Question: What do people mean when they say the Bible is “innerant”?

Answer: When someone says that the Bible is “inerrant,” it literally means, “without error.” This is an important quality for three reasons:

1. All Scripture was “inspired” by God (2 Timothy 3:16). That is, God “breathed in” what He wanted to say to human agents who wrote down the message in their own style and words (2 Peter 1:21). Since God is perfect, His word is perfect.

2. The Bible claims to be perfect (Psalm 19:7).

3. Even though the Bible is comprised of 66 books, it is actually one book. If there are errors in any one part of the Bible, it undermines the entire book.

Now, there are two things to consider when studying this topic. One, the Bible uses many different literary styles—history, prophecy, poetry, allegory, etc. So, not every single word should be taken “literally.” For example, when Jesus says that someone with faith can move mountains, He doesn’t literally mean that if you believe hard enough, a mountain will literally move. At the same time, the Bible is literally true. What that means is that even the allegories and parables are true statements about reality.

The other consideration is that only the original writings of the prophets and apostles are inerrant. Even though the various translations of the original Scriptures are amazingly accurate, there is the possibility that minute errors have crept in. But these are primarily in areas involving grammar and punctuation, not substantial facts.

It has been said that no single book has been subjected to as much scrutiny and criticism as the Bible, and yet its trustworthiness and reliability (two key components of inerrancy) are without blemish. Many people will bring up alleged “contradictions” in the Bible, but scholars have yet to find a contradiction that cannot be resolved.

You can trust the Bible as God’s inspired and inerrant message to you!