Sufficient

Although the light of nature, and the works of creation and providence do so far manifest the goodness, wisdom, and power of God, as to leave men inexcusable; yet they are not sufficient to give that knowledge of God and His will which is necessary unto salvation.

The second adjective used in the first sentence of the confession regarding the Holy Bible is "sufficient."  For some reason, this word carries negative baggage for me.  Its simple definition is that it means "enough" or "adequate."  I imagine the use of the word though with someone who is lazy at work or home, but they want to do just enough to not get fired and get by.  Perhaps that negative tone could be beneficial to our understanding.  Apart from Scripture, the grand sum of evidences found in "the light of nature, and the works of creation and providence...are not sufficient."  To put it into my imaginary scene, the person would get fired if they didn't have Scripture and its redemptive revelation.  (The pun reference to hell, not originally considered, but gladly accepted.)  Conversely, Scripture is "just enough" because "The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but the revealed belong to us and to our sons forever, that we may observe all the words of this law" (Deut. 29:29).  We don't have the complete revelation, "For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face; now I know in part, but then I will know fully just as I also have been fully known" (1 Cor. 13:12).  Further, (to borrow from Jack Nicholson) we can't handle the Truth.  Our minds are too finite.  It would be like trying to fit the ocean in a coffee cup, or maybe more fitting, a thimble.  A brief survey of Isaiah 40 or Job 38-42 ought to humble us so that we echo Job's cry, "I have declared that which I did not understand, things too wonderful for me, which I did not know... Therefore I retract, and I repent in dust and ashes" (Job 42:3, 6).  With that, I think we can conclude that "sufficient" is an adequate term.

There are 3 areas which the confession says men can turn and learn something of God, but are ultimately insufficient: light of nature, creation, and providence.  Two more areas exist to which men turn to learn of God are listed later in Chapter 1:6, new revelation and tradition.  All of these are insufficient means to teach us the Gospel.  We might be able to learn something, but in the end we are left hopelessly in the dark apart from the Gospel revelation.  In fact, many of the ways we can learn or turn to learn something of God are ultimately a stumbling blocks.  As Paul says to the Romans, "For they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen" (Rom 1:25).  Creation becomes our object of worship. Or instead, as previously discussed in a former post, new revelation or tradition becomes our gospel and source.  And that "light of nature" found within can become the greatest offense, because by it we think we are "good people" and create our moral religion.  We diminish God's holiness by creating our own defunct moral law and strive to live up to it, though still imperfectly, but by which we can consider ourselves and those around us generally as "good."  Thus, anyone who tips the scales in a positive favor, using our deceitful weights, we believe ought to go to heaven.  Our means are insufficient.

This is why Scripture is our ONLY sufficient means.  They are like a pair of prescription glasses.  Apart from them we cannot even see general revelation rightly.  The Bible is the lamp to our feet and light to our path (Ps 119:105), shining so we can clearly see where to walk.  Otherwise, we are just stumbling through the dark, not even able to see our hand in front of our face aright.