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God Hath Spoken
Did the prophet Jeremiah truly preach the Word of God? One of the proofs the Bible is divine is the fact that all the 66 books of Scripture and their 40 writers never contradict one another. Reading in Jeremiah, chapter 1, beginning at verse 4: "Then the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations. Then said I, Ah, Lord GOD! behold I cannot speak: for I am a child.
"But the LORD said unto me, Say not, I am a child: for thou shalt go to all that I shall send thee, and whatsoever I command thee thou shalt speak. Be not afraid of their faces: for I am with thee to deliver thee, saith the LORD. Then the LORD put forth his hand, and touched my mouth. And the LORD said unto me, Behold I have put my words in thy mouth. See, I have this day set thee over the nations and over the kingdoms, to root out, and to pull down, and to destroy, and to throw down, to build, and to plant" (Jer. 1:4-10). The prophet's call is from the mouth of God.
In Jeremiah chapter 26, verse 2, we read, "Thus saith the LORD; Stand in the court of the LORD'S house, and speak unto all the cities of Judah, which come to worship in the LORD'S house, all the words that I command thee to speak unto them; diminish not a word." Here the prophet is forbidden to diminish so much as a word from among the words God has commanded him to speak.
Note chapter 36, verses 1 and 2. "And it came to pass in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, that this word came unto Jeremiah from the LORD, saying Take thee a roll of a book, and write therein all the words that I have spoken unto thee against Israel, and against Judah, and against all the nations, from the day I spake unto thee, from the days of Josiah, even unto this day." Jeremiah is expressly commanded to "Write therein all the words" for all are the words of God.
Continuing in this same chapter, we read beginning in verse 16, "Now it came to pass, when they had heard all the words, they were afraid both one and other, and said unto Baruch, We will surely tell the king of all these words. And they asked Baruch, saying, Tell us now, How didst thou write all these words at his mouth? Then Baruch answered them, He pronounced all these words unto me with his mouth and I wrote them with ink in the book" (vs. 16-18). In the words of the hymn writer, "What more can He say Than to you He hath said?"
Inerrancy In The New Testament
Does the New Testament affirm the doctrine of inerrancy? In the Gospel of Matthew chapter 1, verses 22 and 23, Matthew affirms: "Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call His name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us." Note that these things were spoken of the Lord by the prophet.
Consider chapter 2, beginning with verse 4: "And when he [i.e. Herod] had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he demanded of them where Christ should be born. And they said unto him, In Bethlehem of Judea: for thus it is written by the prophet" (vs. 4-5). The chief priests and scribes of the people unanimously agreed that the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem of Judea because it was thus written by the prophet.
Matthew chapter 4 describes the Lord Jesus Christ being tempted of the Devil. Notice verses 10 and 11: "Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve. Then the devil leaveth him, and, behold angels came and ministered unto him." The significance here is that the Son of God is quoting Moses from Deuteronomy, and the resulting effect is that Satan stands speechless. Jesus uses the Word of God to combat the Devil.
Consider what Jesus says in the Sermon On the Mount in Matthew chapter 5, verses 17 and 18: "Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled."
Note first the perpetuity of the Law: nothing shall be diminished from it, but rather all things shall be fulfilled. Second, Jesus is not going to destroy the Law, but will fulfil it. His teaching will provide a commentary on the Law by providing the true meaning, unlike the scribes and the chief priests. Not the smallest letter, nor the smallest particle of a letter can pass from the Law "till all be fulfilled." Question: "Why would our Lord fulfil the Law if it contained errors?"