Also, we must state from the very beginning that the Scripture is the Word of God. It is not man’s opinion, it is not human philosophy, it is not somebody’s ideas, it is not a pooling of the best thoughts of the best men—it is the Word of God. Consequently, there are several things we need to realize about it.
A. The Attributes of the Bible
1. The Bible is infallible
The Bible, in its entirety, has no mistakes. Specifically, in its original autographs it is without errors. In Psalm 19:7 the Bible says of itself, “The law of the Lord is perfect.” It is flawless because it was authored by God—and He is flawless. Therefore, if God wrote the Bible, and if He is the ultimate authority, and if His character is flawless, then the Bible is flawless and is the ultimate authority. You see, the fact that God is perfect demands that the original autograph, the original giving of the Word of God, must also be perfect. So, the Bible is infallible, and that’s the first reason to study it; it is the only Book that never makes a mistake—everything it says is the truth.
Not only is it infallible, but there’s a second word we use in describing the Bible, and that is:
2. The Bible is inerrant
The Bible is not only infallible in total, but inerrant in its parts. In Proverbs 30:5–6 it says, “Every word of God is pure.… Add thou not unto his words, lest he reprove thee, and thou be found a liar.” So every Word of God is pure and true.
The Bible is not only infallible and inerrant, but:
3. The Bible is complete
Nothing needs to be added. Now that may be a surprise to some people, because there are those today who believe we need to add to the Bible. There exists a philosophy/theology combination known as neoorthodoxy. It tells us that the Bible was simply a comment in its day on man’s spiritual experiences, and today man is still having spiritual experiences, therefore he needs another comment. One writer said that we need a Bible to be written today, just as we did when the Bible we have in our hands was written, because we need somebody to comment on what God is doing now. He also said that when Tom or Mary stand up in your church and say, “Thus says the Lord,” they are as equally inspired as Isaiah, Jeremiah, or any of the other prophets (J. Rodman Williams, The Era of the Spirit, Logos International, 1971). In other words, they claim that the Bible is not complete. That’s the current philosophical/theological thought. Let’s look at the end of the last book of the Bible, the book of Revelation: “If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book; and if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part from the tree of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book” (18b–19). The Bible ends with a warning not to take away anything, and not to add anything. That’s a testimony of its completeness. It is infallible in its total, inerrant in its parts, and it is complete.
A fourth way to describe the Bible’s attributes is to say that:
4. The Bible is authoritative
If it is perfect and complete, then it is the last Word—the final authority. Isaiah 1:2 says, “Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth; for the Lord hath spoken.” When God speaks everybody listens, because His is the final authority; the Bible demands obedience. We can discuss its implications, its applications, and its meanings, but we shouldn’t discuss whether or not it is true.
In John 8 Jesus was confronted by some of the Jewish leaders, and there were other people present. Verses 30b–31 say, “Many believed on him. Then said Jesus to those Jews who believed on Him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed.” In other words, He demanded response to His Word. It is authoritative. In Galatians 3:10 it says, “Cursed is everyone that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law, to do them.” Amazing! Cursed was anyone who didn’t continue in everything that was written in the law. That’s a tremendous claim to absolute authority. In James 2:9–10 we read, “But if ye have respect of persons, ye commit sin, and are convicted of the law as transgressors. For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.” To violate the Bible at one point is to break God’s law. The Bible is authoritative in every part.
Well, the Bible is infallible, inerrant, complete, authoritative, and:
5. The Bible is sufficient
The Bible is sufficient for a number of things:
a) Salvation
In 2 Timothy 3:15 Paul said to Timothy, “And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.” First of all, the Bible is sufficient to make you wise unto salvation. Ask yourself this question: What is more important than salvation? Nothing! It is the greatest reality in the universe—and the Bible reveals that salvation.
b) Perfection
Verse 16 of 2 Timothy 3 says, “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine”—that means “teaching, principles of wisdom, divine standards, or divine truths”; “for reproof”—that means you’re able to go to someone and say, “Hey, you’re out of line. You can’t behave like that; there’s a standard and you’re not keeping it.” Scripture is also profitable “for correction”—that says to the person you’ve just reproved, “Now don’t do that, do this instead; this is the right path.” You teach, you reprove, you show the correct way—and further it is profitable “for instruction in righteousness.” Now you point to the new way and show them how to walk in it. The Bible is a fantastic Book. It can take somebody who doesn’t know God, who isn’t saved, and then save them. Then it will teach them, reprove them when they do wrong, point out the right thing to do, and then show them how to walk in that right path.
The result is stated in verse 17: “That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.” The incredible reality of the Bible is that it is sufficient to do the whole job.
c) Hope
In Romans 15:4 it says, “For whatever things were written in earlier times [referring to the Bible] were written for our learning, that we, through patience and comfort of the scriptures, might have hope.” The Bible is the source of patience and comfort, ultimately giving us hope now and forever.
d) Blessing
I think of the tremendous text of James 1:25, “But whosoever looketh into the perfect law of liberty (the Scripture), and continueth in it, he being not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.” That’s great! When you read it and then do it—you’re blessed. Back in verse 21, James says that we should “receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls.” The Greek text literally means it is able to “save your life.” In other words, it will save your life if you receive the Word of God. I think by that he means that it will give you the fullest life imaginable. But it is possible also for a Christian that doesn’t obey the Word of God to lose his life. In 1 Corinthians 11 some of the Christians in Corinth violated the Lord’s Table, and He took them home. Verse 30 says, “For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep.” Ananias and Sapphira disobeyed God’s command and dropped dead in front of the whole church (Acts 5:1–11). So James said, “If you receive the engrafted (implanted) Word, and you obey it, and you continue in it, it has an incredible way of perfecting you, of blessing you, of saving your life.” All these things are true of the Word of God.
6. The Bible is effective
Listen to the words of Isaiah 55:11: “So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth; it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please.” That’s great! God’s Word is effective. One of the incredible things about being a teacher of the Word of God is that it will do what it says it will do.
MacArthur, J., Jr. (1985). How to study the Bible. John MacArthur’s Bible Studies. Chicago: Moody Press.