Chapter 1 - of the Holy Scripture
The Holy Scripture is the only adequate, reliable, and unfailing guide for all knowledge essential to salvation, as well as for faith and obedience. While the natural world and God's work in creation and in governing the world do reveal enough of His goodness, wisdom, and power to leave humanity without excuse, they are not enough to provide the knowledge of God and His will that is necessary for salvation. Therefore, it pleased the Lord at various times and in different ways to reveal Himself and declare His will to His church. Later, to better preserve and spread the truth, and to further strengthen and comfort the church against the corrupting influence of human nature, the malice of Satan, and the world, He committed His complete revelation to writing. This makes the Holy Scriptures absolutely essential, as God's previous methods of revealing His will to His people have now ceased. (Summarium Fidei Christianae Filipinas, Chapter 1 paragraph 1)
Under the name of Holy Scripture, or the Word of God written, are now contained all the books of the Old and New Testaments..." There are only 66 books of the Bible - 39 (Old Testament) and 27 (New Testament)
The books often referred to as the Apocrypha are not divinely inspired. This means they are not part of the Bible’s official Canon or its authoritative guide. Consequently, they hold no authority for the church and should not be treated as anything more than other human writings. If there is any practical value of the Apocrypha, it is strictly limited to non-doctrinal uses. It could be helpful for historical background and cultural understanding, much like any other ancient literature, but never a source of divine truth or authority.
The reason the Holy Scripture is authoritative and completely trustworthy isn’t due to the endorsement of any individual or religious institution. Its authority stems solely from God, who is the truth Himself and the One who inspired it. For this reason alone, we embrace it as the undeniable Word of God.
We can be led by what the church of God says to have a high and reverent esteem for the Bible. The Bible’s divine message, the power of its teachings, its majestic style, how all its parts agree, its main purpose (which is to give all glory to God), its complete revelation of the only way for people to be saved, and its many other unique and perfect qualities are all strong proofs that it is truly the Word of God. However, our complete certainty and assurance that the Bible is infallibly true and divinely authoritative comes from the Holy Spirit’s inner work, as He bears witness with and through the Word in our hearts.
God’s complete plan for everything essential to His glory, our salvation, our faith, and our lives is either clearly stated or inherently present in the Holy Scripture. Nothing should ever be added to it, whether through new revelations from the Spirit or human traditions.
However, we recognize that the Holy Spirit’s inner work is necessary for us to truly grasp and understand the truths revealed in the Bible. So, God’s people should earnestly pray for the Holy Spirit’s illuminating grace to grasp the meaning of His Word, and for His enabling grace to put it into practice in their daily lives. We also understand that certain practical matters concerning how we worship God and govern the church — things common to all human actions and societies — should be decided using common sense and Christian wisdom. So, we should never let matters of common sense cause arguments or divisions among members in the church. Decisions on these issues should sometimes rest with church leaders or be made with the agreement of the majority of church members. These decisions must always align with the Bible’s general principles, which we are always to follow.
Not everything in the Bible is equally easy to understand or clear to everyone. However, the essential truths — those things we must know, believe, and practice for salvation — are presented and explained so plainly in certain parts of Scripture that, by using the usual methods of study and prayer, both educated and uneducated individuals can grasp them sufficiently. It’s profoundly delusional and arrogant for the Magisterium of the Popish religion of Rome, or any self-proclaimed elite group, to assert they are the sole interpreters of Holy Scripture.
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The Bible itself is the ultimate rule for understanding Scripture. So, if there’s
ever a question about the true and complete meaning of a passage — because
there’s only one correct interpretation, not many — we should look to other
parts of the Bible that explain it more clearly.
The ultimate authority for resolving all religious disagreements, and for evaluating all pronouncements from councils, views of early Christian writers, human teachings, and individual spiritual impressions, can only be the Holy
Scripture. This Scripture, inspired by the Holy Spirit, is where our faith ultimately finds its certainty and rest.