The Belgic Confession – Article 7 (The Sufficiency of Scripture)

We believe that those Holy Scriptures fully contain the will of God, and that whatsoever man ought to believe unto salvation is sufficiently taught therein. For since the whole manner of worship which God requires of us is written in them at large, it is unlawful for any one, though an apostle, to teach otherwise than we are now taught in the Holy Scriptures: nay, though it were an angel from heaven, as the apostle Paul says. For since it is forbidden to add unto or take away anything from the Word of God, it does thereby evidently appear that the doctrine thereof is most perfect and complete in all respects.

Neither may we consider any writings of men, however holy these men may have been, of equal value with those divine Scriptures, nor ought we to consider custom, or the great multitude, or antiquity, or succession of times and persons, or councils, decrees or statutes, as of equal value with the truth of God, since the truth is above all: for all men are of themselves liars, and more vain than vanity itself. Therefore, we reject with all our hearts whatsoever does not agree with this infallible rule, as the apostles have taught us, saying, Prove the spirits, whether they are of God. Likewise: if anyone comes unto you, and brings not this teaching, receive him not into your house. (Belgic Confession, Article 7)

The Sufficiency of Scripture for Faith and Practice

Article 7 of the Belgic Confession deals with the sufficiency of Scripture. It states that the Scriptures alone “fully contain the will of God, and that whatsoever man ought to believe unto salvation is sufficiently taught therein.”

To say that the Scriptures “fully contain the will of God” is to say that nothing that we need for faith or practice is lacking in it, and so nothing may be added to or taken away from it. The Scriptures themselves teach this:

• “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, by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire.” (2 Peter 1:3–4, ESV, Italics added)
• “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, 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.” (Revelation 22:18–19, ESV, Italics added)

To say that the Scriptures “fully contain the will of God” is also to say that in the Bible God has revealed to us everything that we need to know about faith (what we are to believe) and practice (how we are to live). Similarly, the Westminster Shorter Catechism says, “The Scriptures principally teach what man is to believe concerning God, and what duty God requires of man” (Q.3). These are the principal or primary aims and ends of Scripture.

• “The law of the LORD is perfect, reviving the soul; the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple;” (Psalm 19:7, ESV)
• “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. (Acts 20:32, ESV)
• “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.” (2 Timothy 3:16–17, ESV)

This, however, does not mean that God has revealed everything that there is to know about everything, much less that the Scriptures are somehow encyclopedic in nature. There are many things that God has not revealed to us in the pages of Scripture:

“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.” (Deuteronomy 29:29, ESV)

Even the history (for example) that is contained in the Bible, while true & inerrant, is not exhaustive in nature – it is not intended to be. The Gospels do not tell us everything that we might want to know about Jesus. The Apostle John plainly states that if he were to have included everything that the Lord Jesus did, “the world itself could not contain the books that would be written” (John 21:25). But the Scriptures do tell us everything that we need to know about the Lord Jesus Christ in order to be saved.

The Sufficiency of Scripture as Our Infallible Rule (or Standard)

Belgic Confession Article 6 dealt with the right way to view the Apocrypha – as non-canonical, extra-biblical writings that may be read and possibly even learned from, “so far as they agree with the canonical books,” but which are not authoritative, and must be judged according to the testimony of Scripture, which is our sole authority for faith and practice.

Here Article 7 similarly deals with how non-canonical, extra-biblical writings (as well as customs, councils, confessions, etc.) are to be viewed in light of the sufficiency of Scripture in particular. The Confession states:

“Neither may we consider any writings of men, however holy these men may have been, of equal value with those divine Scriptures, nor ought we to consider custom, or the great multitude, or antiquity, or succession of times and persons, or councils, decrees or statutes, as of equal value with the truth of God . . . .”

All too often even when the authority of Scripture is affirmed, its sufficiency is either implicitly or explicitly denied. And so (to use the phrase from this Article) the Scriptures alone are to be our “infallible rule,” by which we are to test all things.

• “Do not despise prophecies, but test everything; hold fast what is good. Abstain from every form of evil.” (1 Thessalonians 5:20–22, ESV)
• “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world.” (1 John 4:1, ESV)

And so the ancient ecumenical creeds, and the Reformed Confessions and Catechisms (to name just a few examples), however true, useful, and helpful they may be, are not (and should never be) our ultimate standard for faith & practice. That is a place rightfully reserved for the Scriptures alone. They are subordinate standards, and must themselves even be tested by the Word of God.

THE BIBLICAL VIEW OF THE BIBLE (PART 5 – SUFFICIENCY)

This is now the fifth post in a brief series on the biblical view of the Bible. In this post I would like to briefly examine what may be the most neglected attribute of Scripture in the life of evangelical Christians and churches today – the sufficiency of Scripture.

To say that the Bible is sufficient is simply to say that it is adequate or enough for what we need. We do not need something else, or something extra. When it comes to life and godliness, we need no substitute or supplement to the Word of God. In 2 Timothy 3:16-17 the Apostle Paul writes,

“All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.” (ESV)

Paul there tells us that all Scripture is “profitable” (or useful) for such things as teaching, reproof, correction, and training.  (Have you ever found yourself being reproved or corrected by Scripture? If so, that’s a good thing – it means that God’s Word is doing it’s job in your life!) But notice that Paul also tells us the purpose of Scripture in all of that teaching, reproving, correcting, and training – it is that the man of God may be “complete” and that he may be “equipped for every good work.” So God’s Word is enough; it is sufficient to build up believers and mold us to be the people God wants us to be, and to be able to do His will.

Individual believers and churches in general are constantly being tempted to rely on something other than Scripture or at least something in addition to Scripture, to do the work that God has called us to do. We are tempted to put our confidence in all kinds of other things that we are told “work.” (We are constantly being tempted by pragmatism.) But it is really the Bible alone that is sufficient for faith and life. It is in the Bible alone that we learn the gospel of salvation in Christ. It is in the Bible alone that we learn what God would have us to believe about Him. It is in the Bible alone that we find the will of God for our lives when it comes to ethics and morality, marriage, family, church, society, and even government. It is in the Bible alone that we are sufficiently instructed how to properly pray, worship, and make disciples of all nations.

So if we say that we believe the Bible, let’s act like it. Let us seek to apply it to our lives, our families, our churches, and our community. And let us rely upon it alone to know and do the will and work of God. Nothing else is sufficient; nothing else even comes close.