Some Bible scholars have questioned the inspiration and inerrancy of the Bible creating doubts about the Word of God. Others distort the Word of God by means of unsound methods of interpretation.

We believe that the consistent use of the literal, historical-grammatical method of Bible interpretation is the best way to ensure a correct understanding of God's Word.

God chose to communicate His truth to mankind through existing forms of literature using known rules of communication. This revelation of God was given in historical and cultural contexts in which the author had an intended meaning using normal, understandable language. Though God's word is timeless, it must be understood in light of these principles.

Literal interpretation: To interpret “literally” means to explain the original sense of the speaker or writer according to normal, customary and proper uses of words and languages. Every word is given the same meaning it would have in normal usage, whether employed in writing, speaking, or thinking.

Grammatical-historical interpretation: The meaning of each word is determined by grammatical and historical context.

David L. Cooper wrote: “When the plain sense of Scripture makes common sense, seek no other sense; therefore, take every word at its primary, ordinary, usual meaning unless the facts of the immediate context, studied in light of related passages and axiomatic and fundamental truths, indicate clearly otherwise.”

The goal of Bible interpretation is to discern the author's intended meaning. How is this done? It can only be accomplished by consideration of the grammatical (according to the rules of grammar), historical (consistent with the historical setting of the passage), contextual (in accord with its context) method of interpretation. This is what we mean by literal interpretation.

We need to consciously separate the author's meaning (interpretation) from the significance for today (application). In other words we need to ask first “What did the author mean?” before we ask “What does this mean to me?”