Doctrinal Statement

Short Statement

The International Society for Biblical Hermeneutics affirms the full inspiration, inerrancy, and infallibility of Scriptures in their original autographs. Through the plain interpretation therein, we affirm the existence of the one Triune God, man’s fallen nature, Christ’s payment for sin on the Cross, His bodily resurrection, the necessity and sufficiency of faith in Christ alone for eternal life, a future pre-tribulational rapture, a 7-year tribulation, and the millennial, Messianic kingdom.

The Bible

We affirm
  1. The sixty-six historically accepted books of the Bible are the inspired Word of God, written by men as they were moved by the Holy Spirit to write exactly what was intended by God, while fully preserving each human author’s individual style. (1 Corinthians 14:37; Ephesians 3:1–5; 2 Timothy 3:16; 2 Peter 1:20–21)
  2. The Scriptures are the very words of God with their perfection, authority, and sufficiency extending to the exact vocabulary, grammar, syntax, and literary context. (Exodus 24:3, 4, 8; Matthew 5:18; 1 Corinthians 14:37)
  3. The Bible is the infallible Word of God, completely without error in the original manuscripts. Translations are rightly considered the Word of God to the degree that they preserve the meaning of the original text. (Psalm 19:7–9; John 10:35; 1 Timothy 4:1; 2 Peter 1:20–21)
  4. The Bible is the supreme and final authority for faith and practice, fully addressing all issues of life either directly or in principle. (Matthew 4:4–10; 2 Timothy 3:16–17)
  5. The apostles and prophets were unique messengers of God’s written revelation, being guided by the Holy Spirit through the process of inspiration. All Church Age revelation ceased by the end of the first century Apostolic Era. (John 15:26–27; 16:12–15; 2 Timothy 3:16–17; Hebrews 1:2–4; Revelation 22:16–21)
  6. Biblical revelation is always objective truth in both source and content. (Genesis 6:15–22; Exodus 20:1–17; 2 Samuel 7:5–17; Acts 9:3–6; Revelation 1:10–3:22)
  7. The Bible is sufficient revelation for man to understand the will of God and to fully live a life that is pleasing to Him. (2 Timothy 3:16–17)
  8. Scriptures can only be properly interpreted and understood by consistently applying a literal/normal, grammatical, historical hermeneutic which recognizes the author’s original intent, including the use of literal language, imagery, and figures of speech. (Deuteronomy 4:2; 2 Timothy 2:2; Revelation 22:18–19)
  9. The meaning of any given text is only that which is intended by the Divine and human authors and conveyed exclusively by the vocabulary, grammar, syntax, and literary context. (2 Peter 1:20–21; Revelation 22:18–19)
We deny
  1. The notion that there are errors of any sort in the original autographs.
  2. The legitimacy of multiple interpretations of any biblical text.
  3. That the Holy Spirit ever teaches anything contrary to prior revelation.
  4. That the preacher has any legitimate message from God apart from what is found in Scripture.
  5. That any passage of Scripture corrects or mitigates against any other passage.
  6. That any later Biblical author misinterpreted or reinterpreted any prior Biblical passages when quoting from or referring to them.
  7. The complementary hermeneutic of Progressive Dispensationalism, including the use of the “already/not yet” interpretive principle and the softening of progressive revelation and the forcing of a false continuity between the Testaments.
  8. Neo-Orthodoxy, or any other system, which, while using evangelical terminology, seriously departs from orthodoxy by accepting the views of destructive higher criticism, by denying the inerrancy of the Bible as historic revelation, by accepting religious experience as revelatory or as the criterion of truth, and by abandoning fundamentals of the Christian faith.

The Triune God

We affirm
  1. That there is exactly one, unique, infinite God who eternally exists as three distinct persons—the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit—who are in a perfect relationship with one another. These three persons are fully God and coequal in every way, each with a distinct role in God’s program. (Deuteronomy 6:4–6; Isaiah 61:3; Matthew 3:16–17; 28:19; John 1:1; 10:30, 33–36; 14:26; 2 Corinthians 13:14)
  2. That the second Person of the Godhead came to this earth, was born of a virgin by the miraculous work of the Holy Spirit, took on human flesh and nature, becoming fully man while continuing to be fully God and was named “Jesus.” (Matthew 1:21–23; 2 Corinthians. 8:9; Hebrews 2:14–18)
  3. That Jesus Christ lived a sinless life, perfectly fulfilling the Law of Moses, and living in perfect accordance with all the eternal principles and laws of God. (John 8:46; Hebrews 4:15; I John 3:5)
  4. That Jesus was crucified unto death at the hands of men, dying at the moment of His own choosing. His death was a substitutionary, atoning sacrifice for all mankind. His shed blood fully paid the penalty due for all the sins of every person. However, only those who turn to Him in faith experience the salvation He offers on the basis of His sacrifice. (Matthew 27:50; John 1:29; 3:16–18; Philippians 2:6–11)
  5. That Jesus died according to the Scriptures, was buried, physically arose from the grave according to the Scriptures, and was seen by many witnesses after His resurrection. (1 Corinthians 15:3–4)
  6. That forty days after the resurrection, Jesus ascended into heaven, where He is presently at the right hand of the Father interceding on behalf of believers as our High Priest, though not yet ruling from the throne of David as the Messianic King. (Psalms 110:4; Acts 1:9; Hebrews 1:3; 5:5–10; 1 John 2:1)
  7. That the indwelling Holy Spirit works in believers to enlighten, guide, convict of sin, and empower them to fulfill God’s will by living a life that is pleasing to Him. (John 14:16–17; 1 Corinthians 2:10–12; Ephesians 5:15–21)
We deny
  1. That any ecclesiastical body is authoritative in defining the doctrines of the Triune God.
  2. Any doctrine, such as modalism or oneness, that teaches that the members of the Trinity are not distinct persons.
  3. The doctrine of Patripassianism, that the Father suffered with the Son on the Cross.
  4. The doctrine of ontological subordination, that the Son is less than the Father in power, glory, and/or being.
  5. The Openness of God theory that says, in so many words, that God does not know the future.

Creation

We affirm
  1. That God created an innumerable company of sinless, spiritual beings, known as angels; that one, “the anointed cherub” – the highest in rank – sinned through pride, thereby becoming Satan, the open and declared enemy of God and man, that a great company of the angels followed him in his moral fall, some of whom are active as his agents and associates in the prosecution of his unholy purposes, while others who fell are “reserved in everlasting chains under darkness until the judgment of the great day.” (Job 1:6,7; Isaiah 14:12–17; Ezekiel 28:11–19; Matthew 4:2–11; 25:41; 1 Timothy 3:6; 2 Peter 2:4; Jude 6; Revelation 20:10)
  2. That Adam and Eve were the uniquely created first humans, that they were created in the image of God, that all humans have descended from them, that there is one human race, that the whole of humanity (with the exception of eight people) was killed in the flood, and that all humans have descended from this small group. (Genesis 1:26–28; 3:20; 7:7–23; 8:15–19; 9:1)
  3. That God put man as ruler over the creation to subdue it, that man is a steward of the environment, and that the creation is under a curse due to Adam’s fall into sin. (Genesis 1:26–31; 2:15; 3:14–19; 9:2; Proverbs 12:10; Romans 5:12)
  4. That the Genesis record should be taken in its plain sense, which leads to the conclusion that the earth is relatively young. (Genesis 1:31; Exodus 20:11; 31:17)
We deny
  1. That any passage of Scripture conflicts with genuine scientific reality.
  2. That the narratives of Genesis 1–11 are mythical or allegorical.
  3. That the Bible presents the earth as anything other than a round and spinning ball.
  4. That scientific hypotheses about origins of life or matter may legitimately be invoked to overthrow Scriptural teaching about creation.
  5. That an Old Earth interpretation of Genesis necessarily rejects the gospel or the inerrancy, infallibility, and sufficiency of Scriptures.
  6. Any philosophy which values the creation over humanity or diminishes the creation for the sake of humanity.

Salvation

We affirm
  1. That the saving transaction between God and the sinner is simply the giving and receiving of a free gift of God’s grace through faith in Jesus Christ, such that no act or promise of obedience, preceding or following that faith, may be added to or considered part of that faith as a condition for receiving everlasting life. (John 4:10; Romans 4:5; Galatians 2:16; Ephesians 2:8–9; Titus 3:5; Revelation 22:17)
  2. That at the moment of faith in Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit permanently regenerates, indwells, and baptizes every believer into the Body of Christ (the Church), which includes all born-again believers in Christ from Pentecost to the Rapture. (Acts 2:1–4; 1 Corinthians 12:13; Ephesians 1:11–14, 4:4–6)
  3. The doctrine of eternal security, that God preserves the believer’s eternal life regardless of his perseverance, and that assurance of salvation is the believer’s birthright on the basis of Christ’s finished work. (John 3:16–18; 5:24; 10:28–29; Ephesians 1:13–14; 4:30; 1 John 5:13)
  4. That sanctification is positional, progressive, and eschatological, that the believer has been set apart unto God, that he is being conformed to the image of Christ to a greater or lesser degree, and will be perfected at the resurrection. (John 17:17; Romans 6:1–14; 8:1–5; 2 Corinthians 3:18, 7:1; Ephesians 4:24, 5:25–27; 1 Thessalonians 5:23; Hebrews 10:10, 14, 12:10; 1 John 3:1–3)
  5. That every saved person still possesses his old sin nature, but also has a new nature with provisions made for victory over the sin nature through his identification with Christ and submission to the indwelling Holy Spirit. (Romans 6:1–13, 8:12,13; Galatians 5:16–25; Ephesians 4:22–24; Colossians 3:10; 1 Peter 1:14–16; 1 John 3:5–9)
We deny
  1. That one’s works are meritorious toward his salvation or that one can obtain salvation while trusting in his own works rather than Christ’s.
  2. That salvation has ever been or ever will be by anything other than grace through faith regardless of the dispensation in which he lives.
  3. That it is the believer’s responsibility to maintain his salvation or that eternal life may be lost.
  4. That assurance of salvation comes from relying on anything other than Christ’s work on the cross.
  5. That the sin nature can be eradicated in this life.
  6. That sin in a believer’s life does not hinder his fellowship with God.
  7. Universalism, which in its various forms, teaches that all men will be with God in eternity.

Israel and the Church

We affirm
  1. That the church and Israel are two distinct groups in God’s plan and will be so eternally. (Psalm 89:33–37; Jeremiah 31:1–4; Matthew 23:37–39; Romans 11:1–2, 25–29; Ephesians 3:1–12)
  2. That God has made specific covenants and promises to national Israel and that His holiness demands that He fulfill them to the believing descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. (2 Samuel 7:12–16; Psalms 89:28–37; Jeremiah 33:25–26; Romans 11:1–32)
  3. That the universal church (the “Body of Christ”) began on the day of Pentecost and consists of all born-again believers in Christ from Pentecost to the Rapture. (Matthew 16:18; Acts 1:4–8; 2:1–4, 46–47; Ephesians 2:19–22; 1 Thessalonians 4:13–17)
  4. That Christians are not under the Mosaic Law, but they are responsible to conform to God’s righteous standards as revealed throughout Scripture. (Romans 3:20; 4:3; 6:1–4; Ephesians 2:8–9)
  5. That the universal church is represented by local churches made up of born-again believers who regularly gather for fellowship, mutual edification, instruction, prayer, and worship. (Acts 2:46–47; 1 Corinthians 1:2; Philemon 1–2, Hebrews 10:25)
  6. That men are exclusively responsible to fulfill the roles of leadership and teaching in the church, particularly in matters of Bible exposition, theology, or other matters that would include exercising spiritual authority over other men. Women have a biblically defined role in ministry to their families, to other women, and to children. (1 Timothy 2:11–15; 3:1–15; 5:14; Titus 2:1–8)
  7. That the Holy Spirit distributes spiritual gifts of service to all believers according to His will for the building up of the Body of Christ. (Romans 12:4–7; 1 Corinthians 7:7; Ephesians 4:11–13)
We deny
  1. The practices and philosophy of ecumenism or any other movement that seeks to bring believers in Christ into an unequal yoke with those following other world religions, theological liberalism, Roman Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, or any other group that diverges from biblical Christianity.
  2. That the church fulfills God’s promises to Israel or that God fulfills His promises to Israel in the church.
  3. That Christ is currently ruling from the Davidic Throne.
  4. That any form of anti-Semitism is glorifying to God.

The Future

We affirm
  1. That in an imminent moment, Jesus will return in the clouds, at which time all the dead in Christ will be resurrected and all the living in Christ will be caught up (raptured) to be with Him forever. This is the church’s “blessed hope.” (1 Corinthians 15:50–54; Philippians 4:5; 1 Thessalonians 4:13–18; Titus 2:13)
  2. That after the Rapture, there will be a seven-year tribulation period, which is a time of wrath from which the church will be delivered (through the rapture), and that this tribulation serves to bring Israel to repentance and to pour out God’s wrath on the nations. (Daniel 9:24–27; Joel 3:1–3; 1 Thessalonians 1:10; Revelation 3:10)
  3. That after the Tribulation, Christ will physically return to the earth to establish His kingdom on the earth for 1,000 literal years (the Millennium), ruling the nations from the throne of David in Jerusalem. (2 Samuel 7:8–16, Matthew 25:31; Revelation 20:1–6)
  4. That every Christian will stand before the Judgment Seat of Christ, to assess the quality of his Christian life on earth. The Judgment Seat of Christ is for believers and is distinct from the Great White Throne Judgment, which is for unbelievers. The anticipation of rewards at the Judgment Seat of Christ should motivate believers to persevere. (1 Corinthians 9:24–27; 2 Corinthians 5:10; 1 John 2:28; Revelation 20:11–15)
  5. That this earth will pass away and that God will create a new heaven and new earth where every justified person will dwell for eternity with Him. (Isaiah 66:22; Revelation 21:1–7)
  6. That every unjustified person will spend eternity separated from God in the Lake of Fire, experiencing eternal conscious torment. (Isaiah 66:24; Matthew 25:41–46; Revelation 14:10–11; 20:11–15)
We deny
  1. General Judgment Theory, which equates the Great White Throne Judgment with the Judgment Seat of Christ and holds that all people, believers and unbelievers alike, will be judged at this general judgment to determine their eternal destinies.
  2. That the Old Testament promise of a literal, physical, earthly, Messianic Kingdom has been redefined or abrogated by New Testament revelation, such that the promised kingdom will not literally be fulfilled and instead has been replaced with a current spiritual reality.
  3. Partial rapture theories, which hold that only faithful believers are raptured and that unfaithful believers will face God’s wrath.
  4. That the church will go through any part of Daniel’s 70th week.