The Canon of Scripture by Bob Burridge (February 1987)
Definition of Canon: CANON is taken from a Greek root-word (KANON)
which means "a measure", "a rule for judgment", "an authoritative
standard". This word is used in II Corinthians 10:13-16 of the measure
or rule of truth which God had given by which all things are tested.
The word KANON is also used in Galatians 6:16 of the rule by which we
walk (ie. by which we measure and direct our lives). The canon is for
us the inspired Word of God which is our final authority in all matters
of faith and practice.
Placement as Canon: When did the Biblical books become canon? The
answer the Bible gives is that they became canon as they were written!
By the act of inspiration each Biblical book was immediately a rule of
truth. The authors of the books so regarded them and spoke of them as
the Word of God (II Peter 1:21, II Timothy 3:16). Believers never had
to wait for the decision of a church council to tell them that the
writings of Moses were from God, or that the epistles of Paul were with
certainty the inspired truth. There are many OT and NT references where
the authors show us that they so recognized one another's works as
being inspired. They even show evidence of such confidence in their own
writings.
Old Testament Canon: From the earliest references to the completed
Old Testament (Josephus in his CONTRA-APION, tractate BABA-BATHRA in
the Talmud, Jerome's testimony, Philo and New Testament references)
there are no disputes among believers as to what constituted the
canonical books. As heresies arose some books were rejected and
Talmudic tractates and the writings of such men as Josephus defended
the accepted collection of books. The confirmation of the present
collection in the Qumran documents further lends confidence to this
consensus. Jerome (translator of the Latin Vulgate) translated two of
the so called Apocryphal books then refused to do any others because of
the confusion he was afraid they would produce. The church later added
the Latin translations of the apocryphal OT books when the Vulgate was
published. Even St. Augustine recognized the apocryphal books as being
good books for reading but rejected them as to their being a rule for
faith and practice. The same view is common among the other church
fathers (Cardinal Ximenes of Spain, Cardinal Cajetan...). It was not
until the Council of Trent (1546) that the argument about the
apocryphal books was finally settled by the Roman Church. They received
the OT and NT books as we have them as canon then agreed to include the
apocryphal books but only as recommended reading (sort of like
study-Bible footnotes). Even Martin Luther the reformer recommended the
reading of the apocrypha as being worthy literature. He never looked on
them as having inspired authority.
NEW TESTAMENT CANON: The New Testament is not disputed much either
among Christians. The books we now have were always recognized by the
church and its members. The New Testament apocryphal books have never
been considered to be a part of our Bible (just read them and you will
see why). It was only a few heretics that argued at times about certain
books because they did not like what one author or another said. But it
was never the authority of any church council that gave true believers
confidence about the Bible. It was the testimony of the Holy Spirit
bearing witness with the Word that made them willing to even give their
lives for the preservation of canonical scripture. It is true that many
church councils made pronouncements about the list of canonical books.
But that was always in response to some specific outside attack by
cultists (Apion and others). It was not because the Christians had any
doubts as to what belonged there.
FINAL NOTE: If we allow the words of church council to stand as a
clearing-house of what is true, or if we wait for the judgment of
scholars to know what to believe, then we have looked to some authority
above our Bible and we undermine the finality the Scriptures must have
in all matters of our lives. The spirit of the Bereans in Acts 17 ought
to be ours. They "received the word with all readiness of mind, and
searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so."
Bob Burridge (February 1987) ../ |