What does it mean for the Bible to be infallible? What is biblical infallibility?
"Infallible" means incapable of error, never wrong, absolutely trustworthy. When we say the Bible is infallible, we are stating it is without flaw and absolutely true.
A few Scriptures claim this for the entire Bible:
- "And we have the prophetic word more fully confirmed, to which you will do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts, knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone's own interpretation. For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit" (2 Peter 1:19–21).
- "All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work" (2 Timothy 3:16–17).
God's perfection means that what He does is perfect. His Word therefore must be without error or flaw.
The Word of God and God are most closely associated in Jesus as John introduces Him in John 1:1–4 and 1:9–14:
"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. […] The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God. And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth."
The Bible says much about God's Word and it being perfect. For example, see Psalm 12:6, Psalm 19:7, Psalm 119, and Proverbs 30:5. Hebrews 4:12 speaks of the power of God's Word: "For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart."
Of course, God's inspirational leadership that created the Bible is without doubt. Yet, the human element in transcribing, copying, and translating the Word of God can sometimes introduce mistakes or errors. However, the known record shows that, except in cases of willful misrepresentation, the accuracy of centuries of such work has preserved the words and meanings of the earliest known copies of the Old and New Testaments. The original manuscripts were without error. The Bibles we have today accurately portray God's Word, and His Word is absolutely trustworthy—infallible.
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