The Holy Bible

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We believe that though the Bible is comprised of the total canon of sixty-six books, which are complete in themselves, the Bible is one book that tells the human story. Even though the Bible was penned by some forty-four writers over more than sixteen centuries, the doctrines of the Bible are congruous. From Genesis to Revelation the Bible bears witness to one God. Wherever God speaks or acts He is always consistent with Himself, and with the entire revelation concerning Him. The Bible is a progressive disclosing of truth that forms one continuous story of God's dealing with the human race as it promotes the most unimaginable prophecies concerning the future, and then gives the record of their fulfillment at the appropriate time. The Bible presents only one way of approaching God, as all biblical history up to the Cross anticipates the incomparable act of God to bestow a way for sinners to come into His presence. From the beginning to the end the Bible has one preeminent central theme: the Person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ. It is this incarnation of Jesus Christ, His person as God revealed in the flesh (1 Tm 3:16), His sacrificial death on the Cross and His resurrection from the grave, that compose the Gospel (1 Cor 15:1-4). All of the preceding Scripture leads to this, and all of the following Scripture proceeds from this. This Gospel is preached in Acts and is explained in the Epistles. The topic of Christ, Son of God, Son of Man, Son of Abraham, Son of David thus binds the many works; as seed of Abraham, He is the benefactor of the world; as seed of David, He is Israel's King, "the desired of all nations" (Hg 2:7). Exalted to the right hand of God, He is Head overall to the Church, which is His body; while to Israel and the nations the promise of His return forms the one and only rational expectation that humanity will yet fulfill itself. Meanwhile the Church looks momentarily for the fulfillment of His special promise, "I will come back and take you to be with me" (Jn 14:3). It is to Him that the Holy Spirit throughout this Church Age bears testimony. The last book of all, the consummation book, is "the revelation of Jesus Christ" (Rv 1:1). The means of access to God (substitutionary death of a sacrifice) and the sole channel for obtaining that access (faith) are presented uniformly in Scripture, without a suggestion of any other possible way. God has not told us all there is to know about Himself and His purposes, but only what we need to know. With that said, the Bible offers the reader a lifetime of study opportunities as God illuminates His revelation to the human mind in parts over time since the Bible's depths can never be fully plumbed by any finite mind - there's always more to learn!