My algebra textbook in ninth grade had an answer key in the back that enabled me to check my answers upon completing my homework assignment. Most of the time, the answer key simply served to verify that I had in fact arrived at the correct answer. Sometimes, however, the answer given in the book was different from my answer. What did I do?

I realized that 99.99 percent of the time the book was right. The book didn’t have to change--I did. I would rework the problem a little more carefully and eventually I would discover my error and correct it. There were still times that I didn’t get the right answer. In those cases I had to admit that maybe I didn’t quite understand the material well enough, and I needed to consult the teacher. I had a fundamental trust in the reliability of the answer key, as I was humble enough (barely) to recognize that the professional mathematicians who wrote the book were probably right, and I, a cocky adolescent, was probably wrong.

In a real sense, God’s Word is our answer key, providing answers to our most basic, essential questions. Who made us? What is the purpose of our existence? What good must we do to attain eternal life?

I must admit that every so often there was a typo in the answer key of my algebra book, and I would rather proudly point it out to my teacher and classmates. But God’s Word is even more reliable. It is utterly free from error. As we say in the Act of Faith, God can neither deceive nor be deceived. His Word surely will not lead us astray.

And that’s not all. More...