I Believe...

I believe God has graciously revealed Himself to humanity through general and special revelation so that mankind may know Him, love Him, and have life in relationship with Him.

General Revelation

I believe God has universally revealed Himself to all humanity through creation (Rom. 1:19-20, Ps. 19:1-3) and conscience (Rom. 2:14-15). Through this general revelation mankind can know something of God's existence, moral law (Rom. 2:14-15), and character, such as His creativity (Ps. 19:1, Eph. 2:10), care and compassion (Matt. 6:26, Acts 14:17), power (Rom. 1:20), wisdom (Ps. 104:24), and glory (Ps. 19:1) .
I believe that God has revealed Himself generally so that mankind may know Him in some sense and in response seek to know Him more fully (Acts 17:26-27). However, because mankind is pervasively depraved (Rom. 3:23, Eph. 2:1-3), he rejects the truth, is unable to appropriately respond to general revelation, and still stands under sin and condemnation (Rom. 1:18-20). Thus further action by God, namely special revelation, is needed for mankind to enter into relationship with Him.

Special Revelation

I believe that God has revealed Himself to many specifically with His own words, that the recipients may receive true, though not exhaustive (Deut. 29:29), knowledge of God and find salvation therein (Rom. 10:9-13,17, 1 Pet. 1:22-23). This is special revelation, in which God has graciously spoken to humanity through personal addresses and supernatural encounters (Exod. 3-4, Lk. 1:26-38) , the OT prophets and NT apostles (Ezek. 20:47, 1 Cor. 14:37), dreams and visions (Isa. 6, Ezek. 40-48), Holy Scripture (2. Tim. 3:16-17), and most clearly through Jesus, the exact Image of God (Heb. 1:3) and Living Word (Jn. 1:14). For the Christian, God-breathed Scripture is the means, Christ Jesus is the subject, and the Holy Spirit is the enabler of special revelation.

Holy Scripture

I believe that Scripture is the inspired Word of God. Inspiration is verbal, applying to every word of Scripture, and inspiration is plenary, applying to all of Scripture (2 Tim. 3:16-17). I believe God through the Holy Spirit prepared and guided men to write the words of Scripture, ensuring fully human personality, style, and speech and also the very voice of God in Scripture (2 Pet. 1:20-21, Gal. 6:11). Because Scripture is the voice of God (1 Cor. 14:37), and God is truth (Jn. 14:6) , Scripture is fully inerrant (Ps. 12:6). This means that the original manuscripts of Scripture are completely factual and without error in all they affirm as truth.
I believe that the 66 books of the Protestant Bible are all the Word of God (2 Pet. 3:15-16, Lk. 24:44-45). These books are sufficient in that they contain everything mankind needs for salvation and obedience to God (Jas. 1:18, 2 Tim. 3:16-17). Because the Bible is the Word of God, it is the only infallible authority for the believer (Matt. 15:3, 2 Tim. 3:16-17). Though sometimes difficult to understand (2 Pet. 3:15-16), the Bible is clear and can be sufficiently understood for faith and obedience by all who by God's grace and in humility seek to understand it (Ps. 19:7, Ps. 119:130). Through illumination, the Holy Spirit enables mankind to receive and comprehend the Word (Jn. 14:25-26). I believe Scripture is correctly understood when the authorial intent is the locus of study as mankind in community discerns the grammar, history, and context of the text so that it can be rightly comprehended, taught, and applied (Neh. 8:8).