Imagine a family-owned sausage factory. The head is a very scrupulous, clean, proper man. One day as he is walking in the plant, he notices that as a son is dumping in pork, a piece falls on the floor. Does he throw it away, or back into the machine? He throws it away. The sausage that is produced is labeled “Grade A” and sent to market. Across the street is a corporately- owned and operated sausage factory. The floors are dirty, the machines are seldom washed. A supervisor sees a worker spill a piece of pork on the floor. Does he throw it away? No. He puts it back into the machine. The supervisor is happy. It too is labeled “Grade A” and sent to market. Both products nourish you, but which would you want to eat?

“It doesn’t matter if the human authors put a little dirt in with the rest of God’s Word. We can still preach the Bible and people will get saved and grow.” When the son takes over the first factory, he will likely follow in the father’s tradition, but when the worker takes over for the supervisor, things can only get worse.

Dr. C. Ryrie, Biblical Introduction, Dallas Theological Seminary, Fall, 1978