In the early centuries of the church, Christians were sometimes put to death for possessing copies of Scripture. Because of this persecution, the question soon came up, “What books are worth dying for?” Some books may have contained sayings of Jesus, but were they inspired as stated in 2 Timothy 3:16? Church councils played a role in publicly recognizing the canon of Scripture, but often an individual church or groups of churches recognized a book as inspired from its writing (e.g., Colossians 4:16; 1 Thessalonians 5:27).
Kwa sababu ya mateso haya, swali haraka likatokea punde, "Je, vitabu ni vya thamani ya kukufia?" Baadhi ya vitabu vinaweza kuwa na maneno ya Yesu, lakini yaliongozwa kama ilivyoelezwa katika 2 Timotheo 3:16? Mabaraza ya kanisa yalikuwa na jukumu katika kutambua hadharani kanuni ya maandiko, lakini mara nyingi kanisa binafsi au vikundi vya makanisa yalitambua kitabu kuwa na pumzi ya Mungu kutokana na uandishiw wake (kwa mfano, Wakolosai 4:16, 1 Wathesalonike 5:27).