Skeptics of the Bible have long contended that how can one trust the Bible as infallible since it was written by very fallible men? On the surface this claim seems to have some merit, but if we go beneath the surface we will see that this claim is not valid.
First of all, we have to acknowledge that the Bible indeed was penned by very fallible men. However, that does not mean that men are always incapable of communicating the truth. Take for example a math book. In it we will see that 2 + 2 = 4 and always does. This is true throughout a math textbook. So, we see that man is capable of communicating truth. In the case of men writing the Bible they had the added great advantage of God helping them to write the Scriptures ensuring there were no errors. And this is exactly how the Scriptures were written. God communicated to men like Moses, Isaiah, and Paul, who wrote down what God revealed to them. In other words what they saw and heard.
Scripture tells us in (2 Timothy 3:16-17): “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.” We also read: “knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation, for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.” (2 Peter 1:20-21). These two verses help us to see the unique way that man and God combined to write the Bible.
First, we see that all Scripture is inspired by God. According to John MacArthur: “What exactly do we mean by inspiration? Now remember, revelation is God’s disclosure of Himself and His will. Inspiration was the way in which He did it. Inspiration was the Holy Spirit taking God’s revelation and putting it through human writers, who wrote the Old and New Testament. The result was exact and authoritative words…the message that God wanted written.”1 Thus, we see that all Scripture was penned by men but given to them from God. These holy men of God, “spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.” (2 Peter 1:21). Now you may then ask, what role did man play if these words were all of God?
Again, John MacArthur adds important insight here: “But how could the Bible be the Word of God, and still be for example, Paul’s words? By God making Paul into the man, He wanted him to be. God formed the personality of the writer. He controlled his heredity, his environment, and his life to make him into the man He wanted him to be. God then directed and controlled the free, willing choice of the man so that he wrote down the very words of God. God literally selected the words out of the man’s own life, his own personality, his own vocabulary, and his own emotions. The words were the man’s words, but in reality, his whole life had been so framed by God that they were God’s words. So, I can say that Paul wrote Romans as easily as I can say God wrote it, and be right on both counts.”2
And second, we see that it wasn’t the men that were inspired so much as it was the message they wrote that was inspired by God. Thus, it is not technically correct to say that Paul was inspired. Romans was inspired – Paul’s writings or the message was inspired. And this is important since God is clearly able to preserve His message – which is infallible. We read: “Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away.” (Matthew 24:35). Thus, God’s message, is not only inspired, written down by fallible men, but will never pass away. We also read in (Psalm 119:160): “The entirety of Your word is truth.” Again, not only is all Scripture God-breathed and inspired, but it is all truth.
To sum up, yes, man is fallible, but God is able to use fallible men to pen inspired messages that are all truth. And we know that God is also able to preserve His Word century after century. For over two thousand years the entire Bible we have today is virtually identical to the Bible that existed in Jesus’ time. Just why did God use fallible, sinful men, to write down His inspired revelation? Perhaps it’s the same reason He uses fallible and sinful men to share His salvation message today – it’s our privilege to be beacons of light and instruments of His glory.
If God chose fallible men to write His Word then rest assured he is able to keep it perfect and true now and forever. Just as God spoke the Word and brought the universe into existence, He also can speak the Word and use men to accuracy write down what He wants to say. And remember, God also chose to use a sinful woman, Mary, to bear His sinless Son – Jesus. In the last analysis God’s ways are higher than our ways and His purposes and ways sometimes will never fully be known. I have learned over the years to just trust God that His ways are always best – even when I can’t fully understand them.
1 John MacArthur, Jr., Is the Bible Reliable? (Panorama City, CA: Word of Grace Communications, 1982), pp. 39 – 40.
2 John MacArthur, Jr., Is the Bible Reliable? (Panorama City, CA: Word of Grace Communications, 1982), p. 44.
Today’s devotion makes the claim that,
“God literally selected the words out of the man’s own life, his own personality, his own vocabulary, and his own emotions.”
Nowhere is this more evident than the familiar verse, “For it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.”
This verse is repeated in Matthew, Mark and Luke. If you look at the Greek you will notice that Matthew and Mark use the same Greek word for “needle” but Luke chose a different word. His word is the Greek word for a surgical needle. Why? Well, remember the reason Paul took him on his missionary journeys? Luke was actually Dr. Luke. So, he selected a word out of his own life as a doctor.
God loves to use our gifts, talents and creativity. We are told that the kings and nations of the earth will bring their glory and honor into our eternal home, the New Earth with its city, the New Jerusalem.
“The kings of the earth will bring their glory into it, and its gates will never be shut by day—and there will be no night there. They will bring into it the glory and the honor of the nations.” Rev.
Our labors are not in vain. They have lasting value in eternity and to God.
I wish these daily apologetics had a “like” button. This was very helpful to me. Thank you Curt for your hard work to help me see different perspectives. I appreciate you work very much.