Scripture – Inspiration and Truthfulness

The Bible is completely reliable (2 Pet 1:19) as its origin is in the will of God and its contents, though written by humans, came from the ministry of the Holy Spirit who delivered the spoken word of God (2 Pet 1:21). Paul therefore declares, “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness” (2 Tim 3:16). Throughout Scripture, we find many other phrases demonstrating that the Bible is the spoken Word of God, e.g. “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says” (Jer 30:2).

Given the rise of postmodernism and its never-ending assault on truth in general, a clear stance on the truth of Scripture must be vigilantly maintained and defended. Whereas as postmodernists embrace the idea that truth is relative and relegated to personal preference, the Bible clearly affirms that it is the truth (Ps 119:160; John 8:45; 16:13; 17:17; Acts 28:25; Rom 9:1; 1 Cor 2:13) spoken by the Truth (John 1:14;14:6). In John 3:23-24, we are told that those who accept the testimony of Christ have “certified that God is truthful.” In other words, Christ’s testimony should be accepted as truthful.

From John 8:44, we learn that the devil and the unsaved do not hold to the truth for no truth is within them. This biblical declaration clearly undermines the postmodern idea that truth is found in personal preference. Without the saving work of our Lord and His Spirit within our inner person, we are bound to an existence that is not rooted in truth. To put this another way, God’s truth is external to us as fallen creatures so long as we refuse to repent and come to faith in Christ. As Romans 1:25 says, fallen people “have exchanged the truth of God for a lie.”

Satan’s goal is to destroy, conceal, and twist the truth revealed in God’s Word. To combat his relentless assault on truth, the church must live in faithful obedience to Christ and serve its role as the “pillar and foundation of the truth” (1 Tim 3:15). Our role, therefore, is to defend and proclaim God’s Word revealed in Scripture to the world.