What a legacy we have in the Word of God laying out a true path. We are not left without a chart and a compass. We are not left without principles for life. We are not left to wander around in a fog of human opinion. We have a true word to follow.
And the result of that is we walk a right path that rejoices the heart. Welcome to Grace to You, the Bible teaching ministry of John MacArthur. I'm your host, Phil Johnson. If there's one thing that's true about modern man, it's that he loves technology. For every problem that comes along, he creates a new electronic device or a prescription drug or a surgical procedure to fix it.
But how has man done with spiritual problems, the kind that computers and medicine can't touch? Can secular counseling really help people solve their toughest spiritual problems? When you're struggling with anxiety or depression or anger, or you're not sure about your purpose in life, where do you go for the answers you need? Today on Grace to You, John MacArthur shows you the one resource that can deliver and does deliver every time. Find encouragement now from John's study called The Sufficiency of Scripture.
And here's John with today's lesson. It seems to me that one of the most subtle and dangerous threats. Facing The word of God is coming from within. The category of evangelical Christianity. By people who claim to believe the Bible to be the Word of God, but betray a lack of trust in its sufficiency.
and therein speak evil of the word of God. And it has forced me to ask the question: is the Bible really sufficient for matters of spiritual life? Is it sufficient for the people of God? And all of the necessary resources for the fullness of living in the will of God. Or do we need to concede that the Bible has some rather glaring limitations that can only be overcome?
by wisdom and technique developed by well-meaning people who want to help God out a little bit.
Now, to answer the question of scriptural sufficiency, I want you to look with me at Psalm 19. What I believe to be The most concise and direct Treatment of the sufficiency of scripture in all. of the Word of God. And by the way, We'll compare with Psalm 19, Psalm 119. because it has many parallels.
Let me say at the very outset that David, who is the author of Psalm 19, was a man who understood the extremities. And the exigencies And the vicissitudes and struggles and trials and troubles and tribulations of life. to the degree that few people have endured them. He knew what it was. To have his life threatened continually.
He knew what it was to have fallen into deep sin. He knew what it was to have betrayed a monumental, sacred trust. He knew what it was to have his own children rebel against him. He knew what it was to have fouled up marriages and distressing family circumstances. This is a man who speaks out of the depth of human emotion.
And yet Fines. Consummate sufficiency. in the Word of God.
Now, Psalm 19, by way of a general introduction, is intended to convey to us the significance of God's revelation. First of all, In verses 1 through 6, we read of God's revelation in nature. God has revealed Himself in the heavens, verse 1 says, which declare His glory. In the firmament, all of the stellar bodies, which demonstrate His Handwork. It goes on to talk about the movement of the sun and its marvelous.
Course. In orbit through the universe. And all of that is symbolic of the natural revelation, what Theologians for years have called general revelation. God is revealed in his creation. Much like Romans 1, the things that we see reveal to us that there is a God and He is eminently powerful.
But there is even a more specific revelation in his word, and to that the psalmist turns in verse 7. And in the second half of the Psalm from 7 through 14, the focus is on special revelation, the revelation of God in Holy Scripture. To that we want to look. And we find in looking at verses 7 to 14. The sufficiency of scripture.
In fact, I want to point out three things, if I might, this morning: the sufficiency of Scripture. The value of Scripture, and finally, the commitment to Scripture.
Now, let me say before we dig into it, I want you to listen very carefully. Of necessity, I will cover a lot of material somewhat rapidly. I want you to be tuned in and thoughtful because I really believe this is a foundational message for our commitment to the Word of God.
Now, to begin with, let's notice the sufficiency of Scripture, verses 7 through 9. Follow them as I read. The law of the Lord is perfect. Converting the soul. The testimony of the Lord is sure.
Making wise the simple. The statutes of the Lord are right. Rejoicing the heart. The commandment of the Lord is clear, enlightening the eyes. The fear of the Lord is clean.
enduring forever. The judgments of the Lord are true. and righteous altogether.
Now I want you to note for a moment the structure of those three verses. There are six lines of thought. And each of those six lines has three elements. It has a title for the Word of God, a characteristic of the Word of God, and a benefit of the Word of God. The titles are The scripture is called the law.
Testimony. statute, commandment, fear, and judgment. All of those are synonyms. For the scripture. Its characteristics are It is perfect, sure.
Right? Clear. clean and true. Its six benefits are It converts the soul, it makes wise the simple, it rejoices the heart, it enlightens the eyes, it endures forever, and it is altogether righteous. That is, it provides full spiritual resources.
Now in those three verses, consistent with the infinite intelligence of the infinite mind of God, you have an absolutely surpassing and comprehensive statement on the scripture reduced to a very few words. The magnitude of this Section of scripture. stretches us beyond our ability.
Now let's look at these six. Number one. In verse 7. The law of the Lord is perfect. Converting the soul.
Now the first title for scripture is the law. And that gives us an emphasis of the word of God. The word is Torah. It basically means biblical or divine teaching. It points to the teaching or the didactic nature of scripture.
It is God instructing man. The term refers to instruction. It identifies the scripture as doctrine dispensed from God to man. It has in view divine instruction relative to creed, that is what we believe, relative to character, that is what we are, and relative to conduct, that is what we do. It is a complete explanation of God's instruction for man's life.
It is teaching from God for life.
Now, this teaching, which comes through the pages of Holy Scripture, it says in verse 7, is perfect. Perfect. It is perfect. James even called it the perfect law. And it is set in contrast by the psalmist to the imperfect, flawed reasonings of men.
Now, to understand the word perfect, we need only to understand that it is a common word which means perfect or whole or complete or sufficient. In fact, One Old Testament scholar says that the fullness of the meaning is to say that it means all-sided, so as to cover completely all aspects of a thing. It is a word of comprehensiveness. It is to say then that the Scripture covers everything. It lacks nothing.
It lacks nothing. It is a comprehensive source of teaching from God, which therefore embodies all that is necessary to the spiritual life of God's people.
Now the particular focus of verse 7's initial statement is that its perfection is related to converting the soul. And there we find the first of the six benefits. It converts the soul. The Hebrew term for converting can mean reviving, restoring, refreshing, converting, but my favorite synonym is transforming. It has the idea that scripture is so comprehensive that it literally followed can transform a person's life.
It gives full life in all aspects to the soul.
Now, the word soul, a familiar word also, nephesh. That word means the person or the self or the heart. It's sometimes translated all those ways. The Savit is the inner person, the whole person, the real you. The word then Is so comprehensive as to have the ability to totally transform the real you.
The whole person. It is sufficient then for conversion. For transformation. For restoration, for spiritual birth and growth to perfection for the whole person. It is reminiscent, really, of Paul's letter to Timothy, 2 Timothy 3:15 to 17.
Where Paul reminds Timothy that the scripture is able to make you wise unto salvation. Not only that, to make you perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works. The word of God then has the power of total transformation. It is so comprehensive that it can mold a soul, a living person, into precisely what God desires that person to be. And that begins at conversion.
In 1 Peter 1, we read the same testimony, verse 23: Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but by incorruptible, by the Word of God, which lives and abides forever. In other words, the new birth or conversion, transformation is accomplished by the Word of God. And in the next verse he says, and this is the word by which the gospel is preached unto you.
So it is the word that converts the soul. Paul said. The gospel of Christ, in and of itself, is the power of God unto salvation in Romans chapter 1 and verse 16. The word, then, in its power, is able to transform a life. It is the agency of the new birth.
And yet, today, it seems to me that there are people who do not believe in the power of the Word of God. Is the scripture so insufficient to save that we need Christian Congress and we need control of the government in order to bring about Regeneration of a nation. Is it really the Lord's plan for men called to preach the unsearchable riches of the Word of God, to leave the Word of God not to serve tables, but to become political activists and lobbyists hoping to overcome the deficiency of Scripture with human power? Do we feel that The gospel drives people away when coming straight from the word, so it must be put in a sophisticated, saleable, palatable marketing plan that shows the prospective buyer primarily what's in it for him.
Now, what are we saying by all of this? It seems to me that what we're saying is we don't trust the power of the perfect word of God to convert the soul. The word is the sea where Christ, the pearl of great price, is found. The word is the field where Christ, the hidden treasure, is buried. And the testimony of Psalm 119 certainly affirms this, and we will be paralleling it all the way through.
Psalm 119, verse 41 says. Let thy mercies come also unto me, O Lord, even thy salvation according to thy word. Salvation, says the psalmist, is connected to the word of God. In verse 50, this is my comfort in my affliction, for thy word hath given me life. Verse 81: My soul faints for thy salvation, but I hope in thy word.
Verse 146 similarly says, I cried unto thee, Save me, and I shall keep thy testimonies. Verse 155, salvation is far from the wicked, for they seek not thy statutes. In other words, it's found in thy word, and they're not looking there. Verse 158, I beheld the transgressors and was grieved because they kept not thy word. Verse 174: I have longed for thy salvation, O Lord, and thy law is my delight.
The word of the living God is sufficient. Is it any wonder Paul said, preach the word? The word is sufficient to convert the soul. Secondly, the psalmist says, The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple. And he takes another step in building this tremendous, magnificent presentation of scriptural sufficiency.
He uses the word testimony, which looks at God's word not as divine instruction, but as divine witness. It is God giving testimony. to who he is and what he requires.
So, as you look at the testimony of God to himself in the word of God, you find that his testimony is, says the psalmist, sure. It is sure. Again, in contrast to the unsure, insecure, wavering, changing, shifting, unreliable, untrustworthy notions of men, the word of the living God is sure, and the word means unwavering, immovable, unmistakable, worthy to be trusted and reliable. The word then provides a foundation on which life and eternal destiny can be built without hesitation. I'm reminded of what Peter said in 2 Peter chapter 1.
He was rehearsing his personal encounter with the majesty of Christ at the Transfiguration. And he said, I was there when he was transfigured. I saw his majestic glory in that marvelous scene when the heroes of the Old Testament appeared, and we were there on the mountain in the wonder of supernatural glory. And I say this to you in verse 19. There is a more sure word than this.
Experience Supernatural experience. Signs and wonders have their place, Peter says. There is a more sure word than this, and that word is the scripture. The scripture given as holy men were moved by the Spirit of God. The scripture is the more sure word.
In contrast to the unsure reasonings, musings, and opinions of men about God and morality, we can stand on the Scripture. And what is its benefit? Notice again, its benefit is making wise the simple. The root of the Hebrew word for simple is the idea of an open door. A simple person is a person who's undiscerning.
They don't know when to shut the door, they don't know what to close out. Everything comes in. They're not discerning. They're unlearned, inexperienced, ignorant, and naïve. But they can be made wise.
And what is the source of that? the word of God. Scripture takes the naive, unexperienced, undiscerning, uninformed, and brings to that individual wisdom. I love the word wise, it is a rich Hebrew word. It basically means to be skilled in the art of godly living.
to be skilled in the matters of practical living. It is to master the art of daily living. accomplished by the knowledge and application of the Word of God. And by the way, in Scripture, God is always the source. It is that wisdom which is, as James called it, from above.
And the Old Testament really would kind of define this as the ability to make right choices about right things at the right moments in life. And here is a marvelous promise. The Word of God can take a naive, inexperienced, undiscerning, uninformed, ignorant person and bring them to such wisdom that they can live out a godly life according to the will of God. This through the Word of God. It is the providing source of all that is necessary for applying God's will to daily living.
Thirdly, would you notice verse 8 of Psalm 19? The statutes of the LORD are right. Rejoicing the heart. Where does a believer go to find joy? Where does a believer go to find relief?
happiness. Deliverance from sorrow, anxiety, and depression. Where does a believer go? Where's the resource? The testimony of the psalmist is, it's the word.
It is the word that rejoices the heart. The term here for scripture is the word statute. It means not divine teaching and. Yet in a sense it embodies divine teaching. It has the idea of not divine witness specifically, though it embodies that, but more the idea of divine principles.
Divine precepts, divine guidelines. The scripture is full of guidelines for living from God.
Now notice that they are, it says in verse 8, they are right. That is to say, they show the true path. They give you right guidance. They guide you in the proper way to true understanding. What a wonderful thing that is.
I mean, for those of us who've been Christians for a long time, to try to think back to how it was when you had to chart your own course with no knowledge of what to do. What a legacy we have in the Word of God laying out a true path. We are not left without a chart and a compass. We are not left without principles for life. We are not left to wander around in a fog of human opinion.
We have a true word to follow. And the result of that is we walk a right path that rejoices the heart. I believe true joy comes from following the Word of God. from applying its principles, from walking in its precepts and pathway. Jeremiah in the midst of tremendous human stress.
Rejection of his message, rejection of his person. The disaster falling on his entire nation. Gave great testimony to the joy that comes through the word in the 15th chapter of his prophecy, verse 16, when he said, Thy words were found, and I did eat them, and thy word was in me, the joy and rejoicing of my heart. And John writes in his epistle, 1 John 1:4, that these things are written that your joy might be what? Full.
The word of God gives testimony to the fact that it is the source of joy. And when you walk in obedience to the will of God and you move on that right path, it rejoices the heart. Do we have to have voices from heaven and talks with angels and supernatural experiences and miracles? And do we have to depend upon mystical science of the mind to be led by God into full joy? Can we not follow His word?
Those who might be depressed or anxious or fearful or doubting, not knowing what direction to go. If not suffering from some physical malady or ailment, can they not turn to the Word of God for the solution and the answer and the guidance and the direction that turns their sorrow into joy? I believe the testimony of Scripture is that all our true pleasure and delight comes from following the path laid out by the Word of God, not from selfishly seeking for self-esteem, self-fulfillment, and self-indulgent pursuits. In fact, I fear that people who run from the Word of God to the psychiatrists of the world and to the sources that the world offers and to all of the material things in the world run away from joy, not into joy, and they find less than they thought and find themselves further from the source than before they left. The testimony of Scripture itself is that it is a source.
In fact, the source of the believer's joy Again, in Psalm 119, where we go for confirming testimony. In verse 14, the psalmist writes, I have rejoiced in the way of thy testimonies as much as in all riches. I wish we could say today that people were as excited about the things of the word of God as they were about materialism. I wish we could say that we were really presenting a gospel of the word of God and not a gospel of promised prosperity. In verse 54, We read, Thy statutes have been my songs in the house of my pilgrimage, one of the most beautiful verses in all the Psalms.
Thy statutes have been my songs in the house of my pilgrimage. My life has been filled with songs about your law. That is to say, they bring me the joy that overflows in the music of my heart. In verse 76, he says, Thy merciful kindness, let it be my comfort according to thy word. In verse 111, Thy testimonies have I taken as inheritance forever.
They are the rejoicing of my heart. Thou art my hiding place and my shield. I hope in thy word. I go to you, God, in the midst of my needs and sorrow and sadness. The scripture Is perfect enough to convert the soul, wise enough to make the simple profound.
and able to make the sad. Joyful. You're listening to Grace to You with the Bible teaching of John MacArthur. Our current study is called The Sufficiency of Scripture.
Well, concerning the issue of the authority of God's Word, we received a call on our Q and A line that John responded to. It relates directly to some of the issues that we've been looking at this week.
So let's hear the question now. What you'll hear afterwards is John's response. Hi, my name is David. David and my question is concerning scripture, not the truthfulness of it or the inerrancy. of scripture, I believe it's true and inerrant and everything that you've said on your program.
But what about the messenger? How do I know that the messenger is true with denominations? having contradicting interpretation. Of certain doctrines of Scripture. How do I know the messenger is true?
If the messenger doesn't have an apostolic succession all the way back to Jesus and the apostles? Thank you. Really good question, David, and I think the answer. is found in the book of Acts. when it says about the Bereans, when they searched the scripture to see if these things were so.
L let me make it really simple. The the Bible is revelation. That is to say, God designed it to reveal the truth. It is not confusing. The Bible can be taken at its face value.
The issue is not that the Bible is difficult to understand. The issue, first of all, is it's impossible to understand for non-believers. the things of God are foolishness to them. They can't discern them because they're spiritually dead. But to believers John says we have an anointing from God that teaches us all things, so we don't need men to teach us.
What that is saying is, God has given us a word that can feed our souls and will feed our souls because it can be understood.
Now, admittedly, the more you study it, the deeper that understanding goes, and the richer that understanding becomes but the Old Testament says a wayfaring man, though he be a fool, need not err. The reason there's so much error is because you have unbelievers interpreting the scripture without discernment, without the Holy Spirit. And you have people reading into the Bible. Traditional presuppositions so that they front-load their understanding and that drives their interpretation. It can be understood.
It can be understood. And it does interpret itself. The Bible is its own best interpreter. Just take the New Testament, start reading. and let the Word of God come alive.
It has a glory all its own, and you will understand what it means. And you can search the Scriptures when you hear something, to determine whether or not that is actually accurate. I trust John's answer was an encouraging reminder that you don't have to be a pastor or a theologian to interpret the Bible correctly. You can study it for yourself and know exactly what it means. And friend, Grace to You has thousands of free resources online to help equip you to search the scriptures for yourself.
Log on today and see all that's available to you. Our web address is gty.org, and there you'll find multiple daily devotionals, past episodes of this daily radio broadcast, and 3,600 sermons by John MacArthur, all of them available in MP3 and transcript format. And all free of charge. And if you're not sure where to start, try Grace Stream. That's a continuous broadcast of John's preaching through the entire New Testament.
Our website again, gty.org. And for even more help in developing biblical discernment, Let me encourage you to get our flagship resource, the MacArthur Study Bible. It has about 25,000 study notes written by John, introductions to each book of the Bible, and more than 100 charts and maps, all designed to help you understand and be strengthened by the Word of God. To order the MacArthur Study Bible call 855 Grace. or visit gty.org.
Now for the entire Grace DU staff, I'm Phil Johnson. Remember to watch Grace to U television this Sunday on DirecTV Channel 378 and be here tomorrow to learn why you can trust the Bible to give you the hope and help that you need no matter what trials you might face. Join us for another half hour of Unleashing God's Truth one verse at a time. on Grace to You.
