Alderwood Community Church February 14, 2016

Transcription

1 1 Alderwood Community Church February 14, 2016 GOD SPEAKS: THE DOCTRINE OF THE WORD OF GOD Part 5 The Sufficiency of the Word of God 2 Peter1:1-4, 2 Timothy 3:14-17 Intro: A STORY IS TOLD ABOUT WILLIAM RANDOLPH HEARST, the late newspaper publisher. Hearst invested a fortune in collecting great works of art. One day he read about some valuable pieces of art and decided that he must add them to his collection. He sent his agent abroad to locate and purchase them. Months went by before the agent returned and reported to Hearst that the items had at last been found they were stored in his own warehouse. Hearst had purchased them years before! Sadly, many Christians are just like that. They are on a desperate search for spiritual resources they already possess. They are on a futile quest for something more based on a false notion that what they already possess in Jesus isn t enough, so they believe they need something more more of Christ, more of the Holy Spirit, some kind of ecstatic experience, mystical visions, signs, wonders, miracles, a second blessing, tongues, a higher or deeper spiritual level, or whatever. Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. Ephesians 1:3 To have Jesus is to have every spiritual resource. All we need is found in Him as revealed in His Word. Satan s strategy all along is to cast doubt on God s goodness and His Word. One of his lies is that Jesus and His Word are somehow insufficient to meet all our spiritual needs. This is why Paul warned, But I am afraid that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent s cunning, your minds should be led astray from your sincere and pure devotion to Christ. 2 Cor. 11:3 Rather than attempting to add something to Christ we must simply learn to use the resources that are already ours in Him. *Read Text: 2 Peter 1:1-4 Big Idea: The Bible contains everything we need and everything God wants us to know in order to trust and obey him. Everything- Every parent would confidently wear a t-shirt that says, What part of No don t you understand? I think if God could wear a t-shirt, he would wear one that says, What part of everything don t you understand? sufficient as much as is needed; enough, competent, well qualified, able. lifegodliness-

2 2 Where does all this come from? God, by means of His divine power [He] has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. 1. Consider God s Love and Goodness in Giving and Preserving His Word for Us. The Cross is the symbol of the greatest act of love ever demonstrated. But the Bible has recorded the life, teaching, eyewitness testimony of his miracles, his death, his burial and his resurrection. Where would we be without this book? The fact that God revealed himself to us in this book, and inspired the many men who wrote it, and preserved it for us in our own language is right up there with the crucifixion itself as a staggering act of love. What a gift! God moved in the heart of men like William Tyndale, John Rogers and even our own David and Brianne Millard to translate the scriptures into languages so people could know and understand God s great love. 2. All That We Need and All That God Wants Us to Know Is Found in the Bible. Is the Bible enough for knowing what God wants us to think or do? Absolutely! Are we to look for other words from God in addition to those we have in Scripture? No. Wayne Grudem defines the sufficiency of Scripture as follows: 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 everything we need God to tell us for salvation, for trusting him perfectly, and for obeying him perfectly. This definition emphasizes that it is in Scripture alone that we are to search for God s words to us. It also reminds us that God considers what he has told us in the Bible to be enough for us, and that we should rejoice in the great revelation that he has given us and be content with it. Significant scriptural support and explanation of this doctrine is found in Paul s words to Timothy, from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings which are able to instruct you for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus (2 Tim. 3:15). Other passages indicate that the Bible is sufficient to equip us for living the Christian life. Once again Paul writes to Timothy, All scripture is inspired 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). Here Paul indicates that one purpose for which God caused Scripture to be written is to train us that we might be equipped for every good work. If there is any good work that God wants a Christian to do, this passage indicates that God has made provision in his Word for training the

3 3 Christian in it. Thus, there is no good work that God wants us to do other than those that are taught somewhere in Scripture: it can equip us for every good work. A similar teaching is found in Psalm 119: Blessed are those whose way is blameless who walk in the law of the LORD! (v. 1). This verse shows an equivalence between being blameless and walking in the law of the LORD : those who are blameless are those who walk in the law of the Lord. Here again is an indication that all that God requires of us is recorded in his written Word: simply to do all that the Bible commands us is to be blameless in God s sight. To be morally perfect in God s sight, then, what must we do in addition to what God commands us in Scripture? Nothing! Nothing at all! If we simply keep the words of Scripture we will be blameless and we will be doing every good work that God expects of us. (Grudem) A. Look nowhere else! In Scripture alone we are to search for God s word for us and his will for us. The sufficiency of Scripture undergirds the Reformation cry of sola Scriptura, or Scripture alone. This doesn t mean we try to approach the bible without the help of good teachers, scholarly resources, and tested doctrinal formulas. Alone means that Scripture is the final authority. Everything must be tested against the word of God. (1) There are no missing books. The sufficiency of Scripture reminds us that we are to add nothing to Scripture and that we are to consider no other writings of equal value to Scripture. The apocrypha that is found in the Catholic Bible does not belong in Scripture. The gospel of Thomas does not belong, as some claim it does. The book of Mormon is not the other testament of Jesus Christ. Mary Baker Eddy s book, Science and Health with a Key to the Scriptures, are not on par with the scriptures or even close to it in authority. Can Scripture Be Written Today? (Driscoll) No. The only people who could write Scripture were prophets and apostles people who were witnesses of God s revelation in Jesus, or authors like Luke sho based his Gospel on eyewitness testimony and on the report of the aposltes who were eyewitnesses. Our way of saying this is that the canon of Scripture is closed. No books, not even a word, will be added to the Bible. John s warning at the end of Revelation applies to the Bible as a whole: I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book, and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book. Revelation 22 (2) There is no continuing revelation today. So, yes, God still speaks. He is not silent. He communicates with us personally and directly.

4 4 We may refer to this ministry of the Holy Spirit as his convicting work, we refer to his promptings or leanings. The Spirit definitely illuminates our minds and enables us to understand the word of God and even brings to our recall the scriptures we have read. But this ongoing ministry is not ongoing revelation. The sufficiency of Scripture shows us that no modern revelations from God are to be placed on a level equal to Scripture in authority. At various times throughout the history of the church, and particularly in the modern charismatic movement, people have claimed that God has given revelations through them for the benefit of the church. However we may evaluate such claims, we must be careful never to allow (in theory or in practice) the placing of such revelations on a level equal to Scripture. 4 We must insist that God does not require us to believe anything about himself or his work in the world that is contained in these revelations but not in Scripture. And we must insist that God does not require us to obey any moral directives that come to us through such means but that are not confirmed by Scripture. The Bible contains everything we need God to tell us for trusting and obeying him perfectly. (Grudem) (3) Don t place traditions above God s Word. Tradition certainly has a place in understanding God s word and formulating the church s doctrinal convictions. We should learn from the great teachers who have come before us. But even the great creeds, catechisms, and confessions are valuable only as they summarize what is taught in Scripture. They must be held in a secondary position to scripture. At this point we differ from Roman Catholic theologians, who would say that we have not found all that God says to us about any particular subject until we have also listened to the official teaching of the church throughout its history. (4) Don t seek experiences. Illus: A pastor was conducting a series of meetings in several churches in North and South Carolina. He was staying in the home of some close friends in Asheville and traveling each night to wherever he was speaking that evening. One night he was scheduled to speak at a church in Greenville, South Carolina, which is several hours from Asheville. Because he didn t have a car, some friends from Greenville offered to transport him to and from the meeting. When they arrived to pick him up, he bid farewell to his hosts and told them he hoped to be back by midnight or soon afterward. After ministering at the Greenville church, he stayed awhile to enjoy some fellowship and then rode back to Asheville. Approaching the house, he saw the porch light on and assumed his hosts would be prepared for his arrival because he had discussed the time of his return with them. As he got out of the car, he sent his driver on his way, saying, You must hurry. You have a long drive back. I m sure they re prepared for me; I ll have no problem. He felt the bitter cold of the winter night as he walked the long distance to the house. By the time he reached the porch, his nose and ears were already numb. He tapped gently on the door but no one answered. He tapped a little harder, and then even harder but still no reply. Finally,

5 5 concerned about the intense cold, he beat on the kitchen door and on a side window. But there was still no response. Frustrated and becoming colder by the moment, he decided to walk to a neighboring house so he could call and awaken his hosts. On the way he realized that knocking on someone s door after midnight wasn t a safe thing to do, so he decided to find a public telephone. It was as dark as it was cold, and the pastor wasn t familiar with the area. Consequently he walked for several miles. At one point he slipped in the wet grass growing beside the road and slid down a bank into two feet of water. Soaked and nearly frozen, he crawled back up to the road and walked farther until he finally saw a blinking motel light. He awakened the manager, who was gracious enough to let him use the telephone. The bedraggled pastor made the call and said to his sleepy host, I hate to disturb you, but I couldn t get anyone in the house to wake up. I m several miles down the road at the motel. Could you come get me? To which his host replied, My dear friend, you have a key in your overcoat pocket. Don t you remember? I gave it to you before you left. The pastor reached into his pocket. Sure enough, there was the key. That true story illustrates the predicament of Christians who try to gain access to God s blessings through human means, all the while possessing Christ, who is the key to every spiritual blessing. He alone fulfills the deepest longings of our hearts and supplies every spiritual resource we need. Believers have in God s Word everything they will ever need to meet any trial, any craving, any difficulty they might ever encounter in this life. B. We are not bound by anything not found in Scripture. The sufficiency of Scripture reminds us that nothing is sin that is not forbidden by Scripture either explicitly or by implication. To walk in the law of the Lord is to be blameless (Ps. 119:1). Therefore we are not to add prohibitions to those already stated in Scripture. From time to time there may be situations in which it would be wrong, for example, for an individual Christian to drink coffee or Coca-Cola, or to attend movie theaters, or to eat meat offered to idols (see 1 Cor. 8 10), but unless some specific teaching or some general principle of Scripture can be shown to prohibit these (or any other activities) for all believers for all time, we must insist that these activities are not in themselves sinful and they are not in all situations prohibited by God for his people. The sufficiency of Scripture also tells us that nothing is required of us by God that is not commanded in Scripture either explicitly or by implication. This reminds us that the focus of our search for God s will ought to be on Scripture, rather than on seeking guidance through prayer for changed circumstances or altered feelings or direct guidance from the Holy Spirit apart from Scripture. It also means that if someone claims to have a message from God telling us what we ought to do, we need never assume that it is sin to disobey such a message unless it can be confirmed by the application of Scripture itself to our situation. C. Be content with what God has revealed to us in the Bible. It is enough!

6 6 There are some subjects about which God has told us little or nothing in the Bible. We must remember that The secret things belong to the LORD our God (Deut. 29:29) and that God has revealed to us in Scripture exactly what he deemed right for us. We must accept this and not think that Scripture is something less than it should be, or begin to wish that God had given us much more information about subjects on which there are very few scriptural references. To affirm the sufficiency of Scripture is not to suggest that the Bible tells us everything we want to know about everything, but it does tell us everything we need to know about what matters most. Scripture does not give exhaustive information on every subject, but in every subject on which it speaks, it says only what is true. And in its truth we have enough knowledge to turn from sin, find a Savior, make good decisions, please God, and get to the root of our deepest problems. Illus: One great example of the sufficiency of God s Word is found in Luke 16:19-31, the story of the rich man and Lazarus. Jesus tells how the rich man who died in unbelief and was suffering in torment. Jesus explains how the man in anguish had a conversation with Abraham across a chasm that separated those who had died in faith from those who had died in unbelief in the days prior to Jesus opening heaven. The man in anguish was concerned for his five brothers who remained alive and in unbelief. Luke 16:29-31 reports: Abraham said, They have Moses and the Prophets; let them hear them. And he said, No, father Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent. He said to him, If they do not hear Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be convinced if someone should rise from the dead. 3. Search the Scriptures with Confidence and Humility. God has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him Marriage, sexuality, conflict resolution, forgiveness, parenting, the use of our money, time management, aging God s Word addresses or gives principles that instruct us and empower us to please Him in every area of life. 4. Treasure God s Word. (Psalm 119) Psalm 119 is a love poem about the Word of God. It repeatedly expresses the author s passion for God s word. Psalm 119 teaches us three primary things about God s Word: (1) What we should believe about the Word of God. (a) God s word is entirely true and always true. The Psalmist said, for I trust in your word. (42) We can t trust everything we read on the internet. DeYoung correctly assess life today, We can t trust everything we hear from our professors. We certainly can t trust all the facts given by our politicians. We can t even trust the

7 7 fact-checkers who check on the facts! Statistics can be manipulated. Photographs can be photoshopped. Magazines covers can be airbrushed. Our teachers, friends, our science, our studies, even our own eyes can deceive us. But the word of God is entirely and always true. (DeYoung) Your word, O Lord, is eternal; it stands firm in the heavens. (89) It doesn t change! To all perfection I see a limit, but your commands are boundless. (96) It contains nothing corrupt, they are perfect. (b) God s commands are good and righteous. I know, O Lord, that your laws are righteous. (75) (c) God s word provides what is good. The word of God is the way of happiness. Blessed are they whose ways are blameless, who walk according to the law of the Lord. (1-2) The word of God gives strength. My soul is weary with sorrow, strengthen me according to your word. (28) The word of God makes us wise. Your commands make me wiser than my enemies, for they are ever with me. I have more insight than all my teachers, for I meditate on your statutes. (98-99) (2) What we should feel about the word of God. (a) We are to delight in the word of God. The word of Scripture are sweet like honey (103), the joy of our heart (111), and wonderful (129). Over and over the psalmist professes his great love for the commands and testimonies of God. Oh, how I love your law! I meditate on it all day long. (97) (b) We are to desire the word of God. At least 6 times the psalmist expresses his longing to keep the commands of God and at least 14 times he expresses his desire to know and understand God s word. (c) We are to depend on the word of God. (3) What we should do with the word of God. Psalm 119 is filled with actions words illustrating the Spirit-prompted uses for the Bible: We sing the word of God, we speak it, study it, store it in our hearts, praise God for it, obey it and pray that we would act according to it.

8 8 Illus: A POOR MAN HAD WANTED TO GO ON A CRUISE all his life. As a youngster he had seen an advertisement for a luxury cruise, and ever since, he had dreamed of spending a week on a large ocean liner enjoying fresh sea air and relaxing in a luxurious environment. He saved money for years, carefully counting his pennies, often sacrificing personal needs so he could stretch his resources a little further. Finally he had enough to purchase a cruise ticket. He went to a travel agent, looked over the cruise brochures, picked out one that was especially attractive, and bought a ticket with the money he had saved so long. He was hardly able to believe he was about to realize his childhood dream. Knowing he could not afford the kind of elegant food pictured in the brochure, the man planned to bring his own provisions for the week. Accustomed to moderation after years of frugal living, and with his entire savings going to pay for the cruise ticket, the man decided to bring along a week s supply of bread and peanut butter. That was all he could afford. The first few days of the cruise were thrilling. The man ate peanut-butter sandwiches alone in his room each morning and spent the rest of his time relaxing in the sunlight and fresh air, delighted to be aboard ship. By midweek, however, the man was beginning to notice that he was the only person on board who was not eating luxurious meals. It seemed that every time he sat on the deck or rested in the lounge or stepped outside his cabin, a porter would walk by with a huge meal for someone who had ordered room service. By the fifth day of the cruise the man could take it no longer. The peanut-butter sandwiches seemed stale and tasteless. He was desperately hungry, and even the fresh air and sunshine had lost their appeal. Finally, he stopped a porter and exclaimed, Tell me how I might get one of those meals! I m dying for some decent food, and I ll do anything you say to earn it! Why, sir, don t you have a ticket for this cruise? the porter asked. Certainly, said the man. But I spent everything I had for that ticket. I have nothing left with which to buy food. But sir, said the porter, didn t you realize? Meals are included with your passage. You may eat as much as you like! Lots of Christians live like that man. Not realizing the unlimited provisions that are theirs in Christ, they munch on stale scraps. There s no need to live like that! Everything we could ever want or need is included in the cost of admission and the Savior has already paid it for us! There s a single word that encompasses all the riches we find in Christ: grace. What a magnificent word it is! It is used more than 150 times in the New Testament to speak of divine favor bestowed on undeserving people. It is the means by which we receive every physical and spiritual benefit. And these benefits are recorded for us in this Book! Big Idea: The Bible contains everything we need and everything God wants us to know in order to trust and obey him. Search it! Treasure it! Resources: Systematic Theology Wayne Grudem The Sufficiency of Christ John MacArthur, Jr. Taking God at His Word Keven DeYoung