The Sufficiency of Scripture and Conservatism

"‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.’" (Genesis 3:2)

Eve's response to the serpent in Genesis 3 is the first example of man's refusal to trust in the sufficiency of Scripture. Trusting in the sufficiency of Scripture simply means believing that in the Bible God has given us everything we need to be "equipped for every good work." It means that we don't feel the need to add our own morality to the inspired words of Scripture. Granted, in Genesis 3 Adam and Eve did not have the full revelation of Scripture that we have today. But they did have all the information that God intended them to have at that time to live in His perfect will for their lives.

The mistake that conservatives make is that they do not trust in the sufficiency of Scripture. They simply do not trust God enough to believe that everything we need to live our lives in ways that would glorify Him is in the Bible. In addition they are arrogant enough to believe that they can add their own thoughts, preferences, traditions, and morality to God's word. How offensive must that be to a holy and perfect God. To think that God needs your input or advice in instructing people how to live lives pleasing to Him must infuriate Him.

In addition conservatives tend to see themselves as holier or better than everyone else because of the rules they follow (rules which they made up). Conservatives tend to fiercely dislike and argue with liberals. In reality conservatives are no better than liberals even though they would look down on liberals for their refusal to follow or hold to the traditional interpretation of Scripture. I have news for conservatives: you are in exactly the same boat as liberals. Neither of you trust in Scripture. Liberals do not trust in the authority of Scripture while conservatives do not trust in the sufficiency of Scripture. You are both in sin and in need of repentance.

In his book "Christian Beliefs", Wayne Grudem writes "There are issues and situations for which God has not provided the precise direction or rules that we sometimes desire. But because Scripture is sufficient, we do not have the right to add to it's commands or teachings." For example, conservatives who look down on others for smoking cigarettes probably wish there was a verse in the Bible that prohibited the smoking of cigarettes. Since there isn't, conservatives will then find an obscure verse and add their own meaning to it resulting in the opinion that smoking is a sin. Grudem continues "In the same way, with regard to living the Christian life, the sufficiency of Scripture reminds us that nothing is sin that is not forbidden by Scripture either explicitally or by implication. Therefore we are not to add prohibitions where we don't believe Scripture is precise enough." There are situations in a Christian's life where drinking alcohol, going to a movie theater, or eating meat offered to idols would be inappropriate (1 Cor. 8-10). But since there is no explicit or implied teaching that forbids these actions, they cannot be called sinful.

Since the first man and woman we have had a tendency to distrust the creator God and put our trust in His creation, most frequently ourselves. We do this by relying on our own knowledge and insight by adding our own words to the words of a perfect and holy God. This brings us back to our mother Eve. Eve did like many of us continue to do by"exchanging the truth about God for a lie and worshiping and serving the creature rather than the Creator." We should learn from her the serious consequenses of not trusting in the sufficiency of the word of God. As a result of her and Adam's sin, mankind fell and death and decay entered the world. Let us not be like our mother Eve. Let us rest in the peace of the knowledge that in God's word is everything we need to live lives pleasing to Him.