The fact that the Bible is authoritative and sufficient has many implications in our lives. We want to consider three of them.
1. The holy Scriptures, being inspired by God, are the final authority in all matters of Christian conduct and doctrine.
2. The holy Scriptures, being inspired by God, contain all that the present day believer requires to live a godly life.
3. The holy Scriptures, being inspired by God, contain all that the Church of today requires to function in the way He intended it should.
That there is a steady stream of new Christians who need to be taught these truths is a matter for rejoicing. But it is cause for concern that these same truths often have to be defended within today’s Christian community.
While very few of us as individuals, and even the assemblies or churches we attend, have any difficulty accepting that the Scriptures are the inspired Word of God, there does seem to be a problem when it comes to applying that truth in our lives. How else can we account for the wide range of principles either practiced or discarded by believers today? The same Holy Spirit indwells all believers and, at least in this country, we all have access to the same Scriptures and various helps to assist us in understanding the Bible’s meaning and intent. Yet today there is massive confusion as to what we should believe and practice. New and old believers alike are making decisions with many of the old landmarks removed. And the confusion is not a passive one. Broken friendships and fellowships are all around us. None can escape their effects, and we ignore them at our peril.
FINAL AUTHORITY
The holy Scriptures, being inspired by God, are the final authority in all matters of Christian conduct and doctrine. If they are not, then what or who is? “All Scripture is given by God and is profitable for doctrine, reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works” (2 Tim. 3:15-16).
Today, many people look to the example of others rather than the Scriptures. Through the years God has used people despite their differing doctrines and practices. However we cannot use that as our standard. Nor can we take refuge in the catechism or statement of faith of our church. “To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them” (Isa. 8:20). So it was with God’s people then; so it is with us now.
The question, “If God uses people despite their differences, then do differences matter?” must be balanced against the question, “Are God’s requirements relevant?” If we say that results or personal preferences are what matters, and fail to submit ourselves to the teaching of Scripture, or refuse to give God the benefit of the doubt, then our actions show that we no longer consider His requirements and commands relevant.
The problem is not new, although in recent years it seems to have become more common. Certainly many of those known by some as Open Brethren and those who claim only to have roots in them are experiencing unprecedented change.
John Knox, the 16th century Scottish Reformer, records this discussion with the Roman Catholic Queen of Scotland, Mary:
Queen Mary: “Ye interpret the Scriptures in one manner, and they in another. Whom shall I believe? Who shall be the judge?”
Knox: “Ye shall believe God, that plainly speaketh in His Word, and further than the Word teacheth you, ye shall believe neither the one nor the other; the Word of God is plain in itself. If there appear any obscurity in one place, the Holy Ghost, which is never contrarious to Himself, explains the same more clearly in other places; so that there can remain no doubt, but unto such as obstinately will remain ignorant.”
So then, whether it is the original writers or the godly who have followed in their footsteps, there has been no other standard for conduct and doctrine than the Bible.
ALL THAT THE BELIEVER NEEDS
The holy Scriptures, being inspired by God, contain all that the present day believer requires to live a godly life. If they do not, then what does? Peter states (2 Pet. 1:2-4):
Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God and Our Lord Jesus Christ. According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that has called us to glory and virtue: Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.
Why should we have any doubt about the sufficiency of Scripture for a godly life? Note that Peter tells us that our possession of “all things that pertain unto life and godliness” is dependent on our knowledge of Him that has called us to glory and virtue. And our partaking of the divine nature comes from God’s “great and precious promises.” What is the source of our knowledge of Him? Where do we read of His promises? In the Word of God.
Apart from the Bible’s being inspired, the testimonies of godly people through the centuries attest to the Bible’s sufficiency. While God used the writings of others in the lives of these heroes of faith, their power can be seen to be their knowledge and use of the Scriptures.
ALL THAT THE CHURCH NEEDS
The holy Scriptures, being inspired by God, contain all that the Church of today requires to function in the way He intended it should. If they do not, then what does?
This is without doubt the greatest source of contention among us today. Few would argue that the Scriptures contain instruction for the functioning of the Church. The divergence is in whether we believe it contains too little, too much, or just the right amount.
Those who believe it contains too little and those who believe it contains too much often base their arguments on the same points. Some claim that having been written so long ago, all of today’s problems have not been addressed and therefore the Bible must be supplemented in order to make our message more relevant. Others, for the same reason of antiquity, claim that much was written to address problems that no longer exist, and so those portions are irrelevant for today and can be discarded. Cultural practice and changing society are also used as reason to either add to or subtract from what God has written. Any uncertainty on the part of the reader is often taken as license to do as one pleases. But the Scriptures state: “Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall ye diminish ought from it, that ye may keep the commandments of the Lord your God which I command you” (Deut. 4:2).
When we look at how God meticulously designed and conveyed His requirements for worship and conduct to His people in the OT, can we really believe that He would leave His people of the New without equivalent guidance? Can we believe that Christ would leave the Church for which He died unsure of how to represent Him among all nations, in every age, exactly as He wanted to be represented? Or that knowing our nature He would deliberately leave us to do as we saw fit? No, we believe God wrote His instructions for the governing of a local church to cover everything that might be encountered in every culture as the gospel spread throughout the world during these last two thousand years.
John Knox pinpointed the problem when he wrote, “Man always thinks he can derive a more perfect honoring of God than that which He Himself has commanded.”
Herman Witsius, a 17th century Dutch theologian, dealing with man’s approach to God in worship since Adam’s time said, “In the matters of religion, nothing pleases Him, but what Himself has commanded. All will-worship is condemned.”
Daniel faced this problem, too. “We have sinned, and have committed iniquity, and have done wickedly, and have rebelled, even by departing from Thy precepts and from Thy judgments” (Dan. 9:5).
Our time here is short and we have been left here to witness to the truth, a truth that will make us fit for the Master’s use in our private and public lives, a truth that can restore unity among the Lord’s people. But how can these noble goals be realized if we do not understand the Word of God, if we ignore it or reject it?
Throughout history revival seems to have come when people returned to and followed the teaching of Scripture. Declension has come as they failed to follow what was there for them to know. “The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple” (Ps. 19:7). Is it any wonder that Paul would say in Colossians 3:16, “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom.”