“And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.  All Scripture is given by the inspiration of God is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.  That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works”                    (2 Tim. 3:16-17)

What powerful verses! Have you ever considered the wonderful truths emanating from this passage? Have you ever reconciled yourself to the reality of the scripture’s sufficiency for all areas of life? Such a sufficiency by which a man of God may be “thoroughly furnished unto all good works.”

Last week I caught a flashing gleam of this reality.  The NCFIC (The National Center for Family-Integrated Churches) put on a special conference called The Sufficiency of Scripture 2009. The purpose of the conference was to proclaim the sufficiency of scripture for church, for family, for manhood and womanhood and all other areas of life. It was an inspiring time. Godly men and Christian leaders spoke on a variety of topics extolling scripture sufficiency.

Scott Brown, the Director of NCFIC started the conference off Thursday evening with the purpose for the conference and a message, exhorting followers of Christ not to follow the ways of the Gentiles.

Doug Philips was next expounding on the battles that are being faced for standing on the truth of ‘sola scriptura’. Furthermore, by studying the word of God both expressly and principally we will receive answers and solutions for every area of life.2

 Ken Ham followed with an eye opening message of the Gen. 3 attack, initiated by Satan in the garden of Eden and then continuing in each succeeding generation. Though the attack might be different, every generation of Christians is going to come against it and they must be determined and wise warriors for the cause of Christ and his kingdom.

The first evening concluded which I soon discovered to be only the beginning. Over the next few days, as the hours continued to pass, the challenge, the zeal, and the love for truth, exponentially increased.

images Voddie Baucham spoke first Friday Morning.  He shared about Christian America’s need for manly men in churches and families, men who will lead, who will mentor, and who love the scriptures. He also spoke on the need for Biblical womanhood. Later in the conference he expounded further in a message on discipleship making in the church and home.

Paul Washer, filled with a passion for the gospel of Jesusimages1 Christ, spoke on the sufficiency of Scripture and the gospel.   This message will be a complete failure, he told us, because it is impossible for man to fully understand and communicate the deep and powerful truths of the gospel. He challenged his audience to throw themselves on Christ, not on their standards, their morals, or their manners. Character is important but it doesn’t save you. In Christ alone is salvation and everlasting joy.

The list of godly men and their messages made it hard to pick and choose during break out sessions. The character and wisdom stemming from the scripture and issuing out of these men, such as, Geoff Botkin, Kevin Swanson, Joe Morecraft, and many others was so inspiring.

With the conference over, I’m filled with a deeper passion then ever before for the Holy Scriptures to be my deepest joy, my favorite study, my constant companion, and a light to guide my steps. This is easy to speak about but hard to actually do. Herein manifest the deep and ever deepening need for Christ and for his never ending strength. I’m not sure how my futile abilities can accomplish anything yet with the power of Christ’ resurrection I am victorious – in this I do rejoice now and, I pray, forevermore.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, December 15th, 2009 at 11:40 am and is filed under Family News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.