Debbie Swindell

Doctrine & Disciplines of the Bible

Welcome to the second part of this series, where we dive deep into the trustworthiness of the Scriptures. As we know, the Christian faith is founded on Scripture, and it is essential to understand the doctrine of the Word of God to practice disciplines rightly. In this regard, we will examine the Church’s attitudes towards the Bible over time.

The Bible has been a source of inspiration and guidance for Christians worldwide for over two thousand years. Despite society’s tendency to be relativistic and dismissive of the Bible, it has stood the test of time, science, archaeology, and textual criticism. Therefore, it is crucial to view the Scriptures today as having the same trustworthiness as when they were initially penned.

As believers, it is essential to discern the difference between dependable and untrustworthy passages and books. Rejecting the Bible’s trustworthiness can lead to a denial of God himself, which is a severe consequence.

It is worth noting that beyond the Matthew passages, Jesus referred to portions of Scripture throughout the gospels. His view of the Scriptures emphasized the actual written words can be trusted, not just the ideas, and he extends the reliability all the way to letters and even parts of the letters. Similarly, Paul makes his view of the sufficiency of Scripture evident in 2 Timothy 3:15-17, and Peter’s view is clearly stated in 2 Peter 1:16-21.

In 2 Peter 1:16-21, Peter affirms that the Old Testament prophecies were not of human origin. In this passage, Peter emphasizes the importance of paying attention to the prophetic Word and understanding that it is not open to personal interpretation. This passage’s Word myths are essential because they highlight the difference between truth and falsehood.

Charles Spurgeon once wrote, “If we doubt God’s Word about one thing, we shall have little confidence in it about another thing. Sincere faith in God must treat all God’s Word alike; for the faith Welcome to the second part of this series, where we dive deep into the trustworthiness of the Scriptures. As we know, the Christian faith is founded on Scripture, and it is essential to understand the doctrine of the Word of God to practice disciplines rightly. In this regard, we will examine the Church’s attitudes towards the Bible over time.

To fully understand the Bible’s reliability, we need to look into the Church’s recent and ancient history. The Church has historically claimed to understand all matters of faith and practice through the Scriptures. Therefore, if the Bible is unreliable in what it teaches about these things, we are left with pure speculation of truth, and Christianity has nothing of value to speak to the world.

In the 1970s, the International Council on Biblical Inerrancy was formed to affirm the historic Protestant position on the Scriptures. The result was the Chicago Statement on Biblical Inerrancy, which takes a stand in the face of arguments against the Bible’s inspiration, infallibility, and inerrancy, declaring the Bible trustworthy.

The Articles of Affirmation and Denial in the Chicago Statement emphasize that inspiration guarantees accurate and trustworthy utterances on all matters the Biblical authors were moved to speak and write. While the finitude or fallenness of these writers may have influenced their writing style, it did not introduce distortion or falsehood into God’s Word.

Therefore, it is more important than ever for believers to deeply understand the Bible and why it can be relied upon. The Southern Baptists have endorsed the Chicago Statement of Inerrancy and Hermeneutics, which stresses the importance of interpreting the Bible accurately.