IS THE BIBLE INSPIRED, INERRANT, AND SUFFICIENT?

Recently a poll of Protestant clergymen recently was conducted in the United States by sociologist Jeffrey Hayden. He surveyed 10,000 clergymen of whom 7,441 replied. The questions he asked them were questions like this, for example:

Do you accept Jesus’ physical resurrection as a fact?

Fifty‑one percent of Methodists said no.
Thirty‑five percent of Presbyterian said no.
Thirty percent of Episcopalians said no.
Thirty‑three percent of American Baptist said no.
Thirteen percent of American Lutheran said no.
Seven percent of Missouri Synod Lutheran said no.

When asked if they believed that the Scriptures are the inspired and inerrant Word of God,

Eighty seven percent of Methodists said no.
Ninety‑five percent of Episcopalians said no.
Eighty‑two percent of Presbyterians said no.
Sixty‑seven percent of American Baptists said no.
Seventy‑seven percent of American Lutherans said no.
Twenty four percent of the Missouri Synod Lutherans said no.

Now if you have within the traditional mainstream of American Protestantism such disbelief in the authority of Scripture, is it any wonder why people are so susceptible to other cults and other systems of belief who add to the Bible, who twist and pervert the Bible or, I suppose, who in some cases ignore it all together?

The Bible always has been under attack and that’s why Jude says to earnestly contend for it.

We have to contend against the cults that want to add their own revelation to it.

We have to contend, in a sense, against even the Charismatics who want to add new revelation.

We have to contend against those liberal people within the framework of Christian tradition who want to deny the authenticity of Scripture and add so called new perspectives of Paul, and federalist universalism.

We have to contend with Catholicism who has added the words of popes, church councils, creeds, catechisms, traditions and the magisterium.

We’re ever and always fighting to hold on to the authority of the Word of God. And Jude says we have to earnestly fight for it. It isn’t going to be an easy thing because the faith once for all delivered to the saints is under attack. The enemy ever and always attacks the Word of God. And so here we are again time after time after time defending the Word of God, showing why it is to be believed.

In Timothy 3 is one of the great defenses of scriptural authority. The statement in verse 16, “All Scripture is God‑breathed” is a tremendously profound statement. It is not the word of man, it is the Word of God. It was breathed out by God.

“All Scripture is useful…useful, profitable,” to produces these five things. According to verse 15 it can make you wise unto salvation and according to verse 16 it is profitable, or useful for doctrine, reproof, correction and training and is the only thing needed and the only thing able to make the man of God perfect, equipped for every good work.

This echoes Psalm 19 on the sufficiency of Scripture. What this says to is the Scripture is comprehensively sufficient to produce men of God for every good work. It knows no limitation. It has no weakness. Nothing is left out. Nothing can be added to it.

Such an attempt, by the way, according to Revelation 22 winds up with a warning, if you add anything to this, so shall be added to you the plagues that are written in it. The Bible is not to be tampered with, it is not to be distorted, it is not to be corrupted, it is not to be manhandled for your own purposes and it is not to be added to.