The Inerrancy of Scripture

                                                                                                                                             Vol. X, No. 2, February 1997

           This selection is from of a book published in 1898, The Divine Authority of Paul’s Writings, by Dr. MalColm MacGregor, pp 18-20. MacGregor was a student of John Broadus, one of the original faculty at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. MacGregor dedicated his book to Broadus “in grateful remembrance of his interest in, and approval of, its plan and substance, and his encouragement to the author to complete and publish it.”

           As you read this passage, it takes on added significance to Southern Baptists knowing that not only MacGregor but also Broadus held strongly to this orthodox view of Scripture. Bold print has been added for emphasis.

...Without the Scripture there can be no Christianity. Unless the authority of Scripture be firmly established, Christianity can have neither definiteness, power, nor stability.

           The divine inspiration and consequent infallibility of the Sacred Writings are, therefore, of vital importance to the Christian religion. The absolute inerrancy of the Holy Scriptures is fundamental to their own authority and claims, and to our certainty of mind in matters of Christian truth and duty. The unimpeachable and perfect truth of the Sacred Writings, as established by their clearly proved divine inspiration, together with their explicit, implied, and oft-repeated claims, must be held to, immovably, as a first principle of genuine Christianity, and as a sine qua non of progress and assurance in the knowledge of divine things. To this prime and impregnable position, all our theories of the nature of divine inspiration, and of the relations between the divine and human elements in the products of inspiration, must conform; or we must discard theory upon the subject, while boldly accepting the revealed facts.

           The inspired word is explicit enough with regard to its own origin, character, and claims. "The sweet psalmist of Israel" said, " The spirit of the Lord spake by me, and his word was upon my tongue." (2 Sam. 23:2) The prophet Jeremiah averred, "The Lord said unto me, Behold, I have put my words in thy mouth." (Jer. 1:9) Inspired wisdom has declared, "Every word of God is pure.” (Prov. 30:5) In one form or another, the Apostle Paul has asserted substantially that "All Scripture is given by inspiration of God." (2 Tim. 3:16) The Apostle Peter has told us concerning inspiration, that "Men spake from God, being moved by the Holy Ghost." (2 Peter 1:21) The Saviour himself has said, that the " word is truth , and that "the Scripture cannot be broken.” (John 10:35) On the divine origin, absolute inerrancy, and supreme authority of the Holy Scriptures these and kindred testimonies are indisputable and final.