Sharp County record., 1881-09-08
Sunday-SchOOl Lessons
THIRD QUARTER
Genuincness of the New Testament

the authenticity and genuineneSS OF the
New Testament These books appear
on their face to have been written or
sanctioned by the Apostles, and to have
had authority at once as such, and their
genuneness was not called in question
at the time they were publ shed. They
expressly acknowledge one another as
of divine authority, as where Peter
claims tor Paurs writings and his own
place in the Scriptures. Luke and
the Acts have the authority OF Paul,
and Mark of Peter. Nearly all OF them
bear the names of their writers, and
some of them name the places from
which they were written. Some are
addressed to well-known churches;
some to classes of persons, mentioning
well known incidents in their current
history. Paul sends salutations to many
persons in different places who were
well known in the churches, some OF
whom lived long time after the
Apostles, and whose writings are eX-
tant, in which they bear testimony to
the genuineness of his epistles. He also
directed his epistles to be read in the
churches, as that to the COloSSians to
be read also at Laodicea. Thus it ap-
pears that they were received by the
churches at the time as genuine.
John lived about sixty years after
Christ in whose time large numbers of
churches we're established in many
parts of the world, and toseven OF these
John directs the Revelation. Nor does
he give any hint that the writings OF
the other Apostles are not genuine,
while he writes bis own Gospel to cor
rect errors which had sprung up, sup
plementing rather than repeating what
they had written. Johns apostolical
authority brings the chain of undisputed
testimony down to the second century.
At this time there were old and estab-
lished churches which had the New
7 Testament and were accustomed 70
read it every Sunday in their worship.
Justin Martyr, born ten years before
John died, says "On the day which
we call Sunday there is a meeting Of all
Christians who live either in cities or in
country places, and the memoirs OF the
Apostles and the writings of the proph-
cts are read" Thus no unauthenticated
book could be introduced among them
any easier than among us, and no texts
could be interpolated in all their copies,
or in any Of them, without discovery,
and there would not be as many errors
and omissions in copying the Scriptures
as in copying other books. From this
time we have the testimony of the writ
ings of the Christian Fathers, some Of
whom were companions OF John; and
some, scholars of those taught by John,
and so down to the present time, who
| quoted from these books as genuine and
sacred, and accredited them to their
respective writer's.
Barnabas, Clement and Hermas are
mentioned BY Paul Clement quotes
Matthew. Ignatius, living with John,
quotes Matthew and John and Paurs
epistles lrenIus, a disciple of Poly
cap, who was taught by John, says: Il
can tell the place in which the blessed
Polycarp sat; how he related his con-
versations with John and others who
had seen the Lord, agreeably to the
Scriptures" After him, Justin MARTYR
quotes, among other passages, nearly
the whole of the Sermon on the Mount.
Latian, disciple of his, composed q
harmony OF the four Gospels, showing
that there were four, and only four,
which were received by the churches.
lren9us mentions the New Testament
as a whole, and all the books by name
except Philemon, 8 John, and Jude,
and calls them the "Oracles of God"
He says: "We have not received the
knowledge OF the way of salvation by
any other than those by whom the Cos
pei has been brought to us; which Cos
pei they first preached, and afterwards
by the will of God committed to writ
ing, that it might be for time to come
the foundation and pillar of our faith.
For after our Lord arose from
the dead, and they were endowed
from above with the power of the Holy
Ghost, they received a perfect knowi-
edge OF all things. Matthew among the
Jews wrote Gospel in their own Ian.
guage; Mark also, the disciple of Peter.
delivered in writing the things that had
been preached by Peter; and Luke. the
companion OF Paul, put down in book
the Gospel preached by him. Alter
ward John, the disciple of the Lord,
published Gospel when he dwelt at
EphesuS." Such testimonies of the fa-
theirs we might give at length. Ireneus
quotes from all Pauls epistles except
Philemon. Clement says Paul wrote to
the Hebrews The same father quote
the seven catholic epistes. Thus the
chain Of testimony is complete.
Nor did the enemies of Christianity
/ / eau 'nfe iiiaSstion Jhe genuineness OF the
books OF the New Testament when writ
ing against them and quoting from
them. 3es des this. versions were i'm
medlatelv made into other languages
notably the Peshito, Sy riac only a few
years after Johns death. Ana the
Latin version called "The ITALIA was
made before the end of the second cen.
tury. This jerome revised in the fourth