I do not see a convincing reason to accept the Apocrypha as inspired Scripture or as part of the biblical canon.

From my perspective, Sola Scriptura means that the final authority for faith and doctrine belongs to the God breathed books of Scripture alone, not to religious writings that have long been disputed among both Jews and Christians. The Jewish people were entrusted with the Old Testament Scriptures, and historically they recognized a defined body of sacred writings corresponding to the Hebrew canon.

Books such as Tobit, Judith, Wisdom, Sirach, Baruch, and the books of Maccabees were not universally received as prophetic Scripture within the Jewish community. Even before the earthly ministry of Christ, there was a hard line of distinction between writings regarded as the authoritative Word of God and other respected religious literature.

If one approaches church history carefully and hermeneutically, theologically ; the early church was not unified regarding the Apocrypha. Jerome, for example, openly differentiated the Hebrew canon from the Apocryphal books and did not treat them as a doctrinal foundation in the same sense as the recognized Scriptures.

I also reject the idea that a later church council can make a book inspired simply by declaring it canonical. The church does not create Scripture; God does. The role of the people of God is to recognize the voice and authority of Scripture because it already bears divine inspiration. Councils may acknowledge canon, but they do not manufacture it.

Beyond the historical questions, parts of the Apocrypha contain historical difficulties, legendary elements, and teachings that do not align cleanly with the broader doctrinal framework found in the recognized canon of the Old and New Testaments.

I also do not believe disputed writings should be used to establish binding doctrine, especially when those doctrines are not clearly grounded in the rest of Scripture.

So plain and simple, I do not accept the Apocrypha as inspired Scripture, as part of the biblical canon, or as binding authority for Christian faith and practice. I see rather as refuse to be discarded or burned.