Welcome to the For the Gospel podcast. My name is Kosti Hinn and I am your host for this episode. Reminder that For the Gospel is all about sound doctrine for everyday people. And we have a lot of free resources for you on our website at forthegospel.org and on our YouTube channel, where we also feature our Fused Series, a series dedicated to helping you understand marriage, family, the roles of men and women, and grow in your walk with the Lord in the area of marriage and family. Got a lot of gospel resources on there as well that you can learn and grow from and share. On this particular episode, I want to talk to you about the sufficiency of Scripture. The last several episodes, we've been diving into a better understanding of certain doctrines that always seem to be on the hot seat. We've talked about the sovereignty of God. We've talked about the atonement. We've looked at justification by faith. And the sufficiency of Scripture is a very key doctrine you need to understand. Sufficiency is the idea that the Bible is enough, that it is my authority, that I believe it, that it's God's word and that it's true, but that it's enough. In other words, if it's sufficient, I don't need another word from the Lord. I don't need somebody to come to me and tell me, hey, God told me, I got to tell you this, or yeah, your preaching's fine there, preacher man, but I need a little extra from God, or somebody saying, We have the Bible, but God has given me a special anointing and a special word. And if you listen to me, I'm gonna really help you understand the will of God. To that, we say no. Scripture is sufficient, it is what we need and all we need for life and practice. That isn't to foolishly say that the Bible will teach you how to become a heart surgeon or it'll teach you how to fix your car engine or change your oil. Nobody's saying that when we're talking about sufficiency. We're talking about all things related to life, faith, and practice. You have everything you need. You ever been in a situation where uh you forget your keys? Your keys to your car, your keys to your office. I remember one situation in particular not long ago where I had forgotten my office key, and so I drove back home, looked for my key, 30 minutes wasted, going back and forth, frantic. And if you're from Arizona, you know it's hot here too. So picture me sweating now as well, as I'm trying to find my key. Well, the only problem was already uh obvious when I found my key in my pocket. I had had my key the entire time. It was in a different pocket, and I had wasted all that time and energy looking for the key I already had. A silly illustration, but an apt one when we think about this. How silly it is when people chase the wind looking for another word from the Lord, looking for something to teach them and grow them, looking for God's will when they already have the key in their pocket, or on your nightstand, collecting dust if you're being unwise about handling God's word, but it doesn't have to be that way. We have the key. So let's look at the key and use the key and understand that God has given us what we need. One of the key passages that you can look at when we're talking about the sufficiency of scripture is 2 Timothy 3, 16 to 17 says all scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness. Then verse 17 will say that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work. Basically, we're gonna break that down in this episode, and you're gonna have a good understanding of what the sufficiency of scripture is all about. When Paul says that all scripture is God breathed and profitable for teaching, he means it comes directly from him. It is breathed out by God. God is the origin of scripture. And we know that God is enough, so certainly his word is going to be enough. So we could certainly say that the Bible is profitable for teaching. It is sufficient for teaching people about their God. And the word that he uses for profitable means advantageous and beneficial. And when he says teaching, he's talking about doctrine here, the content of teaching, not necessarily even the act of it. So you could say that scripture has everything you need for doctrinal understanding. It makes you wise in the ways of God, it gives you the foundational truths you need to understand his work. You can read a lot of books, you can quote smart people, you can get a master's degree in whatever you want in life, but wisdom above all wisdom is doctrinal truth from the scriptures. Those are the truths that anchor your soul. Psalm 197 puts it this way the law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul. The testimony, the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple. There's a quote from one scholar. He says, People don't go heretical all at once. It's gradual. And they do so not intentionally most of the time. They slip into it through shoddiness and laziness, he says, in handling what? The word of truth. All it takes to start the road to heresy is craving something new and different, a flashy new idea, along with a little laziness and carelessness or lack of precision in handling the truth of God. All around us today are startling reminders of doctrinal slippage and outright failure. And case after case, someone who should have known the truth of God better failed in upholding that truth. So God's word is profitable for teaching. We gotta understand doctrine. We don't need to go and fade into the folly of heresy. Next, he says it's profitable for reproof. That's in verse 16 as well of 2 Timothy 3. Basically, this if you're prone to bad decisions, you need better convictions. And the Bible is profitable for that. You don't keep making mistakes because you don't watch enough YouTube videos. You probably make key mistakes in your life because you don't read your Bible enough. If we're talking about holiness and scripture and walking in obedience, the word he uses for reproof is the idea of rebuking someone or being rebuked by something. So whether it's God's word directly telling you that you're wrong, or someone in your life who lovingly shows you God's word and says, Hey, I love you, you're wrong. We need reproof. Scripture is sufficient, then we could say, to straighten you out and to straighten me out. What's funny is anybody who works out will tell you strength comes from resistance. And anybody who has a coach or a trainer who doesn't make them sore or challenge them or stretch their muscles or break them down a bit while building them up would fire that person. Nobody would say that's good coaching or good strength training. And nobody would expect to build muscle, if you will, by not having any resistance on the bar or the cables. Muscle fibers are broken down to be built back stronger. Pain, if you will, comes through progress. Well, so it is with God's word. We need reproof to break us down a bit, shatter our pride, stretch us out, take us beyond our comfort level, and then what? Build us up and grow us stronger. Stronger, stronger, stronger. It's profitable for reproof. Also, he says that the Bible is sufficient and profitable for correction. It's sufficient to tell you that you're wrong, and then what? To tell you how to get it right. So the Bible doesn't just rebuke you or reprove you. It also says, hey, here's the way to go. The Greek word that he used for correction is only used this one time in the New Testament, and it means to put something in proper position, setting it straight. It's one thing that the Bible would tell us that we're off track, but I am so grateful. What a gift from God that the Bible also tells us how to get on track. With all my heart, the psalmist writes, I've sought thee. Do not let me wander from thy commandments. Thy word I've treasured in my heart that I might not sin against thee. The Bible will correct you. It'll tell you how to get it right. It is sufficient for that. Next, he says it's profitable for training in righteousness. He rounds out his point by making a correlation between pretty much parenting and what Scripture does. The word that he uses there for training in righteousness is the same word for chastisement or discipline. It's like a child being brought up by a parent. Scripture brings us up into maturity of faith. So it's profitable for knowing what's right. It's profitable for knowing what is not right. It's profitable for knowing how to get it right. And then you could say it this way for training in righteousness. It's profitable for knowing how to stay right. It keeps us going in the right direction. So what more do you need? You don't need some prophet to try to read some tarot card and tell you your future. You don't need a fortune teller. You don't need another conference to make you feel the chills and read the tea leaves and say, God told me, God told me. If somebody says, hey, I got a word from the Lord for you, you say, Awesome, let me grab my Bible, open it up, and show me where to turn. I want a word from the Lord. So go to the word of the Lord. Now let's finish with this. If we act on the sufficiency of Scripture, not just talk about it from a mere theory standpoint or knowledge standpoint, but truly move to action, let me challenge you in a few final action steps. First, if we really believe that Scripture is sufficient, it's where we'll go to find God's will. First and foremost. It's where you're going to go to find God's will. From who to marry, from whether to go on that missions trip, from what conversation to have and how to have that conversation, from dealing with and facing with your sin. God's will is God's word. God's word is God's will. If you don't know God's word, you're not going to know God's will. We would all say that we believe God's word is sufficient, but when we make decisions, do our actions reflect that belief? I think God told me, people say, I feel like God told me. I feel like God is telling me to, you know, you don't need to feel what God is telling you to do. You just need to read what God is telling you to do. So if you believe scripture is sufficient, then it is where you will go to find God's will. Number two, if we really believe God's word is sufficient, we will filter all counsel through his word. Sometimes we get into trouble by acting only on one part of God's word at the expense of another. We need people to remind us of God's truth. And people will offer you counsel at times, and some of it will be God breathed, and they'll read you scripture, but sometimes they'll offer you a little extra or an opinion, or maybe the way it worked for them, and you still need to run that counsel through his word. Not all counsel that claims to be Christian is Christian, and not all counseling is created equal, if you will. So even from people who are Christians that offer counsel, run their counsel through God's word. And obviously, an application here is anyone who's not a Christian, run their counsel through God's word for sure. I mean, they might tell you how to take a better route to get to your destination. That's fine. You can do that, and you don't need to run their advice. That's just general worldly wisdom through God's word. But I'm telling you every other aspect from relationships to the way you should talk, the way you should dress, the way you eat, the way you drink, the way you live, all of it. Run the counsel of others through God's word. Next, our lives, if we really believe that God's word is sufficient, will be marked by forward progress. You go, well, where do you get that from, Costi? Well, let me ask you a logical question. If you're always striving to do God's will and you are looking for God's will in God's word, and you believe the Bible is sufficient, then will you not be moving forward in your spiritual life? Will you not be advancing in maturity? Think about it. Do you know someone who is always questioning God, riding an emotional roller coaster, never quite sure of their decisions, and seemingly learning the same lessons over and over and over because they make foolish choices? Would you say they believe in the sufficiency of Scripture? And if they say they do, would you say that they're living in a way that reflects that belief? If you act on your belief in the sufficiency of Scripture, then make decisions based on God's word. You will see growth. You won't have to second guess what he has decreed. You'll trust him in faith, you'll walk by faith, and you will grow. Finally, if we act on the fact that we say we believe in the sufficiency of scripture, then holiness will increase and rebellion will decrease. If God's word is enough to guide your life and decisions, you're going to be living proof of Romans 6.19, where Paul says to present your members as slaves to righteousness and that that leads to sanctification. I know we all make mistakes and sin is a daily battle for all of us, but our view is not that sin is acceptable simply because it happens, even if it is inevitable. We see God's word as the standard still. And if you read God's word and you trust his word is sufficient, you're going to see certain patterns of sin fading from your life. You're going to confront your sin because you're a believer and your life is governed by the word. So we're no longer who we used to be, but we're still not who we're going to be. God is growing us, his word is sufficient, and we are following him as best as we can, striving in grace. And soon it's not okay for certain things to be just reoccurring in our lives. And people will tell you this who have been believers and are maturing. They'll see drunkenness gone, drug abuse, drug addiction gone, sexual immorality outside of marriage, gone, foul language, gone, gossip, unforgiveness, bitterness, womanizing, materialism, rebellion, homosexuality, all of it will start to come under the authority of Scripture. And pretty soon we're not excusing our sin anymore. We're facing it, confronting it, confessing it, and trusting Christ. Why? Because we trust his word and it is sufficient. So if you're looking for a good church, you're looking for a place to go, and you're studying and trying to understand what a church believes or what kind of teaching you should be following, I would highly recommend expecting a church that you are under and looking for resources that point you to not just that we believe the Bible is God's word, or we believe the Bible is a nice love letter, or we believe the Bible is a nice manual from God for how to drive the car, and then we drive it kind of where we want, but there's a manual to ensure the engine keeps working. No, I'm not talking about that. Sufficient. It is inerrant without error, it is authoritative, it is the boss of my life and your life, and it is sufficient, meaning it is enough for me to live today for the glory of God, the good of my life, and the good of those around me. Thanks for digging in today. I hope this episode is spurring you on in your appreciation and dedication to the authority and the sufficiency of Scripture. For more resources or to support our ministry, you can go to www.forthegospel.org. Don't forget we've got free teaching on YouTube, so subscribe there. And then if you haven't already, subscribe on our website to receive every article we release via email. You can do that by just scrolling a short way down the homepage, typing in your email, hitting subscribe, and we take care of the rest. We'll see you on Instagram, TikTok, Twitter, and on YouTube. We will be back next week with another episode on For the Gospel. Keep on living for the gospel.