Covenant Reformed News – October 2003, Volume IX, Issue 18
This article defends the Protestant Reformed doctrine of biblical canon by arguing that Christ's promise of the preservation of His words (Matt. 24:35) excludes the Apocrypha as uninspired human writings, citing Jewish practice, patristic consensus, and confessional standards against Rome's Council of Trent. The piece also traces the careful preservation and transmission of the 27 New Testament books through faithful copying and manuscript checks, emphasizing God's sovereign protection of His inscripturated Word throughout history.
Christ’s Words Shall Never Pass Away (4) Christ’s promise that His “words shall not pass away” (Matt. 24:35) includes not only the preservation of the OT (see the last News) but also the rejection of the Apocrypha as uninspired. The Apocrypha, which includes I and II Maccabees and additions to Daniel and Esther, etc., was not reckoned part of the OT canon by the Jews, as is evident, for example, in the writings of Josephus, a Jew of the first century AD. This is particularly significant, for...