How the Sufficiency of Scripture Makes a Huge Difference

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Previously, I have written many times on the sufficiency of Scripture for all that pertains to life and godliness, to matters relating to the soul. You may read some of those articles here.

Today, I wish to pass on four simple truths I ran across in my reading, this morning, from Kevin DeYoung’s excellent book, Taking God At His Word. In the third chapter, God’s Word Is Enough, Kevin stresses the practical sufficiency of Scripture by suggesting four ways it ought to make a huge difference in our lives.

  1. With the sufficiency of Scripture we keep tradition in its place. The creeds, catechisms, and confessions “are valuable only as they summarize what is taught in the Scripture. No secondary, man-made text can replace or be allowed to subvert our allegiance to an knowledge of the Bible.”
  2. Because Scripture is sufficient, we will not add to or subtract from the Word of God. As a covenantal document, the Scripture ends with a strong admonition to not add to it. Therefore, “we must not add anything to the Scriptures–to make them better, safer, or more in line with our assumptions–and we must not subtract anything from them, even if experience, academic journals, or the mood of the culture insist that we must.”
  3. Since the Bible is sufficient, we can expect the word of God to be relevant to all of life. “To affirm the sufficiency of Scripture is not to suggest that the Bible tells us everything we want to know about everything, but it does tell us everything we need to know about what matters most. Scripture does not give exhaustive information on every subject, but in every subject on which it speaks, it says only what is true.”
  4. The doctrine of the sufficiency of Scripture invites us to open our Bibles to hear the voice of God. “The word of God is more than enough for the people of God to live their lives to the glory of God. The Father will speak by means of all that the Spirit has spoken through the Son. The question is whether we will open our Bibles and bother to listen.”

As the apostle Paul teaches in 2 Timothy 3:15-17, the Scriptures are sufficient to enlighten the eyes of our heart to seek the Christ of salvation and equip us for a life of godliness, the apostle Peter affirms this as well (2 Peter 1:16-21). If you are looking for a reliable primer on the doctrine of Scripture, I highly commend to you Taking God At His Word.

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