66-book Protestant canon; no apocryphal or deuterocanonical books accepted
The CRCNA accepts the 66 books of the Protestant Bible — 39 Old Testament and 27 New Testament — as the complete and authoritative canon of Scripture. The Belgic Confession (Articles 4–7) explicitly delineates the canonical books and rejects the deuterocanonical books (known as the Apocrypha) that are included in Catholic and some Orthodox Bibles. These apocryphal books are not treated as Scripture and carry no doctrinal authority.
The CRCNA holds that the canon is closed — no books are to be added to Scripture, and no new revelation with scriptural authority has been given since the apostolic age. This conviction underlies the CRCNA's cessationist stance regarding miraculous gifts and its rejection of claims to ongoing prophetic or apostolic revelation. Scripture is treated as the completed, final, and fully sufficient word of God.
While the CRCNA affirms the sufficiency of the 66-book canon, this does not mean that Christians may not read and learn from the Apocrypha or other ancient Christian writings for historical or devotional purposes. However, only the canonical books carry divine authority for establishing doctrine and practice. All seven CRCNA seminaries operate within this canon, and any proposed revision of canonical boundaries would require a major denominational debate.
Key Distinctions
- Ot canon:
- 39 books (Hebrew/Protestant canon)
- Deuterocanonical status:
- rejected as apocryphal — not canonical, though may be read devotionally
- Additional scripture:
- none — canon is closed
- Canon open:
- affirmed — no new revelation or books to be added
Scripture References
Sources
- Belgic Confession, Articles 4–7
- Heidelberg Catechism, Q&A 23
- Canons of Dort, First Head (Scripture)