The Bible: The Holy Scriptures We Read and Obey

Today’s reading concludes Section II: The Bible – The Holy Scriptures We Read and Obey.

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We read the Bible faithfully by remaining connected to tradition.

We affirm that evangelical (gospel-centred) interpretation of the Bible is not a recent development. It continues the long interpretive tradition that stretches back to the apostolic church. Faithful interpretation of Scripture belongs to the universal church and calls for a conversation of Christians from different contexts—regional, historical, and denominational—in search of gospel unity amidst diversity. We affirm the necessary and positive role of tradition which passes on a continuity of faithful reading from past generations who were led by the same Spirit and believed in the same gospel of Jesus Christ through the same Scriptures. For an evangelical approach to interpretation to be faithful, it must honour this tradition and let it be a Spirit-enabled guide in our reading of the Bible.

We read the Bible faithfully by being sensitive to local contexts.

We affirm the importance of cultural contexts for the faithful reading of the Bible. Interpretation of the Bible never happens in a vacuum. Culture and language play an important role. Interpreting Scripture is challenging, because our presuppositions, personal experiences and culture exert a powerful and potentially distorting influence. Yet, local communities provide positive resources from within their respective contexts for deepening the overall understanding of Scripture. Each local church both represents the whole church in reading Scripture faithfully in and for its own context, and contributes from its local culture distinct insights that benefit the whole church.

We read the Bible faithfully by forming local churches into reading and listening cultures.

We call local churches to devote themselves to the public reading of Scripture and to form faithful Bible readers and listeners, as individuals, groups and worshipping communities. In forming such cultures, we must allow the word of God and the gospel it proclaims to shape our worldview and lives. We therefore affirm the need for the global collaboration of all members of Christ’s body, and for attention to the ancient creeds, confessions and ecclesial traditions. Reading and listening in the communion of saints, guided by the Spirit, across space and time, serve to keep local communities anchored to the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints. For the church to flourish in the coming decades, we must form ourselves into faithful Bible reading and listening communities that faithfully declare and display in many ways and places the one lordship of Christ. (Jude 3)