How Sufficient is 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 Tim. 3:16-17
If you’re a believer in Christ, you and I are in a tough spot.
In His grace and mercy, God has shed light to our blindness, so that we see the truth. But seeing the truth is not quite the same as living the truth.
Because we have lived so long on a path away from God, because our minds have been so steeped in rebellion, it is hard to make those changes. Now, we find ourselves swimming against the cultural current that becomes increasingly hostile to the truth we now profess.
For that reason, it is essential for us to steep our minds in God’s truth. If we do not, we do not remain neutral. We will be carried back into that current we are trying to oppose.
Satan has several subtle tactics he likes to use in spiritual battle, so being equipped with an increasingly deeper understanding of His Word is vital. In our focus verse above, we are told that all Scripture—every bit of it, even the genealogies, the dimensions of the temple and the instructions for worship—are profitable for us.
While we may readily agree to this, we cannot find our experience of suffering in its pages, like dealing with lupus, post-adoption struggles, or prolonged unemployment. Is it still sufficient when it does not deal with our particular sins?
This then forces us to ask ourselves: Is God’s Word truly relevant for our lives today? Is it enough? In other words, Is what we have today sufficient?
Perhaps this is the deeper issue that we need to address for ourselves. I know that unless I come to terms with this, I will camp out only on my favorite passages or sections at best (leaving me with a very thin Bible) or disregard some obscure or confusing passages completely at worst.
So what does it mean that God’s word is “sufficient”?
A Definition of Sufficiency
Wayne Grudem defines it this way:
“The idea 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.”
This means that if Paul is right, then “all” in 2 Tim. 3:16 means “all.” God has inspired, curated and distilled all He wants us to know, in a process that took into 66 books.
These carefully selected books have been faithfully transmitted to us so that we can understand our fundamental human problem with sin but it also instructs us in God’s wise path ordained for salvation from it (2 Tim. 3:15, James 1:18; 1 Peter 1:23).
While it may not have the solution for every problem or sin we face, it does provide us with what we need to walk through whatever we encounter in life, be it identity issues, unexplained suffering, or persistent sin because it gets straight to the heart.
When we say God’s Word is sufficient, it does not mean it will give you the precise answer to every question we have in direct correspondence, but it will help us to parse out and understand what we really need to know. Then, with the help of the Holy Spirit, we can understand our hearts and fine-tune it to our particulars.
What a wonder that we have everything we need to grow in godliness, in the likeness of Christ! While I am certainly not against reading Christian books—and I often do!—this is the one Book we need to turn to first. This helps us to put what we read into perspective, perhaps as possible applications of God’s Word instead of rules we must follow.
This is an extensive topic, and theologians far greater than I have written extensively on this subject, so if you’d like to read more, please consult the resources below. My goal is not to define this doctrine, but simply to bring it up for your consideration: How sufficient do you consider Scripture?
Why This Doctrine Matters
If we fail to trust the sufficiency of Scripture, it will greatly impact how we will live. It will determine whether we recognize His indictment against us for our sins, accept His solution to save us from our sin, and trust His commands to walk away from our sin.
When we study God’s Word and believe that we have His complete truth, perfectly transmitted to us despite the translation, we can then use it as our standard to examine our thinking. It teaches us what is truly true so we can see more clearly what is false. This foundation of truth is essential if we are to seek to obey Him in the areas of our lives that are not 100% clear.
So how does this look in real life? Let me try to describe this through my own story.
Should I Homeschool My Kids?
Back in 2002, my husband and I decided to homeschool our children. When we started out, I thought I’d just take it a year at a time, but as I continued, my convictions deepened (that’s another story).
However, I will admit there have been seasons as I homeschool my children where I have wondered whether or not I should stick with this decision. There is nothing in Scripture that explicitly mentions this.
But God’s Word has still guided me in making this choice. First, it reminds me where God is going in His overarching Story. His plan is to cover the earth with His image bearers.
As a mother, I understand that when I bring forth children into this world, I am also bringing forth sinners as well. Because they are sinners from the moment of conception (Ps. 51:5), unless they are taught the pathway of salvation through Christ, they will die in their sins.
This is my primary responsibility God has called parents to do. Deuteronomy 6:4-9 describes the charge that He gave to the next generation of children after the exodus who have experienced redemption. They were to steep in God’s Word themselves and then speak of it to their children, whenever and wherever they can.
Knowing for myself how limited time is, I realized that if my children were spending 6-8 hours away from me every day, that time to instill God’s Word into their hearts would be short. How can I make the most of every moment I have to carry out this responsibility to do the good work of exposing the darkness, proclaiming His truth and helping my children walk in a manner worthy of Christ (Eph. 5:11-21)?
God’s Word also reminds me that my children’s salvation is not due to my efforts, but that He alone is the way (John 14:6). He alone saves them by His grace (Eph. 2:8-9).
But the risen Christ that calls me to Himself also calls me to love others by making disciples (Matt. 28:18-19). In doing so, I multiply more image bearers who likewise make disciples so that His glory will fill the earth.
As I grasp where God is going, I am invited by God to then decide. I realized that whether or not I homeschool is not the main question. The deeper issue is this: Will I commit myself to making disciples for Him in my home?
While the means is just as important as the end, I am learning that there are some things that God allows us the freedom to choose. He clearly delineates what is moral and immoral, legal and illegal, but if the areas are “gray,” He still has given us enough guidance to make a decision.
I don’t share this to be “the” way to make this decision, but I have been learning that even if Scripture doesn’t tell me what to do, it will certainly guide me. With the Holy Spirit that lives in me, I can trust that He can help me to make the best decision for the moment as well as walk with me through it, whatever implications arise.
Conclusion
If we’re honest, most of us are not going to consciously pursue what is immoral and illegal. However, most of us will grapple with things that can be acceptable either way: which cancer treatment should I pursue? Which job should I take? Should I get married before or after I finish school? The list goes on.
God’s Word may not give us those answers, but it will help us to think. What will glorify Him the most? What will help me to carry out His purposes for me in my lifetime? What will contribute most to His Kingdom development?
When we soak ourselves in God’s Word, we begin to know His heart better, where He’s going, what He prizes—and what He despises. Steeping ourselves in Scripture helps us to change and reshape our minds, the way we think.
And as He does, we begin to find the help we look for as we make these decisions. In the greater scheme, then, His Word is truly sufficient.
In the coming weeks, we will look at how to study His Word for ourselves, but I wanted to start here with this question. As you begin to grow in your conviction of the sufficiency of Scripture, may it help you to walk more faithfully with Him.
Note: As I wrote this post, I knew this issue was something we’d need to grapple with, but as I researched, I realized that I could not do it justice within the confines of this post. If anything, it just made me realize how much more I need to learn! For that reason, I chose to just touch on the topic enough to help me move forward in the flow of my own writing, but do not claim this to be an exhaustive treatment by any means. If you’d like a deeper understanding of this particular aspect of Scripture, please check out the following resources to develop your own convictions. I certainly will be!
Resources:
Wayne Grudem, Systematic Theology, ch. 8, “The Sufficiency of Scripture.”
Heath Lambert, A Theology of Biblical Counseling, ch. 2 and 6.
Stuart Scott and Heath Lambert, Counseling the Hard Cases, especially ch. 1.
Matthew Barrett, “The Sufficiency of Scripture” (essay)
Kevin DeYoung, “The Sufficiency of Christ and the Sufficiency of Scripture” (blog)
“Martin Luther Quotes on the Sufficiency of Scripture” (blog)
Albert Mohler, “Sufficiency of Scripture”—part 1 and part 2 (sermon)
John Piper, “Thoughts on the Sufficiency of Scripture”
John Street and Joni Eareckson Tada, “The Sufficiency of Scripture and Disability Ministry”—another example of how this idea may be applied in areas that may not seem to be covered by Scripture (podcast)
Ed Welch, “Is Scripture Sufficient for Counseling?” (blog)
And as we are talking about decision-making as well, I have appreciated Aimee Joseph’s Demystifying Decision-Making as well.
