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by
Wayne Grudem
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March 15 - December 27, 2021
What then shall be said about the Apocrypha, the collection of books included in the canon by the Roman Catholic Church but excluded from the canon by Protestantism?8 These books were never accepted by the Jews as Scripture, but throughout the early history of the church there was a divided opinion on whether they should be part of Scripture or not.
There are no marks in these books which would attest a divine origin. . . . Both Judith and Tobit contain historical, chronological and geographical errors. The books justify falsehood and deception and make salvation to depend upon works of merit. . . . Ecclesiasticus and the Wisdom of Solomon inculcate a morality based upon expediency. Wisdom teaches the creation of the world out of pre-existent matter (11:17). Ecclesiasticus teaches that the giving of alms makes atonement for sin (3:30). In Baruch it is said that God hears the prayers of the dead (3:4), and in I Maccabees there are
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regional councils, not ecumenical councils of all the churches like Nicaea or Chalcedon.
the books of the Apocrypha contain support for the Catholic teaching of prayers for the dead and justification by faith plus works, not by faith alone.
Protestants have held that the church cannot make something to be Scripture, but can only recognize what God has already caused to be written as his own words.
Thus the writings of the Apocrypha should not be regarded as part of Scripture: (1) they do not claim for themselves the same kind of authority as the Old Testament writings; (2) they were not regarded as God’s words by the Jewish people from whom they originated; (3) they were not considered to be Scripture by Jesus or the New Testament authors; and (4) they contain teachings inconsistent with the rest of the Bible.
They do have value for historical and linguistic research, and they contain a number of helpful stories about the courage and faith of many Jews during the period after the Old Testament ends,
in John 14:26: “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.”
“When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you” (John 16:13–14).
This leaves five books, Mark, Luke, Acts, Hebrews, and Jude, which were not written by apostles.
Mark, Luke, and Acts were commonly acknowledged very early, probably because of the close association of Mark with the apostle Peter, and of Luke (the author of Luke-Acts) with the apostle Paul.
Jude apparently was accepted by virtue of the author’s connection with James (see Jude 1) and the fact that he was the brother of Jesus.28
the acceptance of Hebrews as canonical was not entirely due to a belief in Pauline authorship.30 Rather, the intrinsic qualities of the book itself must have finally convinced early readers, as they continue to convince believers today, that whoever its human author may have been, its ultimate author can only have been God himself. The majestic glory of Christ shines forth from the pages of the epistle to the Hebrews so brightly that no believer who reads it seriously should ever want to question its place in the canon.
For a book to belong in the canon, it is absolutely necessary that the book have divine authorship.
The question of authorship by an apostle is important because it was primarily the apostles to whom Christ gave the ability to write words with absolute divine authority. If a writing can be shown to be by an apostle, then its absolute divine authority is automatically established.
Should we expect any more writings to be added to the canon? The opening sentence in Hebrews puts this question in the proper historical perspective,
“Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world” (Heb. 1:1–2).
God’s speech to us by his Son is the culmination of his speaking to mankind and is his greatest and final revelation to humankind in this period of redemptive history.
Revelation 22:18–19: I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book, and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book.
Placed here, where it must be placed, the warning forms an appropriate conclusion to the entire canon of Scripture.
The severity of the punishments in Revelation 22:18–19 that come to those who add to or take from God’s words also confirms the importance for God’s people of having a correct canon.
The apparent doctrinal conflict with Paul’s teaching is easily resolved once it is recognized that James is using three key terms, justification, faith, and works in senses different from those with which Paul used them.)
In conclusion, are there any books in our present canon that should not be there? No. We can rest our confidence in this fact in the faithfulness of God our Father, who would not lead all his people for nearly two thousand years to trust as his Word something that is not.
In all known literature there are no candidates that even come close to Scripture when consideration is given both to their doctrinal consistency with the rest of Scripture and to the type of authority they claim for themselves
How would your relationship with God be different if you had to look for his words that were scattered among all the writings of Christians throughout church history?
Mormons and Jehovah’s Witnesses, among others, have claimed present-day revelations from God that they count equal to the Bible in authority. What reasons can you give to indicate the falsity of those claims? In practice, do these people treat the Bible as an authority equal to these other “revelations”?
Hebrews 1:1–2: Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world.
HYMN “O Word of God Incarnate”
Author: William Walsham How, 1867
CONTEMPORARY WORSHIP SONG “I Exalt Thee”
Author: Pete Sanchez42
The Four Characteristics of Scripture: (1) Authority
once we have determined what the Bible is, our next step is to ask what the Bible is like—what are its characteristics? What does the whole Bible teach us about itself?
classified into four characteristics (sometimes termed attributes): (1) the authority of Scripture; (2) the clarity of Scripture; (3) the necessity of Scripture; and (4) the sufficiency of Scripture.
The authority of Scripture means that all the words in Scripture are God’s words in such a way that to disbelieve or disobey any word of Scripture is to disbelieve or disobey God.
THE BIBLE CLAIMS THAT ALL ITS WORDS ARE GOD’S WORDS
Hundreds of Verses Claim that the Bible’s Words Are God’s Words
this is frequently seen in the introductory phrase, “Thus says the LORD,” which appears hundreds of times (it is found 417 times in the ESV text of the Old Testament).
Paul here affirms that all of the Old Testament writings are theopneustos, “breathed out by God.”
Peter shows not only an awareness of the existence of written epistles from Paul but also a clear willingness to classify “all of his [Paul’s] epistles” with “the other Scriptures.” This is an indication that very early in the history of the church, while many of the apostles were still living, all of Paul’s epistles were considered to be God’s written words in the same sense as the Old Testament texts were.
2. We Are Convinced of the Bible’s Claims to Be God’s Words as We Read the Bible
Our ultimate conviction that the words of the Bible are God’s words comes only when the Holy Spirit speaks in and through the words of the Bible to our hearts and gives us an inner assurance that these are the words of our Creator speaking to us.
3. Other Evidence Is Useful but Not Finally Convincing
In all of these arguments for an ultimate standard of truth, an absolute authority for what to believe, there is an element of circularity involved.8
Ultimately the truthfulness of the Bible will commend itself as being far more persuasive than other religious books (such as the Book of Mormon or the Qur’an) or than any other intellectual constructions of the human mind
all of these other candidates for ultimate authority are seen to be inconsistent or to have shortcomings that disqualify them, while the Bible will be seen to be fully in accord with all that we know about the world around us, about ourselves, and about God.
6. The Divine Authorship of the Bible Does Not Imply Dictation from God as the Sole Means of Communication
THE TRUTHFULNESS OF SCRIPTURE 1. God Cannot Lie or Speak Falsely
Therefore, All the Words in Scripture Are Completely True and without Error in Any Part
“The words of the LORD are pure words, like silver refined in a furnace on the ground, purified seven times” (Ps. 12:6).
