The Azusa Weekly

November 14, 2025

Vol. 9, Issue 2 (Winter 2025-26)

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Now when they had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a synagogue of the Jews. Then Paul, as his custom was, went in to them, and for three Sabbaths reasoned with them from the Scriptures, explaining and demonstrating that the Christ had to suffer and rise again from the dead, and saying, “This Jesus whom I preach to you is the Christ.” And some of them were persuaded; and a great multitude of the devout Greeks, and not a few of the leading women, joined Paul and Silas. But the Jews who were not persuaded, becoming envious, took some of the evil men from the marketplace, and gathering a mob, set all the city in an uproar and attacked the house of Jason, and sought to bring them out to the people. Then the brethren immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea. When they arrived, they went into the synagogue of the Jews. These were more fair-minded than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so. Therefore many of them believed.

Acts‬ ‭17:1-5, 10-12

When you read what God has to say, who are you going to believe? When Paul preached to the Jews at Thessalonica, they became angry, because what God had to say to them contradicted what they believed. 

If you read the Bible, and you come across something that contradicts what you’ve always believed to be true, are you going to believe yourself or God?

Augustine, an Early Church father, said, “If you believe what you like in the gospels, and reject what you don’t like, it is not the gospel you believe, but yourself.”

Those at Berea were open to the Scripture. I love what it says about them. It says they were more fair-minded. Another translation says they were more honorable. The Bereans didn’t take Paul’s word for it, but they went to the Scripture to see for themselves if what he was saying was really true. And they found that it was! 

I welcome that. I’m not saying we should be hyper-critical and just overly criticize everything we see or hear. We’re all human, and we all make mistakes. But there is nothing wrong with opening the Bible for yourself and saying “I know what society says, I know what my parents say, I know what the preacher said…. but what does God have to say about this?” You may find out that society was wrong about a few things. You may find out that you were wrong about something! But God, the author of the Bible, is never wrong.

In Matthew 7, Jesus said,

Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock. But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall.

Matthew‬ ‭7:24-27‬

Is Christ, the living Word, enough to build on? I love the old chorus, “On Christ the solid rock I stand, all other ground is sinking sand!” We need not less than Him. Neither do we need more than Him. It is Christ alone. It is His words alone. If the Bible is the Word of God, then it is enough. The solid foundation isn’t composed of material less than the Word, and it isn’t the Word plus something else. Christ and His Word is sufficient. 

Tony Evans wrote this about the sufficiency of Scripture, and I agree with him wholeheartedly:

Sufficiency [of Scripture] refers to the comprehensive nature of Scripture in its ability to address every area of life. It is therefore the standard by which all of life is understood and evalu-ated. Scripture also possesses the power to address what it proclaims… both in creation… and in every aspect of our daily lives… We do not need to rely on extra knowledge, wisdom, or insight to do what God wants us to do. We have been fully equipped for living abundantly in his kingdom based on the truth he has provided in the pages of the Bible.

If we start to build on more than the Word, i.e. the Word plus other stuff, are we in danger of building our faith on ourselves instead of on Christ alone?

Jim Cymbala said, “If it can’t be preached anywhere in the world to anybody in the world and trace itself back to the Early Church and its teachings, then it’s not the Gospel.”

I’m afraid sometimes we have our own Americanized gospel. We also have a Republican Gospel and a Democratic Gospel. We even have localized gospels—we have one for the Deep South, another for North East, another for the Midwest and so on. The varying elements that make up these “brands” of the Gospel message is not the Gospel at all. The true Gospel is not one thing for some and another for others. God’s Word transcends culture, language, nationality, and tradition. The Gospel is for all who believe. 

So, God has a lot to say to us in the pages of the Bible. The Bible is proof that God is not a far off Being that has no interest or thoughts about human affairs. When you read the Bible, you clearly see that He is not silent, but He is ever speaking to us!

There is no temptation, struggle, dilemma, situation, or issue that the Bible does not address. Now, it may not explicitly say the word you want it to. There are plenty of things the Bible may not address particularly. So, if the Bible does not explicitly address something word for word, you then look for the principles of the Bible. When there’s no definitive “yes” or “no” on something, apply the biblical principles that the Bible does give us. 

I heard a pastor say, “If I’m calling you out of your adultery, don’t ask me, ‘Well, what are the principles for adultery?’ There are no principles for coming out of adultery; it’s a command. God’s Word says, ‘Thou shalt not commit adultery.’” 

So, if there is a clear biblical answer, then you don’t need to consult anyone or go any further—you’ve got your answer. But when there’s something that the Bible doesn’t specifically say anything about, ask yourself this—“In which direction do biblical principles point me toward?” Look at the principles of God’s Word and ask yourself, “How do biblical principles apply to my situation?” 

Either the Bible is the final authority over our lives as Christians or it’s not. 

When we prioritize the Bible, we are prioritizing what God has to say in our lives. And that is what really matters. When you give an account before God for your life, as we all will, the standard won’t be based on what I said, or what society said, or even what a church or pastor said. All that will matter in that moment is what God has said. 

~ Cooper