The devil, who is more crafty than any beast of the field, doesn’t particularly care whether we believe in the inerrancy of the Bible. Indeed it is conceivable that he might be more frightened of person A who denies the inerrancy of Scripture than person B who affirms it. The power of the Bible isn’t that it is a book that is true. The power is in the truth of what is in the Bible. The power is in the truths, not the truthfulness.
Imagine person A never heard of inerrancy, and so can’t affirm it. Suppose person A was badly taught, and came to believe that the Bible taught geocentrism. And suppose person A believes geocentrism is wrong. Now suppose person A reads the account of Adam and Eve, and comes to believe that his first parents fell from the estate wherein they were created, that God promised to deliver them from death through the promised Seed of the woman. Suppose he believes that God’s deliverance, not just of Adam and Eve but of Noah, Abraham, Joseph, Moses, David all demonstrate God’s faithfulness to deliver His people, and point to the coming Deliverer. Suppose person A believes he can best love God and neighbor by submitting Himself to the law of God. Suppose he sees himself in the Psalms, even as he sees Jesus in the Psalms. Suppose he believes that Paul’s commands to husbands and wives are true and come from the very breath of God. Suppose he believes that Jesus will come again to judge the living and the dead. Suppose he believes that true religion is in visiting widows and orphans in their trouble, and so labors to do so.
Now imagine person B, a champion of inerrancy. Suppose, however, that person B was also badly taught, and came to believe that the Bible’s account of the creation is poetic- true in a mythic sense, but not actual history. Suppose he believes a devastating local flood took place in the days of Noah. Suppose he finds the accounts of the patriarchs true accounts of interesting people who lived in a distant land in a distant time, but which have little to do with us. Suppose he believes that the law of God given in the Old Testament was for a different era, for a different people. Suppose he believes the Old Testament tells the story about one people of God, who are different from the Gentile people of God. Suppose he believes that Paul’s commands are culturally conditioned, true in the sense that that is what he called them to do in their context, but would wish differently in our context. Suppose he believes that because Jesus is love that judgment is not something we need to fear. Suppose he believes that visiting widows and orphans in their trouble is just law designed to show our failure and drive us to Christ. Suppose he considers actually calling believers to visit widow and orphans in their trouble to be incipient legalism.
Please don’t misunderstand. Inerrancy is both true and vitally important. It is a grave thing indeed to doubt the Word of God. But is it not a graver thing still to affirm that it is God’s Word, and still dismiss it? Or parts of it? Isn’t it possible that we have been manning the barricades on inerrancy while the devil has been undermining the content of the Bible, finding ways to slip through our defenses?
The Bible is not God’s Word because it is true. It is true because it is God’s Word. Which means we need to know, indeed to believe what it says. It tells us who we are, who God is, how we relate, and what will happen. And that’s just in the first three chapters. The devil-horned, snarling theological liberals have relevantized themselves into irrelevancy. But beware the smiling, friendly, cunning theological liberals. They are the dangerous and seductive ones. And they may just be sitting in the pew next to you.