In part one of this series, we examined the current influence of the Left’s philosophy and politics upon the modern mainline churches around the world. The key to allowing this pernicious influence into the mainline arena is the fact that the churches allied with leftists all deny the veracity of the Bible.
Trusting the Whole Word of God Is Not Optional
The greatest evangelist since the apostle Paul, Billy Graham recently passed on to glory. What some may not know is that Mr. Graham had his own crisis of faith in God’s Word early in his evangelistic career.
Just before he began his historic Los Angeles crusade in 1949, he was plagued by doubts about the truth and reliability of the Bible. One of his close friends from the past had communicated his doubts to Mr. Graham. He pondered these and finally decided to get this settled with the LORD. He went off by himself to pray. He wrote about this in his autobiography.
Dropping to my knees there in the woods, I opened the Bible at random on a tree stump in front of me. I could not read it in the shadowy moonlight, so I had no idea what text lay before me. […] I could only stutter into prayer. The exact wording of my prayer is beyond recall, but it must have echoed my thoughts: “O God! There are many things in this book I do not understand. There are many problems with it for which I have no solution. There are many seeming contradictions. There are some areas in it that do not seem to correlate with modern science. I can’t answer some of the philosophical and psychological questions Chuck and others are raising.”… At last, the Holy Spirit freed me to say it. “ Father, I am going to accept this as Thy Word— by faith! I’m going to allow faith to go beyond my intellectual questions and doubts, and I will believe this to be Your inspired Word.” When I got up from my knees at Forest Home that August night, my eyes stung with tears. I sensed the presence and power of God as I had not sensed it in months. Not all my questions were answered, but a major bridge had been crossed.
Billy Graham’s situation is likely to happen to everyone who is called to Christ at some point or another in life. He responded to doubt and gave all an example to follow. The example that trusting completely in Scripture is not optional for Christians. It is a key essential of the faith.
Why Biblical Inerrancy Is Essential
Inerrancy is the doctrine which teaches that the Bible as it was originally inspired by God and inscribed by human authors is without error. The definitive explanation of inerrancy comes from a 1978 document published by the International Council on Biblical Inerrancy which was held in Chicago of that year.
It is called the Chicago Statement on Biblical Inerrancy. It was composed and signed by some 200 evangelical scholars at the time. The Statement states why an inerrant view of Scripture is necessary for Christianity.
To stray from Scripture in faith or conduct is disloyalty to our Master. Recognition of the total truth and trustworthiness of Holy Scripture is essential to a full grasp and adequate confession of its authority
The Bible is God’s guide for each Christian’s faith and conduct. That can only be true if the Bible is both trustworthy and authoritative for all Christians. There are several reasons for this.
Scripture Is Inspired by God for Good Work on Earth
The Apostle Paul writes in his second letter to his disciple Timothy,
All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work. 2 Timothy 3:16-17 [ESV]
The Word of God is inspired or “breathed out” by God and reserved for a specific purpose. The purpose of making a completed and equipped follower of Jesus. Equipped with the teaching of righteousness from the Scriptures so that God’s good work may be done on earth.
If the Divine source of knowledge and instruction teaches righteousness, that teaching itself must also be righteous. To be righteous, it must also be true. That is the basis of the doctrine of inerrancy.
Today skepticism of God’s Word is rampant in the culture. Sadly, the modern leftist churches accommodate and accelerate such doubt with relish. It is even sadder that those same groups of people do not understand what they are permitting by rejecting the trustworthiness of the Bible.
In the third and final installment of this series, we will delve into understanding inerrancy and the aims of the Leftist church today.
D.T. Osborn
Sources:
The Holy Bible – English Standard Version, Crossway Bibles, 2001
Featured and Top Image courtesy of Elvert Barnes’ Flickr page – Creative Commons License
Inset Image 1 courtesy of Richard Bromley’s Flickr page – Creative Commons License
Inset Image 2 courtesy of oscartian547’s Flickr page – Creative Commons License
Inset Image 3 courtesy of Patrick Giblin’s Flickr page – Creative Commons License
All other sources linked or cited in the text
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