When it comes to explaining what we believe on any subject, we
are constrained to point inquirers to the Bible. Whether the
subject is the church, the Bible, God, Jesus Christ, salvation,
morality, or any other subject, we must let the written word of
God speak for itself. There is no other statement of doctrine
or creed in which we have confidence.
The only way we can know truth in the realm of religious matters
is by believing and understanding the Bible. No church
traditions or authorities can be trusted to deliver truth. The
Bible is the only objective, reliable source of truth in
Christianity. Regarding the authority of the Bible as the
source of truth, II Timothy 3:16-17 says, "All
Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking,
correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God
may be thoroughly equipped for every good work." No other
source of religious teaching can credibly make such a claim.
Our primary statement of faith is this: "We believe that Jesus
Christ is Lord." There is only one original source of
information about him. Jesus himself said, "The Scriptures
testify about me." (John 5:39) No one can believe in Jesus
without the knowledge of Him we get from the Bible. Jesus
himself had confidence in Scripture. He said, "The Scripture
cannot be broken." (John 10:35) One cannot legitimately
separate faith in Jesus from reliance upon Scripture and
confidence in its truth.
Jesus said, "You will know the truth, and the
truth will set you free." (John 8:32). As
Christians, what we want to believe is the truth. Not all religious teaching is truth. Even honorable, intelligent,
well-intentioned people can believe and teach things that are
not true. Jesus Christ brought truth, taught truth, and
promised that we can know truth. We aspire to believe and teach
the truth about God and our relationship with him.
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