Journal: Journal of Ministry and Theology
Volume: JMAT 21:1 (Spring 2017)
Article: The Inerrancy And Authority Of Scripture In Christian Apologetics
Author: Lee Allen Anderson, Jr.

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JMAT 21:1 (Spring 2017) p. 46

The Inerrancy And Authority Of Scripture In Christian Apologetics

Lee Allen Anderson Jr.

Introduction

Scripture’s call to Christians to engage in the apologetic task is markedly obvious. For example, 1 Peter 3:15 instructs believers to always be “ready to make a defense (ἀπολογίαν) to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you.” Similarly, Jude 3 exhorts Christians to “contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all handed down to the saints.” Here, the “faith” refers not to the subjective element of personal trust in the Lord God, but instead to that “body of truth that very early in the church’s history took on a definite form,” that is, the content of Christian faith—doctrinal truth (cf. Gal 1:23; 1 Tim 4:1).1 Implicit in this verse, therefore, is the acknowledgment of the fact that a certain body of doctrinal truth exists, which in turn implies a source or origin for that doctrinal truth. For the Christian, the principle, authoritative source of doctrinal truth is the “God-breathed” holy Scriptures (2 Tim 3:16). The reliability of Scripture as a standard for Christian doctrine hinges on the fact that, as the inspired word of the true God who does not lie (Num 23:19; Titus 1:2; Heb 6:18), it is wholly true (Ps 119:160; John 17:17). To echo the words of the longstanding affirmation of the Evangelical Theological Society, “The Bible alone, and the Bible in its entirety, is the Word of God written and is therefore inerrant in the autographs.”2 This affirmation is not a peripheral issue to Christian theology; it is germane to the life of the church and, of logical consequence, the upholding of the Christian faith. As Albert Mohler succinctly argues, “Without a total commitment to

JMAT 21:1 (Spring 2017) p. 47

the trustworthiness and truthfulness of the Bible, the church is left without its defining authority, lacking confidence in its ability to hear God’s voice.” Practically stated, “Preachers will lack confidence in the authority and truthfulness of the very Word they are commissioned to preach and teach.” Likewise, “Individual Christians will be left without either the conf...

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