State Faith Pg 1

We believe in the Holy Scriptures, accepting fully the writing of the Old and New Testament, the sixty-six canonical (John 16:13) books of the Protestant Bible, as the very Word of God, verbally inspired in all parts and therefore without error as originally given of God, altogether sufficient in themselves as our only infallible rule and absolute authority of faith and practice.

The term inspired means, more precisely God-breathed (2 Timothy 3:16). The breath of God in the Bible is a symbol of His almighty creative word (Genesis 2:7; Psalms 33:6), therefore, the Scriptures are the direct product of the activity of God. God provided this written revelation through human instruments, who were "borne along" or "moved" by His Spirit (2 Peter 1:21, Acts 27:15). While bearing the stylistic marks of their various human authors, the words were so influenced and controlled by God that the selected men would choose the right material and record it with infallible accuracy. Thus, the very words (Galatians 3:19) of the Bible are inerrant and authoritative.

We believe the best translation of the original Scriptures is the Authorized Version and use it throughout this school. In the hundreds of years since the AV was produced some English words have either lost or changed their meanings. Recognizing this, we have substituted a more modern word which maintains the definition intended by the AV translators. When we do this we base it upon a literal translation of the Greek or Hebrew and note it for the reader. We do this rarely, but occasionally it is demanded [for example: Spirit replaces Ghost, for the Holy Spirit].

We do not reject the idea of a modern translation, for the AV version was designed to put the Word of God into the language of the people, rather than an elite group of people. Men have died for the AV in order to accomplish this purpose. Our problem is that we are not satisfied with the many modern translations. This dissatisfaction is owing to the use of paraphrases instead of literal words, wrong choice of manuscript for a particular phrase, or avoidance of doctrinal teaching. It is our hope that a more linguistically updated translation would become available, but until that time we will use the AV publicly and consult other translations for our personal understanding and study.

Illumination by contrast is the work of God in enabling man to understand God’s Word. It is (1) common to all Christians; (2) subject to degrees; (3) always continuous to some extent. It is the work of the Holy Spirit to guide us into all truth (John 16:13,14; 1 Cor. 2:12-16; 2 Cor. 4:1-7).

We believe that the Godhead eternally exists in three Persons, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit (Ghost - AV) (Genesis 1:1, 26; Isa. 6:8; Psalms 45:6,7), these three are ONE Triune God working in perfect unity of thought and will (John 10:30; 1 Cor. 2:11; Romans 8:9; John 14:16, 18, 23), Who is personal, spirit, sovereign (Mark 12:29, John 4:24; 14:9; Psalms 135:6); perfect, holy (Isa. 6), infinite, and eternal in His being, holiness, love, wisdom, and power (Psalm 18:30, 147:5; Deut. 33:27); absolutely separate and above the world as its Creator; yet everywhere present in the world as Upholder of all things (Gen. 1:1; Psalms 104); self-existent and self-revealing (Romans 1:20) in three distinct Persons – the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit (John 5:26; Matt. 28:19; 2 Cor. 13:14), each of Whom is to be honored and worshipped equally as true God (John 5:23; Acts 5:3,4). Although the three Persons of the Godhead possess the same attributes and nature, the Son and the Holy Spirit sometimes assume sub-ordinate positions (John 16:14) and roles in carrying out the plans of the Godhead with respect to mankind (John 5:37, 15:26; 1 Cor. 8:6; Eph. 2:18).

God reveals Himself to men in various ways, including nature (Romans 1:19,20), the written word (2 Timothy 3:16), and the living Word, Jesus Christ (John 1:18; Heb. 1:2). During the present age, the written revelation is primary. Revelation through nature involves only God’s power and transcendence, and is misinterpreted by sinful men. At this time, the living Word, being in heaven, is known only through the words of Scripture (Romans 10:17; 2 Cor. 4:1-7).

Any extra-biblical revelation in terms of dreams, angelic revelations, codes, etc., are not part of God’s method of speaking to men today and as such must be rejected based upon the criteria of Galatians 1:6-9.