In the past century Presbyterians fought, and ultimately divided, over the inspiration and authority of scripture. In the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA) our commitment has been solidly to the Bible. That, I believe, is still the case. However, there is another doctrine regarding scripture that IS JUST AS IMPORTANT -- the sufficiency of scripture. What does that mean? It means that the scripture is the only direction that the church needs to accomplish her mission. How do I you share the gospel? Go to the Bible. How do I relate to my fellow believers? my neighbor? my enemy? Go to the Bible. What ought the church to do when she gathers together? Go to the Bible and find out. The Bible is sufficient for all these things, despite being over 2,000 years old, because it is the Lord's message to us. Is his wisdom sufficient for these things? Then so is his word. Without a vigorous commitment to the sufficiency of the Bible, it doesn't matter a whit whether you believe the Bible is infallible or not. Just as good works reveal the sincerity of one's faith, so living by the Bible gives proof that the church believes the Bible to be authoritative.
Sufficiency is dealt with in the Confession
