CHAPTER 1

HOLY SCRIPTURE IS THE WRITTEN WORD OF GOD 

1. Our innate knowledge of God, the design, order and beauty of creation and God’s sovereign purpose effected through history openly reveal his goodness, wisdom and strength. This natural revelation of God leaves all people without excuse should they not know, love and serve him. However, by itself this revelation is not sufficient to give the necessary knowledge of God and of his purpose leading to reconciliation with him. Consequently, it pleased the Lord to reveal himself using various historical events and methods. God called a people to himself revealing his clear purpose to them. The Lord put his revelation in written record more effectively preserving and communicating his revealed truth. It provides a sure grounding and comfort for his church against the world of sinning humanity, our sinful disposition opposing God and the evil intentions of Satan. Then God ceased revealing himself to his people as he had in previous ways. This made the written record of Holy Scripture absolutely necessary for the preservation of revealed truth.

2. Using the name Holy Scripture, or the written Word of God, we designate all the books of the Old and New Testament. They exclusively encompass:

The Old Testament

Genesis	Nehemiah	Hosea
Exodus	Esther	Joel
Leviticus	Job	Amos
Numbers	Psalms	Obadiah
Deuteronomy	Proverbs	Jonah
Joshua	Ecclesiastes	Micah
Judges	The Song of Songs	Nahum
Ruth	Isaiah	Habakkuk
1 & 2 Samuel	Jeremiah	Zephaniah
1 & 2 Kings	Lamentations	Haggai
1 & 2 Chronicles	Ezekiel	Zechariah
Ezra	Daniel	Malachi

The New Testament

Matthew	Galatians	Philemon
Mark	Ephesians	Hebrews
Luke	Philippians	James
John	Colossians	1 & 2 Peter
Acts	1 & 2Thessalonians	1, 2 & 3 John
Romans	1 & 2 Timothy	Jude
1 & 2 Corinthians	Titus	Revelation

 

The Holy Spirit of God inspired these writings providing our only rulefor faith and life.

3. The writings entitled The Apocrypha do not share in the Holy Spirit’s inspiration. Thus, they are not included in the canon of Holy Scripture. Having no authority in God’s church, they should not be more highly esteemed nor used more frequently than other human writings.

4. The Bible, speaking with the authority of its author, merits our belief and obedience. Biblical authority for faith and life does not depend on human testimony nor the witness of Christian institutions, but exclusively on God whose nature defines truth. We receive Holy Scripture because it is the Word of God.

5. We may be motivated and influenced by the witness of the church to hold a high and reverential esteem for Holy Scripture. Holy Scripture contains many evidences witnessing to its being God’s Word. These evidences include its concern for spiritual realities, the effectiveness of its teaching on human life, the majesty of its literary style, its consistency, the unanimous purpose from beginning to end of giving all glory to God, revealing fully Jesus Christ as our only way of salvation, its many other incomparably excellent characteristics including finally its complete perfection. We can be persuaded and assured of the infallible truth and godly source of the Bible through the Holy Spirit’s testimony. Through the effective use of God’s Word he convinces our hearts of the godly source of the Bible.

6. The entire purpose of God concerning all things necessary for his own glory, human salvation, faith and life style is expressly written in Scripture or may be reasonably concluded through careful and logical deduction from Scripture. Never may we add anything to the teaching of Scripture whether pretending to be by revelation from the Holy Spirit or drawn from human traditions. Clearly, we acknowledge the illumination of the Spirit of God as necessary for saving understanding of what is revealed in God's Word.   We recognize some circumstances concerning the worship of God and the government of the church to be conditioned by human experience.  Wise Christian freedom, carefully observing and  conforming to the general principles of the Word, allows for a variety of godly practices.

7. All Scripture is not easily interpreted nor clearly understood by each reader. Yet, everything we must know, believe and observe for salvation is understandably presented and taught somewhere in the Bible. Both the uneducated and the educated through ordinary reading, study and exposition may acquire a sufficient understanding of them.

8. The Old Testament was written in Hebrew, the native language of the ancient people of God. The New Testament was written in Greek, most of it being Koine. This language was commonly spoken internationally throughout the Neareast and Mediterranean basin when the New Testament was written. Both Testaments are authentic manuscripts being directly inspired by God and kept unadulterated and reliable through the centuries by his overseeing care. Consequently, the church must appeal to the Scriptures in all controversies about faith. The ancient Hebrew and Greek languages are not understood by most of God’s people. Having the right of access to God’s Word, interest in the Scriptures and a command from God in awe and obedience to read and study them, the biblical text shall be translated into the most commonly used language of every people. With God’s Word present and abundantly nurturing everyone, we may acceptably worship him. Through the endurance of faith and the comfort of Scripture all may have hope.

9. The Scripture provides its own infallible rule of interpretation. When a question arises about the true and full sense of a particular portion of Scripture (which never allows multiple interpretations, but one only), it must be researched and understood from other texts speaking more clearly.

10. The Holy Spirit addressing us in the Scripiure ultimately judges all controversics of faith, the decrees of church councils, opinions of ancient writers, all human teachings and privately held opinion. We resolve our differences with the judgment of him who judges all things.