Sola Scriptura is a solidly biblical doctrine (Matthew 4:4; 2 Tim 3:16,17). However Christians do not decide for themselves what is Scripture and what is not. The Holy Spirit has already guided the early Christians to exclude all the books that do not belong in the Bible.
Christ Himself established the divine inspiration of the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible), which is presently the Old Testament of Protestant Bibles. See Luke 24. Those 24 books were split into 39 in the Septuagint, but the Reformers retained that arrangement. However, they should really have followed the Tanakh which has three major divisions -- Torah (5 books), Neviim (8 books), and Ketuvim (11 books).
The Holy Spirit led Peter to confirm that over half the New Testament (NT) -- all the epistles of Paul -- were Scripture (2 Peter 3:15,16). There are other books in the NT which testify to their divine inspiration. And there are probably five books which do not directly say that they are inspired, but they are in perfect harmony with the rest of the Bible, and have been accepted as Scripture since the 2nd century (since they are found in the Syriac Peshitta).
The Septuagint (LXX) was a Greek corruption of the Old Testament (OT) from around 200 BC, which incorporated 50 apocryphal books (which were never a part of the Tanakh).
The Orthodox churches allowed some of these books to remain within their bibles. The Catholic church chose seven of those books to remain in their bibles. Had the Catholic church accepted the recommendation of their scholar Jerome (who translated directly out of both the Hebrew and Greek to produce the Latin Vulgate) those apocryphal books [called "deutero-canonical" (second canon) by the RCC] would have been removed.
By the time of the Reformation the RCC was bound and determined to prove that they had the correct Bible, therefore the Council of Trent declared those books to be canonical. Thus Catholics believe that they have seven extra books in their OT.
When the King James Bible was first published it included the Apocrypha between the two testaments. But the preface of the translators made it clear that it was not Scripture, but an adjunct. Eventually it was removed (as was the preface).
Christ Himself established the divine inspiration of the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible), which is presently the Old Testament of Protestant Bibles. See Luke 24. Those 24 books were split into 39 in the Septuagint, but the Reformers retained that arrangement. However, they should really have followed the Tanakh which has three major divisions -- Torah (5 books), Neviim (8 books), and Ketuvim (11 books).
The Holy Spirit led Peter to confirm that over half the New Testament (NT) -- all the epistles of Paul -- were Scripture (2 Peter 3:15,16). There are other books in the NT which testify to their divine inspiration. And there are probably five books which do not directly say that they are inspired, but they are in perfect harmony with the rest of the Bible, and have been accepted as Scripture since the 2nd century (since they are found in the Syriac Peshitta).
The Septuagint (LXX) was a Greek corruption of the Old Testament (OT) from around 200 BC, which incorporated 50 apocryphal books (which were never a part of the Tanakh).
The Orthodox churches allowed some of these books to remain within their bibles. The Catholic church chose seven of those books to remain in their bibles. Had the Catholic church accepted the recommendation of their scholar Jerome (who translated directly out of both the Hebrew and Greek to produce the Latin Vulgate) those apocryphal books [called "deutero-canonical" (second canon) by the RCC] would have been removed.
By the time of the Reformation the RCC was bound and determined to prove that they had the correct Bible, therefore the Council of Trent declared those books to be canonical. Thus Catholics believe that they have seven extra books in their OT.
When the King James Bible was first published it included the Apocrypha between the two testaments. But the preface of the translators made it clear that it was not Scripture, but an adjunct. Eventually it was removed (as was the preface).
