All Things: Biblical Inerrancy and Sufficiency

2 Peter 1:3: His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence.

In my own denomination (SBC), the last half-century has seen a recovery of the doctrine of inerrancy, the teaching that the Bible is without error or fault in all its teaching. Because of this great recovery of a biblical doctrine, the pulpits of local churches are filled with men who boldly proclaim the Scriptures as the inerrant Word of God week in and week out.

While I am overjoyed at the above recovery of inerrancy, the church must continue to press on toward a recovery and guardianship of all biblical doctrine. The focus of this short article is to advocate for a recovery of the doctrine of biblical sufficiency. The sufficiency of Scripture is the doctrine that says that the Bible contains sufficient information to determine how we are to live as Christians and what we are to believe. 

The crux of sufficiency is shown in the above verse from 2 Peter. God, in His divine power, has granted to us—the church—all things that pertain to life and godliness. God has not given us some things or even most things, but all things that pertain to life and godliness. These things include the structure and ministries of the church, our understanding of salvation and the entire body of biblical doctrine, and even how we ought to engage with the secular culture. Where then can we go to find out these things? We look to where God has revealed himself, the Bible. The Bible, as God’s own revealed and inspired and authoritative word has in it all things that pertain to life and godliness. The Bible is sufficient to order our lives and churches and inform our understanding of and engagement in the world. We can, through a full reading and understanding of Scripture, walk Christianly in the world to the glory of the very God who revealed himself in Scripture. I do not intend to give a list of the ways biblical sufficiency is being pushed back or attacked, but simply intend to show why we must be intransigent when it comes to the sufficiency of Scripture.

Why then is it necessary to recover and guard the doctrine of the sufficiency of Scripture?

1. The sufficiency of Scripture is inextricably linked to biblical authority and inerrancy.

Biblical inerrancy asserts that the Bible is without fault or error. All that the Bible teaches is authoritative and reflective of the God who inspired it. Therefore, if the truth-claims contained in Scripture are authoritative and inerrant while claiming themselves to be sufficient, the Bible is sufficient. Take for example again 2 Peter 1:3. God has given all things pertaining to life and godliness. The Bible is claiming that it is sufficient. If we have an inerrant Bible, we have a sufficient Bible.

2. Biblical sufficiency promotes the only way to live as a Christian in the culture.

As Christians, we are only given one holy Book, one Scripture: The Bible, containing the Old and New Testaments. We do not believe that revelation continues today, but that the words contained with the Bible are enough for us to live a life pleasing and glorifying to God in the world. In other words, walking with God according to Scripture is not one of many options; it is the only option. Because we only have one Scripture and we do not receive continuing special revelation, we can trust that the Bible as we have it is sufficient.

3. Biblical sufficiency pushes forward our reliance on Christ.

I often find myself wanting more revelation from God; I sinfully become dissatisfied with what God has given me in Scripture and in the presence of the Holy Spirit within me. Because we have been given all that we need for life and godliness, we are pushed to rely on Christ and his word more and more as we journey through life. Wholeheartedly believing in biblical sufficiency propagates a way of life that sees all sectors and spheres of one’s life as informed and guided and under the authority of God’s word. This type of lifestyle—which is radical in the world—relies more and more on Christ in more and more areas of life.

What then will be the result of such a recovery and heightened awareness of biblical sufficiency?

1. Stronger churches with equipped pastors and congregants

2 Timothy 3:16-17 says, “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 complete, equipped for every good work.” One of the purposes of Scripture is that the people of God—the church—would be equipped for good work in the world. When preachers preach that the Word of God is sufficient for all things, instilling a strong belief in this doctrine in their people, the church will stand equipped. When the church is equipped, the church is strong. 

2. Christians will be ready to weather the coming storm

Our comfortable, American culture has been pushing in a secular direction for decades. Lately, the push feels more like a leftward surge. As the culture secularizes, biblical sufficiency will be more unpopular and rare. Christians cannot give up the public square, but must stand prepared weather the coming—and already arrived—storm. The storm is gathering momentum in churches and propagates a false gospel that denies both sufficiency and inerrancy. Christians and churches who tightly buckle themselves into Scripture and its sufficiency for all matters will be ready.

3. A fuller and deeper understanding and trust of God’s promises

I can think of no greater comfort in difficult days than the promises God makes to his people. As God is perfect in every way, he also keeps his promises in every way. When trials and suffering—which seems so much more pronounced and often—come to the believer, we can know that God is a great promise keeper. His sufficient word displays his covenant faithfulness to his people. If his word is not sufficient, God is not trustworthy to keep his promise. We would be standing on shaky ground, unsure if he will keep us or not. However, God is good and we can rest easy knowing that he will keep us in his covenant to the end.

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I pray that this little post will increase your faith in God and his word. It is inerrant, infallible, and sufficient. God has given you all things that pertain to life and godliness; therefore, walk in his ways.