Does the Bible contain false statements? Of course it does!
It might surprise some of you to hear me say that, but please let me point out
four undeniably false quotations found in Scripture.
Ananias and Sapphira each made a false statement in Acts 5;
after selling property and making a donation to the church, they withheld a
portion and lied about the price. Peter asked, “Did you sell the land for this
price?” The wife replied, “Yes, for that price.” That lie was a false statement,
and they paid dearly for it.
Job’s “friend” Eliphaz the Temanite also made a false
statement in Job 4-5 when he concluded that Job’s suffering was a punishment
for some secret sin he would not confess. The truth was that God allowed Job to
be tested, and he passed the test.
A third false statement can be found in Isaiah 14:14: “I
will ascend above the heights of the clouds. I will be like the Most High.”
That lie was spoken by Lucifer, who thought he could challenge El Elyon, the
Most High God. Nothing could be further from the truth.
Finally, the Bible contains this false statement: “There is
no God (Psalm 14:1).” While Descartes may agree with such a claim, we need to
remember that the above quote is attributed to “the foolish man.”
I hear from critics who like to remind me that the Bible
contains false statements; sure it does. It accurately
contains false statements made by fools, liars, fair-weather friends, and
the devil himself. But the Bible is never inaccurate
in what it says. If the Bible says it, you can take it to the bank. There may
be critics and scoffers out there trying to make you doubt, but we have faith.
When your faith in the Bible may waver, just read it a little more; after all, “faith
comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God (Romans 10:17).”
