We believe in the full divine inspiration and inerrancy of the original manuscripts of the Holy Scriptures-Old and New Testaments, made up of sixty-six books that were written by holy men and by God. We accept them as the only sufficient and infallible rule of faith of God's revelation in His redemptive purpose and as the norm for our conduct here in the world. The infallible rule of interpretation of the Scriptures is the Scripture itself (Dt 4.2; Ps 119,112; Is 8:19,20; Dan 9.2; Acts 7:38; 2Tim 3.16; Heb 1.1; 2Pe 1.19-21; Ap 22.18,19).
Inspiration - 2 Timothy 3:16 All Scripture is inspired of God and useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for education in righteousness,
Inerrancy - This means that the bible does not contain errors.
Not just the entire bible but every word is inspired by God. That is, the Bible does not contain the word of God but the Bible is the word of God.
the original manuscripts of the Holy Scriptures-Old and New Testaments.
Here it is saying that we have nothing original from the Scriptures. No original documents have survived from Antiquity. That being the truth, how do we know we have the Word of God?
The Bible was inspired by God and was protected by God in its transmission. While the Old Testament was guarded and protected by the Jews during the millennia, the New Testament was guarded, protected and copied by the church.
In an arduous process, every word in every account, letter and book was hand copied in order to share this incredible book with many.
We see this in the following text Jeremiah 36:1-2,4. These verses once show that the word of God was written. Yet what happened to her later when this word was read to the King and his princes (21-24). The king did not mind the word and even burned it. But look at the answer from
God in verses 27-30. God not only preserved his word but sent punishment to King Jehoiakim.
We accept the sixty-six books from Genesis to Revelation. Forming the Old and New Testaments. We know that every book was written by men. But these men were moved by the Holy Spirit as described in 2 Peter 1:21
because never ever was any prophecy given by human will; however, men spoke from God, moved by the Holy Spirit.
The Bible is sufficient and infallible - Deut 4:6
"Biblical infallibility is the belief that what the Bible says, on matters of Christian faith and practice, is totally useful and true. It is the belief that the Bible is totally reliable as a guide to salvation and the life of faith and it will not fail to fulfill its purpose." Isaiah 55:11 So shall the word that come out of my mouth shall be: it shall not return to me empty, but shall do as I please, and shall prosper in what I have appointed it.
The Old Testament was written in Hebrew and a portion in Aramaic. The New Testament was written in Greek. Even today there are
5800 complete copies or fragments in Greek
10,000 copies in Latin
9,300 copies in various other languages such as Syriac, Slavic, Gothic, Gothic and Armenian.
The Bible is the most preserved book from antiquity that exists. We have so many copies, fragments and scrolls that there is no doubt about their authenticity.
The infallible rule of interpretation of Scripture is Scripture itself.
We interpret Scripture by understanding its literary forms and contexts - and by understanding these forms, the Scriptures are also our guide. The perfection and reliability of the Scriptures are so profound that by studying Them carefully, we know that we are reading the truth and learning how to understand it. Careful study and application does not require a seminary degree. Scripture itself is our best theology teacher to help us understand and apply it.
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