What About the Apocrypha?
The last question of our Scripture Catechism | Sunday Sermon on the Seriousness of Sin | Thought for Your Week | Piano: I Must Tell Jesus
Q16: What about the Apocrypha?
A16: The books commonly called Apocrypha, not being of divine inspiration, are no part of the canon or rule of the Scripture, and, therefore, are of no authority to the church of God, nor to be any otherwise approved or made use of than other human writings (from The Baptist Confession of Faith (1689), Chapter 1: Of the Holy Scriptures, Article 3).
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I had never heard of the Apocrypha until I went to a Christian college and took an Old Testament survey class—due in large part to the fact I was raised in a Southern Baptist Church where the Apocrypha was not part of the canon of Scripture and therefore held no authority. Yet, for those who were raised Roman Catholic, the Apocrypha is not only a part of their Scripture, it informed some aspect of Roman Catholic dogma that Protestants do not find in other Scripture.
This does not mean that the Apocrypha has no use. According to David Briones of Westminster Seminary, “The Apocrypha provides us with rich historical information that illumines our understanding of the New Testament.”
The Apocrypha was written between the time of the end of the New Testament (with the prophet Malachi and also the rebuilding of the wall in Jerusalem (approximately 400 BC) to the start of the New Testament. Many of the Reformers who broke away from Rome in the 16th century benefitted greatly from the Apocrypha, but never saw it as authoritative or infallible as God’s Word.
I encourage you to read David Briones article, “What is the Apocrypha?” to gain a deeper understanding and even appreciation for it. But they do not serve as inspired Scripture.
https://www.desiringgod.org/articles/what-is-the-apocrypha
Sermon: Be Killing Sin, or Sin Will Be Killing You (Mark 9:42-50)
Our culture has discarded the notion of sin. Yet, what bothers me more is that the church has followed suit. In a fear of being offensive and non-affirming, we believe the way to help people connect is to lessen the biblical understanding of sin. Yet, if our view of sin is dim, it’s merely a reflection of our view of the holiness of God. We are called to “strive for holiness” (Hebrews 12:14).
John Owen (1616-1683) reminded us, “Be killing sin, or sin will be killing you!” Are we ready to fight sin and help others do the same?
Thought for Your Week
Unchecked anger, bitterness, unforgiveness, and self-pity invite Satan to use your heart as his playground. #JesusIsEnough
https://twitter.com/mattperryCO/status/1641099088467832841
Piano: I Must Tell Jesus