As Christians, we believe that the Bible is the Word of God and it must be read and understood as such. Here are 10 things that Christians believe about the Bible:
- All Scripture is inspired. The origin of Scripture is God. He used ordinary people to write the words of Scripture in their own style, but through the Holy Spirit, God inspired them to say exactly what He wanted to say to humanity.
- Scripture is inerrant. Everything in the Bible is true. The Bible is the Word of God and reflects His nature and character. God is truth and in Him there is no lie. Because Scripture is exactly what God wanted to say to humanity, everything in it is both true and trustworthy. Bible passages that teach inspiration also teach inerrancy (see 2 Peter 1:16-21; 2:1; John 10:35; Matthew 5:17-18).
- Scripture is authoritative for believers. If a Christian disobeys the teachings of Scripture, that person is also disobeying God. If a person does not believe a teaching of Scripture, that person is choosing not to believe what God says in His Word.
- The Bible is necessary. The Bible is not necessary for knowing that God exists, but it is necessary for knowing the Gospel. The Bible reveals to us all we need to know about creation, its fall, and redemption. It tells us about the God we serve. It reveals the plan of Christ to rescue creation from the effects of sin. The Bible tells us how to believe in God, how to obey Him, and how to live the Christian life.
- The Bible is sufficient. The Bible tells humanity all it needs to know about salvation, about trusting God, and about obeying God. We cannot require people to believe anything about God, salvation, faith or the Christian life that is not based in Scripture.
- The Bible is complete and no other books should be added to it. The books of the Old Testament match the collected books that the Jews recognised as Scripture during the time that Christ lived. He did not remove any books or add any books to the Old Testament. Since His time, the Jews have also refrained from adding any new books or removing any books from the text. The books of the New Testament were all written by Apostles or someone who worked closely with an Apostle. The first pastors and leaders of the church saw a difference between the books of the New Testament and other books written by Christians in the same time period. They only accepted as inspired those that we have in the Bible today.
- Christians can depend on Scripture. Do you know many things in the Bible have been proven accurate through archaeology? Some things have been attested by ancient documents from other people groups as well. To date, nothing in the Bible has been proven false, though some things must be believed by faith.
- The Bible is unique as a religious book. It teaches about the corruption of man. It reveals the strengths and weaknesses of its characters, instead of focusing only on their positive traits. It shows humanity to be incapable of saving itself. It teaches that works do not lead to salvation, but rather salvation is only found in faith. It teaches salvation by grace and not by works.
- The Word of God convicts readers of its truths. As people read the Bible, the Holy Spirit convicts their hearts of the truthfulness of the Gospel message. He shows us the reality of our sin, and He reveals to us that we need to repent and come to a right standing with God.
- The Bible has been preserved for over 2,000 years, and parts of the Old Testament even longer. The Bible has been copied thousands of times. It has been translated into numerous languages. People have died for owning copies of the book. The copies that exist today remain accurate to the texts from long ago. The words were carefully preserved. God has protected His message for humanity over time just as He continues to use His word to draw people to a saving faith in Jesus Christ today.
