Bible

The Bible is a collection of books written by people
who were uniquely inspired by the Holy Spirit to write
exactly what God wanted them to write. We recognize
66 books as sacred Scripure: 39 books of the Old
Testament, and 27 books of the New Testament. The
original text of the Bible (written in Hebrew, Aramaic,
and Greek) consists of the very words from God, and
is thus the infallible standard by which all other claims
of divine truth are to be measured.

The Bible's basic message can be summed up as
follows:

(1) God, the Creator of all things, loves us.

(2) We have rebelled against God. Our rebellion has
resulted in our spiritual ruin. We are unable to restore
ourselves or to repay our moral debt to God.

(3) Through Jesus Christ, God has provided the way
for us to be forgiven and spiritually made new.

The Old Testament tells us that God created all things.
It tells how people lost perfect fellowship with God and
fell into sinfulness. It records the commandments God
gave to Him chosen nation of Israel, and includes the
teachings of the prophets who called people to give up
their sins, commit themselves to God, pursue justice
and mercy, and be a light to the other nations.

The New Testament tells abut the coming of Jesus
Christ and about the beginning of the Christian church.
It describes Jesus' teachings, ministry, death,
resurrection, and ascension. It also shows how the
followers of Jesus invited people to make peace with
God: not by attempting to bribe God, but by repenting
and relying on the sacrifice of Jesus Christ as the
sufficient payment for sins. The Bible teaches that
salvation is not achieved by righteous works that we
have done, but through the grace of God. The New
Testament also contains instructions about how
Christians should love God, love one another, love
their neighbors, and love their enemies, looking
forward to the day when Christ will return.