1 Timothy 1:4: “Neither give heed to fables and endless genealogies, which minister questions, rather than godly edifying which is in faith: so do.”

Titus 1:14: “Not giving heed to Jewish fables, and commandments of men, that turn from the truth.”

Following these admonitions would include not heeding the books which are collectively known as the Apocrypha.  

Though included with the Septuagint (a translation of the Hebrew Scriptures into Greek for Jews in the  Greek speaking world), the Apocrypha books were rejected by the Jewish nation as a whole as being authoritative Scripture.  Jesus and the Apostles did not contend with the Jews about that rejection, even though they contended with them about many other things.  Of the multitude of things which Jesus severely rebuked and contended with them over (especially the leaders), one thing He never disputed was the list of books which they accepted as being inspired by God.  

Jesus even implied the accuracy of the Jewish canon right as He gave one of His most scathing rebukes to the Jews.  

Matthew 23:33-36: “Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell?  Wherefore, behold, I send unto you prophets, and wise men, and scribes: and some of them ye shall kill and crucify; and some of them shall ye scourge in your synagogues, and persecute them from city to city: That upon you may come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel unto the blood of Zacharias son of Barachias, whom ye slew between the temple and the altar.  Verily I say unto you, All these things shall come upon this generation.”

In mentioning the last righteous man killed in the Jewish Scriptures (Zacharias the son of Barachias), this was a reference to the Book of Chronicles.  Jesus thus affirmed the list of books in the Hebrew canon in His day.  The 1st century Jewish canon included all the same books as what is known as the Old Testament now- yet it in a different order (it began with the Book of Genesis and would have ended with the Book of Chronicles- which we know as the Books of 1 and 2 Chronicles).  

Jesus often said in the Gospel accounts that He was upholding the Scriptures in everything He taught and that He was fulfilling them in His mission of redeeming man to God from his sins.  

In all of His references to the Jewish Scriptures, Jesus never saw the need to correct the Jews’ definition of the books which constitute Scripture.  It is right then to reject the books of the Apocrypha as being authoritative.  The severe implications in doing otherwise cannot be overstated.

2 Timothy 4:3-4: “For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.”

Aaron’s email is: [email protected]

CLICK HERE TO GO TO OUR FRONT PAGE FOR ALL THE STUDIES

CLICK HERE TO GO TO OUR 3RD WORLD MISSION TO THE IMPOVERISHED