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The Bible Fest has four unifying beliefs. All team members are expected to understand and believe the four points that summarise the Reformation understanding of Christianity. The first is the basis for the following three- Sola Scriptura, 'Only the Bible' or 1. Bible Alone. The Bible is all we need to know to have a full understanding of God's character and his will for our lives. The reformers used the strongest of language against those who claimed to speak with God's authority independently of the Bible.

From the Bible we learn the other three key Reformation ideas: our forgiveness is secured by 2. Jesus Alone, it depends on God's 3. Mercy Alone and we can only respond by 4. Trust Alone. Let's look more closely at these ideas.

1. Bible Alone

The Bible is all we need to know God in the best possible way. We do not need any other source of information about God other than what is in the Bible. We do not need any other books, leaders, teachers, evidence, visions, miracles, traditions, feelings, priests or prophesies. The Bible is the whole truth, all we need to know. The Bible Alone is all we need to know God and how to live according to his will.

Should we never believe anything said about God outside the Bible- by leaders, teachers or in books? No, otherwise we could never tell others what we learn from the Bible about God ourselves- why do mission! But just as we know whatever we say won't be as good as the Bible, this is true about what others tell us about it. The Bible is the standard we should measure ourselves by. It is also the standard we should check others by.

We can only help people to know God by helping them to understand the Bible. In the same way, we should have the humility to take advantage of the people God keeps providing to help us understand the Bible better. Trusting God means trusting what he says in the Bible, trusting all he says and not trusting anything contrary to the Bible. The Bible is the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.

2. Jesus Alone

The Bible tells us that we know God through Jesus Alone. Jesus said:
"I am the way, the truth and the life. No-one comes to the Father except through me." John 14:6
This is just like the Bible. The Bible is the only way to know God. No-one comes to know God any other way. Jesus is the only way to know God. No-one comes to know God through anyone else. We know God by Jesus Alone.

The Bible tells us that we cannot know God until God's anger with us is dealt with. It also tells us that only Jesus could deal with God's anger for us. It tells us how he did this - on the cross. We cannot do anything ourselves to deal with God's anger. We can never be good enough or sorry enough or changed enough. Only Jesus and only Jesus crucified is enough and this is enough without us or anyone or anything else. Jesus is the only way we can come to know God.

3. Mercy Alone

Our place in heaven, our part in God's plan, our inclusion among his people- our salvation depends on God's Mercy Alone. These things do not depend on our desire or effort. Romans 9:15,16: For God says to Moses, "I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion." It does not, therefore, depend on man's desire or effort, but on God's mercy. It is just like our existance, the circumstances of our birth, our personalities and bodies. We are what God has made us. There is nothing we can do to deserve what God gives us. There is nothing we can do to repay him. We can only be what he has made us to be.

The quality or intensity of our gratitude for, surrender to or support for his will do not qualify us for God's mercy, or it would no longer be mercy. We should do all that God created us to do- our gratitude, surrender and support should be total. This brings us no credit, because we are doing no more than facing facts or doing our duty.

What right have we to claim God's mercy?On what basis can we expect forgiveness? Although we have no right to claim God's mercy, for all we can deserve is judgement, the good news is that Jesus' death is sufficient to satisfy God's anger at our sin and to complete his action against it. It is on the basis of the work of Jesus Alone that we can expect forgiveness.

As God is faithful, his mercy never fails. We will fail to respond rightly to God, but God will never fail us in his mercy, because it depends on Jesus, not on us. This is assurance of salvation. Our salvation does not depend on our desire or effort, but on God's Mercy Alone. As God is sure and trustworthy, we can be sure of our salvation because of Jesus Alone. Our response is simply to Trust Alone.

4. Trust Alone

What is Trust? Trust is the decision to let things or people other than ourselves provide what we want.

We are often willing to receive what we want from outside ourselves. When we sit in a chair, we decide to let the chair carry our weight, holding us upright. When we deposit money in a bank we decide to let the bank look after our money until we need it again. When we marry, we decide to let someone else support us in a range of personal ways.

Jesus always trusted God. He decided not to turn stones into bread, because he knew his life depended on following God's revealed purposes in Scripture.

Why Trust Matters

Trust is the key to understanding our forgiveness, because it is deciding to accept something that we cannot provide for ourselves.

When I am hungry, I can either prepare a meal for myself or trust someone else to do this for me. It is not like this with being saved from our sin. We can only be saved by Trust Alone. There is no way we can save ourselves from our sin. Only God can do this. All we can do is trust that he has done so.

God promises forgiveness to all who want it. He promises this forgiveness on the basis of Jesus' death taking our punishment. All we need to do, all we can do, is trust God's promise. With God, our trust is never misplaced. Forgiveness can only ever be given, it can't be earned.

Trust matters because it shows our total inability and God's perfect reliability- it humbles us and glorifies God. We cannot make ourselves worthy. It is God's right to forgive. Forgiveness is not ours to demand.

Trust at Work

We are saved by Trust Alone, but saving trust is never alone. Trust influences our attitudes and actions.

Trust influences our attitudes. When we trust that God has saved us through Jesus' death, when we trust that he has forgiven us on the basis of Jesus taking our punishment, it changes our attitudes. We have a hope, we could not otherwise have. We are freed from guilt, fear and despair. We are freed to love.

Trust influences our actions. When we trust the chair, we sit. When we trust the bank, we make a deposit. What we do reflects what we trust. What we trust shapes what we do. What does saving trust look like? It looks like obedience. Trust and obey, there is no other way. Because God is trustworthy, his words - the Bible - are trustworthy. If we trust God, we will obey what he says in the Bible.

We are saved by Trust Alone. However, saving trust is never alone, it will influence our attitudes so we become loving and our actions so that we become obedient. But these are really the same thing anyway!

Let's thank God that he makes us grow in trust for him, so that we learn to love him, his people and all people, for his glory and our joy forever.