The Sufficiency of God’s Word

John Piper once said; "the Scriptures are sufficient in the sense that they are the only (once for all) inspired and (therefore) inerrrant words of God that we need, in order to know the way of salvation (make you wise unto salvation) and the way of obedience (equipped for every good work)."

In Psalm 19:7-14 we  find: 

The law of the Lord is perfect, refreshing the soul.  The statutes of the Lord are trustworthy, making wise the simple.  The precepts of the Lord are right, giving joy to the heart.  The commands of the Lord are radiant, giving light to the eyes.  The fear of the Lord is pure, enduring forever.  The decrees of the Lord are firm, and all of them are righteous.  They are more precious than gold, than much pure gold; they are sweeter than honey, than honey from the honeycomb.  By them your servant is warned; in keeping them there is great reward.  But who can discern their own errors?  Forgive my hidden faults.  Keep your servant also from willful sins; may they not rule over me.  Then I will be blameless, innocent of great transgression.  May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer.

And in 2 Timothy 3:16-17  we see:

All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

I know that God’s word is precious, I know it is needed and necessary and all sufficient but in our struggle to be relevant, to be authentic in our culture we must be careful to insure that our ministry is Christ centered as revealed by the Word of God.  I believe we must be relational to reach others, but is it possible to take being relevant too far?

David Platt in his book Radical says; “But is his Word enough for us?  This is the question that often haunts me when I stand before a crowd of thousands of people in the church I pastor.  What if we take away the cool music and the cushioned chairs?  What if the screens are gone and the stage is no longer decorated?  What if the air conditioning is off and the comforts are removed?  Would his Word still be enough for his people to come together?”

Something to think and pray about…Father God, I pray the words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart would be pleasing in your sight, Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer!  Amen and Amen.

Grace and Peace!