We believe in biblical inerrance. And how does the truth of biblical inerrance and the revelation of God’s written authority affect the way we preach and serve?There is a small point in defending the inerrance of the scriptures if we are willing to yield to the authority of the Bible in our approach to ministry.
This article is an adaptation of an article written by John MacArthur during the height of the inerrance debate in the early 1980s.
- The theological climax of the twentieth century had an intense evangelical emphasis on the doctrine of biblical inerrance.
- Much of what was written to defend inerrance in the 1970s and 1980s was the sharpest theological foundation our generation produced.
However, it seems that our practical commitment to inerrance is somewhat flawed. Modern evangelical commitment to the authority and infallibility of the Bible is not always reflected in the ministry. Shouldn’t our preaching reflect our belief that the Word of God is infallibly authoritarian?Too often, no. In fact, there is a remarkable trend in contemporary evangelism that moves away from biblical preaching, and a tendency that corresponds to experience-focused, pragmatic and thematic messages in the pulpit.
How can he?Shouldn’t our preaching reflect our belief that the Bible is verbally inspired, a foolproof word of God?If we believe this, are all the scriptures inspired by God?And infallible, should we not also be attached to the truth which is “useful in teaching, correcting, rebuking, educating for righteousness, that the man of God may be perfect and perfectly qualified for all good deeds. [2] Shouldn’t this magnificent truth determine how we should preach?
It is clear that this must happen. Paul gave this command to Timothy: ?I command you, before God and Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, by their manifestation and by their kingdom: preach the word, exhort, whether appropriate or not, correct, admonish, exhort with all patience and doctrine.
J I Packer eloquently understood the purpose of preaching
Preaching appears in the Bible as a harmonization of what God says about himself and his actions, and men in relation to him, plus an emphasis on his commandments, promises, warnings and guarantees, in order to win the listener or listeners. positive answer.
The only logical answer, then, to the inerrance of the scriptures, is to preach explicitly; by presentation, I want to preach in such a way that the meaning of the biblical text is presented completely and exactly as planned by God. the exhibition is the proclamation of God’s truth, mediated by the preacher.
Some, known as exhibitors, don’t even believe in biblical inerrance. It may also be that most of those who claim to be infallible in the Bible do not practice explanatory preaching (once again, the most popular trend among today’s evangelicals is decidedly in the opposite direction?Towards a preaching motivated by “felt needs” and other current approaches of the Ministry of the Chair. ) They are disconcerting inconsistencies, for an infallible perspective requires explanatory preaching, and a non-inert perspective makes explicit preaching unnecessary.
Similarly, what is the point of having foolproof text if we do not deal with the basic phenomena of communication, for example words, phrases, grammar, morphology, syntax, etc. and if we don’t preach?book of exegenetic theology, Walter Kaiser rightly analyzes the anemic state of the Church, because of the inadequate feeding of the flock:
The obvious remedy for spiritual malnutrition in evangelism is explanatory preaching.
The mandate is clear. The preaching of the exhibition is the declarative genre in which inerrance finds its logical expression and the church finds its life and power. Inerrance simply requires revelation as the only method of preaching that preserves the purity of the scriptures and accomplishes the purpose for which God has given us His Word.
Or, as R B Kuiper succinctly stated: “The principle that Christian preaching is the proclamation of the Word must, of course, be decisive in the content of the sermon. “
Notes: [1] Is the doctrine of biblical inerrance? The assertion that, when all the facts are known, the scriptures in their original spelling and interpreted correctly will be displayed without error in everything they say with the desired degree of precision, does this statement refer to doctrine, history, science, geography, geology, etc. ?; Paul D. Feinberg, “Infallibility and Inerrance”, ? Trinity Journal, VI: 2 (autumn 1977), 120. [2] 2 Timothy 3: 16-17 [3] 2 Timothy 4: 1-2, emphasis added
Translation: Return to the Gospel Team
(At the end of the 5 published parts, we will provide you with a pdf with the full article to download)
THE PROJECT
Reformed church still reforming? Reformed ecclesia and semper reformanda?
To return to the gospel is always to be reformed. Join this reform?Reformanda!