The Scriptures

The Holy Scriptures

Apostolic Teaching

The Gospel Witnesses of Our Lord

In the sermon on the mount, Christ teaches the enduring relevance, validity, and authority of the Mosaic writings of the Law and of the other prophets of God in Israel and Judah, since they come from God above.

{17}Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill. {18}For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled. {19}Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. (Matthew 5:17-19 NKJV)

Jesus defends His statement, “I and the Father are one,” and along the way He, after rightly interpreting Psalm 82:6, affirms that the Word of God cannot be broken, loosed, or destroyed:

{33}The Jews answered Him, saying, “For a good work we do not stone You, but for blasphemy, and because You, being a Man, make Yourself God.” {34}Jesus answered them, “Is it not written in your law, ‘I said, “You are gods”’? {35}If He called them gods, to whom the word of God came (and the Scripture cannot be broken), {36}do you say of Him whom the Father sanctified and sent into the world, ‘You are blaspheming,’ because I said, ‘I am the Son of God’? {37}If I do not do the works of My Father, do not believe Me; {38}but if I do, though you do not believe Me, believe the works, that you may know and believe that the Father is in Me, and I in Him.” (John 10:33-38)

In the controversy with the Jewish leaders, Christ condemns the use of human traditions that undermine or contradict the Word of God.

{1}Then the Pharisees and some of the scribes came together to Him, having come from Jerusalem. {2}Now when they saw some of His disciples eat bread with defiled, that is, with unwashed hands, they found fault. {3}For the Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they wash their hands in a special way, holding the tradition of the elders. {4}When they come from the marketplace, they do not eat unless they wash. And there are many other things which they have received and hold, like the washing of cups, pitchers, copper vessels, and couches. {5}Then the Pharisees and scribes asked Him, “Why do Your disciples not walk according to the tradition of the elders, but eat bread with unwashed hands?” {6}He answered and said to them, “Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written: ‘This people honors Me with their lips, But their heart is far from Me. {7}And in vain they worship Me, Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’ {8}For laying aside the commandment of God, you hold the tradition of men—the washing of pitchers and cups, and many other such things you do.” {9}He said to them, "All too well you reject the commandment of God, that you may keep your tradition. {10}For Moses said, ‘Honor your father and your mother’; and, ‘He who curses father or mother, let him be put to death.’ {11}But you say, ‘If a man says to his father or mother, “Whatever profit you might have received from me is Corban”—’ (that is, a gift to God), {12}then you no longer let him do anything for his father or his mother, {13}making the word of God of no effect through your tradition which you have handed down. And many such things you do." (Mark 7:1-13 NKJV)

As Jesus is the great Prophet whose coming Moses foretold (Deuteronomy 18:15-19), and as His Word finds its source in God like no other since He is the Son of God (Hebrews 1:1-4), Jesus upholds the truthfulness and authority of Scripture in all that He does and teaches. Indeed, He would have been no true Prophet of God if He had not upheld it high as a true prophet should.

Nevertheless, this high view of Scripture as the Word of God is testified to by all other faithful prophets as well:

{8}“For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways,” says the LORD. {9}“For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways, And My thoughts than your thoughts. {10}For as the rain comes down, and the snow from heaven, And do not return there, But water the earth, And make it bring forth and bud, That it may give seed to the sower And bread to the eater, {11}So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me void, But it shall accomplish what I please, And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it. (Isaiah 55:8-11 NKJV)

{105}Your word is a lamp to my feet And a light to my path. (Psalm 119:105 NKJV)

{1}Blessed is the man Who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, Nor stands in the path of sinners, Nor sits in the seat of the scornful; {2}But his delight is in the law (torah - instruction) of the LORD, And in His law (torah - instruction) he meditates day and night. {3}He shall be like a tree Planted by the rivers of water, That brings forth its fruit in its season, Whose leaf also shall not wither; And whatever he does shall prosper. {4}The ungodly are not so, But are like the chaff which the wind drives away. {5}Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, Nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous. {6}For the LORD knows the way of the righteous, But the way of the ungodly shall perish. (Psalm 1:1-6 NKJV adapted)

{6}And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. {7}You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. {8}You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. {9}You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates. (Deuteronomy 6:6-9 NKJV)

{24}So it was, when Moses had completed writing the words of this law (torah) in a book, when they were finished, {25}that Moses commanded the Levites, who bore the ark of the covenant of the LORD, saying: {26}“Take this Book of the Law (Heb. לָקֹחַ אֵת סֵפֶר הַתּוֹרָה הַזֶּה), and put it beside the ark of the covenant of the LORD your God, that it may be there as a witness against you; {27}for I know your rebellion and your stiff neck. If today, while I am yet alive with you, you have been rebellious against the LORD, then how much more after my death?” (Deuteronomy 31:24-27 NKJV adapted)

The Apostles

Paul exhorts Timothy to remain firm in his usage of and trust in the Word of God, the Holy Scriptures, which the apostle boldly confesses are indeed θεόπνευστος (“God-breathed” or “given by inspiration of God”) and are profitable for teaching, for warning, and for ethics. And without these sacred writings (τὰ ἱερὰ γράμματα) we will be unequipped for the good works to which God is calling us.

{14}But you must continue in the things which you have learned and been assured of, knowing from whom you have learned them, {15}and that from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. {16}All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, {17}that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work. (2 Timothy 3:14-17 NKJV)

Moreover, in the Epistle to the Hebrews, after making a careful argument from various texts of Holy Scripture, proving that a promised rest from God continues to exist, and after calling us Christians to endure in faith in keeping with that Divine promise—a promise now made sure in Christ—the author of Hebrews says this about that powerful Word of God:

{12}For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. (Hebrews 4:14 NKJV)

Our Bold Confession Today

Living together in dependence on the Holy Spirit and in the unity given by that same Holy Spirit, we hold firmly to the doctrine of Sola Scriptura. And so, in this bold reliance on Holy Scripture inspired by that Holy Spirit of God, it is important that we define carefully the scope and proper understanding of what constitutes those holy writings, a.k.a, the Bible.

United with Christians in all times and places, therefore, we include within this corpus of divinely-authored works all the prophetic and apostolic writings (Old and New Testament scriptures) that were inspired by the Holy Spirit and have faithfully been preserved by the same Holy Spirit in the church to this very day.

Distinct and rejected from this corpus of divinely-authored works are those writings which have not been received universally by the church of Jesus Christ on earth (e.g., the Apocrypha and other deuterocanonical works).

Canonical Writings

These include all the traditionally received writings of the Old Testament (39 works) and of the New Testament (27 works), and so we regard these writings as originally inspired (God-breathed) by the Holy Spirit through their human authors as the actual Word of God, which is inerrant, infallible, eternal, and of Divine origin (in their original form) and thus should not be treated as the word of man.

Transmissional History of Holy Scriptures

Copies of these works (in their original language as well as in translations such as the Greek Old Testament, the latter of which was regarded by the apostles as Scripture) throughout history have been faithfully transmitted from generation to generation in the church through God’s providential care in accord with Jesus’ promise that He will build His church, and that the gates of hell will not prevail against it (Matthew 16), for it is clear that God’s people cannot live without God’s Word in their midst, as Jesus taught: “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God” (Matthew 4:4b).

Even when certain scholars set forth theories about the textual history of Scriptures that may in fact undermine that truth in the minds of some, we remain settled in our faith in God’s hand at work to preserve His Word among us, assured as we are in Jesus’ teaching and promise.

Versions, Commentaries, and Other Derived Works

Translations and other forms of interpretation or commentary on Holy Scripture, while potentially helpful resources for those who want to understand those Scriptures in a precise or academic way, are not always of the same quality. Books, articles, statements of faith, sermons, Bible studies, and other devotional literature pertaining to the Holy Scriptures vary in terms of their faithfulness to the original writings, the latter of which are properly and rightly understood to be θεόπνευστος (“God-breathed” or “given by inspiration of God”) or Holy Scripture.

Some of these works, whether for academic, homiletical, catechetical, or devotional purposes, as works derived from and created with the intention of rightly explaining and applying Holy Scripture are actually of very high quality. Others may be of poorer quality for a variety of reasons (see below), a fact that suggests how important it is that Christians ask God for help to understand His Word and seek the truth diligently, especially from faithful pastors and teachers of the Word, whom Christ has given to the church for this very purpose.

Such vetted men, who are trained and certified by other faithful ministers of the church in accord with Paul’s instruction to Timothy (see above in 2 Tim. 2:1f) are then set apart for this task (ordination) and willingly submit themselves to the guidance and scrutiny of the Holy Spirit in His calling to serve in a particular parish (installation). As servants of the Word, they serve Christ by following and proclaiming the Word of God to His people in accord with and under the standard of a faithful confession of that Word, which means that they must agree with that confessional standard and hold it to be a faithful and true explanation of Holy Scripture.

Our Prayerful Use of Derived Works

As we seek God’s help in the pursuit of understanding His Word, we cry out to Him for wisdom from above. And we do that knowing that God promises that He will not reprove His children when they ask for wisdom from His Word.

For example, we see Paul praying for this very thing on behalf of the Ephesians:

God’s Word is sufficient to lead us into the truth with the help of the Holy Spirit, but there are factors that lead to our own misunderstanding of His Word at times. Some of these factors include arrogance or personal unbelief, higher-critical theories that would destroy our trust in God’s Word, attachment to heterodox doctrines or to heterodox teachers/churches, inaccurate or misleading translations or other well-meaning translation-committee blunders, etc.

Thankfully God the Holy Spirit does not leave His people to their own devices to overcome these challenges. So while we believe in the importance of formal and proper education of ministers of the Word through higher education and seminary training, requiring our future pastors to receive this intensely academic and spiritual formation that seminary can provide, we do not think that seminary alone will safeguard their preparation to serve in congregations. We depend first and foremost on the Holy Spirit to keep us in the one true faith, as He most faithfully does in every generation.

Moreover, the Holy Spirit is at work to preserve His Word despite the contant onslaught of the devil and all who want to malign, twist, misrepresent, disparage, or dismiss that Word in our day. But whenever those who resist God and His Word bring to God’s people hardship, trial, or suffering, we do not lose heart. We recall the words of our Lord: “These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33 NKJV)

Other (non-canonical) Works

While other works can be useful for instruction and may provide some degree of spiritual enrichment, we reject the use of other writings or traditions of men to establish Christian doctrine or religious practices with the same authority as Scripture. For more on this, see Sola Scriptura. This is most clearly the case when those other writings stand in direct contradiction to the pure Word of God or when those other practices obscure the pure Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.

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