“It is written” The Authority and Sufficiency of Scripture                                     by Jack Kettler

This is an introduction to a six-part study on the authority and sufficiency of the Holy Scriptures.

It is important to have a theory of knowledge. The Christian must build his foundation of knowledge upon the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments. Many people assume that what they perceive to be truth is self-evident to all. This is not the case. Evidence is interpreted within the framework of a worldview. What constitutes a Biblically coherent approach to life or worldview? The Bible must be the bedrock or foundation for all of life and beliefs. P.T. Barnum said, a sucker is born every minute. Many people do not grasp the potential for deception and even self-deception.

Today in the Post Modern era, experience is set-forth as the ultimate test for truth. Experiential testimonials, secular and religious are used as recruitment techniques to gain members. The Christian must not succumb to this erroneous approach to truth, namely letting experiences guide us. On the contrary, the Scriptures must always interpret and test experience, tradition, spiritual leaders, and even the official theology of the church.

The Reformed faith is unique in that it places the Scripture paramount as the ultimate authority for life and truth. Many competing religious movements have attempted to undermine this teaching. When the Scriptures are acknowledged as the supreme authority, people are less likely to follow artful deceptive religious leaders, business and political con-men. When someone rejects the Reformed position on the Scriptures they open themselves up to all kinds of deception. They are not rejecting authority per se, just the Scriptures as the final court of appeal, or Sola Scriptura.

As said, some have followed leaders; their own vanity, traditions, or experience are lifted up as supreme. The authority of Scripture flows from the fact that it is God's Word. As will be shown, the Scriptures declare themselves to be God's Word. It follows necessarily then that the Scriptures are authoritative. God's authority and His Word are inseparable. This assertion needs to be established Biblically right at the outset.

To do this, consider the prophet Isaiah when he declares:

So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it. Isaiah 55:11

The Psalmist further confirms this truth:

By the word of the LORD were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth. The counsel of the LORD standeth for ever, the thoughts of his heart to all generations. Psalms 33:6,11

It should be obvious that God's Word is inseparable from His authority. The real issue is one of
authority. What role does the Bible have? False religious leaders attack the reliability of the Bible
in order to subordinate people to their own authority. Political con-men will twist the Scriptures in an attempt to get believers to pay additional taxes to the government instead of tithing to the church.

The pattern is always the same; the claim is the Bible is not sufficient.. The attacks upon biblical authority and sufficiency are sometimes very subtle, although at times bold claims are made about alleged missing or corrupted parts of the Scriptures. In the case of false religions, you supposedly need their leaders, traditions, books, or special insights to make up for the missing or unclear parts of the Bible.

The thesis that will be set forth in the following six-part series of articles is that since the Bible consisting of the Old and New Testaments are the Word of God, the believer can be certain that the Scriptures are authoritative and sufficient. Consequently, the Bible is the final court of appeal when seeking for truth. Neither the church or the state should never bind the consciences of men to non-biblical doctrine.

It is important to see at the start of this study just how closely God is identified with His Word. The implications of this Scriptural fact are enormous.

Consider this example from the book of Romans:

For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed. Romans 10:11

The book of Romans says, “the scripture saith.” When you consult Isaiah 28:16 whom the apostle is quoting you find that it is God speaking.

To establish this, consider Isaiah:

Therefore thus saith the Lord God, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation: he that believeth shall not make haste. Isaiah 28:16

In Romans we also read:

For the scripture saith unto Pharaoh, Even for this same purpose have I raised thee up, that I might show my power in thee, and that my name might be declared throughout all the earth. Romans 9:17

In Romans 9, was God speaking or the Scriptures? If there is any doubt, we know for sure after reading Exodus 9:16 that it is God speaking. Whereas, Romans says, “the scripture saith.” Therefore, God and His Word, the Scriptures are identical. It can also be said after looking at these passages, that God and the phrase “the Scriptures saith” are used interchangeably or in other words are synonymous.

The Scriptures declare God to be Sovereign or the absolute ruler over all. God has either preserved His Word from corruption or He has not. These are the only two choices. It will be seen as self evident from the Scriptures that God has sovereignly preserved His Word from corruption. This means that the believer can have confidence that he has the complete and sufficient Word of God to rest and base his life upon. As will be shown in this six-part series, this is the plain teaching of Scripture found throughout its pages.

It is my prayer that what God has revealed in the Bible about his Word will be edifying in this series of studies. The Bible provides a powerful testimony concerning itself. God has clearly spoken in the Bible. We can have the utmost confidence in Scripture.

Mr. Kettler is an ordained Presbyterian Elder and the owner of http://www.Undergroundnotes.com where his theological, philosophical and political articles can be read. He has worked in corporate America for over 30 years and is now realizing his dreams as a successful home business entrepreneur.