Thus, the Bible generally teaches its own divine authorship rather explicitly. In essence, the Bible teaches that its very words are inspired by God, originating from Him. Geisler and Nix summed it up well: “The cause of inspiration is God, the means is the men of God, and the end result is the word of God in the language of men.”[1] But what does inspiration have to do with inerrancy? The connecting point is the character of God. Regarding the Bible’s authority, Bishop N.T. Wright claims “that the phrase ‘authority of scripture’ can make Christian sense only if it is a shorthand for ‘the authority of the triune God, exercised somehow through scripture.’”[2] Likewise, the truthfulness of the Bible only makes sense when unpacked as the truthfulness of God demonstrated by His words that comprise the Bible.

The Bible has much to say of God’s character. In regards to God’s truthfulness, Paul referred to “God, who never lies,” in Titus 1:2. Numbers 23:19 states “God is not a man, that he should lie, or a son of man, that he should change his mind.” And more strongly, Hebrews 6:18 claims “it is impossible for God to lie.” The Bible applies God’s truthfulness directly to God’s words, such as in John 17:17 “Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth.” Earlier in John, Jesus claimed that scripture [God’s words] “cannot be broken” (10:35). The Psalmist poetically exclaimed, “Forever, O Lord, your word is firmly fixed in the heavens” (Psalms 119:89).

 Another line of argument flows from the Bible’s standard for prophecies. According to Deuteronomy 18:22, “when a prophet speaks in the name of the LORD, if the word does not come to pass or come true, that is a word that the LORD has not spoken; the prophet has spoken presumptuously. You need not be afraid of him.” There is no room for a prophet by this standard, someone who claims to speak God’s words, who utters any falsehood. Since God cannot speak falsely, the Bible affirms that those who speak for him cannot speak falsely. If someone claims to speak for God, and not everything they say is true, then the implication is not that God has spoken falsely, but that the person claiming inspiration has. Thus, when the Bible claims to be the very words of God, it claims to be truthful in all things.

The argument being put forward can be summarized in this way:

1.      The Bible claims that it is comprised of the very words of God.

2.      The Bible claims that it is impossible for God to lie and His words are always true.

3.      Therefore, the Bible implicitly claims that everything it affirms is true.

In other words, the Bible implicitly teaches that it is inerrant. Such a conclusion is more modest than is usually offered by inerrantists. Most would prefer a conclusion stating that the Bible is, in fact, inerrant, rather than merely stating that the Bible claims to be inerrant. This will be addressed shortly. However, objections to this argument should first be addressed.