Reformed Reflections

Which voice are we to believe or depend on in our confused age? The world presents many choices, but we must choose for the Christ of the Scriptures. There is no other Jesus than the biblical Jesus. The main purpose of the Bible, says Lindsell, "is to bring us face to face with Jesus. He, along with his Father, and the Holy Spirit, are the major persons revealed and made known to us in this Book."

Dr. Lindsell, former editor of Christianity Today and the author of the best-selling book The Battle for the Bible, has made another excellent contribution to the whole discussion on the inerrancy of Scriptures. In simple and straightforward language he presents the claims about the Bible to "lay people" who have not had formal theological training.

The author's chief purpose for writing his book is to tell "that the Scripture and the Word of God are one and the same; and that Scripture in all of its parts is trustworthy, or free from error, or infallible, or inerrant -- for they all mean the same thing."

What will happen when we no longer accept inerrancy? Dr. Lindsell says, "that once you dilute this claim to complete trustworthiness you open the floodgate to doubt about all parts of the Bible. And the history of the Church shows that once infallibility or inerrancy is compromised other great doctrines of the Christian faith suffer as well.

The author shows in his book that the current denial by many of the complete trustworthiness of the Bible is a contemporary and recent phenomenon; and it runs counter to the established view of the Church. It was not until the eighteenth century that the question, "is the Bible trustworthy in all its parts?" dominated the scene. From the eighteenth century until the present, the Church has wrestled with this problem.

What is the Bible? "The Bible is the only trustworthy source for our religious knowledge; that what it says can be trusted, and that the books that compromise the canon of the Old and New Testaments are true in all of their parts. They do not tell lies; we can depend on what God says in them."

Throughout the book, Dr. Lindsell emphasizes the inerrancy of the Bible. But in the conclusion he points out that we must not only know and believe the Word of God, we must also practice it. "The first step in the Christian life is to know the Word of God, the second step is to do the will of God."

I heartily recommend this timely book. It can be read for our personal edification; but it is also intended for group studies. A leader's guide is available.

Johan D. Tangelder