Mentoring Men for the Master

WHO DETERMINED THE BOOKS THAT WOULD BE IN THE BIBLE?

Since I saw you last we have been doing an intriguing series on the question, “What is the Bible?”  You say, “Well everybody knows what the Bible is, certainly anyone who has been to church one time.”  Are you sure?

Example:   LR Fisher

Example:  Some of you say, “I certainly know what the Bible is, for I went to seminary.  Relate Search Committee conversation with a young seminarian.

Example:  How many of you here know what the Bible is?

  1. Smallest man in the Bible – Peter
  2. Biggest sinner in the Bible – Moses
  3. Biggest entertainer in the Bible – Sampson
  4. Biggest baby sitter in the Bible – David – he rocked Goliath to sleep.
  5. Where cigarettes are mentioned in the Bible – Genesis 24:65
  6. Biggest financier in the Bible – Noah
  7. Biggest tennis player in the Bible – Joseph who served in Pharaoh’s court.

Seriously, let us now raise three simple questions about the Bible?

  1. WHAT IS THE BIBLE?
  2. What is the Bible? God’s Word written in one unified book – 2 Timothy 3:16.
  3. But more than one book; it’s a unified book of 66 little books. The word Bible comes from the Greek, Biblia, meaning little books.
  4. We know now that this book consisted of 66 books, 1189 chapters, 31,102 verses and 778,258 words, but there was no:

Chapter divisions until 1200 AD – Stephen Langston divided it into 1189 chapters.

No verses until AD 900 when the Old Testament was versified.

The New Testament was versified in 1551 – Robert Stephanous.

HOW DID TEACHERS IDENTIFY WHERE THEY WERE SPEAKING FROM?  Phases like “Middle of Galatians.” Jesus identified Moses as one at the bush.

The Bible was divided into two large portions: Old Testament and New Testament from Latin TESTAMENTUM, meaning Covenant.

So the Old Testament God made a covenant  with Israel; The New Testament is a covenant God made with man sealed by the precious blood of Jesus.  Illus:  When Jesus celebrated the Last Supper, He said, “This is the New Covenant in My blood which was shed for many.”

WHO WROTE THE BIBLE? The Bible answers that question:

  1. Paul described the Bible as “breathed out of the mind of God” (2 Timothy 3:16). Sounds like God must have also written it out.
  2. But Paul says in Galatians 6:11 and Philippians 1:19 that he wrote it with his own hand. How do we reconcile these two statements?  By recognizing that the Bible has dual authorship – God and man.
  3. But how could sinful man write a perfect book? 2 Peter 1:21 explains and Luke 1:35.  Illus:  David wrote Psalm 95 but Hebrews says “The Holy Spirit wrote it.”

WHO DETERMINED WHAT BOOKS WOULD BE IN THE BIBLE? Does the Bible tell us?  We have to go to Christian history for the answer, and we find how the early Christians went through 5 stages in determining the right books:

  1. The 39 books of the Old Testament had been fully approved by the Jews when Jesus was born until He used it as His Bible (Luke 4:16-18). In 90 AD the Council of Jamnia voted full approval.
  2. The New Testament books were written between 45-100 AD.
  3. The New Testament books were collected and read in churches, 100 – 200 AD.
  4. They were carefully examined and compared with false writings 200-300 AD.
  5. By 367 AD, the 27 books had been accepted by the church at large which matches exactly our 27 books today.
  6. Council of Carthage, 397 AD, approved the entire list.

WHAT CRITERIA DID THE EARLY CHRISTIANS USE IN DETERMING THE BOOKS?

  1. They had to be written by an Apostle or one closely tied to an Apostle.
  2. They had to be Catholic, universally recognized by the churches.
  3. They had to be orthodox- not in contradiction of any other book or doctrine.

IS THE CANON FOREVER CLOSED- NO MORE FOREVERMORE? Yes the early church, closest to the apostles, believed that Revelation concluded God’s inspired writing of Scripture.  In the last chapter and final verses of this last book warns no one to either add or take away from the Scripture (Revelation 22:18-19) lest divine judgment come upon him.

SINCE THE CANON IS CLOSED, HAS ANYONE TRIED TO ADD ADDITIONAL BOOKS? Yes, in 1546-66 the Romans Catholics added 7 books of the Apocrypha.    How did they justify this action?  Because the Catholics believe that the church has the authority over the Bible, while Protestants believe the Bible has authority over the church.  This doctrine is stated by Vatican II in 1967.

Illus:  This explains how the Catholic Church teaches doctrines not found in the 66 books but set forth in other religious books.  Example:  Purgatory set forth in 2 Macabees.