Foundation Topic

Is the Bible Sufficient?

The sufficiency of Scripture simply means that the Bible is what we need most, more than anything else in the world. It meets a need that nothing else in the world can—the need to know God and be reconciled to him. God gave you all you need to know about him, the world, and yourself in the pages of Scripture.

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What Does It Mean that the Bible Is Sufficient?

“I really want God to speak to me.”  

Have you ever heard someone say this? Have you ever said this? What about, “If God is there, why doesn’t he just show up? Why doesn’t he come and speak to me?”  

The sufficiency of Scripture is a fancy term that means, God has spoken all that needs to be said. He has spoken in the Bible.  

What Has God Said?  

Many people do not practically believe in the sufficiency of Scripture because they do not believe that God has spoken about practical everyday matters, relational nuances, or personal unique decisions.  

But God himself says otherwise. 

He has given us everything we need for both life and godliness through the knowledge of him (2 Peter 1:3).

We must learn to see ourselves as part of God’s universe, and the more we know of him, the more we will know how to navigate his world, even in the most minute daily decisions.  

The sufficiency of Scripture means that God has given us all we need in the Bible. In the words of the London Baptist Confession: “The whole counsel of God concerning all things necessary for [God's] own glory, man's salvation, faith and life, is either expressly set down or necessarily contained in the Holy Scripture.” 

Here are three things we need that God has supplied through his sufficient Word. He has given us the true story, how to live, and wisdom

The True Story  

First, the Bible gives us the true story.  

Behind all our longing is a soul full of wonder—how did I get here, do I matter, what’s wrong with me, what happens to me when I die, what am I living for, how should I think about the world around me, what’s right, and what’s wrong?  

The Bible answers the most foundational questions to human existence more clearly than any other ideology or religion. Christianity best explains our reality. It tells one unified story that parallels human history and human experience in a way no other source does. It tells us the problem with and the solution for humanity.    

How to Live  

The Bible gives us God’s commands for godly living. The Ten Commandments would be an example of this. We could also think of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7), or Paul’s ethical exhortations in his letters. The Bible is filled with instructions on how to live a life that pleases God. God has been sufficiently clear about the kind of people he wants us to be.  

Part of the Bible’s story includes the truth that we simply can’t be the people God wants us to be. But the good news of the Bible is God has made a way to mend the relationship between us. In Jesus Christ, God offers to save us from the punishment due our transgressions and give us a new heart that can keep his law and live the good life he has intended for us.  

Wisdom  

The Bible is also the source of wisdom. In the Bible, God has given us principles sufficient to help us make decisions in every area of our lives.  

God was not so silly as to give us an obnoxiously large manual for every decision we make in life, including how to change our car tires and feed our cats. That would have been an insult to our humanity. He made us, after all, like him—creative, thoughtful, emotional, etc. God gave us something much better.  

He gives us wisdom.  

"For the Lord gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding… Then you will understand righteousness and justice and equity, every good path; for wisdom will come into your heart, and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul." (Proverbs 4:6, 9-10 ESV)

The ability to judge what is best in a particular situation is wisdom. God has told us that the more we read his Word, the more we will grow in wisdom (Proverbs 1:7; 8-9). 

Though God’s Word doesn’t give us the answer for every situation, it provides us with a framework to understand every situation, and principles that if applied correctly, can help us live righteously in any situation.  

God’s Sufficient Word  

God has told us in his Word all we need to know—about him, about ourselves, and about life. To be frank, God’s revelation is not unclear or insufficient. 

What’s often insufficient is our trust in what he has clearly said, our willingness to act on what he has revealed, and our desire to listen to and learn what he has to say.   

We need the Bible. It’s enough for us. It’s no mistake that God’s Word is often depicted as food or water (Matthew 4:4). Like food and water, God’s Word is basic and fundamental for our healthy existence in God’s world.   

Do you trust that God has provided you with all things for life and godliness (2 Peter 1: 3)? If so, open God’s Word today—start with the book of Proverbs—and listen to him teach the way you should go. 

by Bibles.net  

OPEN YOUR BIBLE

Theme Verse

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 3:16-17 ESV

Is The Bible Sufficient?
Article: 6 Min

Here's Why You Need the Bible

by Bibles.net
Definition

The Sufficiency of Scripture

The sufficiency of Scripture means that Scripture contained all the words of God he intended his people to have at each stage of redemptive history, and that it now contains all the words of God we need for salvation, for trusting him perfectly, and for obeying him perfectly.
Article: 10 Min

Is God's Word Enough?

by Kevin DeYoung at Crossway

Video: 8 Min
by Russell Moore at his YouTube Channel
Quote

When we are facing
a problem
of genuine importance
to our Christian life,
we can approach Scripture
with the confidence
that from it
God will provide
us with guidance
for that problem.

Verse
2 Timothy 3:16-17 ESV

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.

Messages: 54 Min

What Does the Bible Claim to Be?

by Steven Lawson

70’s | 80’s | 90’s

The Word

by Sara Groves

Hymns

Speak O Lord

by Keith & Kristyn Getty
Quote

What Does the Bible Tell Us?

Scripture doesn’t tell us everything we may want to know about everything. But it tells us everything we need to know about the most important things. It gives us something the Internet, with all its terabytes of information, never could: wisdom. The purpose of the Holy Scripture is not ultimately to make you smart, or make you relevant, or make you rich, or get you a job, or get you married, or take all your problems away, or tell you where to live. The aim is that you might be wise enough to put your faith in Christ and be saved.

by Kevin DeYoung | Source
Quote

What do the Scriptures
principally teach?
The Scriptures principally teach,
what man is to believe
concerning God,
and what duty God requires of man.

Video: 4 Min
by Randy Smith at Grace Quotes
Verse
Proverbs 30:5-6 ESV

Every word of God proves true; he is a shield to those who take refuge in him.  Do not add to his words, lest he rebuke you and you be found a liar.

Hymns

Every Promise of Your Word

by Keith & Kristyn Getty
Verse
Deuteronomy 29:29 NIV

The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may follow all the words of this law.

Messages: 56 Min

The Sufficiency of Scripture

by John MacArthur

Quote

Does the Bible Give Us Answers to Every Question?

God’s Word never promises to answer every human question, but it does promise to be the basis of truth for understanding all things (Psalm 86:11; Proverbs 30:5; John 1:14; John 17:17; 2 Timothy 3:16). That includes history and science, as well as doctrine. 

When we base our thinking on God’s authoritative Word, we can confidently answer questions about our world and our life. The question is not whether we can answer every question but whether the Bible is trustworthy in all that it teaches—and it is. Often we underestimate the direct answers we do have in Scripture.

by Steve Ham | Source
Verse
Deuteronomy 12:32 NKJV

"Whatever I command you, be careful to observe it; you shall not add to it nor take away from it."

Article: 25 Min

The Authority, Sufficiency, and Finality of Scripture

by Sinclair Ferguson at Monergism

Verse
Deuteronomy 4:2 NLT

Do not add to or subtract from these commands I am giving you. Just obey the commands of the Lord your God that I am giving you.

Verse
Colossians 2:6-8 NLT

And now, just as you accepted Christ Jesus as your Lord, you must continue to follow him. Let your roots grow down into him, and let your lives be built on him. Then your faith will grow strong in the truth you were taught, and you will overflow with thankfulness.

Don’t let anyone capture you with empty philosophies and high-sounding nonsense that come from human thinking and from the spiritual powers of this world, rather than from Christ.

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