Mark Thompson in his essay on The Divine Investment in Truth, shared a quote from R. C. Sproul that really caused me to realize several things about the infallibility of Scripture when he said: “The infallibility of Scripture does not rest on the infallibility of the human writers but on the integrity of God.”1
First, we have the example of the prophets of God. These were clearly fallible men, but they were always 100% accurate in their predictions and sayings, even though they were fallible men, because God spoke to them and gave them his words which were infallible. Somehow these men spoke on behalf of God and his name and honor was at stake because if what these men said didn’t come true, people could point to God and say that he was not able to bring about his word and thus was either weak or untrustworthy. In effect God’s integrity was on the line.
Second, if God was powerful enough to speak the word and bring a universe into existence out of nothing, keeping his word infallible, to me, seems a much easier thing for him to do. God is able to give fallible men the ability to share infallible words because he is in charge of the production of the Bible. And like many other amazing things about the word of God this is flat out just another miracle from the Lord. Plain and simple: since God is in charge of his word he miraculously touched the biblical writers to share what he wanted written – impossible for us to do; but a simple miracle for God. Again, if God can bring about a universe out of nothing, everything else he does is a minor miracle in comparison.
Third, many ask, how can God manage to maintain the purity of the Bible for the last 2,000 plus years? Again, just think of the universal laws of physics and chemistry that our universe functions by and how they are fixed and function exquisitely constant down through the centuries. Who do you think is maintaining the orderliness of the universe, but God? Just imagine the incredible orderliness and precision of the orbits of our planets – who maintains their orbits, but God. If he can manage to maintain these fixed laws that make life possible, maintaining the accuracy of his Word is a minor miracle in comparison.
And finally, we read in Isaiah (40:8): “The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God endures forever.” To me, this implies that the veracity of the word of God will remain infallible forever. God’s integrity is again on the line here and I have learned that God can be trusted, to not only always be faithful, but able to accomplish what he says. We see this again in Luke (16:17) where we read: “And it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for one tittle of the law to fail.” God is throwing out a divine challenge that his word will not be compromised. Again, his integrity is on the line.
God is a supernatural God and he gave us a supernatural book. I have complete confidence he is able to maintain his word – and history has born this out. One final quote from nineteenth century writer H. L. Hastings, sums up God’s ability to maintain his word quite picturesquely:
“Infidels of eighteen hundred years have been refuting and overthrowing this book, and yet it stands today as solid rock. Its circulation increases, and it is more loved and cherished and read today than ever before. Infidels, with all their assaults, make about as much impression on this book as a man with a tack hammer would on the Pyramids of Egypt.
“When the French monarch proposed the persecution of Christians in his dominion, an old statesman and warrior said to him, ‘Sire, the church of God is an anvil that has worn out many hammers.’ So, the hammers of infidels have been pecking away at this book for ages, but the hammers are worn out, and the anvil still endures. If this book had not been the book of God, men would have destroyed it long ago. Emperors and popes, kings and priests, princes and rulers have all tried their hand at it; they die and the book still lives.”2
1 James K. Hoffmeier & Dennis R. Magary, eds., Do Historical Matters Matter to Faith?: A Critical Appraisal of Modern and Postmodern Approaches to Scripture, (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2012), Page 84