1 INERRANCY IS NOT ENOUGH The Sufficiency of Scripture 2 Tim. 3:14-4:6 I.

THE PROBLEM

An article was published in our local paper, you may have seen something similar as well, which was entitled, STYLE KEY DRAW FOR RELIGIONS, STUDY FINDS: Less formality, electronic music attract worshipers. Here are some key quotes from the article. Electronic keyboards, it appears, can help bring people closer to God. The largest study ever done on American religion has found that congregations tend to grow when they adopt contemporary forms of worship, including less formal services, storybased preaching and electronic instruments. When you look at it, growth is correlated to only two things did you update your style of worship in the past five years and do you use musical instruments? The initiative brought together Roman Catholics, mainline and evangelical Protestants, Orthodox Christians, Jews, Muslims, Mormons, Bahai and others, including many groups that have had little contact in the past. Shouldnt this raise some questions for us? If it is true that the employment of these methods and techniques will elicit the same result for all of these different religious groups, should we not ask ourselves whether or not those techniques are really accomplishing the desired ends? More and more I am reading statements made by self-professing evangelicals that seem to put the onus

2 of so-called success not where I believe the Scripture places it, but elsewhere, on marketing strategies, methodology, and ministry techniques. The pastor of a 7,000 member Florida church is quoted as saying, I must be doing right or things wouldnt be going so well. An advertising agent, who has represented Coca-Cola and also developed the I Found It evangelistic campaign, said the following, Back in Jerusalem where the church started, God performed a miracle there on the day of Pentecost. They didnt have the benefits of buttons and media, so God had to do a little supernatural work there. But today, with our technology, we have available to us the opportunity to create the same kind of interest in a secular society. Another church growth consultant claims that five to ten million baby boomers would be back in the fold within a month if churches would only adopt three simple changes: 1) Advertise, 2) Let people know about product benefits, and 3) Be nice to people. Now, let me clarify something. Im all in favor of being nice. And I have no problems at all with advertising. But I have a great problem with the idea that if we simply do the right things, say the right words, wear the right buttons, use the right technology, and employ the right methods, we will inevitably see genuine conversion resulting from it. When we begin to think like that, and I believe that the evangelical mindset is saturated with that kind of thinking, are we not in danger of becoming pragmatists, rather than Biblicists? If the methodology produces the same results, regardless of the message, are we not diluting the evident power of the message to the point at which we can no longer discern whether or not it is the Spirit at work in an individuals life or the methodology which we employ? Most importantly, if the Scripture tells us that the Word is sufficient, and that the power to save is in the Word (Rom. 10:17; 1 Pet. 1:23), are we being faithful to the Word when we act as if our success depends

3 upon our methodology, rather than the effective and powerful proclamation of the Word of God? One author writes, Formerly, a doctrinal statement represented the reason for a denominations existence. Today, methodology is the glue that holds churches together. A statement of ministry defines them and their denominational existence. Sadly, I think, that author and many others consider that a positive trend. David Wells, writes in No Place for Truth or Whatever Happened to Evangelical Theology, The new quest for contemporary practicality has transformed the nature of the Christian ministry, the work of seminaries, and the inner workings in denominational headquarters, and in each case the transformation has sounded the death knell of theology. The Christian ministry has become a profession. In todays seminaries, Edward Farley observed, the theological student neither studies divinity nor obtains scholarly expertise in theological sciences, but trains for professional activities. What we are seeing, Wells writes, is the reduction of the meaning of theology to reflection in the academy and to practice in the evangelical church. This issue of the sufficiency of Scripture is precisely that which was raised in the discussion between the rich man and Abraham after Lazarus had gone to Abrahams bosom. In Luke 16, among other things, that the rich man did not believe that the Word of God was sufficient to accomplish the salvation of his brothers. The rich man said, I beg you, father, that you send him to my fathers house for I have five brothers in order that he may warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment. But Abraham said, They have Moses and the Prophets; let them hear them. But he said,

4 No, father Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent! But he said to him, If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be persuaded even if someone rises from the dead. (vv. 2731) Do you see whats happening here? The unbelieving, worldly-minded rich man is sure that if there is enough spectacle, his brothers would believe. If they could just see the right sign or wonder, they would believe. If their senses were manipulated in just the right way, theyd believe. But Abraham says, No. None of that will make any real difference. The only thing that will have the power to save them is the Word. If they wont heed the word, all the resurrected bodies in the world wont save them. Now, you can obviously take or leave anything that I say here today. But based upon what I see in evangelicalism today, as evidenced by these few examples that I have mentioned, my contention is that these problems which we see in the evangelical camp stem from our neglect of one theological truth in particular, and that is the doctrine of the sufficiency of the Word of God. By sufficiency I mean that Scripture contains all the words of God we need for salvation, for trusting him perfectly, and for obeying him perfectly. I have no doubt that we would all affirm the inerrancy of the Word. So, I would venture, would that Florida pastor and the advertising executive and the church growth consultant. But the mere affirmation of a doctrinal position isnt enough. Weve come to the point at which we are in danger of letting our practice determine our theology. I must be doing right, or things wouldnt be going so well, the man said. There was a time when it was understood that our theology should be determining our practice. Have you ever had the experience of reading a book and saying, This is what Ive been saying! I should have written this!? I experienced just that when reading the last book that James Boice wrote just before he was called home. It is entitled, Whatever Happened to the Gospel of Grace. In the first chapter of this book, Boice does a masterful job of

5 pointing out the similarities between the liberalism of the last century and contemporary evangelicalism. As I read it, I had one of those experiences. Exactly! Thats what Ive been saying! I should have written this! I then came back to my senses and remembered that had I written it, no one would have read it. So Im glad Boice was the one to do it. Boice points to four characteristics of liberalism that lead to its decline. Boice contends that the mainline liberal churches decline can be attributed to the fact that: 1) they adopted the Worlds Wisdom. The liberal churches had been undermined by rationalism, and they were no longer able to receive the Bible as Gods Word to man, but only as mans word about God. The result was a state of uncertainty within the church concerning what to believe. This rationalism also caused the liberal churches to embrace the outlook and moral values of the world. There was nothing, therefore, that set them apart as something unique. They became simply a pale reflection of the culture in which they were functioning. Another result was that they began to make decisions based not on the teaching of Scripture, but on the prevailing opinion of the times. 2) they adopted the Words Theology. This is the theology that says human beings are basically good, that no one is really lost, and that belief in Jesus Christ is not necessary for anyones salvation though it may be helpful for some people. 3) they adopted the Worlds Agenda. The theme of the 1964 gathering of the World Council of Churches was, The world must set agenda. This meant that the churchs concerns should be the concerns of the world, even to the exclusion of the gospel. 4) they adopted the Worlds Methods. The methods God has given for us to do his work were jettisoned by the mainline churches as hopelessly

6 inadequate, and what was proposed in their place was a gospel of power politics and money. I wish I had time to flesh all of this out for you, but I encourage you to pick up Boices book for yourself. After identifying the reasons for decline in the mainline churches, He goes on to make this startling statement: What has hit me like a thunderbolt in recent years is the discovery that what I had been saying about the liberal churches at the end of the 1960s and in the 70s now needs to be said about evangelical churches, too. 1) Evangelicals have become enamored with the Worlds Wisdom.

Most will pay lip-service to the inerrancy of Scripture, while at the same time practically abandoning the Scripture because they do not think it is adequate for the challenges we face today. They do not think it is sufficient for winning people to Christ in this age, so they turn to felt-need sermons or signs and wonders or entertainment instead. Perhaps you received the same mailing I did a month or two ago. The quote on the envelope read, Jed Clampett didnt talk fancy but he spoke moral truth with lifechanging power that will help you reach your church! Open it up, read whats inside, and you find that it is a promotion for something called The Beverly Hillbillies Bible Study. And the company that is selling it is called, Entertainment Ministry. 2) Evangelicals have taken on the Worlds Theology. Many will use the Bibles words but give them new meaning, pouring secular content into spiritual terminology. We have taken on the therapeutic theology of our culture and have recast our theology in psychiatric terms. Sin is now dysfunctional behavior. Salvation is self-esteem or wholeness. Jesus is more of an example of right living than our savior from the wrath of a holy God. Sunday by Sunday people are told how to have happy marriages and raise nice children, but not how to get right

7 with God. We have become an incredibly MECENTERED people. 3) Evangelicals have taken on the Worlds Agenda. What is the worlds agenda? Primarily, as Francis Schaeffer pointed out, it is to be happy, with happiness being defined as the maximum amount of personal peace, and the sufficient affluence to enjoy it. Is that not the bottom line of so much evangelical preaching today? How to be happy, and contented, and satisfied? God is no longer central. Man is. God exists for us. 4) Evangelicals have become enamored with the Worlds Methods. How else to explain the emphasis so many place on numerical growth, and large buildings, and money? Or so many bizarre approaches to evangelism? Or the toning down of truth? Or the priority of entertainment? Youve seen the polls, havent you? The majority of evangelicals no longer believe in absolute truth. Seventy-six percent believe that human beings are, by nature, basically good. Eighty-six percent believe that, in salvation, God helps those who help themselves. II. THE CORRECTIVE Something is horribly wrong. And I would like to suggest that the corrective is to be found in the Lords commands in Jeremiah 6:16, Stand by the ways and see and ask for the old paths, where the good way is, and walk in it; And you will find rest for your souls. There is, perhaps, no more crucial old path to return to than the old path of the sufficiency of the Word of God. Id like to take you to a passage that you are all, no doubt, familiar with. But, like Peter, who did not hesitate to stir up his readers by way of reminder, Id like to take the remainder of my time today to remind us all of some very important truths about the Word, from the Word. It can all be summed up in one

8 imperative. REMEMBER THE PRIORITY OF THE WORD. When Paul comes to what he believes may well be the end of his life, and writes what may well be his final instructions to his beloved Timothy, what is the content of the great apostles heart? What does he consider the most important exhortation with which to leave this young man? It is simply this: I SOLEMNLY CHARGE YOU IN THE PRESENCE OF GOD AND OF CHRIST JESUS, WHO IS TO JUDGE THE LIVING AND THE DEAD, AND BY HIS APPEARING AND HIS KINGDOM: PREACH THE WORD. Why Do We Preach THE WORD? (The Sufficiency of the Word) We preach the Word because it is sufficient. For what is the Word Sufficient? For all that we are called to concern ourselves with as children of God and as His ministers. We preach THE WORD because. A. Its a gospel message v. 15 It is the Word that gives the wisdom that leads to salvation. It is the Word that contains the good news. And it is the same good news for every individual on the face of the planet. Its not different good news for boomers than it is for busters, than it is for GenXers. It is the same good news. It is the good news that God in His sovereign mercy has sent His Son as the propitiation for sin, that those who are under the wrath of God and bound for an eternity in hell might be reconciled to Him by the blood of Christ. And it is good news because it is a message of grace. Grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone. All that needs to be done has been done, and all that has been done has been accomplished by a gracious redeemer. We preach the Word because it is a gospel message and no other message is. When we avoid the proclamation of sin and the need for repentance we avoid the gospel. When we preach the four secrets to self-esteem and the five keys to success in your business, we do not preach the gospel. We preach THE WORD because B. its a Christ-centered message v. 15 I.

9 This word is able to give the wisdom that leads to salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. It is a Christ-centered message. What a crucial reminder is this in our day. The contemporary gospel of evangelicalism is largely a man-centered. This is what Jesus will do for you. He wants to be your friend. He wants to solve your problems. He wants to heal your marriage. He wants to straighten out your kids. And we present Him as a therapist or a social worker rather than the eternal Lord of glory who commands all men everywhere to repent and be saved. Our gospel is all too often mancentered, but the biblical gospel is Christ-centered. Men are at enmity with God. They are under the wrath of God. And they have no hope but to turn to Him and fall upon His mercy. Why is that the case? Because they have offended a holy God. That is the issue. This was the message that Peter preached at Pentecost. Can you imagine preaching that message today? Men of Israel, listen to these words: Jesus the Nazarene, a man attested to you by God with miracles and wonders and signs which God performed through Him in your midst, just as you yourselves know this Man, delivered over by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, YOU NAILED TO A CROSS BY THE HANDS OF GODLESS MEN AND PUT HIM TO DEATH. And, Therefore let all the house of Israel know for certain that God has made Him both Lord and Christ THIS JESUS WHOM YOU CRUCIFIED. Well, thats not going to do much for your self-esteem, is it? If our primary intent is to bring seekers back to church next week, were not going to be preaching that message. But apparently Peter wasnt concerned about turning off his hearers, because it is obvious that his hearers were not at the center of his message, Christ was. The hearers were a part of his message only insofar as their lives and actions were related to what He had to say about Christ. Thats what they need to know. What did Jesus Himself pray? This is eternal life that they know You and Your Son Jesus Christ. It is salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. He is everywhere and

10 everything. If we preach the word we will preach Jesus. The Word is Christ-centered, and as such, our preaching and our gospel must be Christ-centered as well. One of the first articles that B. B. Warfield wrote The Bibles Summum Bonum, addressed the question What is the highest good which man can strive after? In that article Warfield showed how the Bible takes a person out of himself, and bids him seek the highest good in the glory, not of his pitiful self, but of his all-glorious God. How different that sounds from the evangelical church today. We have, it seems, reversed the order. Rather than having the Bible take us out of ourselves and to the glory of God, the Bible is twisted to the point at which we are at the center. To this end, I would commend to you a little book entitled, God-Centered Evangelism, by R.B. Kuiper. We preach THE WORD because C. Its a God-given message v. 16 All Scripture is inspired by God. It is a God-breathed Word. How can someone who really believes that slouch to the pulpit and preach a dry, passionless message? I heard a man tell of his experience while preaching once in Jamaica. He said that when it is time to preach, one of the elders comes to the preacher, and says, Yes, mon, it is your time to preach. And then he grabs the preacher by the arm and takes him up to the high pulpit and opens the bible in front of him. The elder then goes through a door behind the preacher and the preacher hears the door shut. And everybodys looking. And then the preacher preaches. When the message is over the preacher comes back down from the pulpit, again with the escort. But theyre not done yet. The elder goes to the front, and speaking to the congregation says, It is now time to rehearse the sermon. And he starts calling on people for the points of the message. What a high view of preaching! I dont think we would slump up to the pulpits any longer. I dont think we would get to the pulpit and say, Can I just share something with you? Paul doesnt tell Timothy to share, he tells him to PREACH the word. This Word that we have is a god-given message. This is a Thus saith the Lord. We are not to share anything; we are to PREACH THE WORD.

11 We preach THE WORD because D. Its a profitable message v. 16 I love to read. Ive got a fairly extensive library, and many of those books I have found to be extremely profitable. Other books I pick up and after just a few pages I realize that somewhere a tree had died in vain. But brothers, we dont simply have a book. We have THE book. And because every word of it is God-given, every word of it is profitable. Remember that the next time youre tempted to skip the genealogies. I was convicted of this myself as I studied this passage again with the result that sometime in the next year Im going to preach through the Song of Solomon. Im not sure how Im going to do it yet, but I have the promise of God that the Song of Solomon is profitable for myself and for the people of God. Every part of it, down to the jot and the tittle, and the Song of Solomon is profitable. Preach the Word. We preach THE WORD because E. Its a transforming message v. 16 You cant do what is right, until you know whats right. Here is my definition of expository preaching. It is simply preaching the Bible as its designed. How is it designed? I think were told how its designed right here. I see Scripture designed and profitable for two purposes. All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for doctrine and application. And application has three points under it. Reproof, correction, and training. You and I have no right to speak to the consciences and hearts of men and women until we have gone to the word and shown them faithfully that this doctrine and this teaching comes from the Scripture. But once we have done that, we dont just polish the apple and then put it away in the basket. We press it to the lips. We reprove, we correct and we train. By the way, youll note the first application is reproof. Whats that, positive or negative? Negative. Then correction. Correction is positive. Then we have the how tos. Training, so that the word you heard now becomes the word you live. The interesting thing is how it unfolds. First, you cant apply until you establish the doctrine. Now that youve established

12 the doctrine, you apply and the first movement of application is what? Reproof. Why? Because we dont start off in neutral. What are we? Were sinners. You cant put on the righteousness until you put off the sin. That is reproof. Then theres correction. Put off the old man, put on the new man. Then what? Training in righteousness. We are being trained in a whole new way of life. If a man is in Christ Jesus hes a new creation, the old is passed away, the new is come. Can you see Paul doing this? He does it in Ephesians. The doctrine is set forth in chapters 1-3, and the application in 4-6. Lets just take one clear example of how the apostle does this. Note the reproof in 4:28. Let him who steals steal no longer. That is followed in the same verse by the correction, But, let him labor with his hands performing what is good. Whats next? The training, So that he may have something to give to he who has a need. He does it again in 4:29. Let no unwholesome word proceed out of your mouth. Whats that? Reproof. But only such a word that is good for edification. Whats that? Correction. According to the need of the moment that it may give grace to those who hear. Training. We preach THE WORD because F. Its an equipping message v. 17 The Scripture is the chief means that God employs to bring the man of God to maturity. It is only the Scripture that can do it. Only the Word of God can make the man of God complete, equipped for every good work. We can read all of the books in the world dealing with management techniques and leadership styles and personality profiles. But Paul says it is the Word that will equip the man of God. And for what will he be equipped? For EVERY GOOD WORK. That is, for everything that God has called upon us to do. For all of those works which He has prepared beforehand for us to walk in. For all that He requires.the Scripture is sufficient. We preach THE WORD because G. Its a sufficient message v. 17 We dont need the Bible plus something. We need the Bible. Anything that comes to us must fit within the frame, the form, and the filter of the Word of God. And the Word of God must

13 the yardstick against which all else is measured. How critical are we concerning what we do in the church? Do we take opportunity that comes our way and measure it against the Scriptural yardstick to determine whether or not it is something that we are to be involved in? A number of years ago, my elders and I were studying the word concerning the purpose of the local church. And we would take the first forty-five minutes of our meetings for this study. There were these huge sheets of paper hanging all over my bookshelves and filing cabinets and walls, filled with the results of our study. Later, during the meeting, we dealt with the request of one of our members to conduct voting registration and to hand out Christian Coalition voter guides in the church. Well, it wasnt that tough a decision, by then. We just looked around at the wall and asked ourselves, If these are the things that the church is to be about, what category might this fall under? And we couldnt find one. So we went back to that person and said, This is a fine thing that you desire to do, and for you to do it as a private individual, out on the sidewalk, would be wonderful. But it is not something for the church to be involved in. Now, whether or not you agree with that decision is not the point. The point is that we should be judging everything that we do in the local church against the yardstick of Scripture. Churches are involved in so many different things today. Many of them having nothing to do with the purposes that Scripture says they exist to accomplish. And every time the church involves itself in those things that are peripheral at best, and sometimes not even remotely related to their Godgiven purpose, time, energy, and resources are diverted from that God-given purpose. We preach the word because the Scripture is sufficient for all that we are called upon to accomplish.

But I think we need to address another issue, as well. We have seen by the words of the apostle, the absolute necessity of preaching the WORD. But another question for us is

14 Why Do We PREACH the Word? (The Sufficiency of the Word Preached) There is a continued move away from preaching as the effective means of ministry. One pastor, speaking of his own dislike for long sermons made a new years resolution concerning the length of his messages. That means wasting less time listening to long sermons and spending much more time preparing short ones. People, Ive discovered, will forgive even poor theology as long as they get out by noon. And that seems to be the prevailing opinion in much of the ministry. Bad doctrine is tolerable; a long sermon is certainly not. As Lloyd-Jones pointed out, These proposals that we should preach less, and do various other things more, are of course, not new at all. People seem to think that all this is quite new, and that it is the hallmark of modernity to decry or to depreciate preaching, and to put your empasis on these other things. The simple answer to that is that there is nothing new about it. The actual form may be new, but the principle is certainly not a new one at all; indeed it has been the particular emphasis of this present century. I think there are three primary reasons, why we PREACH the Word. We PREACH the word because of. A. The nature of the Word 1 Pet. 1:23 Its a living word designed to be preached. We are born again by the imperishable seed of the Word (1 Pet. 1:23). Flesh is like grass. The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of the Lord abides forever. And this is the word that is preached to you. God gave it to be preached. Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of Christ. We would do well to remember the words of Martin Lloyd-Jones when he said, It is not the task of the preacher to fill the church, but rather, it is the task of the preacher to fill the pulpit. I think what he meant was, we are to faithfully preach the Word, so that the II.

15 power of the Word will be released to accomplish its purposes. We PREACH the word because of B. The nature of the listeners 1 Cor. 2:14; 2 Tim. 4:3-4 The unconverted dont want to hear it. And there are many times your people dont want to hear it. But if what the Scripture says about itself is true, they need to hear it. And they need a preacher who preaches under the eye of God. A few months ago our fellowship joined with a couple of others for a joint worship service one Sunday evening. One of them a sister CB church. As the other pastors and I got together to plan the service, the other CB pastor made a suggestion. Instead of preaching, why dont we each do a five minute vignette? Now, Ive never done a vignette. I wasnt even sure what a vignette was. It sounded to me like something you pour over a salad. Our people need more than a vignette. Paul did not have vignettes in mind when he commanded Timothy I solemnly charge you in the presence of God, the appearing of his kingdom, and his judgement seat: Preach the Word. They need a preacher who is sensitive and loving toward his people. They need a preacher who doesnt beat them up every Lords Day. Who cares for them. Like his Savior, he doesnt want to break the bruised reed. But hes not a manpleaser. His ultimate desire is to please God. He preaches the truth. In love, always, but it is the truth he is preaching. Truth without love is barbarity, but love without truth is cruelty. J. C. Ryle. Preach the Word. The people need it. They need a preacher who is free to preach the word and does so under the eye of God. Thats why a man like Nathan, who is mentioned only three times in the Scripture made such an incredible impact. Thats why John the Baptist made such an impact on Herod that he lost his head over the issue. There are times when

16 they need a comforting word from God. There are also times when they need to see their sin. We PREACH the word because of C. The nature of the proclamation Rom. 10:1317 Note Pauls machine gun like approach. Him whom they have not heard. Note carefully what Paul is asking. He does not ask, How will they hear about Him? Rather, he asks, How will they hear HIM. And how do they hear Him? They hear Him through a preacher. When we faithful proclaim the Word of God, there is a very real sense in which it is not we who are doing the preaching, but Christ Himself. It is Christ speaking to the hearts of His people. His sheep hear His voice and they follow Him. Thats why the mode of communication is stressed so much throughout the Word. What did Paul say about the manner in which he came to the Corinthian church? 1 Cor. 2:1-5 Why? He wanted to be sure that the fruit of his ministry would be good fruit. He wanted to be sure that those who were responding to the gospel were responding as a genuine fruit of the work of God in their lives and not as a result of his own abilities, or manipulations, or techniques. Because if that were the case, one could not discern the reality of the supposed conversion. Paul knew that the results which come from the wisdom of men, could look very much like the genuine work of the Spirit which is the result of the power of God, and he did not want any confusion. He knew that God would work to save His people and that He had promised to effect their conversion through the power of His Word.

CONC. The Church is puzzled by the worlds indifference. She is trying to overcome it by adapting her message to the fashions of the day. But if, instead, before the conflict, she would descend into the secret place of meditation, if by the clear light of the gospel she would seek an answer not merely to the questions of the hour but, first of all, to the

17 eternal problems of the spiritual world, then perhaps, by Gods grace, through His good Spirit, in His good time, she might issue forth once more with power, and an age of doubt might be followed by the dawn of an era of faith. That sounds very relevant to me. It was written by J. Gresham Machen, in his classic work Liberalism and Christianity in 1923. 2 Tim. 4:1-5 I charge you, preach the word in the presence of God and the soon appearing of His Son Jesus Christ. I charge you, preach the word. Preach the Word in the light of the judgement seat, Paul says. Every time you stand in that pulpit, preach the Word, knowing that this is not an incidental, or a superficial act. When you stand there, feel the eyelash of God upon you. When you stand there, feel the footsteps of Jesus. When you stand there, hear the thud of the gavel of the judgement seat that will declare one of two verdicts. Enter in, beloved. Or depart from Me, you workers of lawlessness. I never knew you. Preach the word. Preach the word. It is sufficient. Let the pastors boldly dare all things by the word of God...Let them constrain all the power, glory, and excellence of the world to give place to and obey the divine majesty of this word. Let them enjoin everyone by it, from the highest to the lowest. Let them edify the body of Christ. Let them devastate Satan's reign. Let them pasture the sheep, kill the wolves, instruct and exhort the rebellious. Let them bind and looses thunder and lightning, if necessary, but let them do all according to the word of God." John Calvin, quoted by John Piper in The Legacy of Sovereign Joy