The New Testament Canon

"What was the canon of the Old Testament Scripture can be understood from statements which are found in the New Testament. In the New Testament John saw the writings of three evangelists and approved them. Paul marked his epistles with a peculiar sign; Peter saw them and commended them to the church. John added both his own testimony and that of the church to his writings. For it is not just any authority that is required, but that of the apostles, in order that a writing in the New Testament may be proved to be canonical, or divinely inspired.

[What about Mark and Luke?]

Here belongs the other statement of Augustine: 'They wrote at a time in which they earned the approval not only of the church of Christ but also of the apostles themselves who were still living.' " Martin Chemnitz, "Examen," Part I, pages 177,178

Tempted to Make Christianity Painless

"The world so entirely addicted to the pleasures of the moment is so alluring that we are tempted to let go of basic truths of the Bible in the interest of getting people to listen to any of it. We are tempted to make Christianity easy, painless, merely entertaining. For we fear that the call to the cross will put people off, offend them, send them running in the opposite direction." Daniel Deutschlander, "Theology of the Cross", page 73

The Canon

"The Scripture therefore has its canonical authority chiefly from the Holy Spirit, by whose impulse and inspiration it was brought forth; therefore from the writers to whom God gave sure and special testimonies of the truth. After this it has authority from the primitive church as from a witness at whose time these writings were published and approved. " Martin Chemnitz, 'Examen'. Part I, page 176

One Lord, One Faith, One Baptism

"The Faith declares that there is one God, seeing that there is one belief in the Old and the New Testament. That there is one Spirit, all holy, grace witnesseth, because there is one Baptism, in the Name of the Trinity. The prophets proclaim, the apostles hear, the voice of one God." St Ambrose, "Of the Christian Faith" Book I. Chap. IV

Though an host should encamp against me, my heart shall not fear.

"During the midst of the [Thirty Years' War (1618-1648)], the city of Ulm, surrounded by Catholic armies outside and devastated by plague and famine inside, held a special celebration; it was the hundred-year anniversary of the presentation of the Augsburg Confession and the birthday of the Lutheran church. The celebration was to thank God for the restoration of the gospel through the work of the Reformation, for which God's people were most grateful, even if they would soon perish in the war! Can anyone imagine such a thing happening today?" Daniel Deutschlander, Theology of the Cross, page 66

Chemnitz for Today

"Doubtless the designation canonical is taken from Paul, who says, Gal. 6:16: "Peace and mercy be upon all who walk by this canon, or rule"; and in Phil. 3:16: "Walk by the same canon, or rule." In 2 Cor. 10:13, he calls the apostolic doctrine a "canon," concerning which God had measured out to Paul how far he should get with its propagation. But this designation is taken from Ps. 19:4: "Their 'rule' has gone out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world." The words or doctrine of the apostles he calls [can], which means "canon," or "rule," consisting of a line, or rope, which held to a building or any other work in order that it may not err from the true plan or from the order which it ought to follow but may be completed and finished according to a certain order and necessary plan. This is a most pleasing metaphor which is applied to the doctrine of the apostles. For the church is the house of the living God, the building of which is from God, and the builders are the ministers of the Word. In order that through the ministry of the Word, or the preaching of the doctrine, the building may be correctly begun and be completed and finished in the right order and proper manner, a certain canon, or rule, is necessary, according to which the builders perform their work, in order that the building may not depart from the right order and proper plan. This rule is the doctrine of the apostles, Ps. 19 (Martin Chemnitz, Examen, page 169)