Sufficient and Profitable (19)

(This begins the second major section in this series. If you need a reorientation, please review the general outline.)

2. SUFFICIENCY

Although it is not the main focus of our passage (2 Timothy 3:14-17), we have spent so much time on the inspiration of Scripture because, besides its inherent importance, it is the foundation for a proper view of the sufficiency and utility of Scripture. Given its claims and purposes, the Bible can be sufficient and profitable only to the extent that it is authoritative, so that a false view of inspiration will limit and distort all aspects of our relationship with Scripture – that is, all aspects of our Christian life and relationship with God.

Scripture is the very word and mind of God, and just as it is a contradiction to say that we love a person but hate everything about him (since everything about him is him), our love, faith, and reverence toward God can never rise higher than our love, faith, and reverence toward the Bible. Thus only the highest and most extreme view of inspiration can serve as a proper foundation for our Christian life. As we proceed, it will become evident how the sufficiency and utility of Scripture are dependent on its divine inspiration and absolute authority.

Now, when it comes to the sufficiency of Scripture, we cannot just say that "the Scripture is sufficient," and leave it at that. This is because the idea of sufficiency remains empty and meaningless unless we also ask, "For what is Scripture sufficient?" and "For whom is Scripture sufficient?" Something that is "sufficient" is sufficient for something, and not "sufficient" in general or in the abstract. The Bible contains the answers, but what are the questions?

This brings to mind a common pastoral problem. Christians often ask questions that they either should not ask in the first place, or that are latent with false assumptions and unbiblical concerns, so that from the start their approach blinds them to what Scripture is really saying.

(to be continued)