The Church of God General Conference affirms that the Shepherd of Hermas is not canonical Scripture. This 2nd-century writing is a valuable historical document for understanding early Church practice but is not understood as divinely inspired or as authoritative for doctrine and practice.

The COGC's commitment to the sufficiency of the 66-book biblical canon means that additional patristic writings, however valuable, are not elevated to scriptural status. The Shepherd of Hermas was never universally recognized as canonical and was correctly excluded from the New Testament.