1. The Holy Bible is the written Word of God. That is, it contains the very voice of God. It is the most primitive and ancient form of worshiping God. The local church ought to proclaim the divine supremacy and universal centrality of the holy Word of God. The Roman Catholic understanding of the Bible is that it is subordinate to the Church of Rome. That is, she has greater authority over the Bible to tell others what she thinks its biblical meaning is for a given text of the sacred Word. The Reformed view is that the Bible is supreme and it has divine authority over the local church. That is, the local church is universally subordinate to the written Scriptures because only it is "God-breathed." The Bible was written by fallible and holy men of God but the holy Scriptures are infallible because of the Spirit of God's inspiration, inerrantness and authoritativeness. That is, the Holy Spirit divinely super-intended the written Scriptures. We teach the supremacy of God's grace alone. We also teach the centrality of Christ alone and the Word alone. The written Word preached is the most perfect form of worship toward God because of its radical, divine and providential message by the Spirit's orchestration. The Word is never ineffective. That is, it always produces a desired result in the growth and knowledge of God in His super-abounding grace. The Scriptures are not a human invention. Rather the Scriptures are God's words to a lost world. That is, the written Word is a absolute love letter of God about the profound and eternal love of God the Son. He not only died for His people through a most agonizing torment and agony but He cared so much for us that He spiritually earned salvation in our behalf by living a life of perfect holiness, righteousness, uprightness and devotion. Such cannot be understood by sinful, corrupt and depraved minds of the sinful flesh! The Word of God changes the heart and mind but it also convicts us of sin by God's Spirit. We ought to pray for the presence of God's Spirit because He is the power over the flesh through us only by adherence to the Word proclaimed. The Word of God written is universally center to proclaiming the Gospel of God. It conquers the world's philosophies and opinions. It does not conform to man-made religion. The written Word of God is not about ritualistic ceremonies that are lifeless. Rather the written Scriptures are about a personal encounter with God's dear Son Jesus Christ! We ought to have a personal commitment to reading and studying the written Word of God. We also ought to have a personal relationship with God's eternally and only begotten Son Jesus Christ! The written Word will never fail and the eternal Son of God will never fail. The holy Scriptures are "living and active" and produces in us godly motivations. It produces in us a holy mindset through the outworking of God's Spirit. The Spirit applies the Word to our hearts. It is only by the grace of God through the Holy Spirit that the written Word of God will change the hearts and minds of the sons and daughters of Adam. The Word of God is about the power of God. This Word will guide and direct the local church as a certain divine instrument to spiritual success and it will transform the hearts of sinners. The Spirit of God does not work apart from the written Word. The Spirit always accompanies the Word preached. Many local churches have rejected the biblical exposition of God's Word. I suggest to you that it is not the Bible's fault regarding the sin of man-made interpretations of the written Word. Rather the spiritual fault of "diverse" interpretations is because of the wages of sin.
2. The local church is the holy slave of the divine Word. The local church is not above the Scriptures. Rather the Scriptures are above the local church. If the local church was above the Scriptures, it could liberally decide its interpretation. However, the Scriptures are above the local church because the local church is not described as "God-speaking." Rather the written Scriptures are proclaimed in itself as the very words of God. If you want to hear God speaking, take up and read like Augustine did! In the Scriptures are the treasures of treasures, and the riches of riches through the exclusive exaltation of the Son's divine righteousness and the call to faith and repentance. The Scriptures stand on the Spirit of God as its divine source. We understand what the function of the local church is because of the Word of God. We understand from the written Word that authentic preaching is the centrality and supremacy of worship. The Bible calls us to love God with our minds and we ought to be transformed by the renewing of our minds and conformed to the very spiritual image of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! We must be gathered together around the written Word as the people of God. The Spirit of God works in the minds and hearts of the people of God through the proclamation of the Word of God. We ought to be committed to the Word of God in spite and contradiction to fleshly, corrupt and polluted teachings.
This blog web site is for the in-depth, sound and basic exegetical study of the Bible in Reformed apologetics; that is, I shall expound upon the inerrant and infallible Word of God, the Holy Scriptures. There shall be biblical studies in world religions and non-Christian cults. I also quote and research reformed writers and I am happy to study from them. May the Lord bless everyone who reads this blog with spiritual riches in Christ which is His imputed merit by faith alone.
