THE BAPTIST FAITH AND MESSAGE, Article One

The Scriptures

“The Holy Bible was written by men divinely inspired and is God's revelation of Himself to man. It is a perfect treasure of divine instruction. It has God for its author, salvation for its end, and truth, without any mixture of error, for its matter. Therefore, all Scripture is totally true and trustworthy. It reveals the principles by which God judges us, and therefore is, and will remain to the end of the world, the true center of Christian union, and the supreme standard by which all human conduct, creeds, and religious opinions should be tried. All Scripture is a testimony to Christ, who is Himself the focus of divine revelation.” (Baptist Faith and Message, 2000)

Exodus 24:4; Deuteronomy 4:1-2; 17:19; Joshua 8:34; Psalms 19:7-10; 119:11,89,105,140; Isaiah 34:16; 40:8; Jeremiah 15:16; 36:1-32; Matthew 5:17-18; 22:29; Luke 21:33; 24:44-46; John 5:39; 16:13-15; 17:17; Acts 2:16ff.; 17:11; Romans 15:4; 16:25-26; 2 Timothy 3:15-17; Hebrews 1:1-2; 4:12; 1 Peter 1:25; 2 Peter 1:19-21.

How do we know what we say we know is so? How can we be sure that what we believe is correct?

The God of truth has revealed Himself in a Book—a Book unlike any other—the Holy Bible. It is “holy” for God is holy and He is its source. The word, “holy” means to be “set apart” and clearly this Book is set apart from any other. While there are other religious writings that claim to be “holy” none bear up under scrutiny, and no book has ever been scrutinized like the Bible. Yet, though constantly under attack by skeptics, it still towers today above every other writing.

We do not deny that men wrote it. Many authors wrote it. It is actually a compilation of many books—a Divine Library, if you will. Over thousands of years, in many different places, with authors of vastly different backgrounds and circumstances, these books have been written and yet all contain a central message—a scarlet thread of redemption that binds them together. No human being or council of church leaders could bring about such a harmony of content; it was orchestrated by God—“divinely inspired.” This does not mean that God mechanically dictated the message to the writers (though there are some places in the Bible where God did instruct them to write a particular message), but it means that the Spirit of God moved in the hearts of the writers in such a way that what they wrote was not the word of men, but the Word of God.

While the Bible is accurate in every realm it touches upon—history, science, archeology, botany, etc., it is not a book of history, or science, but the revelation of God. It is God’s way of showing us Himself and His wonderful plan of salvation. The sacred history it contains is selective history—bypassing over some of what men would think are most significant events and focusing on what really matters—God’s self-disclosure in history.

It is a perfect treasure—an unerring guide to lead us to God. While there may be passages that are difficult to understand and some readers might point to apparent contradictions, we may be sure that there are answers to those questions and that the problems lie not in the Book, but with us. I find that what really bothers me are not the parts I don’t understand, but the parts that I do—to measure up to them and live by them—that’s the hard part!

We do not sit in judgment on the Bible. It sits in judgment on us.

Jesus said this,
“And if anyone hears My words and does not believe, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world but to save the world. He who rejects Me, and does not receive My words, has that which judges him— the word that I have spoken will judge him in the last day.” (John 12:47-48 NKJV)