Why is the Apocrypha not in most Bibles?
The Apocrypha is not commonly accepted as a credible historical source. The timeline for most of these noncanonized books only goes back to the Middle Ages. Every New Testament book, however, can be traced back to the first century.
Unlike the Bible's authors, none of the apocryphal writers ever claimed divine inspiration as their source. The entire canonized Bible was written by authors who claim direct inspiration from God, which is the only reason that we can accept the Bible as perfect and completely infallible.
Furthermore, instead of complementing the Holy Bible, the Apocrypha includes several passages that contradict the Word of God. The blatant disparity between some of the doctrines of these extra-biblical books and the teachings of the canonized Holy Bible is one of the reasons that these books were not included as part of the Bible. The following are three examples of these contradictions.
Basis for the doctrine of purgatory:
2 Maccabees 12:43-45, "2,000 pieces of silver were sent to Jerusalem for a sin-offering...Whereupon he made reconciliation for the dead, that they might be delivered from sin."
Salvation by works:
Ecclesiasticus 3:30, "Water will quench a flaming fire, and alms maketh atonement for sin. Tobit 12:8-9, 17, "It is better to give alms than to lay up gold; for alms doth deliver from death, and shall purge away all sin."
Magic:
Tobit 6:5-8, "If the Devil, or an evil spirit troubles anyone, they can be driven away by making a smoke of the heart, liver, and gall of a fish...and the Devil will smell it, and flee away, and never come again anymore."
