THE SUFFICIENCY OF SCRIPTURE

Because God’s Word is God-breathed, it is sufficient to address every matter that may arise in church life. Paul puts it, “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.” (2 Tim.‬ ‭3‬:‭16‬-‭17‬‬). So, I have practiced, and have advocated to other pastors, preaching through books of the Bible. The Holy Spirit knows in advance the needs that will arise in the life of the church over the course of the year. When we prayerfully prepare such a sermon series, we will find it amazing how the text for that Lord’s Day had the needful application for that particular season in the life of the church.

However, though it does not surprise God, there will be occasional times in the life of the church that shock us—and the church faces a crisis that demands to be addressed. We should not be so rigid—should I say stubborn—to say that we ought never depart from the plan for one morning worship service. Tim Patrick, in his book, “The Whole Counsel of God,” speaks to this.  

“As much as we would love it if our churches always ran like clockwork, they never do. Sometimes, a congregation is rocked by a significant event that demands a response, and sometimes that response means that we need to change our best-laid plans. These types of events might be internal to the church: perhaps one of our young people is involved in a serious car accident, one of our leaders is caught in an extramarital affair, or one of our Bible study groups openly challenges the pastor’s authority. We do not much like to think about these sorts of things, as they are the worst parts of church life, but, sadly, in a fallen world, they do happen from time to time. Only naive church leaders would think that they could altogether avoid such situations as they tend the people of God. 

Some big events might be external to the congregation. These could include a natural disaster, such as a wildfire or flood in the local area; a controversial piece of legislation passing into law; or even something as monumental as the coordinated terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, in the United States.” (Location 2566, Kindle edition)

Indeed, when September 11 happened, I recall our church building full of people looking to me to share a Word from God about this event—which I did. I would return to the preaching calendar and make adjustments by the next week. This will not happen often, but it will sometimes be needed. Yet, even then, a solid exposition of a text will be vital. Scripture is sufficient.