Is the Bible true?

But God's word IS true. Every single word as originally given is true. Nothing in it is or can be false; we can rely on it and its veracity completely.

The Bible states clearly that it is the word of God: it assumes verbal plenary inspiration and therefore infallibility. Let us thank God that He has been pleased to reveal Himself to man in such a reliable way. The Bible is the safest point in the universe: "Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away" (Lk. 21:33).

We may thank Dr. Farrar for his candor. It is certainly well to know what Scripture is for him, and how far "texts" are likely to decide the matter in question. Where he finds that prophets and apostles, nay, the Lord Himself, sanction his view of the matter, it would be hard to say. There is certainly abundance of proof of the very opposite, and in the mouth of one who professes such unbounded confidence in the "illumination of the Spirit of Christ," it seems a strange assertion that thus the Spirit of truth must have taught error, or at least have used such feeble and imperfect means of communicating truth, that He could not prevent its being mixed up with error. We refuse this teaching altogether. We on the authority of Scripture itself believe that "all Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works (2 Tim. 3:16-17). We believe in a really divine revelation given to us by One who cannot lie, and who does not for bread give us a stone, nor put darkness for light, or light for darkness. We would obediently "search" these Scriptures, conscious indeed of our own weakness and ignorance in doing so, but sincerely trusting Him, who assures us that "he that will do God's will shall know of the doctrine whether it be of God" (John 7:17).

Professor Sanday ("Oracles of God," p. 36) says: "There is a grave question whether its history is altogether infallible," although Dr. Clifford writes: "Historians were seers, and went down below the surface of things." Réville (i. 257) alleges misreporting and misrepresentation of the Lord's sayings by the Evangelists; and so Dr. Horton in "Revelation and the Bible" (p. 233f.): "Historical criticism may challenge the accuracy of the Evangelists." He himself has assailed that of John ("The Teaching of Jesus"). How any responsible writers can, in the face of Luke 1:4, state that the Biblical writers do not claim accuracy is an enigma. Thus Wright ventures to say that "the Scriptures themselves protest against the traditional view of the Gospels that they are absolutely true," and his Scripture reference is none other than 1 Cor. 13:9 f., which does but speak of what is true as far as it goes — i.e., covers nothing in any way false; it concerns what as yet remains unrevealed. Moreover, such use of Paul's words is surely perilous in the light of Mark 13:32. In the same strain as Dr. A. Wright, Dean Robinson speaks of "an inspiration which does not carry with it the entire accuracy of every detail of historical narrative" ("Thoughts on Inspiration," p. 10).

The Bible puts man into the light of God. This is why the natural man hates this book - and has tried to find contradictions everywhere. However, 90% of these are due to either ignorance or bad intentions, or both. Then there are real difficulties, such as differences between Gospel reports. Here it is a matter of asking God to help us understand the Divine design of the scriptures. If we do, the difficulties disappear and the beauty of inspiration is seen. In some extremely rare cases an error may have occurred: in 2 Ki. 8:26 an age of 22 years is given, while in 2 Chr. 22:2 the age given is 42 years - possibly the result of a copying error. But our faith does not depend on this detail.

But many difficulties melt away when we look at them at all closely, and it will be found useful to remember the following six statements: — (1) We have an original text somewhat mutilated by copying and translation, but only to a very limited extent. (2) The suggestion that inspiration is not verbal destroys the absolute authority of the Bible — "it is easier for heaven and earth to pass, than for one tittle of the law to fail" (Luke 16:17). (3) In any divergence between two accounts of an event only direct contradictions can afford any proof against inspiration (but see (1)). (4) Silence is no proof of ignorance — see St. John's declaration, "There are also many other things which Jesus did, the which, if they were written every one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written" (John 21:25). (5) The events narrated in the Gospels are not arranged in chronological order. (6) Statements which are apparently contradictory may record different facts, e.g., the feeding of the five thousand, and again later of the four thousand, often confused as one.

Remember, there is no discrepancy whatever. No more impudent belief can well be, than to set one part of the New Testament against another, or indeed any part of the Bible against another. Such a handling of scripture is not only dishonest, but profound ignorance. There is not in all the Bible one passage that really contradicts another. Of course, there are passages that may seem at variance; but then, as we begin to get a little more light, these diminish in their number; and hence modesty would feel, if there were but fuller light, all the appearances of inconsistency would vanish away. It is just the same thing in the moral world, nor is it otherwise in the natural world. There are everywhere apparent contradictions and exceptions, but a larger knowledge of things bring these under a deeper rule. So it is with the word of God. Greater spiritual wisdom causes these apparent anomalies to disappear. Sometimes they may be in the translation; sometimes they may be in faulty manuscripts of the original; sometimes, and most frequently, they are in our own understanding. But the great lesson learnt throughout is, that the Bible becomes more manifestly the word of God in its every detail. No doubt the more ignorant people are, the more fault they find with the Bible; the wiser they become, the more they rejoice in it, and bless God for it.

These scriptures are quite sufficient to show that the New Testament writers while asserting the inspiration of the Old assume it in equal measure for themselves; and that therefore while the Holy Scriptures, which Timothy knew from his childhood's days — according to 2 Timothy 3:15 — were the Old Testament writings, the "all scripture" of the next verse covers all those writings which we know as the Bible. "All scripture is given by inspiration of God," or "is God-breathed." A remarkable expression that! Just as in creation the finely wrought vessel of clay — for "the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground" — became a living entity only after God's in-breathing — for He "breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living soul" — so what would otherwise have been but a collection of literary fragments has by the fact of God in-breathing every part become one organic whole; living and powerful indeed, since it is the inspired Word of God.

And so I say when we look not merely at the length of time through which the word of God was written, but at the various authors who were engaged, and their different characters, we are simply astounded when we see the absolute unity of authorship that is running through the whole perfect book. Whether it be Moses or Paul, whether it be Isaiah or John, you find one common purpose, one mind back of it all, presenting to us His thoughts, unfolding to us His purposes. There is a constant progress all the way through, and yet one consistent purpose from the very beginning to the end of it. Beloved brethren, this in itself is a witness to the divine perfection of the word of God, such as no other book in all the world could give us, and in itself is an argument for that divine inspiration which poor men quibble at so much, and yet which is clearly distinguished even by him whose eye is upon the very surface only.

Now it is such things as that we should look at and give them their proper weight when we take up God's word. Think of a book written in this way, written by authors so varied, and at times so distant one from another, all united and combined so to form one precious truth that the entire volume is as compacted together as any living organism could possibly be. Such is our Bible, God's book. I do not think of Moses, I do not think of the instrument save to wonder how God could take up such unlikely instruments and use them for His glory. For He had, if I may so speak, a twofold difficulty with such a man as Moses or as Paul. They had to unlearn, as well as learn. Again with such a man as Amos or Peter or John himself, you say the instrument is not fit, the mental endowment is not sufficient. Yet here He brings down the exalted one, He lifts up the lowly one, putting them on the one common plane using them as He finds them, making them the channels of His thoughts not their own thoughts yet with this remarkable fact that He never does violence to their individual character. Peter remains Peter and Moses remains Moses. Their abilities can be seen in their writings, their style is there, everything is there that speaks of the man, but there is nothing there that does not speak of God. How amazing how blessed that is.

Now here again in Isaiah, seven centuries before Christ came, the prophecy of His coming is given. Prophecy is that which utterly shipwrecks a false prophet, and absolutely confirms a true prophet and the more extended the prophecies are the more will that rule hold good. A man might prophesy of one item, and by a lucky chance—a fluke—it might come true, but if he puts two items together, the chances are much more remote that they will come true. If be puts three, four, five, six, or if he puts a dozen together, unless he is inspired in his prophecy, there is not one chance in a million that He will be right. But the Scriptures prophesy not once nor twice, nor a dozen times, but, as we have been saying, over three hundred times, as to the person of Christ, His birth, His life, His death, the results of His work, His glory; and all these things have come true with the exception of the glory to come, which is yet future. How truly they are God’s Word!