As delegates of the General Conference Session of 2015, in San Antonio, Texas, we reaffirm our commitment to the authority of the Bible as the infallible revelation of God and His will. In it, God revealed His plan to redeem the world through the incarnation, life, death, resurrection, ascension, and mediation of Jesus Christ. As a faithful record of God’s acts in the history of creation, new creation, and structured in doctrinal and ethical instructions, the Scriptures shape the intellectual and practical experience of believers.
We recognize that the Scriptures offer a divine perspective for evaluating the intellectual and ethical challenges of the contemporary world. Due to current redefinitions of God-given institutions, such as marriage, for example, commitment to the written revelation of God remains more necessary than ever. Only the biblical worldview of a loving God who works to redeem creation from sin and evil provides believers with a coherent framework to understand reality and obey God’s law.
We reaffirm that amid the hopelessness and relativism of the contemporary world, the Bible presents a message of hope and certainty that transcends time and culture. The Bible assures us that, in Jesus, our sins are forgiven and death is defeated. The Scriptures also announce that He will return soon to end sin and recreate the world. As we await the consummation of all things, the Bible calls us to live holy lives and become heralds of the eternal gospel, seizing every opportunity and resource to proclaim the good news through words and actions.
Given the importance of the Scriptures, the benefits of their study for the Church, and the challenges posed by the contemporary world, the General Conference delegates, in Session, urge all Seventh-day Adventist believers to read and study the Bible daily and in prayer.
Additionally, due to the special challenges faced by new converts and youth, we urge each believer to find ways to share the Bible with these groups, in particular, and to promote their confidence in the authority of the Scriptures. We also urge pastors and preachers to base their sermons on the biblical text and to make each sermon an occasion to exalt the authority and relevance of God’s Word.
May we demonstrate the beauty, love, and grace of our Lord Jesus Christ as revealed in the Scriptures. May we think and act in harmony with the biblical hope of the soon return of Jesus, our Lord.