The Bible is the Christian’s sole authority for sound doctrine and practice and the best source for knowing God, the Maker and Sustainer of the universe. Therefore it is important to set forth several vital presuppositions based on the testimony of the Bible itself concerning the revelation, inspiration, canonicity, and illumination of the Scriptures as they were originally penned.

1. I believe the Bible is the completed written revelation of God to man, disclosing by means of dreams, visions, direct contact, and the ministry of the Holy Spirit all that is necessary for saving faith and holy living, telling man that which he cannot know from nature alone. Jn. 16:13; Rom. 16:26; 2 Tim. 3:15, 17; Dan. 7:1; Rev. 4:2; Ex. 24:4; Matt. 16:17

2.a. I believe the Bible is inspired only in the words of the original autographs of the writers, written in their original languages (Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek). This is a necessary assertion in light of the absence of these original texts, the slight divergence among copies of the texts due to scribal errors in transmission (Rev. 22:21), and the translation of the text into unparallel languages (Jn. 21:15-17).

2.b. I believe the Bible is the divinely inspired writing of human authors who, as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit, wrote through the grid of their own personalities under the direct supervision of God. This calls for a dual authorship of both God and men. (2 Pet. 1:21; Rom. 9:1-3; Ps. 77:3-9; 2 Tim. 3:16)

2.c. I believe the Bible is inspired in its totality, being fully truth (inerrant) in every way, in the original autographs, and therefore it is fully reliable. We must be able to rely on the historical accuracy of the Bible because our faith is based on historical events (i.e., Christ’s death and resurrection). Divergence between historical accounts found in two or more places should be thought of as “difficulties” which can ultimately be harmonized. (2 Tim. 3:16; Jn. 17:17, Matt. 4:1-11; Ps. 119:138; Rev. 22:6)

2.d. I believe the Bible is verbally inspired, that every word of the original autographs is the Word of God. This affirmation stems from the necessity of every word (even every letter) to be accurate in order for the concepts those words develop to be accurate. (1 Cor. 2:13; Matt. 22:31-32; Gal. 3:16)

3. I believe the Bible is exclusively the Canon of the 66 books composing the Old and New Testaments, which have been acknowledged by the Jewish people and by the Church at the Council of Carthage, under the supervision of God, to be His inspired Word. (Rev. 22:18, 19)

4. I believe the Bible can only be fully understood with the assistance of the Holy Spirit, who works to bring the unbeliever to an understanding of Scripture in order to convict him and the believer in order to teach him. The authors of Scripture must be thought of as a better authority than we are, especially the divine Author who alone can unveil the interpretation of Scripture. (1 Cor. 2:12, 14; Gen. 40:8)

5. I believe in the eternality of the Bible, which has been established as the complete revelation of God and His laws and ways for all eternity. The eternal nature of the Bible affirms its divine authorship, infallibility, and present relevance. (Isa. 40:8; Matt. 24:35)