THE BIBLE
Do you believe in the Lord Jesus Christ as the Son of God, and Savior of sinners, and do you receive and rest upon Him alone for salvation as He is offered in the Gospel?
DEPENDING ON GOD ALONE
"Grounded in God’s Word, Guided by His Spirit, Everything Through Prayer"
- We stand on the authoritative and sufficient Word of God as the only infallible rule of faith and life, with the Westminster Standards serving as a faithful summary of its teachings.
- We seek the Holy Spirit’s guidance and empowerment to apply and live out His Word in every area of life.
WHY DO WE NEED THE BIBLE AT ALL?
Psalm 19 teaches that God has revealed Himself in two ways, through general revelation and special revelation, and these stand together in a complementary relationship.
General revelation shows us that God exists and reveals His eternal power and divine nature (Psalm 19:1-6; Romans 1:18–20). Yet while creation makes God known, it does not show us how to be reconciled to Him. Special revelation tells us how God has made a way for us to fellowship with Him through Jesus Christ (Romans 3:21–26).
Special revelation is necessary (Psalm 19:7-11; 2 Timothy 3:14–17) because God is infinite and transcendent. Though God reveals Himself in creation, we cannot on our own discover how to know Him personally or be restored to Him.
The witness of creation is real, but it is not sufficient to bring us into a saving knowledge of God. If we want to truly know a person, it is not enough to observe their actions. We need them to speak to us. In the same way, God speaks so that we might truly know Him.
He has given us this communication in written form so that His Word would stand as a public, objective, and unchanging standard. Left to ourselves, we would distort or reshape God according to our own desires. But in Scripture, God speaks clearly and reliably.
We do not just need to know that God exists. We need to hear what He has said. The written Word makes His truth known to all people and invites us into real fellowship with Him.
WHAT WE BELIEVE ABOUT THE BIBLE AT CHRIST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH
At Christ Presbyterian Church, our conviction that the Bible is the authoritative and sufficient Word of God shapes everything we do. This conviction lies at the heart of our core value, Depending on God Alone.
We are grounded in God’s Word because we believe it is His infallible revelation, given to make Himself known and to guide our lives. The Westminster Standards serve as a faithful summary of these truths and provide a framework for our faith and practice (Westminster Confession of Faith I. Of the Holy Scripture). Our dependence on God begins with receiving and trusting what He has spoken.
Those who take their faith in Christ seriously will want to give careful attention to the whole of Scripture. It becomes a lifelong pursuit to understand what God has said to us as His people and how we are to live before Him.
In addition to hearing the Word preached each week, we must also spend time daily feeding on Scripture. Our high view of the Bible should lead to a growing desire to know God through His Word and to live in joyful, Spirit-dependent obedience to Him.
The Scriptures of the Old and New Testament
Everything the church does must be grounded not in pragmatism, human desire, or personal impressions, but in God’s revealed Word. Our authority is found in the 66 books of Holy Scripture alone.
The 66 books of Holy Scripture are as follows:
Old Testament
Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1 Samuel, 2 Samuel, 1 Kings, 2 Kings, 1 Chronicles, 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel, Daniel, Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi.
New Testament
Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Acts, Romans, 1 Corinthians, 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 1 Thessalonians, 2 Thessalonians, 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, Titus, Philemon, Hebrews, James, 1 Peter, 2 Peter, 1 John, 2 John, 3 John, Jude, and Revelation.
The Bible is directly inspired by God
The Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments are inspired by God. The very words of Scripture are true and without error in the original writings. While some claim that only the thoughts or concepts of the Bible are inspired, we believe that every word is inspired (Matthew 5:17–18; Proverbs 30:5–6).
This is often described as verbal, plenary inspiration, meaning that all Scripture is fully and equally inspired (2 Timothy 3:16–17).
Inspiration is the work of the Holy Spirit, who superintended the human authors so that what they wrote is the very Word of God. In doing so, He did not override their personalities, intelligence, or writing styles. Rather, He worked through them so that God’s complete and coherent message was written with perfect truth and authority.
Inspiration is not the same as dictation, except in certain instances. God used the experiences, thoughts, and expressions of the human authors. Yet what they wrote was exactly what God intended. Therefore, Scripture is rightly called “God-breathed” (θεόπνευστος in 2 Timothy 3:16), and though the authors were fallible men, their writings are without error (2 Peter 1:20–21).
We know that the Bible is the Word of God because of the testimony of Scripture itself and the witness of Jesus Christ. Jesus received the Old Testament as the Word of God (Matthew 4:4; Matthew 22:41–44). If we believe that Jesus is the Son of God, then we must also receive His testimony concerning Scripture. The writers of the New Testament likewise regarded both the Old Testament and their own writings as authoritative (1 Corinthians 2:12–13; 2 Peter 3:15–16).
While this may seem circular, it is better understood as a foundational truth confirmed by the inward work of the Holy Spirit. The same Spirit who inspired the Scriptures also opens our eyes to recognize them as God’s Word (John 16:12–15; Hebrews 4:12). This is not the giving of new revelation, but the illumination of hearts so that we may rightly receive what God has spoken.
THE BIBLE IS INERRANT
We believe that the Bible is without error. The very words of the original writings of the 66 books of Scripture are free from error, not only in matters of faith and practice, but in all that they affirm (Galatians 3:16; Matthew 22:32).
Our confidence in the truthfulness of Scripture rests in the character of God Himself. The Bible is the Word of an all-powerful and all-knowing God who is perfectly true and without error. Therefore, His Word is likewise true and trustworthy (Psalm 12:6; 18:30; 19:7; Proverbs 30:5–6; John 17:17).
THE BIBLE IS INFALLIBLE
The Scriptures in their original writings (Hebrew, some Aramaic, and Greek) are incapable of error (John 10:35; Luke 16:17). Because they are the Word of God, they cannot fail or be mistaken.
While closely related to inerrancy, infallibility emphasizes that Scripture is not only free from error, but that it is impossible for it to err. This is because God Himself is true and cannot lie, and His Word reflects His perfect truthfulness.
THE BIBLE IS OUR FINAL AUTHORITY
The Scriptures are God’s special revelation, His communication of truth to humanity. Because they are inspired by God, they are our final authority in all matters of faith and life (2 Timothy 3:16–17).
As the Word of God, the Bible stands above every other authority. It is not shaped by human opinion, cultural trends, or personal experience, but instead judges all things by the truth of God.
At the same time, we recognize that the Bible accurately records statements that are not themselves true. For example, Satan’s words to Eve, “You shall not surely die” (Genesis 3:4–5), are recorded in Scripture but are not the voice of God. Therefore, we must interpret Scripture carefully, paying attention to context so that we rightly understand what God Himself is saying.
THE BIBLE IS SUFFICIENT FOR ALL MATTERS OF FAITH AND PRACTICE
We believe that the Bible is sufficient for all matters of faith and life (2 Timothy 3:16–17; 2 Peter 1:3). God has given us in His Word everything we need to know Him, to trust Him, and to live as His people.
Human experience, while real, is limited as a guide for truth. It is changeable, often unclear, and easily shaped by our own desires. For this reason, we do not interpret God’s Word through the lens of our experience. Rather, we interpret our experience in the light of God’s Word.
Therefore, we come to Scripture not only to learn truth, but to receive from God the wisdom and direction we need for every part of life.
THE BIBLE IS A COVENANT DOCUMENT
It is helpful to understand that the Bible is a covenant document. Throughout Scripture, God relates to His people through covenant, establishing a binding relationship in which He commits Himself to them and calls them to live as His people.
God made covenants with His people in forms that were recognizable in the surrounding culture, yet He filled them with deeper and fuller meaning. In these covenants, God is not merely one party among others, but the sovereign Lord who establishes, defines, and upholds the relationship.
A covenant describes the relationship between God and His people. This is expressed in Scripture in the phrase, “I will be your God, and you will be my people.” Through it, God brings His people into a relationship with Himself, giving them promises, defining their identity, and calling them to live in faithful response to Him.
These covenants were often accompanied by written documents that declared the terms of the relationship. The Bible, encompassing both the Old and New Covenants, is the covenant document through which God reveals who He is, who we are, and how we are to live before Him as His people. All of God’s covenant promises find their fulfillment in Jesus Christ, through whom we are brought into full fellowship with God. In Him, what was lost in the fall, the presence of God with His people, is fully restored.
Scripture not only establishes this relationship, but also sustains it. In Deuteronomy 31:9–13, Moses commands that the law be read regularly to the people so that they would remember and live in light of God’s covenant. While we now have the fullness of Scripture, the principle remains the same. We are to continually return to God’s Word so that we might know Him and walk in His ways.
For this reason, we are called to meditate on God’s Word daily (Deuteronomy 6:6–7), receiving from Him the truth, direction, and life that we need as His covenant people.
Through this covenant, God does not merely give commands, but brings us into His household as His people.
WHY THIS MATTERS FOR OUR CHURCH
If we do not have something sure to determine what we believe and how we live, then passing fads and cultural pressures will divide us. But God has given us a sure word. When we are anchored in what He has said, we are united, living out our union in Christ together. It’s not just about what we think or feel.
This matters in what we preach. We preach God’s Word alone, not opinions, cultural agendas, or trends. Our elders lead the church based on what God says in His Word. Our deacons serve and love through the lens of Scripture. In fact, our entire church is framed by the Word, from the pulpit to how we disciple. Even our DNA groups study, apply, and live out God’s Word.
Without this sure foundation, we would splinter over opinions. But with it, we are anchored, united, and able to move forward as one, not just being right, but being one in Christ.
QUESTIONS FOR REVIEW, THOUGHT & DISCUSSION
- What would be the implication for Christianity and for your own life if the Bible were simply an ordinary book and not inspired by God?
- If someone were to say to you that the Bible can’t be trusted, because it is full of errors and outdated information, how would you respond?
- What opportunities do you have to hear the Word of God? What can you do to be more intentional about applying the Bible to your life after you hear it preached or taught? Are you currently involved in a Shared Life Community, in a DNA Group? Why or why not?
- Do you have a personal “reading plan” for the Bible? If so, what is it? If not, what can you do to implement one?