The Alternative

Dr. Tony Evans: Scripture has every principle needed for a well-ordered life.

Announcer: Dr. Tony Evans says the Bible is not out of date.

Dr. Tony Evans: Rather, it's complete.

Dr. Tony Evans: There is no need in the life of the Christian that has gone unaddressed in the Bible.

Announcer: This is The Alternative broadcast, featuring the timeless biblical teachings from the archives of Dr. Tony Evans.

Dr. Tony Evans: In a world overflowing with advice, it is easy to overlook the one source that actually works.

Announcer: Today, Dr. Evans shows how scripture gives everything we need for wisdom, joy, and direction. Let's listen as he explores how God's word has the ability to meet the deepest needs of our lives.

Dr. Tony Evans: If you go to a bookstore, you will notice a number of titles that may catch your eye in light of our series which has been on The Glorious Scripture. A number of books contain the word Bible in their title. For example, there is the Vegetarian Bible. There is the Chocolate Bible. There is the Hunter's Bible. There is the Fashion Bible.

But why do they do it? They do it because the word Bible is associated with the final word on a subject. Today, I want to talk a moment about the comprehensive nature of Scripture. What I mean by that is that the Bible is totally comprehensive in its ability to address every need in your life.

There is no need in the life of the Christian that has gone unaddressed in the Bible. The Bible never spends time defending the existence of God. It simply says a fool has said there is no God. You have to be a fool to conclude there is no God. You have to be educated out of the existence of God. Because it's natural when you look at the world around you that somebody bigger than that must be responsible for it.

David in verses 7 through 14 where he makes six statements about the sufficiency of scripture or its comprehensive nature to address all of life. Number one, the law of the Lord is perfect, restoring the soul. The word perfect means whole or complete, or something that is comprehensive. When he says the law of the Lord is perfect, he is saying that scripture lacks nothing.

It is complete in its revelation of divine truth, and while God has not told you everything, he's told you everything you need to know. The word restore means to convert, revive, or refresh. In other words, the word of God can change you. It can change you. It can make things different.

Many of us have seen old furniture restored, brought back to life. We've seen broken things repaired. We've seen old things made new. What he's saying is that this book is so powerful that it is able to take your soul. Now, what's your soul? Your soul is the essence of your life. Your soul is beyond your body. Your soul goes to who you are as a being.

Most of us start with what we do as a being and that brings in our body. But we only do what we do because we are who we are. He's saying the scripture can change who you are, which will automatically affect what you do. The scripture can restore or give you back your soul. The Hebrew word for soul is pronounced nefesh, and nefesh refers to the total person and God's ability to turn you inside out. To fix what's wrong or broken or bruised or beaten or battered on your inside.

Many of us who look wonderful outside are scarred inside. We've got scars on our souls. They've been hidden by our bodies. Even when we're feeling okay outside, we still feel the ache and the pain of the inside. He says, scripture is so complete that it is able to restore or revive or heal your inside. Paul went so far as to say, though my outward man decays day by day, he says my inward man is renewed.

In other words, the older you get, the younger you should be getting. It's okay to be old on the outside. Time will guarantee that. But according to the word of God, you should be getting younger on the inside. When the scripture is free to have its way with you, then it restores or heals the soul. Why? Because it is comprehensive.

There are two reasons I encourage my youngest son, Jonathan, during his high school days of playing football. There are two reasons. Reason number one, I love football. Reason number two, I didn't want to pay for college. So I felt like I could express my love for football and save money at the same time, if he would get good enough to get a college scholarship. He got a college scholarship. And I got my praise on because I was happy. They paid for his classes, they paid for his books, they paid for his food, they paid for a place to live. It is a full, it's called a full, somebody say full, full scholarship where the school takes responsibility for his education. They pick up the tab for his education.

It's a comprehensive agenda. It would be a shame to have that much investment not to be taken advantage of. Am I right? In other words, when you know the value of a comprehensive scholarship, what you ought to do is take advantage of it. Maximize it. You cannot have all this and not take advantage of it. It is the comprehensive word of God. He says the scripture will restore your soul.

Now, if the scripture will restore your soul, that means it will also save you money. Because that means you don't have to go beyond it to get your soul fixed. Second thing he says. The testimony, another way of saying scripture, the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple. When he says scripture is sure, he's referring to scripture as trustworthy. In other words, its witness, testimony, sure means to give testimony or to give witness. It's true about who God is, what God says. It's a reliable document and therefore provides a sure or solid foundation upon which life is to be built. It's sure, you can bank on it.

Jesus said in Matthew 7 about two men who built houses. One built on a rock, one built on sand. One foundation was sure, the other was flimsy. Scripture is sure. Many of our lives are often built on philosophies that are not sure. How we were raised, which was not sure. Our friends, who are as messed up as we are, they're not sure. He says scripture is sure. That is, reliable.

He says, it will make the simple wise. What is the simple in the biblical worldview? What does it mean to be simple? Well, it doesn't mean as sometimes somebody lacks intellect. The simple person in the Bible was the person who didn't know how to make good choices. It was the person whose judgment ability or discerning ability was flawed. They didn't know how to make choices. They didn't know how to set the right boundaries. They didn't know how to position themselves under God correctly. They were called simple, not because they were stupid or lacked intellect, but they lacked the ability to make judgments.

How many of us sitting here tonight if we knew then what we know now would have chosen differently? In other words, it was a judgment problem. We didn't calculate the data correctly. We didn't investigate it correctly. We were maybe too immature at that point in our lives. We were unsure and therefore we could not make judgments. What he's saying is the scripture will save you that heartache and save you that headache because what it will do is give you the ability to discern because God has already taken in all the idiosyncrasies, all the elements and has already rendered a judgment on it.

Announcer: When Dr. Evans returns in a moment, he'll share a relatable example of how ignoring divine wisdom plays out in everyday life. First though, we're about halfway through Tony's powerful sermon series called The Glory of God's Word. This 10-part collection highlights the uniqueness, power, and divine origin of scripture and how embracing its truth can reshape every area of your life. The series includes content we won't have time to present on the air, so we're making the full-length versions of all the messages available to you as our gift. When you support the ministry of The Alternative with a generous donation. As an added bonus, we're also including Tony's book, The Power of Knowing God. It's a practical, encouraging guide to moving beyond routine religion and developing a deeper, more personal relationship with God. Request both resources today at tonyevans.org, or call 1-800-800-3222 to get the details for this special offer. That's tonyevans.org, or speak with someone from our resource team when you call 1-800-800-3222 any time of the day or night. I'll repeat that contact information for you after the second part of today's lesson. And this.

Guest (Male): Life moves fast and sometimes the most important thing you can do is slow down. You're invited to join Dr. Tony Evans and special guest Priscilla Shirer and Anthony Evans on a seven-day Caribbean cruise of rest and renewal, beginning February 28th. Set sail from Fort Lauderdale to visit stunning destinations like Nassau, Grand Turk, Amber Cove, and even a private island in the Bahamas. But this journey is more than scenic beauty. It's a time to reconnect with God and with others. You'll experience life-changing teaching, uplifting worship, and moments of peace that are hard to come by in the middle of everyday life. Whether it's a quiet morning on deck, or a shared moment of praise with fellow believers, every part of this cruise is designed to refresh your body and your soul. Make plans now to step away so you can step back renewed. Visit tonyevans.org for details and reservations. That's tonyevans.org.

Dr. Tony Evans: Have you gotten frustrated at your children because they will not listen, and you know they're wrong, and they're arguing like they're right? They think they know they're right, but you know they haven't lived long enough. The word of God is the perfect document for folks who don't know what to do. Folks who already know what to do don't need the Bible or don't use it. Better to be simple and need the word than be brilliant and not. The word of the Lord is a pathfinder. It will lead you down the correct way to go. It will show you the right road. When you go down the biblically prescribed path to get to where God wants you to go, you'll be happy you took that road.

He goes on. Verse 8. The commandment of the Lord, again, the commandments of the written word of God, the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes. It will clear up the dark things. The things that are hard to figure out. Jesus prayed in Matthew 11 to his father, and he said, Father, hide these truths from the intelligent. That is people who have their own sight and reveal them to babies, to people who are dependent. Open up their eyes so that they can see. So you get to see things as they really are because scripture enlightens your eyes. It gives you divine vision. The fear of the Lord is clean. The word fear here is again used referring to response to God's word. The fear of the Lord is clean. God conveys his truth without flaw or without blemish. Psalm 12 verse 6 says, God's word is flawless. He says that the fear of the Lord is pure enduring forever. The Bible is permanent, it's unchanging, and watch this, it's always relevant. It will never go out of date. It will never go out of print. It just gets translated into language after language after language. No book has sold more in the history of publications. So it says it will endure forever. It is a permanent record of the revelation of God. It always has been sufficient, it is sufficient, it will always be sufficient.

Many of you took philosophy in college. Philosophy is interesting because philosophy is learning the worldviews of men. How men look at the world and then you know you get to God. You study existentialism. People will be talking deep too. Oh, did you hear him? Philosophies. You know, it's always changing. The Bible talked about people ever learning and never coming into the knowledge of the truth. Loved to go to school, don't know nothing. Scripture is the only worldview that will last forever because it's rooted in an unchangeable reality, God, who has recorded that reality for us in scripture. He goes on.

The judgments, verse 9, of the Lord are true. They are righteous altogether. Judgment means the ordinances or divine verdicts from the bench of the Supreme Judge of the earth. The Bible is the standard, he says, of judging life, of leading life, and of evaluating life. Why can it be trusted? Because the judgments of the Lord are true. We've already dealt with truth. It's a fixed standard. It's not up for negotiation or debate. And when applied, it produces comprehensive righteousness in the life of the believer who accepts it. It is the inexhaustible source of truth, and when truth is applied, you become right.

The Bible pronounces a curse on anyone who adds to it or takes from it because you're messing with the revelation of God. If the Bible is this comprehensive, how should you view it? What kind of priority should it have? Notice what he says in verse 10. They are more desirable than gold. Yes, than much fine gold. First thing he wants you to know is anything this precious is more important than your paycheck. Gold, that's your money. I would dare to think that many of us view the Bible as more important than our paycheck. Very few of us look at the Bible that way. That's not how David looked at it. David was a wealthy man. He wasn't sitting home reading his Bible all day. He's a very wealthy man. But when it came to what was valuable, he said, your word is more. When Paul was in prison, getting ready to die. He sent word back. You would have thought he would have said, he said, Timothy, when you come, bring me a blanket because I'm cold in prison. It's cold here. Bring me a blanket and bring me the scriptures. Because right now in this situation, I need something divine. When Christians are on their deathbed, first thing they want is somebody to read them the Bible. It's not only valuable in death, it's valuable in life. Because it's written for life. He says, it's more precious than my paycheck or anything that the paycheck can buy. So it's more valuable than anything this world offers. That is, not just the book sitting on your shelf is more valuable. It is the reality of God's revelation, which is incorporated in scripture, that is more valuable. Notice how else valuable it is. He says, it's sweeter than honey and the drippings of the honeycomb. It's better than your dessert because your dessert has sugar in it. All right, it makes it sweet. He says, this thing is sweet.

Have you ever read a verse that got sweet to you, or read a passage that was sweet to you? Now, how do you know when something is sweet? I'll tell you how you know something is sweet, you taste it. You can taste it. That's why the Bible says, taste the Lord and see that he is good. I'm not talking about reading the Bible. Although reading, of course, is part of that's the way you can read what God has said. I'm talking about you tasting it. Some people would call it feeling it, experiencing it. So you don't just want to say I read my two chapters today. You want to say I experienced God while reading my two chapters today. You want to taste the sugar. He wants you to taste it. For David, the word of God was something to be experienced as well as known. It's true even if you don't experience it, but you don't just want the fact of it. You want the reality of it. You want it to take on life for you. Of course, that's the role of the Holy Spirit to animate it in your experience. And what he says is that that's what the scripture will do. It will be a taste for you. Moreover, by them your servant is warned, and in keeping them there is great reward. Who can discern his errors? Acquip me of my hidden faults. Things that are deep down inside that are flaws. I'm going to need your word to help me with those. Keep back your servant from presumptuous sins, sins you plan to do. Do not let them rule over me, that I shall be blameless and shall be acquitted of great transgression. And then he says this famous closing verse, Let the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer. He says the word of God is sufficient. It can satisfy the soul, it can quench the thirst.

You get a lot of cake mixes, and they say all the ingredients are here. Don't mess with it, you'll mess up the product. Many of you remember, any of you use Prego spaghetti sauce? Prego? They used to have a commercial about Prego spaghetti sauce. The commercial would simply say, the man would come on and say, it's in there. Because they would ask, does it have tomatoes? And he'd say, it's in there. Does it have Italian sausage? It's in there. Or does it have basil? It's in there. Or does it have garlic? It's in there. Does it have pepper? It's in there. I'm going somewhere. David is saying scripture is comprehensive. My life has fallen apart, it's in there. I'm worried, it's in there. I'm losing my mind, it's in there. I don't know how I'm going to pay my bills, it's in there. I found out I got terminal cancer, it's in there. I found out that I'm in conflict with my neighbor, it's in there. Because the Bible is totally comprehensive to address every need because it is the absolute word of God.

Announcer: Dr. Tony Evans, showing how God's word equips us for every challenge we face. Now, if you'd like to receive the complete full-length version of today's message, the title to ask about is Scripture Is Sufficient. But the best way to get it is to request it as a part of Tony's 10-part series, The Glory of God's Word. As I mentioned earlier, we're offering this powerful collection as our thank you gift, available on digital download as well as on either CD or USB flash drive. When you support Tony's ministry with a financial contribution. And don't forget, as an added bonus, we're also including Dr. Evans' book, The Power of Knowing God. This well-loved resource can help you move beyond simply knowing about God to experiencing the power of a deeper relationship with Him. Just visit tonyevans.org to get the details. Again, that's tonyevans.org, or call us day or night at 1-800-800-3222 and let one of our resource team members help you. That's 1-800-800-3222. We all have questions about life, but some answers can only come from a heavenly source. On Monday, Dr. Evans shows how God uses scripture to reveal His thoughts and will, and why understanding Him begins with what He chooses to reveal. Be sure to join us.