I Believe the Scriptures are Sufficient

We believe the Scriptures are sufficient, meaning our all-knowing God has given us everything we need to know to come to faith in Christ and follow Him. In forming the Nicene Creed, the church fathers relied on the Bible. The creed is the result of their conclusions from Scripture. If they had never written the creed, these truths would still be evident in the Bible alone.

Following their example, we trust that Scripture is sufficient for us to understand salvation, trust God, and follow Him. Paul instructs Timothy, “But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus” (2 Timothy 3:14–15).
As Paul mentions, the sacred writings—the Scriptures—make us wise for salvation in Christ. The Scriptures give us everything we need to know concerning salvation in Christ.

The Scriptures also teach us how to follow Christ. “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). In this passage, Paul tells us that the Scriptures equip us for every good work. Through the Scriptures, we learn how to follow Christ and accomplish every good work for the Lord.

Scripture will equip us to do everything God calls us to do. The Bible provides all we need to answer our questions about life and following God. Because the Bible is enough, we have assurance of where to look for answers. Other resources such as church history and other Christian writings can be helpful, but Scripture alone is enough to guide us.

The Bible is an ample guide for life but it doesn’t spell out the answer to every question. Rather, the wisdom found in it is sufficient to guide us through any decision.Sometimes God provides crystal-clear guidance in the Scriptures regarding a particular situation. Other times, God does not. This can sometimes mean God doesn’t require us to act or think one way or another; He gives us freedom in many areas of life. Or it might mean we need to take a step back to see if there are larger principles that apply to a particular question we face. Our loving, all-knowing God has provided everything we need to know Him and follow Him in one place—the Bible.