The Bible’s Sufficiency • 10.13.24
Jack Flaherty   -   October 13, 2024

The Bible’s Sufficiency

Responding rightly to the truth about Scripture

  1. Recognize that God is enough
  2. Trust that God has given all we need in the Scriptures
  3. I must study, meditate on, and obey God’s sufficient word

 

Good morning! My name is Jack Flaherty and I serve as one of the pastors here at Harvest. I am excited to open up God’s Word with you all today. Before we do lets dismiss our 4th and 5th graders. Also invite the ushers to pass out the Bibles. Reminder that this is a topical series on the Word of God, so we are going to be a bit all over the Bible today. Also, quick refresher of what we believe as a church about God’s Word: “We believe the Scriptures of the OT and NT are all inspired by God and inerrant in their original writings. We believe the 66 books of the OT and NT are God’s complete and sufficient revelation and therefore carry God’s authority for the total well-bring of mankind.”

 

Last week we hit on the Bible’s Authority. This week of we are diving into The Bible’s Sufficiency. What do we mean by sufficiency?. Sufficiency–to cause to be or to have what is adequate, to be satisfied with (BDAG); also plenty or enough (BDB); also enough to meet the needs under the law of a situation or a proposed end (Merriam-Webster).

 

I’ve had three groups of people in mind preparing this sermon. First those who whole heartedly affirm & hold tightly to sufficiency, which is many of us. My caution to some of us is to not hold this too extremely where we become Bible thumpers. “GOD SAID.” Yes, that’s true & we kicked off with authority for a reason. However, the Bible sufficiency is not the same as our competency to handle the Scriptures. So affirm but Bible not self. Second those who whole heartedly deny this. This group says we need more than what the Bible can give. My plea is hear what God says. Third those who with our mouths affirm sufficiency yet in practice have a bunch of BUTs. “It’s sufficient BUT we need this or that too.” Not saying we outwardly deny & our heart is to affirm knowledge found by God’s common grace. Yet in subtle & not-so-subtle ways our adding or subtracting undercuts the Bible & God himself. So my caution is to consider your belief & practice.

 

No matter where you land this topic will act like a rock in the middle of a pond. You know what happens when you toss a rock into a still body of water? It sends out ripple effects. At first it starts very small and then eventually works out till the whole pond is impacted. Even if we think this is a small matter it has big implications! David Powlison questions, “are the Scriptures comprehensive internally, or is there something that is vital that is external to the scriptures?” MUST we have something else? If yes, care, goals, and practice will be dramatically different and cause ripple effects in our lives. Our position on sufficiency matters.

 

Today we want to be Responding rightly to the truth about Scripture. It is my prayer that we would walk out of here today not just with a pebble producing right ripple effects, but also that some of us might notice the pebble in our shoe that is making this life more painful than it needs to be. And I must confess that as I prepared to preach on the sufficiency of Scripture, I ironically found myself turning to many reference books, papers, etc. None of those are necessarily bad things and I’d love to share.  However, they all kept giving me Bible! So unapologetically my hope today is to overwhelm you by the Bible’s own testimony. May God prove for himself from the Scripture the sufficiency of his Word. Our first right response to the sufficiency of Scripture is to…

  1. Recognize that God is enough

As we defined above, sufficient means nothing else NEEDED! As Goldie Locks would say “Not too much, not too little, just right.” Too often we say I NEED or I MUST. Guess what, God tells us in His Word that He is enough. First and foremost, God is enough for himself. He is self-sufficient and has been so eternally. Theologians use the fancy word aseity to describe this attribute. Didn’t, doesn’t, and won’t ever need anything else. But is this just some concept that theologians made up because they like fancy words or is this true? Well what does the Bible say?

 

Ex 3:13-1513 Then Moses said to God, “If I come to the people of Israel and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what shall I say to them?” Moses wants to know what he should say to the people about who God is. He can’t make it up, God gets to define the terms. This is the first time God reveals his proper name.14 God said to Moses, “I am who I am.” And he said, “Say this to the people of Israel: ‘I am has sent me to you.’ ” God tells us he is “IAM.” He is the Creator! The uncaused Causer of all things who need no one and nothing else. He is eternally self-existent and he is independent of anything or anyone. 15 God also said to Moses, “Say this to the people of Israel: ‘The Lord, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.’ This is my name forever, and thus I am to be remembered throughout all generations. He’s also commissioner sending people out. He’s also covenant keeping God to be known and remembered for all generations. In short, God tells Moses I am enough & I will show it to you (which he does )

 

Psalm 90:2 “ Before the mountains were brought forth,

or ever you had formed the earth and the world,

from everlasting to everlasting you are God.”

God’s been around. Did not need anything or anyone. Still doesn’t. He is enough!

 

Isaiah 46:9-10

“9 remember the former things of old;

for I am God, and there is no other;

I am God, and there is none like me,

10 declaring the end from the beginning

and from ancient times things not yet done,

saying, ‘My counsel shall stand,

and I will accomplish all my purpose,’”

Isaiah, who we spent time with this year & will spend more sweet time with next year, tells us God there is none is like God. He declares end & beginning. His counsel stands & he accomplishes his purposes. He doesn’t need someone else to do or to tell him how it is. He is enough.

 

Revelation 22:13 I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.

Again, God is the beginning and end. He is all and all. He doesn’t need anyone or anything else.

 

All of this is great. Uncaused causer, beginning and end, doesn’t need anyone else. But this is where we need to see God isn’t just enough for himself. Even better God is enough for us.

 

You might say, wait a minute does it follow that God’s self-sufficiency then applies to his sufficiency for me? It was a good thought experiment in the office this week! Really the only way to bridge that reality is first that God tell us he is enough for us and second that God demonstrates that reality from his entire character. There’s not one single attribute at play. He is self-sufficient, but he’s also gracious to share his sufficiency with us. He is good, but he also has the authority to carry out that goodness in this world. He has all power and that power is manifest in mercy and love. We could keep going. I think what we need to see is that God is enough within himself yes, but as Creator he also offered himself to be enough for us and told us show in the Bible. Consider a few passages that show us God is enough for us.

 

Psalm 73:25-26

“25 Whom have I in heaven but you?

And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you.

26 My flesh and my heart may fail,

but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. “

Nothing else but God! May this be true for us! Flesh and heart fail but God wont EVER! He is always enough for us in heaven and on earth.

 

Colossians 1:16-17 “For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. 17 And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together” All things come from him, are for him, & he keeps them together. He’s enough for the whole universe.

 

Philippians 4:19 “19 And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.” Doesn’t this sound like sufficiency? God will give us all that we need!

 

James 1:17 “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.” Where do good things come from? The one who never changes but eternally provides, meets needs, is enough.

 

Eph 1:3 “3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places” Not some, a few, just shy of what we need, but EVERY spiritual blessing. Sounds good to me!

 

2 Cor 3:5 5 Not that we are sufficient in ourselves to claim anything as coming from us, but our sufficiency is from God, Not sufficient from our own selves nor from someone else or some other discipline of study. That sufficiency comes from God! Common grace does give helpful things but seems God says those are not the necessary things. We have enough! And actually v6 goes on to say God has made us sufficient to be ministers of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit. For the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life. Second Corinthians is a terrific letter speaking to God being enough for us. Listen and note all the superlatives. 2 Cor 9:8-9 8 And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work. 9 As it is written, “He has distributed freely, he has given to the poor; his righteousness endures forever.”

And again in 2 Corinthians Paul talks about his own struggles in life, ones he has asked God to remove from him, he doesn’t turn to any other source to deal with this thorn in the flesh.2 Cor 12:9-10 “9 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 10 For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong. “ If you think you are dealing with something that is too big, you’re probably right. BUT GOD IN HIS GRACE IS SUFFICIENT! It might hurt and be a thorn in your flesh, struggle with sin, hard relationship, physical pain, whatever. God will show his power to be enough in your weakness.

 

All this ultimately happens to us through Jesus! Who showed his power in what the world would see as weakness. He humbled himself. He defeated death by death and came through to the other side. Paul says he is content for the sake of Christ. He can handle all these things because his sufficiency is not from himself but from the Son of God, Jesus Christ. Jesus ultimately is the final revelation of God to us, the final disclosure of all we need. He his enough!

 

Consider Jesus’ interaction with Philip in John 14:8-9 “8 Philip said to him, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us.” 9 Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?” How can you see show me more? We have enough! Jesus says he is the enough we need. That’s why the writer of Hebrews could say what he does in a passage many of our children are memorizing Hebrews 1:1-3 “Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, 2 but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. 3 He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,”  Sat down to show its finished. Nothing new we need from God but what he has already given us of himself by his Son, revealed by the Spirit in the Word of God.

 

God being complete and needing nothing from anything else, has provided everything else with what they need. That includes God has provided all the necessary information about Himself and His will for mankind through the Bible. The Bible is fully sufficient for guiding human life and understanding faith without needing additional revelations or sources.

 

God’s enoughness guarantees the completeness the Scripture. Which brings us to our second response today.

 

  1. Trust that God has given us all we need in the Scriptures

Now we probably don’t balk at God’s enoughness. By definition he is enough! But when we say the Bible has all we need that might be harder to swallow. But the Bible only has all we need because it was given by the one who is all we need! So with tons of Bible lets see what God says about His Word. Maybe the most important verse on this matter is the one we will start which and shares the rest of our thinking in this point.

 

2 Peter 1:3 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 Do we trust that God is enough and has given us all we need? Then we ought to trust that he has given us all we need for life and for godliness in Scripture. Now it doesn’t say God has everything there is to know. We aren’t omniscient. Nor does it say we will always know the exact answer in an exact situation. However, what we have is sufficient, either directly or principally. We don’t NEED anything more or less. Infact the Bible warns against adding or subtracting.

 

Deut 4:2 2 You shall not add to the word that I command you, nor take from it, that you may keep the commandments of the Lord your God that I command you.

 

Prov 30:5-6

Every word of God proves true;

he is a shield to those who take refuge in him.

 Do not add to his words,

lest he rebuke you and you be found a liar.

Another one our little ones are working on. Every word is true, including this word about having all we need for life and godliness. Do add to his words and don’t say we need more but run to the shield who is true and proves enough.

 

Isaiah 40:8

8 The grass withers, the flower fades,

but the word of our God will stand forever.

This word lasts! It’s not that we have to wait till the newest business or entertainment strategies come out to survive. We don’t need the latest psychological or sociological realities to figure things out. We don’t need political takeover to sort things out. We need the Word of God which stands forever and has been and always will be enough.

 

Matthew 5:18 18 For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished. Jesus says law/Scripture is not going anywhere.

 

Rev 22:18-19 18 I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book, 19 and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book. Strong words that We don’t do the adding or subtracting. Nick shared last week 2 Peter 1:20-21 that men didn’t come up with Scripture but spoke as they were carried by God the Holy Spirit. We don’t make it up, we don’t add or subtract!

Maybe surprising to you, but the Bible actually tells us that God doesn’t give us all the knowledge. Deut 29:29. “29 “The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things that are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law. “ This is a freeing passage! There are things that are secret and belong to the Lord. Do you want to know what they are? Sorry you cant! They belong to God. And that’s the same God who is enough and loving and good and kind and eternal. Trust that and do the rest of what is very clear!

 

Revelation 10:4 “4 And when the seven thunders had sounded, I was about to write, but I heard a voice from heaven saying, “Seal up what the seven thunders have said, and do not write it down.” There are things we don’t need to know, otherwise God would have written it down. Even Moses being asked to turn his back and not see God’s face or disciples being told we don’t know the day or the hour. We don’t know literally everything, but we know enough!

 

Again, we aren’t promised to know all the information. That’s why we are tempted to add or subtract. We can learn information outside the bible, even helpful information. And in good faith we may want to add that. But while the Bible does not provide all answers to every possible question, it does provide answers for all we need to know. May we be wary of saying we NEED more for life and godliness. That undercuts the God who is enough and said he’s given us enough. He has given it to us by the very Word’s he has breathed out. Which is another huge passage.

 

2 Tim 3:15-17 14 But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it 15 and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. 16 All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work. God breathed out his very Words to us! These Words from the God who is enough are enough for us! The Bible is sufficient! And in two specific ways show here in 2 Timothy 3.

  • It is sufficient for salvation
  • It is sufficient for sanctification

First, we see in v14-15 that Paul tells Timothy it wasn’t the cosmos, or entertainment, or business model of the church, or social media adds, or even the eloquence of a preacher but the Scriptures that made him wise to salvation! Places like Romans 10 echo this. It is through the proclamation of the Word of God alone that we have what we need to be right with God.

 

But also for sanctification. That’s what v16-17 say. All of it comes from God and brings profit in teaching what to do, reproving what not to do, correcting when we make a boo boo, and training in all righteousness. Why? That we may be ehh ok? No, COMPLETE! Equipped for EVERY good work. God has given us enough to live on and please him!

 

Yes, there are hundreds of situations we face today that the Bible doesn’t specifically address because we encounter issues that the original authors and audiences would have never imagined. BUT the Bible perfectly equip us for every good work NOT by telling us the exact right decisions to make for every situation we may face. Rather, the Bible provides us with hundreds of narratives illustrating specific situations that may resemble the ones we’ll face. It gives us thousands of commands and prohibitions from which we may draw principles to apply to new issues. It presents us with a display of the nature and character of God so that we may make exactly the kind of decisions he would make without him having to tell us. Actually, those who insist that the Bible doesn’t address something are limiting the profitability of Scripture. The Bible applies to everything!

 

John Calvin said, “We are to read our Bibles and we are to read the world with our Bibles.” Every truth claim is to be evaluated through the lens of Scripture and cannot be put on par with Scripture. For the plumber, the president, the pre-schooler, parent, pastor and parishioner, all each of them need is in the Word of God. This is a subject that has been hotly debated, even very recently. Its one that maybe be tempting you to think of the maybes and exceptions and nuances. As a guy who loves the nuance let me say, there is no nuance. The Bible is sufficient.

 

This has been the issue in every age, attacks on the Word. What did Satan do in the garden of Eden? Cast doubt on God’s Word. What got Israel in trouble their whole history? Not listening to the Word of God. What did Satan try to do to Jesus after 40 days of fasting in the desert? Misuse and twist Scripture! Yet these twisting’s don’t mean reject Scripture. It means we need to know them and rightly apply them. The Bible was sufficient for Jesus as he responded to all three of those temptations with “it is written”! We just learned in James 4 “resist the Devil and he flees.” That whole section was about humility. We submit ourselves to and trust in the authoritative and sufficient Word of God! Lord forgive us for thinking your word insufficient. We have all we need. From the Spirit, thru Word, breathed out to us by God, we have all we need!

 

For good measure, let’s again overwhelm you with the Bibles testimony of itself.

 

John 17:17 17 Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. Sanctified by nothing else. That’s been the story of every false religion of all time. Jesus + ______. But Jesus himself prays that his followers are sanctified by the WORD.

 

Heb 4:12-13 12 For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. 13 And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account. Context is dealing with hardening of sin and entering rest. The deep problems that harden us to sin and can’t be dealt with any other way are answered by the Bible’s faithful wounds.

 

Acts 17:11  11 Now these Jews were more noble than those in Thessalonica; they received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so. Who wants to be “more noble”? Me! The adequacy and sufficiency of life is a daily diet of the Word.

 

And to continue in Acts, how about Paul with the Ephesians elders.Acts 20:20 20 how I did not shrink from declaring to you anything that was profitable, and teaching you in public and from house to house. Told them everything! Didn’t shrink back! What was the content of that teaching?

Acts 20:27 27 for I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole counsel of God. The B-I-B-L-E that’s the book for me! And yet more Paul says a few verses later. Acts 20:32 32 And now I commend you to God and to the Word of his grace, which is able to build you up and to give you the inheritance among all those who are sanctified. This Word is commended to build up and give an inheritance! Keep your Bible strapped on you and as Psalm 119:9-11 says stored in you to fight sin and walk with the Lord!

 

1 Thess 2:13 13 And we also thank God constantly for this, that when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men but as what it really is, the word of God, which is at work in you believers. He thanks God that they heard the Word! Not as from man but as from God! See the Scriptures as divine breathed out words and as what is really doing work!

 

Isaiah 55:11

11 so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth;

it shall not return to me empty,

but it shall accomplish that which I purpose,

and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.

The Word that works not only is sufficient but efficient and efficacious! Won’t return void!

 

Even in trouble its enough. After all he went through with losing family, farm, friends, Job says

Job 23:12 12 I have not departed from the commandment of his lips;

I have treasured the words of his mouth more than my portion of food.

No matter hard times Bible is better than food! Fasting hints at this. Bible makes us wise to salvation and sanctification but we gotta take it in. Job says the best nutrients is the Word not bread. That’s what Jesus tells us in Matthew 4:4 But he answered, “It is written, “ ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’ ” The Bible is our daily bread! But the bread life is doing no good sitting on the shelf. Eat it up and do so all the time. As the famous Shema says

 

Deut 6:6 4 “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. 5 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. 6 And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. 7 You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. 8 You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. 9 You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates. Put God’s Word everywhere! Where it can be seen!

 

Feeling the weight of this yet? Hopefully you’re seeing the ripple effects. It matters because we either trust what God has said or we don’t. We either look to the Word for the sufficient source or we don’t. First and foremost to see what we need about Jesus. Turn to and trust in Jesus and what he’s revealed of himself in the Scriptures! We have answers to our questions and God’s commands. We have all we need to teach and be taught. We cannot and should not add to scripture NOR see anything on par with it. Further we need not over emphasize what the Bible doesn’t, not call sin what the Bible does, not require what the Bible doesn’t. Calibrate our consciences accordingly not come up with the rules on our own. Paul in Romans 15:14 seems convinced we have what we need to competently care for one another. Not just each individual person but together we can care for with the Word. Lets be content with and trust that we have enough in the Scriptures!

 

What does this trust look like in action? If we recognize and agree with the Word, when it says that God is enough. If we also trust God when he says his Word his word is enough. Then that brings us to our final response today

  1. I must study, meditate on, and obey God’s sufficient Word

 

I want to camp out in Psalm 19. Frist look at some of what the Word of God is said to do in v7-9!

Psalm 19:7-9

 The law of the Lord is perfect,

reviving the soul;

  • V7a Salvation— we don’t need to make it marketable it is perfect and revives the soul.

the testimony of the Lord is sure,

  • V7b Its sure and secure. We need that!

making wise the simple;

  • V7c Skill in living–The idea of “simple” is that someone is naïve and who leaves open door. BUT God makes that person wise. They are skilled in the art of godly living.

8 the precepts of the Lord are right,

rejoicing the heart;

the commandment of the Lord is pure,

enlightening the eyes;

  • V8 joy and enlightening– from Bible. Or where do you go? We have true Word to follow!

9 the fear of the Lord is clean,

enduring forever;

the rules of the Lord are true,

and righteous altogether.

  • V9 Clean to draw us to worship/to produce fear of Lord in us. Its pure and there is no updating needed. Rules, verdicts, and judgements are true. What a battle we have in the world for truth today and the Word of God has answers!

If all this is true and is energized by Spirit oh my goodness! Lean into, chew on, and follow that!

 

But there is still more. Now look at is said about the value of the Word of God in v10-13.

Psalm 19:10-13

10 More to be desired are they than gold,

even much fine gold;

  • Greatest possession—gives you what’s needed

sweeter also than honey

and drippings of the honeycomb.

  • Greatest pleasure —gives joy

11 Moreover, by them is your servant warned;

  • Greatest protection —want to be aware of problems ahead? Bible!

in keeping them there is great reward.

  • Greatest profit —possessions can’t get any better.

12 Who can discern his errors?

Declare me innocent from hidden faults.

13 Keep back your servant also from presumptuous sins;

let them not have dominion over me!

Then I shall be blameless,

and innocent of great transgression.

  • Greatest purification—-sin I know and don’t know plan and happen upon clean me from all by the Word

If were missing something in our study, meditation is boring, our obedience is hard, that is never inadequacy of Bible. Rather that is inadequate human beings to study & apply & obedience.

 

Finally see the psalmist’s commitment to the Word of God in v14

Psalm 19:14

14 Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart

be acceptable in your sight,

O Lord, my rock and my redeemer

Whole life be acceptable by being consistent in our Bibles. What he speaks, ruminates on, talks about, is from the Word! Its all that was just listed above! But in order to do that, we need to know what the Bible says. How are you doing at studying the Word? We could go into polls numbers and that’d be interesting, maybe even here. But not to guilt or shame into it. If we think God is enough and he has given us enough in his word then we will delight to get what we need through careful and prayerful study of his Word!

 

Psalm 111:2 Great are the works of the Lord, studied by all who delight in them.

From my favorite podcast Bible Talk and it’s a reminder that studying is sweet! Not to fill our heads with facts BUT to helps us know all we need for life and godliness. God’s Word is enough but am I competent to find what I need and to help others to do the same. Study! Put in the work. Be ready to say, I don’t know what you’re going through and I don’t know what to do for myself, but God does and he wrote a book. One we ought to meditate on.

 

Psalm 1:1-2

1 Blessed is the man

who walks not in the counsel of the wicked,

nor stands in the way of sinners,

nor sits in the seat of scoffers;

2 but his delight is in the law of the Lord,

and on his law he meditates day and night.

But its not just to gain facts for the doing of life. We need to dwell on and enjoy what it says. Because part of that doing is changing our desires. The brain re-wires as we rehearse thoughts BUT how much more with the power of the Holy Spirit re-wires our hearts affections. Read the rest of this psalm and see the blessing of meditating on the Word. Then go DO IT and experience the blessing of meditating on the Word.

 

Finally, we study, and chew on, but then we need to take that to heart in belief to what it says

Luke 11:28 28 But he said, “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and keep it!”

Hear and obey Word to bring a blissful state of life. Not ignore or make the Bible say something other than what it says. But obey it and experience blessings of God.

 

This isn’t cold orthodoxy nor academic mumbo jumbo but this is a living and breathing truth for life! Don’t affirm its truthfulness yet abandon that in practice. Don’t hold it tightly yet fail to grow in your knowledge and application. And please don’t sit back and say not for me I don’t believe it. Be noble searching. Be joyful dwelling richly. Be saved by opening to the plan of redemption revealed herein. Though we don’t have time as some growth work, just go read Psalm 119 please!  God is enough for you today Christian brother or sister or you wandering loved one. God has given us enough for life and for godliness in his Word. Trust that! And then as a manifestation of that trust, go study, meditate on, and obey the Word. Get together with others to grow your ability to do all three! But don’t forsake the Word of God. The rock will have ripple effects in the pond of your life. May the be the ripples of the sufficient Word of God bring blessing to you and glory to God through our Lord Jesus Christ.

 

Pray