We believe and teach that the Holy Scriptures, as found in the sixty-six books of the Bible (i.e. the Protestant Canon) constitute the infallible and authoritative Word of God.
God has revealed Himself to man generally (i.e. in nature and conscience), but these avenues are insufficient for salvation because of man's persistent resistance (Romans 1:18-2:16). However, in the course of human history, our gracious God has also revealed Himself particularly through a variety of modes (e.g. Hebrews 1:1-4), all of which are made known to us through the Scriptures.
These Scriptures constitute God's special revelation to mankind. They are God-breathed (2 Timothy 3:16), and thereby, are absolutely inerrant and infallible in the original documents (i.e. the autographic originals). Like the Living Word of God, i.e., Christ, the written Word of God is fully divine and yet, genuinely human. The Holy Spirit guided the writings of the human authors through their personalities, backgrounds, and styles (e.g. Jeremiah 1:5; Galatians 1:15-17) resulting in the production of God's book, the Bible (2 Peter 1:20-21).
Although we do not have in our possession the original documents, God in His providence has preserved thousands of subsequent copies which perpetuate the Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek texts of the Bible. Therefore, through the methodology of textual criticism, it is possible to reconstruct texts which accurately reflect the original documents.
We believe and teach that although no one text-type or any particular version derived from it necessarily represents the autographs identically at every place, many of the various traditional and contemporary English translations should be looked upon as being reliable conveyers of God's Word to mankind.
In light of all these truths, the Bible is fully authoritative, in other words, it alone is our infallible rule for faith and all practice (e.g. Deuteronomy 32:44-47; Isaiah 1:10; 8:16, 20; 30:8; 34:16; 40:6-8; 55:11; Jeremiah 23:29; Zechariah 7:12; Matthew 4:4, 7, 10; 5:17-19; John 10:35; 2 Timothy 3:15-17; Hebrews 4:12-13).
The full authority of the Scriptures also demands that the Bible be handled with the utmost Spirit-enabled precision (2 Timothy 2:15). Consequently, it is the total Word itself that must be taught and proclaimed unashamedly (Acts 20:18-32; 2 Timothy 4:2). This is absolutely essential since the Spirit uses the words from His Word to accomplish genuine results which endure for time and eternity (e.g. Joshua 1:7-8; Nehemiah 8:2-9:3; Psalms 19:7-8; 119; Jeremiah 5:14; Ezekiel 1:1-3; 2:7; 3:4-11; Romans 1:16; 1 Corinthians 1:18, 24; 1 Thessalonians 1:2-10; 2:13; 1 Peter 1:22-25; 4:11).
Believing unreservedly in the total truth and trustworthiness of Scripture, we employ the grammatico-historical method of interpretation. Such a literal or normal method as it is sometimes called, does recognize the Bible's varieties of expression and literary forms and allows for figurative language; however, these vehicles of revelation find themselves in service to, not in contradiction with, the Word's incontestable clarity, consistency, and irreproachable historicity.
In application to theology, these great truths about the Bible demand that we neither fall behind nor charge ahead of the scriptural data upon which all true doctrine is founded and expressed.
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