The Bible is Enough

Well, good morning everyone. My name's Steve. I haven't met you before. I'm the senior pastor here at St Paul's.

If you have just jumped in for the first time, we are just partway through a series in understanding the Bible,

growing confidence in the Bible in order that we might grow in confidence in the God who is the God of the Bible.

That's where we're up to right now. I'm going to pray that God might speak this morning, even as I struggle to.

Gracious God, we are grateful that we have this enormous privilege because of the shoulders that we stand on this morning

of those who have preserved for us your word so that it might in fact be in our laps in languages that we can understand.

Primarily, Lord, so that we might know you.

And so even as we engage with it now and even in my weakness, I pray that you would be clear and you would be strong

and that your word would come across as authoritative to us and that the result would be a greater and greater glimpse

of your magnificence and your glory and also a glimpse of our deep, deep need for you.

And we ask it for your sake. Amen.

So have you ever wondered if the Bible is really able to help you in your deepest problems?

Have you struggled to know what to do with your life and wish that you had had, you know, some special word from God,

clear word from God, special communication to tell you this is what you should do here?

Have you thought to yourself that as you look at the Bible and particularly the Bible's teaching on things like sexuality,

it kind of needs to be updated, there needs to be a revised version for the new modern era?

Have you ever wished for a more direct and even a more personal revelation

than what you might get from slowly and consistently reading the Bible?

Have you ever secretly wanted to add something to the Bible?

You've read something in there and you go, hang on a bit, I wish Paul had just clarified what he meant by that.

A little bit of extra information on that issue.

Have you ever secretly wanted to add something to the Bible just to make it in fact safer for your friends and family to read?

Have you ever wanted to take something away from the Bible so it doesn't offend your family and your friends?

If you have answered yes to any of those questions, and if you haven't, let me tell you, you will at some point in your life,

then you are struggling with what is known as the sufficiency of Scripture.

It's not unusual for Christians to know something, if you like, about the attributes of God,

you know, his justice, his mercy, so on and so forth.

On the other hand, what is not as commonly known amongst Christians are what are known as the attributes of Scripture,

the attributes of the Bible.

Protestant theologians generally highlight four essential characteristics of the Bible.

attributes of the Bible.

They are doctrines of the Bible.

The sufficiency of Scripture, the sufficiency, the clarity, the authority, and the necessity of Scripture.

Four of them.

Sufficiency, clarity, authority, and necessity.

Another way to put that is that God's Word is final.

God's Word is understandable.

God's Word is necessary.

And God's Word is enough, which is our topic for today.

I'm starting at kind of the end and working our way back over the coming weeks.

That's our topic today.

And I've got three points in terms of our topic today in terms of the Bible is enough,

the Bible's enough because Jesus is enough,

and then finally we're going to land on how Jesus and the Bible together are enough.

So starting of all the Bible is enough.

The sufficiency of Scripture means the Bible is clear enough to make us responsible

for carrying out our present responsibilities to our Creator.

That is, this particular teaching is an ethical teaching.

No one can say that God has not revealed himself enough in order to be saved or to live a life that is pleasing to him.

We don't need to add to it in any way in order to meet the challenges of the modern world,

or in fact to take away from it so that it aligns better with the priorities of the modern world.

God's Word is perfect and it is complete,

giving us all that we need to know about God, about Jesus, about salvation,

and living a life that's aligned to God's purposes.

If you want to specifically know what God's will is for your life,

it is already in the Scriptures.

And yet, this is the one attribute of all four,

the one attribute of the Bible,

that Bible-believing Christians are likely to forget the first.

It's the first one they're going to forget.

The sufficiency of the Bible is the one attribute

that is so quickly doubted or undermined by the average churchgoer.

It is possible, in fact, to say that all the right things about the Bible,

it's possible to read it regularly,

but when life gets tough,

when life gets confusing,

when life gets a little ho-hum,

a little boring,

we look for new words,

new revelation,

new experiences to bring us closer to God

or to get a sense that God loves me.

We may not feel excited at all

by the Bible's description of heaven,

but we are mesmeralized by the latest book

written by someone who has died

and said that they went there and have come back again

and told us about it.

We are captivated by that,

but not the Bible's description,

God himself and what he says about heaven.

We soak up stories of those who declare

that they've received a special revelation from God,

those who claim personal communication with God,

those who attest to regular inward promptings.

And we sit there and we go,

if only I could have more of that.

If only I could have that.

Something a little more than the Bible.

Then I would know that God really loves me.

But here's the issue.

And we're going to unpack this for the rest of this message.

The finality of Christ's redemption for us

on the cross for our sin

is intimately tied

to the finality of God's revelation to us.

Intimately tied.

Which leads me to my second point,

that Jesus is enough.

The big idea,

and we're going to turn to Hebrews chapter 1 here,

Hebrews 1 · chapter mention

so grab up Hebrews chapter 1 in your Bibles.

Hebrews 1 · chapter mention

The big idea in the first verses of Hebrews

is in fact the big idea of the entire book of Hebrews.

It's an introduction,

which then gets, if you like,

expanded upon through the rest of Hebrews.

And the big idea is that God has spoken by his son,

and his son is superior to all persons,

superior to all heavenly beings,

superior to all institutions,

superior to all rituals,

and any other means of revelation and redemption.

The first verses are here.

In the first two verses, we have contrasts.

In the past, God spoke to our ancestors

through the prophets at various times

and in various ways,

but in these last days,

he has spoken to us by his son,

whom he appointed heir of all things,

and through whom he also made the universe.

So those two verses,

we have four contrasts.

We have contrasts in eras,

recipients, agents,

and the way of God's revelation.

And all four contrasts

are meant to lead us to the same conclusion.

And that conclusion is decisively spelled out

in verses two to four.

And that conclusion is that Jesus Christ

is the superior and the final agent

of God's redemption and revelation.

The writer of Hebrews draws on Psalm 2 and Psalm 110

and makes seven affirmations to that end

in verses two to four.

The son is the heir of all things,

the creator of all things.

He's the sustainer of all things.

The son is the revelation of God.

The son made purification for our sins.

It says there,

the son sat down.

And let me just slow down on that one a little bit

because it's like,

what do you mean by the son sat down?

Just as a parent might sit down

at the end of the evening

because the kids are in bed,

the dishwasher's on.

And you go,

today my work is done.

That's what it means he sat down.

The work is done.

He's enthroned on high.

The work of revelation

and the work of redemption

is finalized and complete.

He sat down.

The task for sacrifice for sin

was complete in his death on the cross.

He is permanently enthroned.

And the seventh is in verse four.

The son therefore has become much superior

to the angels.

The whole theme of Hebrews

is that Jesus Christ

is the superior

and final agent

of God's redemption and revelation.

Chapters one and two,

he's superior to the angels.

Chapter three,

superior to Moses.

Chapter four,

sorry,

chapters three and four,

superior to Joshua.

Chapter five,

superior to Abraham.

Chapter six,

sorry,

Aaron.

Chapter six is Abraham.

Chapter seven is Melchizedek.

Chapter eight is the old covenant.

Chapter nine is the temple,

the tabernacle.

Jesus is superior to the high priest

in chapter 10.

He is the,

he's superior to all the treasures

of this world in chapter 11.

He is superior to God's revelation

of the Old Testament law

and Mount Sinai in chapter 12

as the gathering point of God's people.

And he is superior to any city

and any place in this world

that we might call home

in chapter 13.

Every single chapter.

is about the superiority

of Jesus Christ

as the final revelation

of redemption

and revelation of God.

He surpasses all others

because in him

we have the fullness

and the finality

of God's redemption

and revelation.

Jesus is enough

because he is superior

and the final agent

of God's redemption

and revelation.

And so the question

you might now have

is what has that got to do

with the sufficiency

of scripture?

And I'm so glad

you asked that question.

I'm so glad

I've got a third point.

Prior, you know,

prepared and ready

for this point.

Jesus with the Bible

are enough.

Or Jesus and the Bible

are enough.

A moment ago,

I said,

Jesus Christ

surpasses all others

because in him

we have the fullness

and the finality

of God's redemption

and revelation.

In many cases,

Christians understand

the concept of fullness.

Jesus is the fulfiller

of all the Old Testament

prophecies and promises.

He's the fulfiller

of the law.

We understand

that concept.

Everything in the Old Testament

is pointing to Jesus.

He has completed

all of its intention

and purpose.

The bit that we're often

not so clear on

is the bit

where I said finality.

The finality

of Jesus' work.

And we attach the idea

of the finality

of Jesus' work,

we understand that

in terms of

redemption.

But we don't connect

it to revelation often.

We struggle with

the sufficiency

of scripture.

The finality

of his work

was that he once

for all

paid for all sin.

He came to earth,

he lived amongst us,

he died on a Roman cross

and cried out

in his dying moments,

it is finished.

We're not waiting

for another king

to rule over us

or another prophet

to give us

some more information

or a further priest

to deal with our sin.

The work of redemption

is complete.

And what the book

of Hebrews says,

in fact,

what I declare

is the New Testament

and the Old Testament

as well,

you cannot separate

redemption

from revelation.

They're inseparable.

Both are finished

and finally fulfilled

in Jesus.

While the written

word of God,

the Bible,

which we have

in front of us,

and the word of God

made flesh,

the incarnate word

of God,

Jesus Christ,

are distinct,

they are also

inseparable.

every single act

of redemption

in the Bible,

from the exodus

out of Egypt

to the return

from exile

in Babylon

to the cross

itself

is an act

of revelation,

not just an act

of redemption.

They tell us

something about

the nature of sin,

the way of salvation,

and the character

of God.

Likewise,

the point of

all revelation

is to redeem.

That's the point

of it,

to redeem

sinful people

to God.

All the words

of the prophets,

all the words

of the law,

all the words

of the apostles

are not to make

us smart,

but to get

us saved

and into

the likeness

of Jesus

in his character

and his priority.

In other words,

redemption

reveals

and revelation

redeems.

They're

inseparable.

Jesus

is God's

full

and final

act

of redemption

and God's

full

and final

revelation

of himself.

As John

Frame has

written,

nothing can

be added

to his

redemptive

work and

nothing can

be added

to his

revelation

of that

redemptive

work.

Therefore,

and I think

this is more

of an

unbeknowing

issue

in that

we doctrinally

stumble into

error.

If we say

revelation

is not

complete,

we probably

are not aware

that what we

are automatically

doing is we're

saying that

redemption is

not complete.

One follows

the other.

If we say

there is more

that God

needs to

say to

me,

we're

saying

there is

more that

God needs

to do

for me.

That's

what we're

saying.

Now,

I'm not

saying that

God no

longer

speaks,

but we

must be

very careful

to understand

how God

speaks

now.

God

still speaks

through his

son,

Jesus

Christ.

Jesus

still works

through his

finished

revelation.

And God

keeps speaking

through what

he has

already

said.

That is

how he

speaks.

Hebrews 4

tells us,

sorry,

412 tells

us the

word of

God is

alive and

active.

And in

chapter 3

verse 7,

we are

told that

when the

scriptures are

read,

the Holy

Spirit

speaks.

God

continues to

communicate

with us

personally

and

directly.

But this

ongoing

communication

is never,

it is

never

ongoing

revelation.

revelation.

It is

never

ongoing

revelation.

It is

never

new

information.

The

Holy

Spirit no

longer

reveals new

doctrines,

but as we

are told in

John's

gospel,

he takes

everything

from Christ

and impresses

it upon our

hearts.

In fact,

it is only

because the

Bible is

in fact

final and

complete

revelation

of God.

It is

only because

it is

complete

that we

can actually

have right

now a

dynamic

where God

continues to

speak to

us.

The

great

Anglican

18th

century

preacher

George

Whitfield

was one

of the

greatest

orators in

the history

of the

world,

still regarded

to this

day.

Phenomenal

voice.

Benjamin

Franklin,

having heard

him preach,

didn't believe

all the

rhetoric about

George

Whitfield,

about him

being able to

speak to

hundreds of

people.

He did his

own calculations

at an event

where Whitfield

was preaching

and calculated

in actual fact

this guy can

speak with

his own

natural voice

to 30,000

people.

Purely a gift

from God.

But George

and his

wife had

trouble with

having children,

had many

miscarriages

and they

ended up

having one

child and

he named

him John.

After John

the Baptist

and at one

of these

crowds,

gatherings,

when his

new infant

son was

born,

one of these

gatherings,

thousands of

people,

he publicly

declared that

God had

told him

to name

him John

because he

was going

to grow up

to be a

great preacher.

Their

only child

John died

at four

months of

age.

And in

the depths

of his

grief,

he had

realised that

he had

taken a

good and

natural

feeling in

his heart

and

something

that he

wanted for

his child

and he

deified it.

He made

it,

God

impressed

this on

me.

He

thought it

was God

telling him

something

rather than

the longing

of his

heart.

Now I'm

not saying

from that,

and he

actually had

to publicly

confess it,

I'm not

saying that

God cannot

lead you

through your

feelings or

through

impressions or

impulses,

but what I

am saying

is you

can never

make a

decision on

it.

Because you

can never

be sure.

And that's

why I

say that

churches who

have value

systems that

say we

are spirit

led and

Bible guided,

second point,

separate those

points,

are theologically

in error.

Because the

spirit works

through the

word,

the final

word of

God.

And even

in that

moment,

if you are

certain

that this

is God

leading you,

you will

still have

experiences like

George

Whitefield,

the Bible

is enough.

That's the

sufficiency of

scripture,

it is

enough.

And we

should see it

as enough.

Realistically,

it is enough.

If you're going

to have a

personal

relationship

with someone,

you have to

have words

that you

know are

actually from

that

someone.

You know,

you've ever

had the

issue online

where you're

communicating with

someone and

you're,

hang on a

bit,

am I

actually

communicating with

the person I

think I'm

communicating from?

You know,

I've received

emails from

people that I

know,

good friends

at the top,

in fact,

I've received

one this

morning.

This guy I

know from

history,

bang,

here's an

email from

him,

but it

happens to

be my

junk box.

Is it

truly him?

Turns out

it's not.

To have

an ongoing

personal,

you need

words that

correspond with

that person,

certainty.

There are

moments where

Nat and I

look at each

other and

we are

wordlessly

adoring each

other.

I think

that's what's

going on.

No,

it happens.

And the

only reason

that is the

case is

because we've

got 27

years of

talking to

each other.

You would

not have

that confidence

at all in

the relationship

if you just

got married and

they never

spoke.

Never have

confidence in

the relationship.

If we had

spent 27 years

just staring at

each other,

I'm pretty sure

we would still

not be together.

you need

actual

words

that you

are confident

are coming

from the

person in

order to

build a

dynamic of

relationship.

The very

first dynamic

of personal

relationship with

God is the

acceptance of

the fullness

and the

finality of

the Bible.

every single

word is a

word from

God to

you.

Every word.

But that's

not all.

Because when we

trust the Bible

like that,

it's not just a

book of true

facts about

God, like the

Guinness Book of

Records is a

book of facts.

It's not

personal in any

way.

Have a look

at Hebrews

Hebrews 4:12

4 verses

12 and

13.

For the word

of God is

alive and

active, sharper

than any

double-edged

sword.

It penetrates

even to

dividing soul

and spirit,

joints and

marrow.

It judges

the thoughts

and the

attitudes of

the heart.

Nothing in

all creation

is hidden

from God's

sight.

Everything

is uncovered

and laid

bare before

the eyes

of him to

whom we

must give

account.

It's

telling us

here,

that God's

word is

alive and

active.

It's dynamic.

It is

personal.

It's

personal.

Because when

God speaks,

action happens.

His word is

active.

When he

commands

light for

there to

be light,

light is

the consequence.

That is,

his word

is his

action.

If I

commanded in

a dark

room,

let there

be light,

I've then

got to

put action

to my

word.

I've

got to

go and

flick a

light switch

or put a

bulb in

or something

to make

light happen.

For God,

his word

is his

deed.

Which means

you cannot

have God

actively working

in your

life without

his word.

His word

is his

power.

His power

operates through

his word.

His word

is how

his power

operates in

our lives.

Every

single word

is personal,

dynamic,

penetrating,

just like a

surgeon's

scalpel.

Bible.

I remember

a few years

ago now

preparing a

sermon.

And the

topic I

was dealing

with on

that day

was looking

at respectable

sins and the

particular topic

was judgmentalism

that I was

preaching on.

And so I'm

writing this

sermon and

reading the

text.

text.

And as

I'm doing

that, a

name kept

popping into

my head.

And I'm

getting out of

there.

Trying to

write a

sermon here.

Name keeps

popping in my

head.

And that

particular

person was

a person that

I considered

had sinned

against me in

this particular

way.

And then

all of a

sudden, as

I'm thinking

about them,

and I hope

they're going

to be there

on this

Sunday, or

that they

listen to

this, or

somehow get

it in their

lap, all of

a sudden the

scalpel fell.

And it

wasn't about

them, it

was actually

about me.

And the

word of God

convicted me in

quite a deep

way.

that I was

doing the

very thing

to them

that I was

considering they

were doing

to me.

I saw

the log in

my own

eye through

the work of

the Spirit

and comparison

to the speck

that was in

theirs.

It led to

repentance,

it led to

me contacting

that individual

and apologising,

and led to

gratitude

as I

reflected on

Jesus, was

the one who

in fact had

been judged

and condemned

by me for

me, so

that there is

no now, no

any longer,

any condemnation,

no longer any

judgement from

God towards

me.

the word of

God speaks

immediately,

it speaks

penetratingly,

it speaks

personally,

is what it

does.

That's the

dynamic of a

personal

relationship.

And for this

dynamic to

happen in

our lives,

we need to

accept it as

the final,

the full and

final revelation

of God,

and we need to

accept the bad

news that God

has to give

us.

Not just the

good news,

the word of

God has the

power to show

us things that

we don't want

to see or

accept in our

lives at all.

No one wants

to hear how

self-absorbed

they are.

Most of us

think that we're

really good

people, but

the Bible will

wipe us flat

on that point.

We don't want

to hear that.

In fact,

think about

your own

life.

Think about

my life.

Any personal

relationship that

has ever been

of any value

to me or

you is one

where the

other person

has had the

power to

confront us.

Any personal

relationship.

If we leave

out of the

Bible things

that we don't

like, how

will God

ever tell us

something that

we don't like

to hear for

our own

good?

Every single

one of my

closest friends,

every single

one of them,

has offended

me at some

point.

Every spouse

I've had

has offended

me at some

point.

That's only

one, by the

way, in case

you were...

What did he

say it like

that for?

Only as we

see the whole

Bible as

enough can

this happen.

However, it

is only as

we see the

Bible as

enough that

we accept it

fully, we'll

be able to

accept the

great things

that he wants

to tell us.

Until we

accept the

hard things,

we will not

be able to

accept the

great things.

1 John 3,

20, if our

hearts condemn

us, we know

that God is

greater than

our hearts,

and he knows

everything.

What words of

comfort is

there?

We don't

want to

believe what

the Bible

says about

how bad

we are,

and therefore

we will never

understand or

believe what

the Bible

says about

how much

we are loved

and affirmed

by God.

And unless

we are willing

to let the

Bible tell us

things about

our sin that

we don't want

to hear,

how will the

Bible ever

come in and

tell us

that we are

more loved

than we could

possibly imagine.

The Bible

alone, with

the work of

the Spirit, is

enough for a

dynamic, personal,

penetrating

relationship with

Jesus Christ, if

we accept it as

fully, full and

final.

Now, some of us

might be sitting

here and

going, Steve,

I've read the

Bible and I've

never had what

you've just

described.

Some others

know what I'm

talking about in

what I've just

said, but it's

been quite a

while since you've

had that kind of

dynamic.

dynamic.

The answer to

both, getting

it or getting

it back, is

not so much

getting your

doctrine of the

Bible straight.

That's not

really.

Don't study so

much the

attributes of

Scripture.

You study the

attributes of

God, is how

you get it

back.

get your

doctrine of

Jesus Christ

right, which

is why I spent

the most of

this talk on

the Bible about

the finality of

Christ's

revelation and

redemption.

The Bible is

not some

magical thing

that if I start

reading it, then

I'm automatically

going to experience

God's love.

To experience

God's love, we

have to understand

the main message

of the Bible.

Not just the

facts of the

Bible, not

just the

details, not

just the scope

of where the

bits fit.

You need to

know the main

message of

the Bible, which

is fundamentally

the gospel.

The main

message is that

the reason the

Bible is God's

final word is

because Jesus

Christ is

unsurpassable.

He is

supreme in

beauty and

majesty.

Supreme in

beauty and

majesty because

of who he is

and what he

has done.

He is the

radiance of

God's glory, the

exact representation

of his being.

He is God's

glory in human

form.

God's

God's glory in

God's glory in

the world.

He is the

God's glory in

the world.

He is the

glory in the

world.

Only as we see

this God

taking everything

that we deserve,

do we see his

beauty and the

Bible becomes a

living power in

our lives.

Only as we see

again and

again and

again and

again that

the perfect

one, the

one with

unsurpassable

radiance, was

pierced for

us.

Only then as we

see that again and

again and again

that he was

pierced for us,

will his word

ultimately pierce

our hearts.

firstś

as we

an

other

as we

use,

had to

talk about

us,

that 있기

he was

all

made

awesome

and

to

www.

datas

Luke

notices

that

we

see

that

what

all