The Bible

The history of the nation of Israel and the church has demonstrated that the Bible contains both a core of essential orthodoxy (including the simple invitation to salvation and apprenticeship to Christ), as well as a veritable storehouse of wisdom, insight, beauty, and life-giving truths; the depths of which, after several millennia, the community of the redeemed are still trying to plumb.  God invites us to not just read, interpret, believe and obey His word, but to meditate on, delight in, and savor it.  He invites us to meet Him in a powerful and transformative way as His Spirit brings His Words into our souls.  As we explore together this staggering ocean of God’s revelation, we come to love it, and to experience His love, truth and mercy for us, in deeper and more meaningful ways. The Bible reveals to us: who God is, what His love is like, who we are, and how we are to relate to Him, one another, and the creation and life He has entrusted to us as humans (Gen. 1:27-2:3, Psalm 8, Rev. 21:1-7; 22:1-5).

I believe the 66 books of the Old and New Testaments are the inspired, authoritative Word of God and they are without error in all they teach. They were inspired by the Holy Spirit as He moved through human authors who wrote using their own language and style, and in various literary forms (2 Tim 3:16, 2 Peter 1:19-21). These books were affirmed by Christ and the apostles, and recognized by the community of the redeemed as God’s special revelation to humankind.  When properly interpreted, the Bible serves as our guide for all matters of truth, faith and life. I believe that the Bible should be interpreted according the literal, grammatical, contextual and historical method; and understood and applied with the guidance of the Holy Spirit through the discernment of the community of believers (Acts 15:1-29).  Through the Bible and the Gospel message contained within, we are invited to understand and experience what it means to be loved by God and transformed by His grace (Acts 20:32). I believe that the invitation to salvation and apprenticeship to Christ, and the steps to respond to that invitation are clearly apparent and easily understood from the Bible (“from infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus,” 2 Tim 3:14).  This tension of simplicity and complexity within this one collection of works, the power of its message,  further demonstrates and reveals its divine authorship.