How Do We Know… That the Books that are in the Bible Are the Right Ones?

I. Definitions

A. What is the “CANON” of Scripture

1. “a reed or rod; a measuring rod; a rule or standard.”

2. “an authoritative decision of a church council.”

3. As it relates to the Bible – “books which have been measured, found satisfactory, and approved as inspired by God.”

II. The Canon of the Old Testament

A. Threefold division of the O.T.

1. The Law

2. The Prophets

3. The Kethubhim

B. The Law

1. Also known as the Pentateuch

a. Believed to have been written by Moses

b. Placed at the beginning of the O.T.

c. Foundation of the O.T.

C. The Prophets

1. All the books that were written by a ‘prophet in office’

D. The Kethubhim (divided into 3 sections)

1. Poetical books

a. Psalms, Proverbs, and Job – literary character

2. The Megilloth

a. Song of Solomon, Ruth, Lamentations, Ecclesiastes

b. Read at the Jewish feasts

3. Non-Prophectical Historical Books

a. Daniel, Ezra, Nehemiah, and Chronicles

b. Written by men who were not ‘prophets in office’

E. Old Testament Canon: Facts

1. Completed by Ezra and the members of the Great Synagogue

2. 5^th century B.C.

3. Evidence

a. Josephus (1^st century A.D.)

1) Spoke of 22 books in the Canon specifically

2) Records same threefold division of the O.T.

3) Indicated that the canon was completed in the reign of Artaxerxes (A historical match to the time of Ezra)

b. Ezra fits the role from Scripture

1) Called “the scribe” (Neh 8:1; 12:36)

2) “a scribe skilled in the law of Moses” (Ezra 7:6)

3) “the scribe, learned in all the words of the commandments of the Lord.”

4. The Apocrypha

a. Included in the Septuagint, but never into the Hebrew canon

III. The Canon of the New Testament

A. The Formation of the N.T.

1. It was not the result of an organized effort

2. It seemed to have shaped itself

a. Evidence for the genuine nature of the books

B. Criteria for a book to be included in the N.T.

1. Apostolicity

a. Author had to be an apostle or relate the words of an apostle

2. That it could be read publicly

3. Universality

a. Was the book excepted by the Christian community

4. Spiritual character

5. Evidence that the book was inspired by the Holy Spirit

C. The N.T (in it’s current form) was accepted very early

1. By the end of the 2^nd century

a. All but 7 books were recognized as apostolic

2. By the end of the 4^th century

a. All 27 books were recognized by all the churches