 On Wednesdays we celebrate “walking in the Word” through study & application of Biblical doctrine. Rightly understanding Biblical doctrine fuels doxology, delight in Jesus, & gospel centered discipleship. Today we continue a survey of the Doctrine of Scripture (Bibliology), embracing the sufficiency of God’s Word. While grilling "burgers," Cousin Eddie famously told the Griswold family, “I don’t know why they call this stuff hamburger helper- it does just fine by itself.” When applied to Christian discipleship, Eddie’s culinary insight helps us understand the sufficiency of God’s word through diagnosing the lunacy of settling for supplements or substitutes. Too often, Christians and non-Christians alike add “helper” to the meat of God’s word, mixing in ingredients, and we delude or disregard the very thing we need to digest! The sufficiency of Scripture does not mean the Bible is exhaustive knowledge on every subject. We still consider godly, Spirit led, interpretation and application of Scripture (Thank you for reading this meditation!) as well as common grace knowledge from other sources (on science, history, politics, physiology, math, ect...). Celebrating the sufficiency of Scripture (at least) means Christian disciples must reclaim the sufficiency of God’s word for God's work of salvation, sanctification, and service to Jesus. Church councils and creeds are subordinate in authority to Scripture, and God does not offer revelation outside of Scripture. Scripture is sufficient for all God's work: revealing God and His will as it provides direction for disciples, a foundation for our faith, formation into the fullness of who we long to be, hope for our hearts, and strength in our service.   The sufficiency of Scripture is sacrificed by irreligious (but spiritual) & religious Tara Isabella Burton argues in her book, Strange Rites, that our often described “godless world” is flooded with spirituality. People are leaving the institutional church in record numbers, but there is a revival in overall spiritual intuition as people mix spiritual ingredients into personal faith cocktails. Burton argues people today, “are embracing a kaleidoscopic panoply of spiritual traditions, rituals, and subcultures—from astrology and witchcraft to SoulCycle and the alt-right.” Her book is fascinating and disturbing, offering needed perspective on the growing “Spiritual but not religious” categorized as “nones.” The truth is, the irreligious, anti-institution spiritualists, are more spiritually nuanced than they get credit for, creating a hybrid religion by remixing faith their way. John Wycliff, “The morning star of the Reformation,” diagnosed his 14th century culture with a different kind of spiritual remix. In a day when access to Scripture was limited, Wycliff battled the Catholic Church exceeding Biblical authority by extending power into non-ecclesiastic spheres. The Church mixed faith with power, prominence, political sway, profit, and other problematic ingredients. Wycliff sought to reform their toxic practices, and he is remembered for his emphasis on the sufficiency of Scripture. Wycliff’s disciples, The Lollards, were a seed bed for the Luther led 16th century reformation. Wycliff’s greatest legacy is how his work to translate scripture into the vernacular of his day inspired the ministry of Wycliff Bible Translators. It turns out that all of us, whether irreligious (but spiritual) or religious, are tempted to delude scripture by mixing in other ingredients. Wherever you are, God’s sovereign grace invites you to behold the beauty of the sufficiency of Scripture. God’s word is sufficient. God’s purposes will prevail. In Ezekiel’s vision of the valley of dry bones, the Lord challenged the prophet to trust His word as sufficient for His work to revive the dry bones (Ezekiel 37). God’s Spirit used God’s Word to revive God’s people, a helpful image in understanding God’s Spirit as the author (2 Peter 1:20-21) and illuminator of Scripture (1 Corinthians 2:9-13; Ephesians 1:17-18). God’s purpose to revive God’s people comes through the sufficiency of God’s word. As rain waters the earth, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so God’s word is sufficient to accomplish God’s work (Isaiah 55:10-11). God’s word is sufficient for ALL of God’s purposes, “The whole counsel of God concerning all things necessary for His own glory, man’s salvation, faith, and life is either expressly set down in Scripture or by good and necessary consequence may be deduced from Scripture.” (WCF 6.1) God’s word is sufficient for every need for Jesus’ disciples, “for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.” (1 Timothy 3:15-17). God’s word is truth (John 17:17) and Scripture is the vehicle for saving faith (Romans 10:13-17), source of reviving faith (Psalm 19:7), and strength to contend for the faith (Jude 3). The sword of the Sprit is the word of God (Ephesians 6:17). I pray God’s Spirit opens our minds to see the sufficiency of the Word of God (Luke 24:45) that we, as children of God, might be conformed more into the image of God (Colossians 3:10). Is Scripture sufficient for all God’s work in you and through you? We struggle trusting Scripture as sufficient, but our Savior sends a significant message. Not only does Jesus represent His people by living on every word that proceeds from God, (Matthew 4:4; Deuteronomy 8:3) He also substitutes for us through His death to fulfill the word of God. In response to Jesus’ work, people like us who mix in religious and secular ingredients to supplement (or “help”) Scripture can stop- returning to feast on the sufficiency of Scripture. Scripture is sufficient for all God's work, revealing God and His will as it provides direction for disciples, a foundation for our faith, formation into the fullness of who we long to be, hope for our hearts, and strength in our service. Richly Dwelling -Do you celebrate Scripture as sufficient for all of God’s work in you and through you? Why or why not? -What do you add to “help” Scripture accomplish God’s work in and through you? How is that working for you? -How does the representative work of Jesus not only lift the burden of your failure but also ignite love in your heart for God and His word? 
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