Theological Term of the Week

 

sufficiency of scripture

The principle that the words of scripture contain everything we need to know from God in order for us to be saved and to be perfectly obedient to him.

• From scripture:

  …from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work. ( 2 Timothy 3:15-17 ESV)

• From The London Baptist Confession of Faith, Chapter 1, Section 6:

  The whole counsel of God concerning all things necessary for His own glory, man’s salvation, faith and life, is either expressly set down or necessarily contained in the Holy Scripture, to which nothing is to be added at any time, either by new revelation of the Spirit, or by the traditions of men.

•  From Systematic Theology by Wayne Grudem:

  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….
  
  The discovery of this great truth could bring tremendous joy and peace to the lives of thousands of Christians who, spending countless hours seeking God’s will outside of Scripture, are often uncertain about whether they have found it. In fact, many Christians today have very little confidence in their ability to discover God’s will with any degree of certainty. Thus there is little striving to do God’s will (for who can know it?) and little growth in holiness before God.
  
  The opposite ought to be true. Christians who are convinced of the sufficiency of Scripture should begin eagerly to seek and find God’s will in Scripture. They should be eagerly and regularly growing in obedience to God, knowing great freedom and peace in the Christian life.

 Learn more

1. GotQuestions.org: “What is the doctrine of the sufficiency of Scripture? What does it mean that the Bible is sufficient?”
2. Scott McClare: The Authority and Sufficiency of Scripture 
3. Tim Challies: The Bible’s Sufficiency
4. Mark Thompson: The Sufficiency of Scripture
5. David G. Peterson: The Sufficiency of Scripture
6. Mark Dever: “God Told Me” and the Sufficiency of Scripture
7. John MacArthur: The Sufficiency of Scripture, Part 1 (mp3); The Sufficiency of Scripture, Part 2 (mp3)

Related terms:

• authority of scripture
• canon of scripture
• inerrancy of scripture
• infallibility of scripture
• inspiration of scripture
• perspicuity of scripture
• sola scriptura

Filed under Scripture. 

Have you come across a theological term that you don’t understand and you’d like to see featured here as a Theological Term of the Week? If you email it to me, I’ll seriously consider using it, giving you credit for the suggestion and linking back to your blog when I do.

Sunday's Hymn: Justification

We’ve worked our way clear through the reader’s choice hymns, so it’s my turn to pick the Sunday Hymn for a while. Here’e the plan: I’m going to feature a particular doctrine, mostly likely one I’ve already written about here, and chose a hymn  related in some way to that truth.

 

You do know, don’t you, that Paul tells us to teach “one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs” (Colossians 3:19 NASB)? That’s the primary reason I think the majority of the songs we sing in our churches should be song that teach us, and teach us right. The songs we sing together are supposed to be teaching tools.

 

This week’s doctrine taught in song is the doctrine of justification.

Jesus, Thy Blood and Righteousness

 

Jesus, Thy blood and righteousness
My beauty are, my glorious dress;
’Midst flaming worlds, in these arrayed,
With joy shall I lift up my head.

Bold shall I stand in Thy great day;
For who aught to my charge shall lay?
Fully absolved through these I am
From sin and fear, from guilt and shame.

The holy, meek, unspotted Lamb,
Who from the Father’s bosom came,
Who died for me, e’en me to atone,
Now for my Lord and God I own.

Lord, I believe Thy precious blood,
Which, at the mercy seat of God,
Forever doth for sinners plead,
For me, e’en for my soul, was shed.

When from the dust of death I rise
To claim my mansion in the skies,
Ev’n then this shall be all my plea,
Jesus hath lived, hath died, for me.

This spotless robe the same appears,
When ruined nature sinks in years;
No age can change its glorious hue,
The robe of Christ is ever new.

Jesus, the endless praise to Thee,
Whose boundless mercy hath for me—
For me a full atonement made,
An everlasting ransom paid.

O let the dead now hear Thy voice;
Now bid Thy banished ones rejoice;
Their beauty this, their glorious dress,
Jesus, Thy blood and righteousness.

—-Nikolaus Ludwig von Zin­zen­dorf,translated into English by Charles Wesley. (Listen.)

I’ve posted a few things on justification recently.

• Christ’s Active and Passive Obedience in Our Justification
  
• Quiz: Justification, with answers to questions 1, 2 and 3, 4, 5 and 6.
• Westminster Larger Catechism, Questions 70, 71, 72, 73, 77
  
• Richard Hooker on Justification

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Other hymns, worship songs, etc. posted today:

• On Our Way Rejoicing at Above the Clouds
  
• My Soul, How Lovely Is the Place at joythruChrist
• The Collect for the Nineteenth Sunday After Trinity at Magic Statistics
• The Beautiful Garden of Prayer at The Happy Wonderer
• Lord’s Day 41, 2007 at The Thirsty Theologian
  
• Sing, O Sing of My Redeemer at Hiraeth
• Trust and Obey at Seasoning of the Heart
• Christ is Made the Sure Foundation at Lux Venit
• Update: Dependence at Thoughts from the Teahouse
  

Have you posted a hymn this Sunday and I missed it? Let me know by leaving a link in the comments or by emailing me at the address in the sidebar and I’ll add your post to the list.

Update on Tuesday, October 16, 2007 at 10:10AM by rebecca

Isn’t this something? Ann B posted this as her Sunday Hymn, too. (See comments.) She says her dad wants this hymn sung at his funeral. I love that!

Favorite Things: Toy Truck

I’ve run out of scanned old photos and the thought of digging out another one, scanning it and posting it, makes my brain hurt. (Can you tell today was busy?) Instead of a Saturday’s Old Photo, let’s post a Favorite Things photo, because I already have a couple of those.

This is a toy truck made by my husband. I think it’s made of oak, but what do I know?

He made several of these. Both sons have one, a couple of friends have them, and maybe a cousin or two. This one is an extra, so it’s never been used. I suppose you could say it’s our display model.

The ones the boys have are not nearly so pristine, but it’s hard to haul loads of  building material for wooden block houses without getting a chip or two. This truck is versatile, too: Take the racks off the back and you’ve got flat bed, in case you need to haul a toy car or boat.