Thorne 5
must not neglect the deep instruction of our Lord Jesus who focused our attention with these
immortal words "Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the
mouth of God."
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The Biblical evidence is strongly supportive of the evangelical emphasis upon the
Scriptures as the sole authority of the Christian in all matters. This high view of Scripture is a
result of listening to the Old Testament and New Testament voices about the Scriptures.
Specifically, the Bible sufficiently addresses the modern day issues of skepticism, determinism,
evolution, and success. The New Testament adequately speaks to the issue of the source and
credibility of the truth of the Bible as well as the salvation mankind can gain from knowledge of
the Scriptures.
One wonders, however, if evangelicals in our time are Scripturally literate enough to deal
with "all matters" from the Bible. Evangelicals seem to be preoccupied with the theological
issues of our time rather than the "all matters" of our times. Few evangelicals have stepped
forward with credible application of the Bible to the social, cultural, and philosophical concerns
of our times. Just as few are engaged in the necessary task of the integration of faith and learning.
One respected evangelical even writes of the "Gagging of God"
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and I'm not sure that he is only
speaking of pagan culture when he addresses that issue.
Grudem says "The sufficiency of Scripture means that Scripture contained all the words of
God he intended his people to have at each stage of redemptive history, and that it now contains
all the words of God we need for salvation, for trusting him perfectly, and for obeying him
perfectly."
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Yet, I would ask, why do evangelicals limit their use of Scripture to "religious"
issues? It seems to me that evangelicalism fails to sufficiently engage science, business,