It is VERY important to immerse yourself in the word of God and test everything by it.
The Bible (the Word of GOD):
"We believe in the Old Testament because Christ Jesus affirmed the Old Testament. Throughout Christ ministry He affirmed the scripture of His day and the apostles also referred to it. However this scripture is the Septuagint bible NOT the Masoretic OT. The Septuagint bible is older that the Masoretic OT. The Septuagint is the first translation from OLD Hebrew to Greek done in around 200-300 BC because James the Great had conquered the land and the common language of the people of that time, including Jews, was not Old Hebrew BUT Koine Greek and Aramaic. The Masoretic OT translation was done hundreds of years after the crucifixion of our Lord Jesus Christ. This may explain why the Masoretic OT leaves out many verses about Christ!
Early Christian believers and churches (including the Catholic Church) used the Septuagint bible BUT it was a Catholic priest during the 4th century that under many protestors decided to use the Masoretic OT to translate to Latin and create the first Latin bible known as the Vulgate.
The Dead Sea Scrolls includes the Septuagint writing.
We believe in the 27 books of the New Testament because the Lord Jesus Christ authorized His apostles to write the New Testament." (See John 14-16, John 16:12-15, Matthew 28:18-19, Acts 1:8, 2Peter3:19-21 "Every book of the NT was written under apostolic authority-either by an apostle or someone linked to apostolic ministry."
The reason the canon is closed is because there are no longer any apostles in the church today and have not been any since the end of the first century, with the conclusion of the foundation age of the church (Eph 2:20). Therefore any writings after this time including the religions that were created after this time is NOT from GOD!
With this said, we strongly recommend you do your own research and read both the Septuagint and the Masoretic OT and compare!
John 1:1-4
New International Version
The Word Became Flesh
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. 4 In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind.
The "Word" is Christ! The Bible is the "Word" of God! If you decide Not to read the bible or not to believe in it then you are essentially not wanting a relationship with Christ nor do you believe Him!
Matthew 7:21-23
New King James Version
I Never Knew You
21 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. 22 Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ 23 And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’
Notes from a Dr. Charles Stanley sermon:
Jesus said, "It is written." When someone wants to debate you on what is right or wrong, just give them God's word. "Thou shalt not...".
Do you believe in the word of God? Do you believe All of it? It all boils down to this: Is the bible the word of God or not? If it's not, then what is it? If you believe on part of it is not the truth then what is the bible? No matter what you believe the truth is the bible is the Word of our living God cover to cover and God intends for us to live by it. If satan can make you doubt even one verse than he will lead you away from God and eventually you will doubt the word of God in its entirety.
Sadly many don't even try to open the word of God and read it for themselves. How many books have you read in your life BUT never have you read the most important book! Your eternal life depends on it. Open it and read it with an open heart, let go of your traditions and rituals and hear what God is telling you.
Why would anyone want to read an English translation of the Greek Old Testament (original language Hebrew)? Because this is the OT that Jesus would have read. And, for some specific indications, the Septuagint (or LXX) is more reliable than our modern OTs (from a much later textual source, the Masoretic text).
The LXX was first composed in the 2nd century before Christ. This means there was no reason to “cover up” verses that specifically alluded to Christ, since the Messiah had not arrived yet. That’s not the case for the Masoretic text, which was composed after 600 A.D. So, for example, when readers look in the LXX and read verses like Deuteronomy 34:43, Psalm 40:6 (39:6 in the Septuagint) or Isaiah 7:14, they will find clear, specific prophecies of Christ who is God in the flesh, who was born of a virgin and who came to redeem people from all over the earth (not just Jews). They will also find differences in the dates of the chronologies of Genesis 5 and 11.
The included Apocrypha is not considered (in Protestantism) as part of the inspired cannon, but these books do provide wonderful historical information and sheds light into how Jewish nationalism developed in the Inter-Testamental period. For example, the Book of Tobit gives an account of the “lost” tribes of Israel when they were exiled to Ninevah. I-IV Maccabees exalt the leaders of a violent Jewish rebellion against Gentiles as national heroes. Wisdom and Ecclesiasticus provide pearls of understanding that approach the heights of Holy Scripture.
I will let the scholars comment on which version of the LXX is the best. What I will plainly say is that as a man who loves God’s Word, reading the LXX is like reading the OT for the first time all over again. All the fundamentals remain exactly the same, but reading the text as Jesus would have gives a new breath of inspiration to your Bible study.