THE SCRIPTURES
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We believe them to be a revelation from God given through men chosen by Himself, and superintended by the
Holy Spirit in such a way as to preclude all human error.
We believe the Scriptures to be the one and only authority for the Christian in matters of faith and practice.
We accept them unreservedly as the Word of God.
2.
SCRIPTURAL GROUNDS.
`All Scripture is given by inspiration of God' (2 Tim. 3:16).
` ... No prophecy of the Scripture is of any private interpretation. For the prophecy came not in old time by the
will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost' (2 Peter 1:20,21).
`Wherefore as the Holy Ghost saith, To day if ye will hear His voice, harden not your hearts' (Heb. 3:7,8).
` ... This Scripture must needs have been fulfilled, which the Holy Ghost by the mouth of David spake' (Acts
1:16).
` ... All things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the Prophets, and in the Psalms,
concerning Me' (Luke 24:44).
Moses `received the lively (living) oracles to give (them) unto us' (Acts 7:38).
`Behold, I have put My words in thy mouth' (Jer. 1:9).
` ... Son of man ... go ... speak unto them, and tell them, Thus saith the Lord GOD' (Ezek. 3:10,11).
`The Spirit of the LORD spake by me, and His word was in my tongue' (2 Sam. 23:2).
3.
AN EXAMINATION OF SOME OF THESE SCRIPTURES, AND A REASON FOR THE HOPE WITHIN US.
While it might be conceded that the doctrine of the Person and work of Christ, or the essentials of the gospel, are
of greater importance to us as sinners needing salvation than the question of the inspiration of Scripture,
nevertheless, it is true that we can only know Christ as He is revealed in the Scriptures, and the gospel as preached
by Paul and the apostles from the same writings.
See 1 Corinthians 15:1-4 for Paul's attitude:
`The gospel ... Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures ... He rose again the third day according to the
Scriptures'.
See 1 Peter 1:25 for Peter's attitude:
`The Word of the Lord endureth for ever. And this is the Word which by the gospel is preached unto you'.
These testimonies of the two great apostles - the apostle of the Gentiles and the apostle of the Circumcision -
are of great weight, but there is a still higher authority - the testimony of Him Who is Lord of all.
THE TESTIMONY OF THE LORD JESUS CHRIST
It is both scriptural truth and common sense that the servant is not above his Lord. Every Christian who owns
Christ as Saviour and Lord has no alternative but to believe what He says, and He has spoken explicitly as to the Old
Testament Scriptures.
`For had ye believed Moses, ye would have believed Me: for he wrote of Me. But if ye believe not his writings,
how shall ye believe My words?' (John 5:46,47).
How can we answer that question? Can we call Him Lord and Saviour, Prophet, Priest and King, Vanquisher of
Death, Deliverer from Sin, and say, too, that He was mistaken about the law of Moses? The Lord met His first great
temptation with three quotations from the book of Deuteronomy (Matt. 4:4,7,10). Throughout His ministry He
quoted as authoritative, Law, Prophet and Psalm. Even in His dying hour He placed the fulfilment of prophetic
Scripture in the very foremost place (John 19:28). And as the Risen One, when all possible limitation was for ever
gone, He accepted the complete canon of the Old Testament, saying: