Mistakes in the Bible?

“All Scripture is given by inspiration of God” (II Tim. 3:16). When a person who claims to be a Christian gives up that truth, he is prone to believe just about anything.

A pastor in the United Methodist Church who is running for the Kansas Senate said there are hundreds of mistakes in the Bible. He confidently said he only had to show one of these to prove his case. The example he gave was Jesus’ ascension into heaven. He said Matthew says Jesus was in Galilee when He ascended but Luke says He ascended from the Mount of Olives. The last words about Jesus in the book of Matthew are in chapter 28. The Bible does say the disciples met Jesus in a mountain in Galilee (v. 16). Then He gave the great commission (vv. 18-20). But Matthew’s account does not say anything about Him ascending to heaven, much less ascending from Galilee. The politician/pastor pulled that idea out of his magic hat.

When I saw that news, I remembered something I heard a Methodist spokesman say years ago in a public debate. When he was pressed to answer Bible verses that contradicted his position, he said he didn’t believe everything in the Bible was the Word of God. He lost most of the audience at that point and left them scratching their heads. What was the point in debating a matter of Bible doctrine if he did not even believe in the inspiration of the Scriptures?

These were not maverick Methodist Bible interpreters. They were just following what they had been taught in this denomination. This group surrendered their belief in the inspiration of the Bible long ago. With this view of the Word of God, is it any wonder that the UMC pays no attention to what the Bible says about homosexuality?

This denomination is not the only one that denies this fundamental truth about the Bible. Their attitude toward the Scriptures reminds us of what the devil said to Eve: “Has God indeed said…?” (Gen. 3:1). Did God really say that? Did He really mean it? That is how some preachers use the Bible today.

Jesus said His words will judge us in the last day (John 12:48). The words of the Bible were true when they were written by the inspiration of the Spirit and they will remain true no matter what men think (Matt. 24:35; I Pet. 1:25).

Kerry

West End church of Christ • July 26, 2026