Grace and Truth

I have a confession to make.  I am often not a humble person.  Sometimes I forget that when you are talking to someone about faith matters, it is important to remember why you are doing it.  My wife and I got into a heated debate because I was not being loving in the way I discussed a certain scriptural matter we were pouring over.  Needless to say, it was not something I want to have happen again.

Of course, it never is.  This happens frequently.  I have been a proud person for my entire life, and old habits die hard.  When we speak to others of the truths that we hold, we should remember to do so in love.  Jesus was by far to superior to us in every way, yet when he shared truth, he shared it in love.  We would do well to remember that.

I am not kidding when I say that apologetics sealed the deal for me believing in God.  However, it was the kindness and love of a then friend who is now my beloved wife that originally brought me on my knees to God’s altar in the first place.  Those in apologetics and discernment ministry carry a heavy burden in that they must defend the truth, but not brandish it.  My prayer for all believers is that you can carry on the work of defending your faith in a way that is both full of truth and full of grace.

Scriptural Inerrancy

A friend and I were discussing scriptural inerrancy last night, and I gained a lot of insight into what that really means.  At first, I was shocked when he said he did not believe in scriptural inerrancy, and I sought to figure out his standpoint.

The bottom line from our discussion is this:  If you look at scripture as a body, numbers and such, names and such, may be slightly different.  An account of a battle in Chronicles may say that there were 50,000 in the Moabite army.  The same account in Kings may say that there were 50,355.  Is it inerrant?  Well, I would say yes, because the spirit of the account is equally accurate in both accounts.  An approximation is not going to be accurate persay, but if it is close, then why the problem?  If I said I had $100, when really I had $100.15, while I am technically inaccurate, the approximation does not make me wrong.

Part of the beauty of the Bible as an eyewitness to the unfolding story of God’s love for us is that several of the paralleling accounts offer differing views.  They create a colorful, multifaceted, and HISTORICAL view of the story of God.  Even though every number may not match and every detail does not corroborate exactly, the Bible still should be considered inerrant.  Instead, it should be considered to be a wide-eyed, accurate account of the history of God’s people.