Summer Lecture Series Robbie Earle Summer Lecture Series Robbie Earle

Understanding Biblical Canon

The first of the Summer Lecture Series was last week, and we promised to share the content for those in attendance and those not able to make it. Below, you’ll find a rough outline of the content, as well as the audio from the teaching. Enjoy!

 

I. Introduction

  • The canon refers to the collection of books recognized as authoritative Scripture.

  • From Greek kanon, meaning "measuring stick."

  • Biblical literacy and trusting the Scriptures is on the decline, yet is vital for a Christian

  • J.I. Packer – "If I were the devil, one of my first aims would be to stop folks from digging into the Bible."

  • The Bible we have today was not created by the church; it was recognized by the church.

  • N.T. Wright — "The church did not create the canon; the canon created the church. The apostolic message was the foundation, not the product, of the church’s life and worship."

II. The Story of Scripture: From Inspiration to Canon

  • Written over 1,500 years by 40+ authors, in 3 languages, on 3 continents.

  • Single unified message: God’s redemption through Jesus Christ.

  • The Doctrine of Inspiration: The Bible is inspired by God — He "breathed out" His Word through human authors (2 Timothy 3:16, 2 Peter 1:20-21).

  • Oral tradition played a key role before writing: a trusted, communal memory.

  • Written texts emerged for precision and permanence.

  • Bruce K. Waltke – "God revealed His Word in history and preserved it in writing for the edification of His people. The Scriptures are both a divine deposit and a human responsibility."

III. Old Testament Canon

  • Structure: Law (Torah or Pentateuch), Prophets (Nevi’im), and Writings (Ketuvim).

    • The threefold structure is affirmed by Jesus Himself (Luke 24:44).

  • Old Testament written over a span of roughly 1,000 years (from about 1400 to 400 BC)

    • 39 books (in Protestant Bibles)

    • Written by prophets, kings, scribes, and poets, all under divine inspiration.

    • Old Testament canon was gradually recognized based on long-standing usage, prophetic authority, and divine inspiration

  • The Apocrypha: Jewish intertestamental texts.

    • Not recognized in Hebrew canon for a variety of reasons

    • Included in some Bibles, but clearly distinguished.

IV. New Testament Canon

  • Criteria for Canonization

    • Apostolic origin

      • Was it written by an apostle or someone closely connected to an apostle?

    • Orthodox Teachings

      • Did it align with the “rule of faith” taught universally in the churches?

      • Theological continuity was a key criterion — consistency with the message of Jesus and the gospel entrusted to the apostles

    • Widespread Usage

      • Was it consistently read and used in worship across diverse Christian communities?

  • The church recognized, not created, these books — it was a gradual, Spirit-guided recognition of which writings bore the unmistakable marks of divine inspiration and apostolic truth.

  • By the 2nd–4th centuries, the 27 books were already widely acknowledged.

    • F.F. Bruce — "What the church did was not to impose something new upon the Christian communities, but to maintain the apostolic tradition and ensure that it was not lost in the flood of competing claims and teachings."

V. Objections and Clarifications

  • Objection 1: "Weren’t other books left out of the Bible—like the Gospel of Thomas or Gospel of Judas?"

    • Later Gnostic writings, not apostolic.

    • Not lost—known and excluded for clear reasons.

    • Darrell Bock – "The early church was not hiding alternative Christianities; it was preserving the authentic one."

  • Objection 2: "Isn’t the Bible full of contradictions?"

    • Most stem from misunderstanding the genre, translation, or context.

    • Tim Keller – "If you pick and choose which parts of the Bible you believe and which you don’t, you have a God of your own making, not the real God of Scripture."

  • Objection 3: "Wasn’t the canon decided by politics—like at the Council of Nicaea?"

    • Council of Nicaea (AD 325) dealt with Christological debates—not the canon

    • Dan Wallace — "The canon was not imposed from above but emerged from below—from the worship, teaching, and experience of the early Christian communities."

  • Objection 4: "Why should we trust a book that’s been copied and translated so many times?"

    • Bible is the most well-attested ancient document in history

      • Over 5,800 Greek manuscripts of the New Testament and thousands more in other languages

      • The process of transmission was painstaking and reverent

VI. Why This Matters

  • Trust: Reliable and rooted in history.

  • Witness: Equips believers to engage culture and respond to questions.

  • Discipleship: Shapes our faith, formation, and mission.

  • The Bible we have today was not created by the church; it was recognized by the church.

  • Pastor Robbie — “Behind all of this history, theology, and manuscript evidence is a fundamental truth: God has spoken, and His Word can be trusted.”

  • Kevin DeYoung — "The most urgent need in the Christian church today is the recovery of sound doctrine. And at the center of that recovery must be a renewed commitment to the absolute truthfulness, trustworthiness, and authority of Scripture."

VII. Conclusion: The Gift of the Canon

  • The Bible is not just a historical book—it is the living Word of God.

  • We don’t just have a Bible—we’ve been entrusted with a Bible.

  • Trusting its formation strengthens our confidence and fuels our worship.

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