Statement of Faith Article 2

We believe that God has spoken in the Scriptures, both Old and New Testaments, through the words of human authors. God, his work, and his ways are revealed through the Bible truly though surely not exhaustively. As the inspired Word of God, it is without error in the original writings, the complete revelation of his will for salvation, and the ultimate authority for what we believe and for how we live. Therefore, the Bible is to be believed in all that it teaches, obeyed in all that it requires, and trusted in all that it promises.

God's gospel is authoritatively announced in the Scriptures

The God we believe in (remember last week and Article 1) is not a part of creation, so he cannot be known unless he reveals himself to us. Therefore, in the opening scene of the Bible, we find God introducing himself to us—and one of the repeated characteristics about God is that he speaks. God's first act recorded in the Bible was a speech act: "God said, 'Let there be light,' and there was light" (Genesis 1:3). The Creator continues to speak through his creation, as "the heavens declare the glory of God; . . . Day after day they pour forth speech" (Psalm 19:1-2; cf. Romans 1:20).

God spoke to create, but from the beginning, God also spoke personally to communicate with those uniquely created in his image. He blessed the first human beings in the good world he had made, appointing them as his vice-regents to rule over his creation (Genesis 1:28-30). He commanded them not to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, and when they did, he spoke a word of judgment, casting them from the garden. From that point, God spoke most often through the prophets, his ordained "spokesmen."

Through the prophets God spoke words of judgment and grace to his people. Some of those words were preserved in writings ("Scriptures") that we now know as the Old Testament. Jesus personally regarded these words of Scripture as his Father's very own words (Matthew 26:52-54; Luke 24:25-27, 45-47; John 10:35-38). But in Jesus Christ that prophetic word took a new turn. The Word of God became flesh! God spoke in the most personal way possible—in the person of his Son dwelling among us.

God's gospel is the good news of his saving work in Jesus Christ. That message was entrusted to the apostles of Christ, and through them it has come to us in the Scriptures. We will seek to hear our Father's voice in his Word this weekend.

To His glory,

Dr. Greg Waybright
Senior Pastor