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Brief Reflections on our Statement of Faith: #1 The Bible

Article 1. – The Bible.

We believe that the Bible, composed of the 66 books of the Old and New Testaments, is the breathed out word of God. We believe that this word is the final authority in all matters of faith and practice, inerrant in the original writings, and designed to transform our lives by showing us Christ. We believe the words of the Bible should be interpreted in their normal, natural, and usual sense (Matthew 5:17; John 10:35; Romans 15:4; 1 Corinthians 2:13; 10:11; 2 Timothy 3:15-17; Hebrews 4:12; James 1:21; 2 Peter 1:20-21; 3:16).

Why do we begin with the Bible? Wouldn't it make sense to start somewhere else? Not for believers in the God who reveals himself in the Bible. As theologian Michael Horton has put it, "Theology [the study of God] can only exist as a legitimate enterprise when it begins with Gods self-revelation." So we begin with the Bible because it is only through the Bible that God speaks authoritatively to reveal himself to us.

In Genesis 1 we learn of God creating the world, and Psalm 19 tells us that his fingerprints are everywhere testifying to his glory. So, we can learn about God through nature. We have a conscience, and this too points us to an absolute law, and thus an absolute law-giver (see Romans 2). But these aren't authoritative and clear enough to bring us to salvation. I can't learn about Jesus entering human history, dying on the cross in my place, or rising in victorious life by simply sitting and thinking about my guilty conscience. Nor can I embrace his sacrifice by faith and receive eternal life based on what I learn from watching a purple martin. We need the Bible to tell us about the most important things in life. 

 The Bible reveals to us God's perfect creation, humankind's rebellion against our Creator, and the punishment for that rebellion. But beyond this, it also reveals to us God's steadfast love for his people, how he sent Jesus to become flesh and die for us. And the Bible reveals how those who trust in Jesus for salvation can receive eternal life, a resurrection from the dead guaranteed by the same Holy Spirit who raised Jesus. These are things we only learn from the pages of the Holy Word of God. And so our Statement of Faith begins here, because everything else we hold dear flows from the pages of this book.

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