3 and Jude 3-4
Peter tells us - and God breathed this Word out, so God tells us - that He has gives us everything that pertains to life and godliness. That means that He has given us everything we need. The Bible is sufficient. We have already discussed the sufficiency of Scripture. But let’s take it one level farther and think through how infallibility strengthens this. The Bible claims to be without error and Peter’s claim is that God has given us all we need. So Scripture then is infallibly enough.
Jude takes this to its logical conclusion in his letter of warning and call to arms: contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints. And beware of false teachers that have snuck in.
We need to fight to remain in what God has revealed to us. We have already seen that Paul similarly appeals to Timothy to remain in what he had learned and been taught (2 Tim. 3:14-15).
We need to contend for the infallibility of Scripture for faith and life. God has given us everything we need. So where am I going with this? I would like to add one word to our statement to clarify: written.
God’s written revelation is infallible for faith and life
1 Corinthians 12-13
In First Corinthians 12-14 Paul addresses one of the misunderstandings and abuses in the Corinthians Church. In 12:1 he introduces his topic: Now concerning spiritual gifts. Perhaps nothing in evangelical Christianity is more divisive than spiritual gifts. Paul uses the body illustration to make the point that there is diversity in the body, but one Spirit, who who apportions to each one individually as he wills. (verse 11)
Then in verse 28 we get a string of questions that beg a negative answer.
Verse 31 is important. The verb is an indicative verb, that is nearly always translated imperative. A better translation is: You strive for the higher gifts and I will show you a still more excellent way.
>Paul places revelatory gifts over and against love.
The better way is love. If I don’t have love… I am nothing (verse 2). I gain nothing (verse 3). Paul says they are striving for the bigger gifts, but a better way is to strive for love, which endures forever.
Then Paul explains something about the revelatory gifts in verses 8 through the end of the chapter.
>Paul places revelatory gifts over and against the perfect.
He lifts three gifts of revelation: prophecy, knowledge and tongues and says they will fade away or cease. When? When the perfect comes. What is the perfect? Some have suggested that it is Christ’s return, but at the end of Paul’s argument he states that faith, hope and love remain, but the greatest is love. When Christ returns faith and hope do not remain, because the object of both faith and hope is Christ and we will be with him. Faith and hope will not remain after His return. Therefore, these gifts will cease at an earlier moment - before His return, when faith and hope will cease.
What is the perfect then? It is a revelation that is full, rather than partial (verse 9). It is complete rather than partial (verse 10).
I argue that it is the completion of God’s written revelation. The Bible replaces the partial revelations that came to the Church at the beginning in the forms of prophecies, tongues and knowledge. These will fade away because a more sure revelation has replaced them.
He then uses two illustrations: that of a man putting away childish things and a mirror in which we can clearly see ourselves - a picture he borrows (or share)s with James.
The Bible is infallibly enough and sufficient for us. It is enough. If we still need smaller revelations today and prophecies, then Scripture is not perfectly infallible… then it is lacking somehow and God must reveal something further.
The Bible - God's written revelation - is enough for every aspect of life and godliness.
