In Search of the Lord's Way
by Phil Sanders
All-Sufficient
God gave us every spiritual truth that we need in the scriptures to live godly lives and get to heaven. Today we'll study the all-sufficiency of the Bible.
- Because God is holy, we can regard every word that comes from God as sacred.
- Because our holy God knows everything and is all wise, we can consider the Word of God as wiser than anything that comes from man.
- Because God is holy, wise, and loving, we know that every word that comes from God is for our best interest.
- Because God has the words of eternal life, and because we love Him, we must listen and obey His Words carefully.
Many in the world do not like what the Bible teaches. Some in the religious world imagine that they can improve on Biblical faith and provide a Christianity that is more pleasing to the world; so, they twist the scriptures to make them say what they want rather than listen to what God actually says.
Others in the world
believe that Christians ought to change their moral standards so that the world
can, without shame, feel free to practice things that the Bible calls sin. But the idea of changing God's eternal
teaching in any way must offend God and disturb anyone who loves Him.
The
Lord Jesus said
Matt. 4:4 But Jesus replied, "It is written and forever remains written, 'Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes out of the mouth of God.'"
We need to pay much closer attention to the Word of God because we need every word that comes from His mouth. God hasn't forgotten anything or neglected to tell us anything that we need to know to live holy lives, to function as the church, or to get to heaven. We aren't lacking anything; and our Bible can guide us into all the truth! Are you reading your Bible?
Our reading today comes from Paul's letter to the Galatians, dealing with the one true gospel.
Gal. 1:6 I am astonished and extremely irritated that you are so quickly shifting your allegiance and deserting Him who called you by the grace of Christ, for a different [even contrary] gospel;
Another gospel? Could there be another gospel? Paul explains it in verse 7.
Gal. 1:7 which is really not another [gospel]; but there are [obviously] some [people masquerading as teachers] who are disturbing and confusing you [with a misleading, counterfeit teaching] and want to distort the gospel of Christ [twisting it into something which it absolutely is not].
Then in verse 8 Paul through the Holy Spirit says,
Gal. 1:8 But even if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to that which we [originally] preached to you, let him be condemned to destruction!
What he just said was so important, he repeated it.
Gal. 1:9 As we have said before, so I now say again, if anyone is preaching to you a gospel different from that which you received [from us], let him be condemned to destruction!
The Bible clearly reveals that from the time of Moses, God wanted His wisdom, His instructions, and His promises to be written down and preserved for later generations.
Exodus 24:4 says,
Exodus 24:4 Moses wrote down all the words of the Lord.
and this book was preserved in the Ark of the Covenant according to Deuteronomy 31. God commanded Moses that every seven years
Deut. 31:11 when all Israel comes to appear before the Lord your God in the place which He chooses, you shall read this law before all [the people of] Israel so that they may hear.
God told Moses to
Deut. 31:12 Assemble the people, the men and the women and children and the stranger (resident alien, foreigner) within your cities, so that they may hear and learn and fear the Lord your God [with awe-filled reverence and profound respect], and be careful to obey all the words of this law. 13 Their children, who have not known [the law], will hear and learn to fear [and worship] the Lord your God, as long as you live in the land which you are crossing the Jordan to possess."
This law was vitally important to the Lord. Pay close attention to what God wants the parents to teach their children.
God commanded,
Deut. 4:2 You shall not add to the word which I am commanding you, nor take away from it, so that you may keep the commandments of the Lord your God which I am commanding you.
Again, Moses wrote,
Deut. 5:32 Therefore you shall pay attention and be careful to do just as the Lord your God has commanded you; you shall not turn aside to the right or to the left.
In other words, God said don't deviate from My commandments.
A third time God said,
Deut. 12:32 "Everything I command you, you shall be careful to do it; you shall not add to it nor take away from it.
God wanted His instructions to be obeyed just as He gave them without any changes at all. So settled was the word that God gave, that Solomon said, again through the Holy Spirit,
We know that JoshuaPro. 30:6 Do not add to His words, Or He will reprove you, and you will be found a liar
Josh. 24:25 So Joshua made a covenant with the people that day, and made for them a statute and an ordinance at Shechem. 26 And Joshua wrote these words in the Book of the Law of God...
We know that
I Sam. 10:25 Then Samuel told the people the requirements of the kingdom, and wrote them in a book and placed it before the Lord....
God told Isaiah to
Isa. 30:8 Now, go, write it on a tablet before them And inscribe it on a scroll, So that it may serve in the time to come As a witness [against them] forevermore.
We know that Ezra
Ezra 7:10 For Ezra had set his heart (resolved) to study and interpret the Law of the Lord, and to practice it and teach His statutes and ordinances in Israel.
Now I know, all of these are from the Old Testament and not commandments to us but to them. But they do tell us God's attitude toward His word.
The New Testament uses the phrase "It is written" over 90 times. They stressed the authority of the written Word of God. In Matthew 22:29 Jesus rebuked the Sadducees because they did not know
Matt. 22:29 ... "You are all wrong because you know neither the Scriptures [which teach the resurrection] nor the power of God [for He is able to raise the dead].
God undoubtedly intended from the very beginning that His Words and deeds should be preserved in scripture. What God writes is not just written on paper with ink, but stands written for all people in all places for all time.
God has never allowed men to tamper with or to edit His written words. Paul told the Corinthians that they "were not to go beyond what is written" (I Corinthians 4:6). Later, Paul said it's disgraceful and underhanded
II Cor. 4:2 ... not walking in trickery or adulterating the word of God,
When some Jewish leaders tried to pervert the gospel, Paul said they were accursed (Galatians 1:8-9). When some false teachers tried to change the doctrine that Christ came in the flesh, John said,
II John 9 Anyone who runs on ahead and does not remain in the doctrine of Christ ...
That is, one who is not content with what Jesus taught,
II John 9 Anyone who runs on ahead and does not remain in the doctrine of Christ does not have God; but the one who continues to remain in the teaching [of Christ does have God], he has both the Father and the Son.
When people tamper with or edit the teaching of God, they cannot expect to remain in the favor or grace of God.
At the end of the book of Revelation, John warned against anyone tampering with that particular book. Revelation 22:18-19 says,
Rev. 22:18 I testify and warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book [its predictions, consolations, and admonitions]: if anyone adds [anything] to them, God will add to him the plagues (afflictions, calamities) which are written in this book; 19 and if anyone takes away from or distorts the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away [from that one] his share from the tree of life and from the holy city (new Jerusalem), which are written in this book.
Of course, what is true of the book of Revelation is also true of every book of the New Testament. We must not add to or take away anything from what God has caused to be written. The Bible doesn't need to be re-written or edited; it needs to be reread and followed!
Why would God forbid adding to or taking away from His scriptures? It is because God's message is complete and final. It says everything that God intended to say; and so, to change scripture in any way challenges God's wisdom and His authority.
Changing God's Word to
suit our culture, or rewriting God's laws to please ourselves, is an act of
utter rebellion and it dishonors God. Changing
God's teaching or His moral laws says men are smarter and wiser than God, that
they know better than He knows. That's
presumptuous.
The
Lord Jesus promised the apostles,
John 14:26 But the Helper (Comforter, Advocate, Intercessor—Counselor, Strengthener, Standby), the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name [in My place, to represent Me and act on My behalf], He will teach you all things. And He will help you remember everything that I have told you.
They not only had the privilege of hearing the voice of Jesus, they also had the Holy Spirit to remind them of the Lord's teaching.
Again, Jesus said,
John 16:12 "I have many more things to say to you, but you cannot bear [to hear] them now. 13 But when He, the Spirit of Truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth [full and complete truth]. For He will not speak on His own initiative, but He will speak whatever He hears [from the Father—the message regarding the Son], and He will disclose to you what is to come [in the future].
The Lord Jesus knew the apostles would face many problems and would need guidance into all the truth. Jesus didn't withhold any truth; the Spirit guided them into all the truth. If they received all the truth, then no more truth would come in other centuries. They received every truth needed by the church to live as God would have them live and to have eternal life.
The apostle Peter, guided by the Holy Spirit, said,
II Peter 1:3 For His divine power has bestowed on us [absolutely] everything necessary for [a dynamic spiritual] life and godliness, through true and personal knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence.
Peter never imagined that they were cheated out of some spiritual truth that they could only find outside the scriptures in some human tradition or in some feeling that they think came directly from the Holy Spirit. He never taught that our culture's values trump whatever God said long ago. No, he saw that everything that we need can be found in the Bible.
Paul also understood the all-sufficiency of the Scriptures. He wrote to the young preacher Timothy,
II Tim. 3:14 But as for you, continue in the things that you have learned and of which you are convinced [holding tightly to the truths], knowing from whom you learned them, 15 and how from childhood you have known the sacred writings (Hebrew Scriptures) which are able to give you the wisdom that leads to salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.
That means surrendering your entire self to Him
and having absolute confidence in His wisdom, power and goodness.
Then he
goes on to say,
II Tim. 3:16 All Scripture is God-breathed [given by divine inspiration] and is profitable for instruction, for conviction [of sin], for correction [of error and restoration to obedience], for training in righteousness [learning to live in conformity to God's will, both publicly and privately—behaving honorably with personal integrity and moral courage]; 17 so that the man of God may be complete and proficient, outfitted and thoroughly equipped for every good work.
Paul didn't point Timothy to later-day prophets, to church councils, or to cultural trends that would correct the teaching of the Lord. He told Timothy to look to scripture. We must do the same. The scriptures can make us wise to salvation; they are God-breathed and profitable. We aren't lacking anything when we possess the scriptures.
Acts 17:11 says,
Acts 17:11 Now these people (Bereans) were more noble and open-minded than those in Thessalonica, so they received the message [of salvation through faith in the Christ] with great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so.
They wanted to know what was true!
- Paul said the scriptures are profitable for teaching. Psalm 119:105 says,
Psa. 119:105 "Your word is a lamp to my feet, And a light to my path."
Christianity is built on teaching or doctrine. The Lord Jesus said,
John 8:31 So Jesus was saying to the Jews who had believed Him, "If you abide in My word
That means continually obeying His teachings and living in accordance with them. Then
John 8:31... you are truly My disciples. 32 And you will know the truth [regarding salvation], and the truth will set you free [from the penalty of sin]."
Only the truth can set us free.
Acts 2:42 says that the early church
Acts 2:42 They were continually and faithfully devoting them-selves to the instruction of the apostles, and to fellowship, to eating meals together and to prayers.
That teaching is preserved for us in the New Testament.
Paul urged Timothy,
II Tim. 2:2 The things ...
That's the doctrine, the precepts, the admonitions, the sum of His ministry.
II Tim. 2:2... which you have heard me teach in the presence of many witnesses, entrust [as a treasure] to reliable and faithful men who will also be capable and qualified to teach others.
- The scriptures are profitable for reproof. Scripture teaches us convincingly what is right and wrong and it rebukes us for our sins.
Paul was interested in perpetuating what had already been taught, not in looking to some later day church canon or supposed prophecy.
The psalmist cried out,
Psa. 119:9How can a young man keep his way pure? ...
The answer is,
Psa. 119:9 ... By guarding it according to your word. 10 With my whole heart I seek you; let me not wander from your commandments! 11 I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.
Reproof leads to repentance. Repentance is a change of heart that leads to a change of ways.
- Reproof gives a need for the third thing that is to be profitable in scripture, and that is correction. The Scriptures move us to repent and correct our wrongs and to leave false teachings for the truth.
In the book of Acts, chapter 18 introduces us to a Jew named Apollos who was an eloquent preacher, but he was only acquainted with the baptism of John and did not know about baptism into Christ.
Acts 18:26 says
Acts 18:26 He began to speak boldly in the synagogue, but when Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him aside and explained to him the way of God more accurately.
When Apollos learned the truth, he didn't get angry at Priscilla and Aquila for their correction. When we're corrected, we shouldn't get angry but should humbly change and thank God for the truth. Repentance brings healing to our souls, and that is why repentance is so very important.
- Fourth, Scripture is profitable for training in righteousness. The instructions of the New Testament and the examples found in Scripture train us
- how to love and care for others,
- to serve and worship God,
- to evangelize,
- to restore the fallen, and
- to be the church that Jesus loves.
It teaches us how to live godly lives and how to go to heaven. It teaches us to be like Jesus. We need the examples of the New Testament to guide us in doing good to others. In Scripture we learn
- how to forgive,
- how to be patient,
- how to endure hardship, and
- how to serve.
The
gospel message is all-sufficient for all time. We must preach the gospel that the apostles
preached in the first century.
I Peter
1:22-25 says,
I Pet. 1:22 Since by your obedience to the truth you have purified yourselves for a sincere love of the believers, [see that you] love one another from the heart ...
That means always unselfishly seeking
I Pet. 1:22 ... the best for one another], 23 for you have been born again
That is, reborn from above—spiritually transformed, renewed, and set apart for His purpose.
I Pet. 1:23 ... not of seed which is perishable but [from that which is] imperishable and immortal, that is, through the living and everlasting word of God. 24 For, "All flesh is like grass, And all its glory like the flower of grass. The grass withers And the flower falls off, 25 But the word of the Lord endures forever." And this is the word [the good news of salvation] which was preached to you.
Psalm 119:160 says,
The same gospel that purified souls in the first century will purify souls today. There's only one imperishable seed planted in the hearts of people causing them to be born again into Christ. That seed existed in the first century and will last until the end of time.Psa. 119:160 The sum of Your word is truth [the full meaning of all Your precepts], And every one of Your righteous ordinances endures forever. We need to believe the Word of God, that it is sufficient and teaches us all that we need to know.
If we corrupt or change that seed, it won't produce a truly born again person. It will produce something else outside the truth. Our souls are purified by obedience to the truth of the Lord's gospel, not by obedience to a gospel that's reconfigured to suit some human tradition or our culture.
Hebrews 2:1-3 says,
Heb. 2:1 For this reason ...
That is, because of God's final revelation in His Son Jesus and because of Jesus' superiority to the angels.
Heb. 2:1 ...we must pay much closer attention than ever to the things that we have heard, so that we do not [in any way] drift away from truth.
Why?
Heb. 2:2 For if the message given through angels [the Law given to Moses] was authentic and unalterable, and every violation and disobedient act received an appropriate penalty, 3 how will we escape [the penalty] if we ignore such a great salvation [the gospel, the new covenant]?
God hasn't called us to follow our feelings or to be like those who surround us; He has called us to obedience to His inspired and all-sufficient word.
II Corinthians 10:18 says,
II Cor. 10:18 For it is not he who commends and praises himself who is approved [by God], but it is the one whom the Lord commends and praises.
Are you paying close attention to God's Holy Word?
The New Testament teaches us all that we need to know to become a Christian and to live the Christian life. We can know the truth and be saved.
To become a Christian,
- believe with all your heart that Jesus Christ is God's Son.
- Repent of every sin, turn to what is right.
- Confess Jesus as the Christ, the Son of the living God.
- Be baptized into Christ, immersed in water in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins.
When you're baptized, God forgives your sins; He adds you to His church; and you become a child of God. After you become a Christian, stay close to God by living faithfully and by abiding in the words of Jesus.
