You’re familiar with the phrase ‘rule of faith.’ The rule of faith is the standard of sound doctrine. Over time, ‘canon’ also came to mean a catalog or list—used in this case to describe the authoritative list of books that make up the Bible. In our study thus far, we’ve considered doctrines such as revelation and inspiration. Well, the doctrine of ‘canonization’ tells us how the Bible received its acceptance as men recognized the authority of God’s inspired writings. It is the process by which the inspired, inerrant, and infallible Word of God was recognized as such by men of God and then collected and preserved by the people of God.