1 – The Sufficiency
of Scripture – The Question and Definition of Terms
The Question
Can we rely on Scripture alone as the
authority for our lives, or should we look to extra-biblical sources in lieu of
Scripture or can we combine extra-biblical sources with Scripture?
It seems to me that, when asked, evangelical
Christians have little trouble with the Authority of Scripture, the Inerrancy
of Scripture or the Inspiration of Scripture, but when faced with the question
of the Sufficiency of Scripture, the Christian community begins to waiver. In other words, the Christian community seems
fairly willing to say that the Bible is authoritative or that the Bible is
inerrant (or infallible) so long as it is properly interpreted and has been
derived from proper sources. The
Christian community seems fairly comfortable with the concept of Inspiration;
that is, that the Word of God is “God breathed.” The real conflict arises when the believer is
faced with the question of lifestyle and everyday living and decision
making: Whether the Bible is sufficient
for all spiritual living.
Definition of Terms
The
Authority of the Bible has been defined as “The teaching that since God, the
supreme authority, has given us the Bible by divine inspiration, it has
derivatively the right to prescribe the belief and actions of Christians”
Millard J. Erickson, the Concise
Dictionary of Christian Theology, Revised Edition, (Wheaton, Il: Crossway books, a division of Good News
Publishers, 2001), 22.
The terms inerrant
and infallible are defined
variously: “The two words most often
used to express the nature of scriptural authority are inerrant and infallible. Though these terms are, on etymological grounds, approximately
synonymous, they are used differently.
In Roman Catholic theology inerrancy
is applied to the Bible, infallible
to the church, particularly the teaching function of pope and magisterium”
Walter A. Elwell, Ed., Evangelical
Dictionary of Theology, Second Edition,
(Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, A
Division of Baker Book House Co. 2001), 156.
The basic Protestant view is:
“Terms referring to the complete truthfulness of the Bible in what it
teaches. Inerrancy means that it teaches
no error. Infallibility means that it
will not fail to accomplish what it is meant to do” Erickson, The Concise Dictionary of Christian Theology,
Revised Edition, 22.
Inspiration
of Scripture
can be defined as, “The act of the Holy Spirit upon Biblical writers that
insured that what they wrote faithfully preserved divine revelation and made
the Bible effectively the Word of God” Erickson, The Concise Dictionary of Christian Theology, Revised Edition, 22.
“The Sufficiency
of Scripture means that Scripture contained all the words of God he
intended his people to have at each stage of redemptive history, and that it
now contains all the words of God we need for salvation, for trusting him
perfectly, and for obeying him perfectly” Wayne Grudem, Systematic Theology, (Grand Rapids, MI: Intervarsity Press, Great Britain and
Zondervan Publishing House 2000), 127.
Next we’ll look at “Is the Bible Sufficient?”
Doug
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