The Infallible Canon

So in a limited basis, we took a look at the issue of authority and how we might know the canon from Rome's perspective. The question still remains however, "How do we know what the canon of Scripture is?"

If we do not assume that we need an infallible authority (which only sets the problem in the back seat), then is it possible there are other ways of knowing. There are several great books that deal with the Canon of Scripture. William Whitacker's Disputations On Holy Scripture written in 1588, David King's and William Webster's three book series Holy Scripture, the Sola Scriptura book with contributing authors such as Michael Horton, R.C. Sproul and John MacArthur, and Scripture Alone by Dr. White are all excellent resources.

To summarize (my attempt anyway) the chapter in Dr. White's book (if I understood it properly), God has the ability to communicate to His sheep. He has the ability to bring His people as a whole to see what the Canon is. We have seen from Old Testament examples, that the Canon may come together over time. If we do not assume we need an infallible knowledge of the Canon, then it is reasonable to assume that over time, God would also bring the New Testament Canon into existence.

So the question really is, "Can God use certain means that are not infallible, other than Himself, to speak to God's people?" Can we as fallible sinful people truly hear from God.

Some may object and say Luther rejected the Book of James, therefore how can we be sure of what the Canon is? As William Whittacker has demonstrated, many men have disagreed over certain books as to their canonical authority. But as a whole God's people have been brought to see the Canon because it is God's purpose to equip His people. If we deny God's ability to do this, how can we grant that ability to a church?

Dr. White states in Scripture Alone, "...the divine impetus to preserve and make known the Scriptures is equal to the divine impetus in forming and building the church itself." He again states, "...one can confess the instrumental nature of the church in being used of God as the primary means of establishing [the] canon without violating Scripture's teaching by investing in the church some notion of infallibility."

In Jesus' day, the Old Testament Canon was known. There was never an argument by Jesus that someone with infallible authority pronounced the Canon. Why? It was God's purpose to equip God's people for every good work. God's people passively received the Canon over time as the Spirit did His work in writing the Scriptures and preserving them.

I was once asked, "What if we found the other two Epistles to the Corinthian church?" Again Dr. White answers, "The entire idea of 'Lost Scriptures' requires us to believe that God would go through the work of inspiring His Word so as to provide for His church guidance and instruction and encouragement; but then, having inspired His Word, be shown incapable of protecting and preserving it and leading His church to recognize it for what it is."

I think we can let God be God on this issue.

Next time we'll take a brief look at the Apocrypha.