Throughout history God has revealed himself in a variety of ways, and God has preserved the substance of this revelation in the Bible. When we say "the Bible," we mean the sixty-six books of the Old Testament and New Testament. These books were written by divinely chosen authors as they were prompted and guarded by the Spirit of God. Although those writers were genuine authors and in most cases not just secretaries taking dictation, the work of the Spirit was so complete that everything written in the biblical books taught the truth without any errors.

Strictly speaking, this inerrancy of the Bible, applies to its books as originally written, but we can be confident that we have the original text of the Bible in the copies and translations we possess today because God has preserved those writings. In any attempt to define what we ought to believe or how we ought to live, only the Bible can be used as a final authority. Traditional interpretations of the Bible and confessions of faith are useful guides, but they are always open to correction based on further study of the Bible. Any cooperation with others who profess to be Christians must be based on a shared commitment to the unique authority and complete truthfulness of the Bible. (Matthew 5:17-18; John 16:12-15; 2 Timothy 3:16-17; 2 Peter 1:20-21)