2
Timothy 3:17-18 “All Scripture is
breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction,
and for training in righteousness. That the man (and woman) of God may be
complete, equipped for every good word”
Continuing
from the last post, this article on the revelation of God elucidates that according
to the doctrine of Scripture encapsulated in the Latin tern “sola Scriptura (by
Scripture alone), Scripture is the only infallible rule of faith because the
Word of God is the “theopneustos” (God breathed) special revelation that we use
today, then no man-made rule of faith can supersede Holy Scripture. There is no
higher court to which we can appeal for faith and practice, for there is
nowhere else besides Scripture where we can simply find God’s voice today. By
definition, God is the highest authority possible.
That
God’s Word is inspired does not mean that He dedicated it or that He overrode
the personalities, gifts, and stylistic choices for the human authors through
whom the written Word of God has come to us. It does mean that God worked in
and through these authors such that their words are His words. The Creator of heaven
and earth, who spoke the Cosmos into existence, can do this, and did. So “sola
Scriptura” leads us to the doctrine of biblical sufficiency. To say that Holy
Scripture is sufficient is to say that the Bible contains all that we need for determining
what we must believe and how we are to live before all-powerful, all-knowing
and all-seeing God’s. Scripture must be interpreted if we are to understand
what we are to believe and how we are to act, but the sufficiency of Scripture
indicates that we need no other source of special revelation for faith and life
in addition to the Bible.
Ephesians
2:8-10 “For it is by grace
that you have been saved, through faith – and this not from yourself, it is the
gift of God – not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s
workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared for
us in advance.”
Having
affirmed that God’s Word is profitable for “teaching,
for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness”, the Apostle
Paul explains that Holy Scripture is enough to make us “complete, equipped for every good work.”
Scripture in its totality is all that is needed so that we will be completely
prepared to serve the Lord. A good work is anything that is pleasing to God, so
cover from determining sound doctrine to knowing the deeds the Lord requires us
as proof of our faith. Being equipped for every good work requires
understanding the doctrinal foundation of God-pleasing actions and the actions
themselves, as is seen in the New Testament moving from presenting doctrine
that must be believed to practical applications and moral instruction. To be
complete means to be one in whom there is nothing defective. To avoid being
defective with respect to faith and life, we must study Holy Scripture and put
its teachings into practice.
Isaiah
55:11 “So shall my word be
that goes out from my moputh, it shall not return to me empty, but it shall
accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent
it.”
We
are tempted to look for God’s holy Will and Way in places other than the one
place He has revealed it – His Word. As we ponder the will of God for our
lives, we must be careful to follow the guidance of Scripture. Scripture cannot
fail to teach the truth. It is sufficient to give us the principles we need to
know to please God wherever we are and whatever we are called to do.
Proverbs
30:5-6a “Every word of God
proves true; He is a shield to those who take refuge in Him. Do not add to His
words.
In
Christ, Brian
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