Not too long ago, I had a conversation with an elder in an evangelical church here in Colorado Springs. Somehow, we got on the topic of the Genesis account of creation. He said to me, “Do you still believe in the literal 6-day creation account?” I said, “Yes, absolutely!”
“Wow,” he replied, “I didn’t know there were any of you guys left.” Then, came the most distressing part of the whole conversation. His wife, who had been quietly listening to all this, broke in saying, “Honey, we don’t believe in creation anymore? I didn’t know!”
Here was a man who had quietly and secretly lost his confidence in the Bible. He no longer believed what he once did. He’d been drawn away from sound doctrine and his own wife wasn’t aware. Now her faith was being shaken. It was a sobering moment for all of us.
(While this article could be a discussion of evolution vs creation, that’s not my purpose here. I’ll reserve that discussion for another post. I want to discuss the broader issue of Biblical inerrancy.)
While all evangelicals hold the Bible in high esteem, that really is not sufficient to hold anyone to sound doctrine. Even if you believe the Bible is inspired by God, but think it cannot be reconciled with reality, then there’s a major problem.
This brings me to what is one of Sovereign Grace Chapel’s great strengths — our defense of the inerrancy of the Bible through solid reasoning using the best scholarship. The doctrine of inerrancy answers many questions about the Bible. Is the Bible without any errors whatsoever? Without error pertaining to grammar, syntax and spelling? Without error pertaining to history? Without error pertaining to geography? Without error pertaining to science where it so addresses? Without error as a guide to Godliness? Without error pertaining to salvation? Without error pertaining to the nature of the Holy Trinity? Without error pertaining to the person and works of the Lord Jesus Christ? And, without error pertaining to everything else I may have overlooked?
Implied in these questions are a corollary: Is the Bible without any contradictions? Believers and unbelievers alike have this innate concept that contradictions are unacceptable. Both need logical consistency; otherwise, they know they’re evaluating something false. So, is the Bible without contradictions about peoples, places or events? Is it free from contradictions about man’s predicament and God’s plan of salvation? Does it contradict established scientific facts — especially those related to the origin of the world?
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The Bible was written over a period of fifteen centuries. It is comprised of sixty-six books and was written by over forty authors. So, you might think that somewhere, somehow, in all that time and within all those authors, someone must have made some mistake somewhere. We know how prone to error we all are — surely there’s at least one in all those writings.
But, this is where the Bible stands out among all the books ever written. The writers were superintended by the Holy Spirit, so that what they wrote was, indeed, without error. It is the ONLY book (or should I say, the only sixty-six books) that was ever superintended is such a way by God Almighty. The result is that we now recognize that the Bible is inspired by God. No other book can legitimately claim this supernatural quality.
You may ask, what proof do I offer to support such a claim? Well, Sovereign Grace Chapel offers the Chicago Statement on Bible Inerrancy as our proof. This really isn’t ‘our’ proof, per se, but belongs to the evangelical church for whom it was written. You see, one of the great battles of our time has been over the authority, accuracy and reliability of the Bible. It’s veracity has been viciously attacked from many sides.
In response to these attacks, a group of Christian scholars convened several times between 1978-1986. Through their efforts, three documents were produced which you will find here on our website. These are tremendous works in defense of the inerrancy of the Bible, and we are most grateful for their efforts. Sovereign Grace Chapel endorses these works and find them compatible with our own views of the Scriptures. And if these works are not sufficient to convince you, we have a list of recommended books on this topic here on our website as well.
So, there’s no reason to deviate from the literal 6-day creation account. The Bible does not contradict true science. And, it doesn’t say one thing, but really mean the opposite. We believe that any ‘contradictions’ in the Bible are not ‘in’ the Bible at all, but rather are in the minds of men who haven’t the confidence or the piety to remain steadfast. To the pious believer who diligently looks, the resolve will come.
But to those like this elder who was swept away with false ideas about creation, we offer a way back. We can re-ignite confidence in the Good Book. You’ll see that it can withstand every attack.
