I. THE HOLY SCRIPTURES

  1. We believe in the Holy Scriptures, consisting of the 66 books of both the Old and New Testaments as the very Word of God, verbally inspired by God in all parts and therefore wholly without error as originally given by God, altogether sufficient in themselves as our only infallible rule of faith and practice.

    Psalm 119:89; Isaiah 40:8; Matthew 5:18; John 10:35; II Timothy 3:16; II Peter 1:20-21.
     

  2. We believe that God spoke in His written Word by a process of dual authorship.  The Holy Spirit so superintended the human authors, that, through their own personalities and styles of writing they composed and recorded God’s Word to man without error.  This being true the Holy Scripture is self-authenticating. Its authority does not depend upon the testimony of human beings or of any church,  but entirely upon God, its author, who is truth itself.  All people must acknowledge its authority because it is the Word of God.  

    1 Thessalonians 2:13; 2 Peter1:20,21; 1 John 5:9-12.
     

  3. We believe the special revelation of God appears in its entirety in the Scripture, which contains all things necessary for God’s glory, the salvation of sinners, and the instructions necessary for life and godliness.  All such matters are either expressly declared in Scripture or by good and necessary consequence may be deduced from Scripture. Nothing at any time may be added to scripture by so called “new revelations” or by traditions of men.

     2 Timothy 3:12-17; Galatians 1:6-9;  Corinthians 2:6-15; Revelation 22:18-21.
     

  4. These things being true we believe that the Bible is literally true, and is to be interpreted as such using the grammatical, historical, and contextual principles of interpretation under the enlightenment of the Holy Spirit.

    John 7:17; I Corinthians 2:7-15; I John 2:20.