The layman’s uncertainty only grows in the face of institutional silence on the subject.
The standard Apocrypha, also called the Deuterocanonical books in some traditions, consists mostly of additions or appendices to the canonical books of the Hebrew Testament.
Outside of the Apocrypha, there are other texts, many of them additions to the Greek Testament, which are labeled ‘apocryphal.’
The Apocrypha is a defined set of documents, while there is no sharp delineation to the amorphous collection of writings which can be called, in one sense or another, ‘apocryphal’.
If God wanted us to read and study the Apocrypha, then the New Testament would encourage us to do so as much as it encourages us to the read the Old Testament. By its silence about the Apocrypha, the New Testament is placing the Tanakh in a superior position, and the Apocrypha in a lesser position.
If God wanted us to avoid the Apocrypha, then the New Testament would warn us away from it. By not issuing such warnings, the New Testament is permitting the study of the Apocrypha.
Study of these texts is neither obligatory nor forbidden: the New Testament does neither. Luther concludes that the Apocrypha is not “to be held equal with the Bible,” but is nonetheless “profitable for study.”
The Apocrypha has a place in church history. Traditional German Lutheran hymns, such as “Now Thank We All Our God” and those written by Paul Gerhardt, make use of verses taken from the Apocrypha. Luther preached on Apocryphal texts, as did C.F.W. Walther (one of the founders of the Missouri Synod).
It is worth noting the printing history: The Apocrypha was included in all Bibles until the late 1800s. It was part of all English translations, including the King James; it was in Luther's German translations. Luther's view, as mentioned above, was that these books “are not equal to Scripture, but are profitable and good study.” It was included by the Missouri Synod in its printed Bibles until the switch to English in the 1930s and 1940s. It was included in seminary training and sermons until then as well.
In the late 1800s, an anti-Semitic movement began in England to remove the Apocrypha. From that time on, Bibles in the English language have been generally printed without the Apocrypha. This trend is relatively recent in church history, and centers in the English-speaking world.
We can formulate about the Apocrypha two extreme views and a middle ground:
One extreme is to say that the Apocrypha is worthless and perhaps even dangerous, and that it should not be studied or read by Christians.
The other extreme is to say that the Apocrypha is an important part of the Bible, which Christians should study as much as the rest of the Bible.
A more calm view expresses that the Apocrypha is an interesting set of books which contain information which can help us better understand the people, times, and places of the Bible.
The New Testament often uses the phrases “kingdom of God” and “kingdom of heaven” to refer to the church, i.e., to the collection of Jesus followers on earth. The Old Testament does not use this phrase in this way. We see that this phrase come into use in the time between the testaments.
A wisdom text (Wisdom 10:10) in the Apocrypha uses the phrase: “When the righteous fled from his brother's wrath, she guided him in right paths, showed him the kingdom of God, and gave him knowledge of holy things, made him rich in his travels, and multiplied the fruit of his labors.”
The Old Testament uses the phrase “son of man” often, but never “son of God” (with a possible ambiguous exception in Daniel 3:25). The New Testament messianic phrase finds an early appearance in two Apocrypha texts: (II Esdras 2:47) “So he answered me and said to me, 'it is the Son of God, whom they have confessed in the world.' Then I began to commend them greatly that stood so stiffly for the name of the Lord.” (Wisdom 2:18) “For if the just man be the Son of God, he will help him, and deliver him from the hand of his enemies.”
The phrase “son of man" finds continued use: (Judith 8:16) “Do not bind the counsels of the Lord our God: for God is not a man, that he may be threatened; neither is He as the son of man, that he should be wavering.” (Sirach 17:30) "For all things cannot be in men, since a son of man is not immortal."
An important Hebrew idiom for generosity is found both in the Old and New Testaments; the Apocrypha attests the continuity of that idiom between the two. The Hebrew expression for ‘generous,' found in Proverbs (22:9 and 28:22) and used by Jesus Himself (Matthew 6:22 and Luke 11:34), is used: (Sirach 35:8) “Give the Lord honor with a good eye, and diminish not the first fruits of your hands.”
