A professor of languages once addressed his class with these words: "When I was young, I firmly believed that our school's grammar textbook was without errors, but that the Bible was full of them. Now I think just the opposite. The grammar textbook is not as accurate as I believed it to be. However, the more I've studied the Bible, the more I've come to see that its word is true. If this continues, I will soon be a full believer."

What do we say then? Is the doctrine that the Bible is inerrant to be included among the doctrines of the true Christian faith? Are there not many theologians who do not believe in the inerrancy of the Bible?

On the other hand, even if we believed the Bible to be inerrant, but did not believe that Jesus, by His sacrifice, absolved us from our sin, we would not have a saving faith. For Jesus says: "I am the Way, the Truth and the Life; no one comes to the Father, but through Me" (John 14:6). But there may be also people who confess that they have forgiveness for their sins in Christ's name, but who have been taught that the Bible is not completely inerrant. And they have accepted this teaching. But are they right in doubting the inerrancy of the Bible?

But what does the Bible itself say?

In His Sermon on the Mount Jesus teaches: "Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish, but to fulfill" (Matt. 5:17). This word was fulfilled in the life of Jesus. Of His birth the Bible says: "Now all this took place that what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet might be fulfilled" (Matt. 1:22). The New Testament, time and again, refers to prophecies concerning Christ in the Old Testament. It has been written that He would be born in Bethlehem, would live in Galilee, would ride on a donkey, that His hands and feet would be pierced, His garments would be divided, lots would be cast for His robe, His bones would not be broken and His body would be placed in the tomb of a wealthy person. The prophecies of the Bible were fulfilled ? not only the ones pertaining to salvation ? but the others too. Riding on a donkey or casting lots for a robe have no direct bearing on salvation.

In His state of humiliation Jesus said: "Scripture cannot be broken" (Joh. 10:35). Jesus' humiliation did not mean that He was fallible. In His state of exaltation He had the very same attitude toward the Bible. The risen Savior told the disciples on the way to Emmaus: "O foolish men and slow of heart to believe in all that the propehts have spoken! Was it not necessary for the Christ to suffer these things and to enter into His glory?" (Luke 24:25,26). At that time the resurrected Jesus was visibly present in the midst of His disciples. Still, He didn't refer to His glorified state. He wanted to be believed on the basis of the Bible. "And beginning with Moses and with all the prophets, He explained to them the things concerning Himself in all the Scriptures" (Luke 24:27). Jesus and the Bible are inseparably joined together. We find Him in the Bible.

The word of the Bible is a living Word. It reveals our sin and in this way shows us that we need a Savior. He who is troubled by his sins can, to his joy, read these words: "He (Jesus) is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world" (1 John 2:2). When we find the Jesus of the Bible, we experience what the disciples on the way to Emmaus experienced. They said: "Were not our hearts burning within us while He was speaking to us on the road, while He was explaining the Scriptures to us?" (Luke 24:32).

Stop to consider: Can a person in the company of this Jesus doubt the truth of the Bible? No, he cannot. If some theologians do not believe and are of the opinion that the Bible can err, this is not unusual. The Sadducees of Jesus' time were prominent church leaders and did not believe in the resurrection of the body. To them Jesus said: "You are mistaken, not understanding the Scriptures, or the power of God" (Matt. 22:29).

What theologians say is not always true. But what the Bible says is always true.