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Introduction J. I. Packer, in his book on the word of God, provided a mirror for the church of today by which to look at itself – and the reflection is not very attractive, to say the least. He writes, Unlike the first‑century Christians who in three centuries [reached] the Roman world [with the gospel] and those later Christians who pioneered the Reformation and the Puritan awakening and the evangelical revival and the great missionary movement of the [eighteenth] century, we [today] lack certainty. . . . Certainty about the great issues of Christian faith and conduct is lacking all along the line. The outside observer sees us as staggering on from gimmick to gimmick and stunt to stunt like so many drunks in a fog, not knowing at all where we are or which way we should be going. Preaching is hazy. Heads are muddled, hearts fret, doubts drain strength, uncertainty paralyzes action. Why? It is because we lack certainty about the great issues of the Christian faith. I would agree with one author that . . . . . . the reason we lack certainty is because we have a sinful view of Scripture. [The church at large no] longer seems to believe that the Bible is sufficient for the life and conduct of the church. That is a sin . . . of monstrous proportions . . . to deny the sufficiency of the Word of God. This is the reason the dragon has never ceased his attack on the authority, sufficiency, and clarity of scripture. His very first act of temptation was to Eve, and came in the form of a challenge to the clarity of God’s word – “Has God said? Did He really say all that? Are you sure you heard Him right? Here’s what I think He really meant!”
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