The Bereans or On Who's Authority ?

Another point I want to make before starting this 'exploration' is the issue of authority.

Acts 17 verses 10-11 says this:

As soon as it was night, the brothers sent Paul and Silas away to Berea. On arriving there, they went to the Jewish synagogue. Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.

What is interesting in this verse is the implication that examining the Scriptures, to verify what Paul was saying, was considered noble.

Why is this interesting ?

Because this means that the Bible encourages us to not base our faith on what any one person says, regardless of who they might be, but to base our faith on the Scriptures, the Word of God.

With regards to the extra books in some Bibles, and with regards to the canon, what's important is what the Scriptures say, not what individuals say, nor even the Church. The Church can make mistakes, people can get it wrong. This verse encourages us to verify any teaching, any doctrine against the Scriptures, regardless of who is doing the teaching.

And this surely must apply to the canon of the Bible. We should not accept that the deuterocanonical or apocryphal books should or should not be considered as divinely insipired solely on the basis of what any one person says. Whether that be Martin Luther, a Pope, or anyone else.

What is important is whether what we are being told agrees with what the Scriptures say.