What We Believe

The Bible Is Our Rule of Faith

The Church of God movement has maintained a sure belief that the Bible is the inspired Word of God. As noted preacher Raymond Jackson used to say, “I may jump all over the Bible, but I will not jump out of it.” We believe the Bible is the foundation for instruction in the Christian faith. Paul said, “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness” (2 Timothy 3:16, niv).

The Bible is a moving chronicle. It tells the story of Jesus—”the greatest story ever told.” It tells of men and women who found life at its highest and also experienced life at its most dreadful depths—persons such as Jonah, Job, Esther, Joseph, Moses, Ruth, and Matthew.

The stories and teachings of the Bible are not to be creedalized. We would not abbreviate the Bible and its teachings into a sixteen-sentence statement or expand it to a five-volume index of faith. We do appreciate short statements that are affirmations by a group or an individual. We can never suggest, however, that those statements adequately summarize the Bible. Nor are such statements wisely used as a basis to determine orthodoxy or membership in the church. Though we are tempted to make the Bible a list, a prescription, or a proposition, we remind ourselves that it is instead the Book of Life that vibrates with the stories of real persons and the living God.

There is probably only one major rule for the use of the Bible: Read it! We honor the Bible by accepting the fact that Christ is Savior and by worshiping him as Lord of life. He is the Living Word to whom the Bible, the written Word, witnesses (John 1:1–18). As Barry L. Callen has written, the Bible is for us:

Equated with the viewpoint of God. Thus for us the Bible must be accepted as a sure guide for the enlightenment of our faith and for the ordering of our steps. When God speaks, all else must fall silent so that we can listen with our lives!

Church of God congregations have sung with great conviction:

Praise God for His grace
which its pages unfold!
For the story of love
which will never grow old!
For the light on life’s pathway
which streams from its pages!
Praise God for His Word,
blessed Book of the Ages!

Information on this page is excerpted from Oral and Laura Withrow’s publication, Meet Us at the Cross (Anderson, IN: Warner Press, 1999), 5–17. Should you want additional information about what the church believes, contact the pastor or visit the website of the Church of God Ministries.