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Here we will touch on a few subjects that deal with how we approach the Bible with regards to understanding and applying its meaning. It would be important to clarify first that we do not think that a solely intellectual approach will lead us to a true understanding of the scripture. The Bible was written by men who were guided by the Holy Spirit. We must read the scripture prayerfully, asking the Holy Spirit to teach us. Indeed God's Spirit is the only one who can rightly enlighten us to the correct interpretation of a passage - not any formula or method devised by man. However, some guiding principles may prove useful, as we apply them in conjunction with prayer, to avoiding pitfalls of interpretation and also in explaining some of the thought processes involved in determining our doctrinal positions.
Another point to bring out immediately is our belief that the Bible is without contradiction or error. There have been attempts to point out factual or ideological contradictions, but these have all been resolved very satisfactorily by using very standard techniques of literary interpretation. A full discussion of this is beyond the scope of this web site. As far as historical accuracy is concerned: With any history book there is always an element of 'faith' when speaking of the truth of events which no one alive today has been witness to. Saying that the Bible is a wholly accurate account of the historical events of which it describes is also a matter of faith. It is worth noting that such faith is not "blind" or unsupported by evidence. The Bible itself contains clear indications of its supernatural origin - a necessary attribute for being a perfect historical record beginning at creation. The amazing consistency and epic scope of the message is one indication. Also, the Bible contains striking and true prophetic foretellings of many events that came to pass after the time of their writing. Only a supernatural author could have accomplished this. Also, it is interesting to note that there has never been a verified archeological find that contradicts the history presented by the Bible, but plenty that support it. The Bible itself claims to be absolute truth and it shows itself again and again to be worthy of such a claim.
When using a passage of the Bible to support a theological position, our goal will always be to read verses in the larger context in which they occur. This will mean looking at nearby verses, nearby chapters and indeed, the entire Bible. In fact, in order to prove and/or refine a proposed doctrinal statement, our ideal approach would be to sit down, read the entire Bible with pencil in hand and note all passages which seem to support or contradict the statement. Doing this with a heart that has a love for the truth, instead of a desire to be right, will provide a more balanced, accurate way of understanding an issue than when someone goes to a few, cherished "proof texts" to try to make their point. The best method of interpretation will always look at the context of a passage and such factors as who wrote it and to whom it was originally written and why.
Another guiding principal for interpreting the Bible is to move in understanding from more clear passages to less clear passages. In other words, to interpret a difficult-to-understand passage, we do not rely on our own personal thinking, feelings or revelation to determine the meaning. We should also be careful not to use passages that are equally or more difficult to understand than the passage we are interpreting. The best way to find the meaning of a difficult passage is to use other more clear passages that illuminate the passage or speak about the same subject in such a way that the meaning becomes clear. Certainly, when we let the Bible interpret the Bible, rather than any individual, then we are on sound footing.
Our understanding of the place of the Old and New Testaments in our theology is as follows: We are living in the New Testament age today. It is a different era in history in God’s eyes than the Old Testament age due to the appearance, crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Therefore, we are not responsible today for continuing in the ceremonial practices ordained for God’s people to follow according to Old Testament law. However, moral principles given to God’s people in the Old Testament are timeless and still valuable today in shaping how we live our lives. Furthermore, we believe that every detail of the Old Testament has a valid correlation to some aspect of New Testament life. In this way, none of the law is done away with, only fulfilled with the coming of Jesus Christ.
The entire teaching of the New Testament is seen as completely and literally applicable to the lives of the Church today. We judge behaviors in people's lives and in society to be either right or wrong based only on clear, black-and-white standards given in the New Testament. This is in contrast to many in the church who judge or look down on others based on man-made rules. The New Testament also provides many valuable clues as to possible ways to structure church life. We know that God works in many ways, through many people and through various ministries and structures. We have sought God (and continue to do so) for His specific direction in how to structure our church. We believe He has directed us to learn from examples of the New Testament church, and have sought to implement many such strategies as He leads.
When the Holy Spirit speaks to us about the application of a passage, it may simply be a fresh understanding of the universal truth that God wanted to convey in that passage. It also may be that a word or phrase speaks in a special and direct way to our specific situation. This second case is actually just God speaking directly to us using the words of the passage as a vehicle for the revelation. As such, the principle would apply that no such word could in any way be contradictory to the body of scripture as a whole, if the message is truly from God. Nor would instructions given to an individual necessarily apply to the entire Church. We believe God speaks to individuals and their situations on many occasions and in many ways. The Bible is one way that we frequently see God doing this.