The Gospels Are Not Enough

I have heard it from theologically liberal theologians. I have heard it from supposedly conservative pastors (usually those with no theological training). I have heard it from lost people and immature believers: “We don’t follow Paul or Moses, we follow Jesus. All we need is the Gospels.”

Such a viewpoint stands in contrast to that of the Apostle Paul, who taught,

All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work. (ESV, 2 Tim. 3:16-17, emphasis added)

According to Paul, all Scripture is inspired, and all Scripture is profitable. We are to teach it all, use it all for correcting and training. We need all Scripture to be “complete” and “equipped.”

Conservative evangelicals and fundamentalists are identified partly by their firm belief in verbal and plenary inspiration. We believe that all Scripture is evenly inspired. The words Jesus spoke are just as (but no more) inspired than Paul’s writings or the prophets or the Torah.

Gotquestions.org puts it this way: “That means the inspiration extends to the very words themselves (verbal)—not just concepts or ideas—and that the inspiration extends to all parts of Scripture and all subject matters of Scripture (plenary).”

In 1 Corinthians 10:12-13, Paul scolds the Corinthians for thinking they should follow Paul alone, Jesus alone, Apollos alone, or Cephas (Peter) alone:

What I mean is that each one of you says, “I follow Paul,” or “I follow Apollos,” or “I follow Cephas,” or “I follow Christ.” Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul?

Not only are Jesus, Peter, Apollos and Paul on the same team, they all taught the truth. Peter authored I and II Peter, Apollos perhaps wrote Hebrews (my view), and Paul wrote Romans through Philemon.

Here is the kicker: if the men above — and others like them — were not doctrinally dependable, then how can we depend upon the gospels to be accurate? Although Matthew is not listed here, the other three Gospels are closely connected to the men listed above! It is well documented among the church fathers that Mark got most of his information from Peter.

Luke and Mark travelled with Paul and were very closely associated with him. In 2 Timothy 4:11, Paul writes, “Luke alone is with me. Get Mark and bring him with you, for he is very useful to me for ministry.”

In that same book, it seems that Paul was perhaps helping Luke with the Gospel according to Luke, which is why Paul was so desperate for “the parchments” in 2 Timothy 4:13, “When you come, bring the cloak that I left with Carpus at Troas, also the books, and above all the parchments.”

The same John who wrote 1 John, 2 John, 3 John, and Revelation wrote the Gospel of John. If we cannot trust what John wrote in 1 John, for example, how can we rely on him to have accurately recorded the words of Jesus in the Gospel according to John?

The above authors quoted or alluded to the Old Testament frequently — and they quote it as true, as inspired, and as relevant. They use the Old Testament as evidence that their teachings have Old Testament validity.

Since the Old Testament predicts the Person and Work of the Savior, and since the Savior appointed apostles to be the foundation of the church (Eph. 2:20), and since Jesus told the apostles that the Holy Spirit would bring Jesus’ teachings to their minds (John 14:25-26), we can see that the Bible is a unit. We cannot dissect it into relevant and fluffy portions. Jesus connects us to the Old Testament, and He paves the way for the New.

Jesus followed the Torah. In John 8:46, He asks, “Which one of you convicts me of sin?” Had He violated the Torah, there would have been accusations, but the only thing they could accuse Him about was violating man-made customs.

Jesus quotes a host of Old Testament Scriptures as the Word of God, as true, and as binding.

So, if you follow Christ, you also need to study the Scriptures that He studied. Although as non-Jews, many of the individual laws do not directly apply to us, there is something to be gained and applied from every portion of Scripture. And we must also respect the writings of the apostles He commissioned to lay the church’s foundation.

Since the Holy Spirit worked through men to author Scripture, and since the Holy Spirit makes no mistakes, Paul’s statement that all Scripture is inspired and that all Scripture is profitable makes good sense.

When my time is up, I hope I can say what the Apostle Paul said: “I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole counsel of God” (Acts 20:27). We need the whole deal because we follow God. We also specifically follow God the Son incarnate (Jesus), and we follow the apostles and their associates. We follow the Word.

Paul wrote in 2 Timothy 1:13 “Follow the pattern of the sound words that you have heard from me, in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.” Let’s do it.