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Scripture

“All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.”

2 Timothy 3:15-16

I believe that it’s important for us to regularly revisit our ground of authority. Why do we believe what we believe about God and about moral matters? How do we define who God is (or that God exists) and what His will is? How do we determine right from wrong and moral matters from non-moral matters (an issue that does not have a moral basis / not an issue of right and wrong)? Do we determine these things from tradition or from history? Do we

determine these things from personal religious experience or the vote of the majority? Does the Supreme Court or statistical measure decide right from wrong? Do ministers or scholars hold the final authority?

You must establish firmly in your heart that the Bible alone, words “breathed out by God,” are our final authority for all things. What you believe about the Bible will determine what you believe about God. The word of God is an expression of the mind of God. The word of God is God revealing Himself and His will to us in particular terms. It’s not the paper book that is so precious, but the words contained in it that are the greatest gift of knowledge given to humanity. The word of God cannot be ultimately separated from the person of God. You cannot say, “I love God, but disregard His word.” To disregard Scripture is to make a god of your own imagination and liking.

Authority imposes obligation. Authority governs a sphere of influence. We have many obligations and areas of authority in our life. We have many spheres of influence that overlap in our lives, and in those spheres various figures of authority. Only the Lord Almighty has final authority to govern all the world and lay moral obligation on every person of every race and nation. As you consider the Bible it is very important that you affirm certain basic things about its existence and make basic applications.

First, the Bible is inerrant. This means that the Bible is without error in its original manuscripts. The other way to state this, in the positive, is that the Bible is fully truthful. The Bible always tells the truth in everything it affirms and expresses. Can we trust the current format and faithful translation(s) of the Bible? Yes, we can! The Bible is by far the most well documented ancient manuscript of any kind in existence, and each subsequent ancient fragment works to further verify the authenticity of ancient manuscripts. Where differences in Scripture copies do exist, the variations are minor and do not relate to changes in doctrine. If you have never studied the reliability and formation of New Testament Scripture, I encourage you to read the early chapters of Bruce Shelley’s Church History in Plain Language, 5th Edition.

Second, the Bible is infallible. For something to be infallible means that it is never failing and always effective. Only the word of the Lord is infallible! Only the sovereign purposes of God enacted by His almighty power are infallible. The Bible is a progressively unfolding revelation of God’s person, work, and purposes in the world. In the midst of this revelation, God is constantly prophetically speaking forward in time to what He will accomplish. These prophetic words are always doubted and often mocked by the unbelieving world. But God’s word is infallible and always comes to pass. The promises of God are faithful and cannot be thwarted.

Third, the Bible is sufficient. Something that is sufficient meets our needs. The Bible is sufficient in all things for our salvation and godliness. The Bible expresses to us what God wants us to know about Himself. The study of God in Scripture cannot be exhausted in a lifetime. 2 Peter 1:3-4 summarizes this, “His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us to his own glory and excellence, by which He has granted to us His precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire.” The sufficiency of Scripture is a problem for those who call themselves agnostics. Agnostics claim to withhold making a decision about God, claiming there is not enough information or evidence. No agnostic will stand without condemnation in the last judgement. God’s word is sufficient for salvation and godliness. The problem is not with revelation, but in a lack of faith to believe what is given.

God has spoken His word, written His word (stone tablets on Mount Sinai), come in the flesh as the Word (Jesus), and by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit carried along authors to write these things down for our salvation and edification. The word of the Lord is preserved by the power of God and will not pass out of existence (Matthew 24:35). We must trust it, study it to learn it, and treasure it that we may know God personally through the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

If we believe these truths, they should dramatically affect our lives. Here are a few points of important application. First, we should daily make time to read and study the Bible. We should read the Bible in an act of daily devotion seeking personal communion with God. We should pray daily for the Holy Spirit to illumine the meaning and truth of Scripture. We should pray for the will to obey and walk in the fruits of the Holy Spirit.

Second, we should read and study the Bible as it is written, chapter by chapter and book by book. This is the basis of expositional study. This does not mean you must always read the books of the Bible in the order established, but read each book as a whole in the context of the many.

Third, our knowledge gained from study should lead to a transformed life of doing. People that really know Jesus as Savior learn His will so they can follow Jesus in daily sacrificial obedience. People who consider Jesus a curiosity may know much about Him, but they do not obey because they are not His disciples. We must study the Bible to know and do!

Fourth, understand why we stand in the Sunday service for the main reading of Scripture. We don’t stand because of tradition. We stand to honor the Lord God Almighty when we read His word at length. If we can stand to honor a minor judge in the court, we should stand to honor the Lord when the local church is especially gathered to read the words of the King of Kings!

Truthful, faithful, sufficient – Sola Scriptura,

Pastor Vic