Since knowing God is impossible outside
of His own self-revelation (Theology:Revelation),
it is imperative that we have a firm grasp of that revelation. God's
Word is the account of God's revelation of Himself to mankind.
We believe that the Bible in its original languages is the written,
specific revelation of God to man. It was verbally (the exact words used)
and plenarily (the entire corpus of scripture) inspired by the Holy
Spirit. The Bible is inerrant, without mistake, and without deceit. Modern
translations are reliable and trustworthy to the extent that they
accurately, literally convey the verbiage and meaning of the original
text.
We believe that the original human authors used their own experiences,
communal stories, research, and direct revelation from God to arrive at
their choice of words and topics. The Holy Spirit ensured that the final
product of their efforts was exactly what God wanted written. The human
authors were not "human typewriters" merely recording the words
put in their minds by the Holy Spirit. Rather, each book bears the
distinctive characteristics of its human author while at the same time
having the divine stamp of perfection. Because of the Divine origin of
Scripture, we believe it to be the sole source of truth for faith and
practice in the believer's life. It is authoritative and must be taken as
the direct Word of God. It must be studied, taught, preached, and obeyed
in all matters.
This is a critical issue and cannot be compromised in any manner! To
allow for any error, to allow for only portions to be inspired, to allow
for only meanings and not words to be inspired is to undermine the very
foundation of our faith. If we don't have a perfectly reliable source of
revelation from God Himself, then we are reduced to innumerable opinions
and doctrine is worthless.
This information is also available in a
detailed outline suitable for study.
