When Christians talk about the Bible being “infallible”, we
mean that the Bible is incapable of making mistakes
or being wrong. As discussed previously, the Bible is “inspired” and,
ultimately, authored by the Almighty Sovereign God Who is incapable of making
mistakes or being wrong.
So here we have an infallible God delivering to man an
infallible written revelation. Since the infallible God has ultimate authority
over all things, then it follows that His infallible Word also speaks with
ultimate authority on all things. There can be no doubt that Jesus Christ
subscribed to this view as He said “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread
alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God’” (Matthew 4:4).
Peter said that Scripture is “more sure” than hearing God
speaking audibly to us from heaven (2 Peter 1:19) – which is something Peter
experienced on the mount of transfiguration (Matthew 17:5). The Psalmist states
that God has exalted His word above all things (Psalm 138:2). When Jesus spent
forty days in the wilderness under severe temptation from Satan, He responded
to each accusation with the initial words “it is written” (Matthew 4:1-11).
Here we see God incarnate making His appeal to the authority Holy Scripture.
The fact of the matter is that the Bible is authoritative, and this is the
obvious consequence of its infallibility.
When evangelical Christians speak of the Bible as “inspired” they are referring to the unique nature of authorship for all 66 books of the Bible. The key verse referring to this reality is found in Peter’s second Epistle where he describes the production of Holy Scripture as something never “produced by the will of man”, but rather came into written form as “men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit” (2 Peter 1:21) .
This is the phenomenon the Apostle Paul is referring to when he says that “all Scripture is breathed out by God” (2 Timothy 3:16).
This uniqueness is often described as “dual authorship”. In one sense, all Scripture is written by God. It is also true that each biblical book is authored by the human writer ascribed to it. For example, the Apostle Paul wrote his Epistle to the Romans under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. Wayne Grudem describes the concurrent truths of dual authorship when he says:
God’s providential oversight and direction of the life of each author was such that their personalities, their backgrounds and training, their abilities to evaluate events in the world around them, their access to historical data, their judgment with regard to the accuracy of information, and their individual circumstances when they wrote, were all exactly what God wanted them to be, so that when they actually came to the point of putting pen to paper, the words were fully their own words but also fully the words that God wanted them to write, words that God would claim as his own (Wayne Grudem, Systematic Theology p81).
The Bible stands alone as unique among all literature because it is ultimately and entirely authored by Almighty God and this is what is meant when Christians refer to all Scripture as “inspired”.
From those who brought us the "Nearly Infallible Version" (NIV) we now have the TNIV. Kind of like a gender neutral toning down of the NIV. Well, here are two verdicts on the same translation. You be the judge (with thanks to streetfishing.blogspot.com). First up the insights of John Macarthur:
And now for the Yoda like profoundness of Rob Bell:
There is a book on the market called "The Shack" which masquerades as some sort of "Christian" message about the Trinity. It is infiltrating so many churches and seducing so many undiscerning church goers that it needs to be exposed for the disgrace that it is. Eugene Petersen had this to say “This book has the potential to do for our generation what John Bunyan’s ‘Pilgrim’s Progress’ did for his. It’s that good!” It should scare any Christian that Eugene Petersen is somehow allowed to teach in any Bible college let alone command respect as a commentator on anything Christian. I'm still scratching my head as to how his pathetic "The Message" gets passed off as a Bible translation. But Petersen isn't the only one buying into the multitude of heresies propogated by William Young's bogus work of fiction. Michael W Smith is another of several high profile people to endorse "The Shack".
To be clear from the outset, the god of "The Shack" is not the God of Scripture and is an imposter of the worst kind. Preacher and Scholar Dr Michael Youssef preached a sermon recently which exposed 13 major heresies taught within the pages of "The Shack".
Here they are listed below:
1. God the Father was crucified with Jesus (p96).
Because God's eyes are pure and cannot look upon sin, the Bible says that God would not look upon His own beloved Son as He hung on the Cross, carrying our sins (Habakkuk 1:13; Matthew 27:45).
2. God is limited by His love and cannot practice justice (p102).
The Bible declares that God's love and His justice are two sides of the same coin — equally a part of the personality and the character of God (Isaiah 61:8; Hosea 2:19).
3. On the Cross, God forgave all of humanity, whether they repent or not. Some choose a relationship with Him, but He forgives them all regardless (p225).
Jesus explained that only those who come to Him will be saved (John 14:6).
4. Hierarchical structures, whether they are in the Church or in the government, are evil (122).
Our God is a God of order (Job 25:2).
5. God will never judge people for their sins (p120).
The Word of God repeatedly invites people to escape from the judgment of God by believing in Jesus Christ, His Son (Romans 2:16; 2 Timothy 4:1-3).
6. There is not a hierarchical structure in the Godhead, just a circle of unity (p122).
The Bible says that Jesus submitted to the will of the Father. This doesn't mean that one Person is higher or better than the other; just unique. Jesus said, "I came to do the will of Him who sent me. I am here to obey my Father." Jesus also said, "I will send you the Holy Spirit" (John 4:34, 6:44, 14:26, 15:26).
7. God submits to human wishes and choices (p145).
Far from God submitting to us, Jesus said, "Narrow is the way that leads to eternal life." We are to submit to Him in all things, for His glory and because of what He has accomplished for us (Matthew 7:13-15).
8. Justice will never take place because of love (p164).
The Bible teaches that when God's love is rejected, and when the offer of salvation and forgiveness is rejected, justice must take place or God has sent Jesus Christ to die on the cross for nothing (Matthew 12:20; Romans 3:25-26).
9. There is no such a thing as eternal judgment or torment in hell (p248).
Jesus' own description of hell is vivid ... it cannot be denied (Luke 12:5, 16:23).
10. Jesus is walking with all people in their different journeys to God, and it doesn't matter which way you get to Him (p182).
Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life, and no one will come to the Father but by me" (John 14:6).
11. Jesus is constantly being transformed along with us (p182).
Jesus, who dwells in the splendor of heaven, sits at the right hand of God, reigning and ruling the universe. The Bible says, "In Him there is no change, for He is yesterday, today, and forever" (Hebrews 11:12, 13:8; James 1:17).
12. There is no need for faith or reconciliation with God because everyone will make it to heaven (p122,192).
Jesus said, "Only those who believe in me will have eternal life" (John 3:15, 3:36, 5:24, 6:40).
13. The Bible is not true because it reduces God to paper (p65,66,134,198).
The Bible is God-breathed. Sure, there were many men through 1,800 years who put pen to paper (so to speak), each from different professions and different backgrounds, but the Holy Spirit infused their work with God's words. These men were writing the same message from Genesis to Revelation. If you want to read more about the place of Christ in the Scripture, read "We Preach Christ" (2 Timothy 3:16).
Here is some audio of Michael Youssef's sermon courtesy of Way of the Master Radio (commentary: Todd Friel)
Mark Driscoll wasn't backward in coming forward either
Just stay away from this book, arm yourself with a few facts about the heresies contained within, and warn others about it.
The "Duke" is Tougher than Ever Doing the Rounds as a King James Only Preacher.
After watching his amazing hermeneutical feats you'll be too scared to read anything other than the 1611 Authorised Version because it's the one for REAL MEN! Eugene Peterson STAND UP and take note!
Don't take this the wrong way - I've always been a staunch KJV 1611 Authorised Version man (If it was good enough for the Apostle Paul then it's good enough for me). I've just never stopped people from exercising their right to read any of the unauthorised versions.
Though I can't prove it beyond doubt, I sincerely believe that the Textus Receptus is the best manuscripts. I have held to that personal conviction through many years of being mocked by people who somehow think the "Message" qualifies as something more than an expensive door stop. I hope the preacher in the video is a faithful preacher of the biblical Gospel and this video represents a momentary lapse of reason. And living in Europe I can attest to the fact that the prevailing secular humanism over here is driving the urinal to extinction. Furthermore, I've always suspected that the editors of the NIV (Nearly infallible version) sit down to urinate. It's just that there are so many better arguments to defend the KJV than posture.
