OUTLINE STUDIES
IN:
God Keeps His Word
Prepared, 1991, by:
E. E. DeWitt
(rev. 2004)
Table of Contents
Inspiration and Preservation
The Old MSS
Westcott and Hort
The Old Translations
Translation Methods
Underlying Texts
The Words Are Important
Problem Texts
The Textus Receptus
Those �Old� King James Version Words
The King James Version
Satan Hates Scripture
Respect the Word
�Everyone� Trusts the New Translations
Comparing the Competition
Multiple Versions Mean Less Reading
Trust His Word - 139
GOD KEEPS HIS WORD - INSPIRATION AND PRESERVATION
I. The Word of God is Inspired.
A. It is a fact that the Bible is inspired.
1. Pendleton remarks: �I have thought proper to say as much as this concerning inspiration, as there will be no chapter of this work specially devoted to the subject. Indeed, such a chapter will hardly be necessary for if the Bible is, as I have attempted to show, a revelation from God, its inspiration must be granted.� (Christian Doctrines pp. 40-41)
2. It is only the Scripture which is inspired.
a. �Not even Paul or Peter were infallible. It is God�s Word that is infallible and inspired of God.� (�King James Fans(?)� p. 24)
b. �The original Scriptures were written by direct inspiration of God. This can hardly be said of any translation.� (Which Bible? p. 316)
c. Inspiration is the substance of which are the words.
(1) Any faithful copy of those words - same words / same order - would remain the Words of God, hence inspired and authoritative as were the original autographs.
(2) Inspiration lies not in the parchment but in the Word of the Lord!
B. The faith which we have is based on the Truth of an inspired Scripture. �It is the verbal inspiration which assures us that the truth delivered form God is trustworthy because the Lord communicated it to us without error.� (Why I Preach That the Bible is Literally True p. 62)
1. �...�the infallible Word of God� [is] one of the doctrines that separates us from the world. We take pride in thundering forth that we are not as the unregenerate world. We have a guideline. We have the guideline, the Word of God! Then we hold our open Bible up for all to see and shout, �This is God�s Word! It�s perfect, infallible, inerrant, the very words of God.�� (An Understandable History of the Bible p. 32)
2. We make many claims as Christians. We claim the Virgin Birth, His Divinity, that salvation is based on faith in the effectiveness of His death.
We say that He is coming back. Others may make outrageous claims on other subjects, but our claims are backed by the force of the Book. To this Book we appeal to back our claims and our beliefs! (An Understandable History of the Bible p. 10-11)
3. �One of the greatest leaders of the Church of England, Bishop Ryle of Liverpool, wrote: �Give me the plenary, verbal theory of Biblical inspiration with all its difficulties, rather than the doubt. I accept the difficulties and humbly wait for their solution. But while I wait, I am standing on the rock - �IT IS WRITTEN.��� (The Bible Under Attack p. 8)
C. Not to accept the inspiration of the Scripture is to invite the entrance of heresy.
1. �If we surrender the truth of verbal inspiration of the Bible, we are left like a rudderless ship on a stormy sea. We are at the mercy of every wind that blows. Deny that the Bible is the very Word of God and we have no ultimate standard of righteousness and no supreme authority for our salvation. It is impossible to overestimate what evil is wrought when the Word of God is denied.� (Why I Preach that the Bible is Literally True p. 150)
2. �One day a friend of mine [story by W. A. Criswell] went to a great northern university to study for his Ph. D. degree in pedagogy. While he was there, he made the friendship of a young student in the divinity school. When time came for this young preacher to get his degree in theology, a church in the Midwest called him to be their pastor. The young minister went to my friend who was studying for his doctor�s degree in teaching and said these amazing words to him: �I am in a great quandary. I have been called to be a pastor of a church in the Midwest, but it is one of those old-time, old-fashioned churches that believes the Bible as the Word of God. Now I do not believe that the Bible is the Word of God and I do not know what to do.� My friend said to him, �Well, I can tell you what to do.� The young theolog eagerly replied, �What?� and my friend said, �I think you ought to quit the ministry!� That is what I also think. If a man does not believe that the Bible is the Word of God, he has no place in any pulpit in the land. All his preachments are nothing but speculations, and if he has not the authority of God back of what he says, he has nothing to say.� (Why I Preach that the Bible is Literally True p. 149)
II. Inspiration and Preservation are entwined doctrines.
A. Inspiration and Preservation go together. �Although separate doctrines, the doctrine of preservation is very closely connected to the doctrine of inerrancy. Preservation is necessary in order to maintain an adequate view of inerrancy. Without preservation, the doctrine of inerrancy is only an academic question and has little bearing on the formation of doctrine and exegesis.� (Counterfeit or Genuine p. 187) Rationality argues for preservation.
1. The fact of inspiration argues for preservation.
a. There are probably as many verses in the Bible on preservation as there are on inspiration. (The Authorized Version [tape])
b. �Every argument for inerrant, infallible inspiration applies also for the inerrant, infallible preservation. It is the same God!� (An Understandable History of the Bible p. 170)
c. �The writing of the Word of God by inspiration is no greater miracle than the miracle of its preservation...� (God Wrote Only One Bible p. 104)
2. Preservation is logical in light of inspiration.
a. �Of course we believe that the original autographs were the inspired Word of God. Since no one in the past ever had all of the autographs at one time, since no one in the present even has one fragment of any of the autographs, we must approach this subject from a different angle.� (Use the Bible God Uses p. 1)
b. �If the doctrine of the divine inspiration of the Old and New Testament Scriptures is a true doctrine, the doctrine of the providential preservation of the Scriptures must also be a true doctrine.� (The King James Version Defended p. 2)
c. �When we believe in Christ, the logic of faith leads us...� (Entire section: The King James Version Defended p. 193)
(1) �...to a belief in the infallible inspiration of the original Scriptures...�
(2) �...to a belief in the providential preservation of the original text down through the ages...�
(3) �...to a belief in the Bible text current among believers as the providentially preserved original text.�
B. Without preservation there is not purpose in inspiration.
1. �Why did God inspire His word perfectly? Obviously the answer comes back, �So that man could have every word of God pure, complete, trustworthy, and without error.� (An Understandable History of the Bible p. 18)
2. �...if God wrote the Bible perfectly in the �originals,� but we cannot have those same words today, then it would seem that He wasted His time inspiring it perfectly in the first place.� (An Understandable History of the Bible p. 21)
3. �No one can argue for the inerrancy of the Scripture and at the same time argue for changing it.� This is what is done by using a �...perverted and polluted Greek...� text as a basis for a translation. (Should We Use Strange Bibles p. 11)
4. �If the text of the Scripture was not preserved, what was the need for having an inerrant original?� (Counterfeit or Genuine p. 178)
III. The Word of God is preserved.
A. The Scriptures are providentially preserved.
1. �The idea that God watched over the transmission of His Word through the ages to ensure the purity of His revelation is called providential preservation. Providential preservation says that, although one copy will differ slightly from another the differences are so minor that there will be no hindrance to the correct understanding of the text. The true text has always been available by the providence of God.� (The Corruption of the Word p. ix)
2. �Modern scholarship denies any role for providential preservation in determining the correct text to follow. The church [it alleges] lost the true text sometime around A. D. 300... This true text was [supposedly] recovered around 1881 and is found in the modern versions.� (The Corruption of the Word p. ix)
a. Many times the �assured findings� of the critic has been found to
be wrong. Until his capital was found, with his name inscribed, critics assured us that Tiglath Pileser of II Kings 15:29 was a fable. Moses could not have written the Pentateuch, we were assured, as there was no such thing as writing in his day. However, tablets predating Moses by centuries have been unearthed - with writing on them! The book of John, we were assured by the scholars, was not written until the third century. It is fable and myth, we were told. �Then a mummy was found in Egypt. There was definite evidence that the funeral of the man thus mummified had taken place about the year A. D. 100. The body was encased in a shroud made of several layers of papyrus leaves. The outer layers were broad leaves; the inner layers were scraps glued together. Scholars at the Ryland Library in Manchester, England, carefully dissolved the glue that held the pieces of the mummy wrapping. Right in the middle was a large fragment from the Gospel of John - proof that the fourth Gospel existed as early as the last decade of the first century. John died about A. D. 90 or later, so this page from his Gospel dates within 10 years of his death.� (The Bible Under Attack pp. 6-7)
b. �Many Theologians such as Young and Skilton believe that the doctrine of preservation guarantees only that no point of doctrine had been affected. The fact is that there are passages where variant readings do make a difference in doctrine. In I Corinthians 15:51, where Paul elaborates on the doctrine of the resurrection, the variants do make a difference to the doctrine. B and the vast majority of Greek manuscripts read: �We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed.� But Aleph, A, D, F and G read: �We shall all sleep, but we shall not all be changed.� D adds to the variants: �We shall all rise, but we shall not all be changed.� The Chester Beatty Papyrus reads: �We shall not all sleep, nor shall we all be changed.� It is true that for the most part the differences are small and do not affect doctrine, but there are differences that do affect doctrine.� (Counterfeit or Genuine p. 188)
c. Some will argue that God has preserved His true text, but only in at least, one of the manuscripts. Then, the question arises, �Which one? Has it been found? Do we really have anything which we can trust now!� (Believing Bible Study pp. 37-38)
d. �...if it is right to ignore the providential preservation of the Scriptures in the study of the New Testament books, why isn�t it
right to go further in the same direction? Why isn�t it right to ignore other divine aspects of the Bible? ... And why isn�t it right to ignore the doctrines of the Trinity and of the incarnation when dealing with the messianic consciousness of Jesus and the Son of man problem?� (The King James Version Defended p. 83)
B. The Words of God are as sure as is the Word of God.
1. The theological liberal and the conservative who stands by the newer versions share a common belief.
a. Their view is that the Bible is not the Word of God but only contains the Word of God.
b. They will say that God did not preserve His Words. He merely preserved the essential teaching of His doctrines. This, it is said, is found in even the worst manuscripts. (Believing Bible Study p. 37)
c. The conservative will deny that he believes this. But, his stance toward the underlying text of his preferred translations will allow no other conclusion.
2. �Because the Scriptures are God�s revelation of Himself, eternal, forever relevant, and infallibly inspired, they have been guarded down through the ages by God�s special providence, preserved not secretly but in a public way.� (Believing Bible Study p. 61)
a. �It is always to be remembered that the Bible is a spiritual book which God exerted supernatural force to conceive; and it is reasonable to assume that He could exert that same supernatural force to preserve.� (An Understandable History of the Bible p. 27)
b. �On the original parchment [lies inspiration]. Men may destroy that parchment. Time may destroy it. To say that the membranes have suffered in the hands of men, is but to say that everything Divine must suffer, as the pattern Tabernacle suffered, when committed to our hands. To say, however, that the writing has suffered - the words and letters - is to say that Jehovah has failed.� (Testimony of the Scriptures to Themselves p. 93)
(1) Inspiration does not lie in the parchment and ink. The inspiration of Scripture lies upon the words and letters. They form the Message which God gave to mankind. Matthew 5:18
(2) Faithful copies of the originals - which contain the same letters, words and phrases, would carry the same inspiration since they would contain exactly the same Words which God gave.
c. God led His people to preserve the text in three ways: (Entire section: Testimony of the Scriptures to Themselves p. 93)
(1) There were many trustworthy copies of the originals made.
(2) The copies were read and recopied by faithful Christian scribes over the many years.
(3) �...untrustworthy copies were not so generally read or so frequently recopied.� These, in fact, were put aside and ignored while the true copies were used - and used up!
d. �The parchments, the membranes, decay; the writings, the words, are eternal as God.� (Testimony of the Scriptures to Themselves p. 93)
C. To deny that God has preserved His Word is absurd.
1. �...if God has not preserved His words as He said that He would (Psalm 12:5, 7), then He has done something which He has never done before. He has wasted His time!� (An Understandable History of the Bible p. 21)
2. �A God who would bind Himself to us so inescapably [as to inspire a written word from Himself] must love us and truly desire for us to have His words and to be sure of them.� (An Understandable History of the Bible p. 17)
3. �The idea of defending the error-free status of lost autographs rings hollow.� (Is the Bible our Final Authority p. 8)
a. �Some would argue that God providentially guided Westcott and Hort to �restore� the pure text. The obvious question is simple: Why did God allow His true text to be hidden from the world for one thousand years, becoming more corrupted with each copyist?� (Believing Bible Study p. 38)
b. �...what if God gave those precious words only to those early writers, then lost them in history, ... where few could visit them and none could trust them?� (An Understandable History of the Bible p. 18)
(1) It would call into question the wisdom of God if He took time to inspire that which would perish. There would be no adequate reason to explain why He had thus inspired the record.
(2) It would call into question the power of God if He were unable to protect His Own Scripture.
(3) It would call into question the goodness of God if He were to allow His revelation to be seen by only a few and to deny that same revelation to others He had called, such as the Reformers.
D. What saith the Scriptures about preservation.
1. �The doctrine of preservation does not guarantee the preservation of the autographs, for they perished within a few years after their writing. Neither does it guarantee the accuracy of the copies, because errant men copied them. It does guarantee, however, that the complete contents of the Scriptures have been preserved, not in any one manuscript, but somewhere within the manuscript tradition.� (Counterfeit or Genuine P. 181)
2. In the Temptation Accounts Christ argues with Satan from the Scriptures. Had there been any mixture of error in those Scriptures, Satan would have pointed it out.
3. Psalm 12:6-7 -
a. Most of the commentaries will ascribe these verses to the people, rather than to the words, of God. However, although the nation
does still exist, it is His Words - not the Godly persons of that day - which have abided �from this generation for ever. There is, at the very least!, a secondary application to these words which pertain to the very words of Scripture.
b. Keep - �...to hedge about (as with thorns), i.e. guard; gen. to protect, attend to, etc.: - beware, be circumspect, take heed (to self), keep (-er, self), mark, look narrowly, observe, preserve, regard, reserve, save (self), sure (that lay) wait (for), watch (-man).� (Hebrew-Greek Key Study Bible p. 118 [Hebrew and Chaldee Dictionary])
c. Preserve - �...to guard, in a good sense (to protect, maintain, obey, etc.) Or a bad one (to conceal, etc.); besieged, hidden thing, Keep 9-er, -ing), monument, observe, preserve (-r), subtle watcher (-man).� (Hebrew-Greek Key Study Bible p. 80 [Hebrew and Chaldee Dictionary])
4. Psalm 119:89 -
a. �This verse avows the immutability of God�s word; it shall stand forever...� (The Criswell Study Bible p. 708)
b. �Other things are fleeting and changeable, thy promise is fixed and sure; and this is our soul�s stay in time of trouble. What should we do if the promise could fail?� (Spurgeon�s Devotional Bible p. 627)�
c. �Here God�s word by which he created, maintains, and governs all things ... Stands firm in the heavens. The secure order of the word, by which He upholds and governs all things, is enduring and trustworthy...And that is the larger truth that confirms the godly man�s confidence in the trustworthiness of God�s word ... Of special revelation...� (Concordia Self-Study Bible p. 919)
d. Settled - �...a prim. root; to station, in various applications (lit. or fig.); - appointed, deputy, erect, establish, X Huzzah (by mistake for prop. name), lay, officer, pillar, present, rear up, set (over, up), settle, sharpen, stablish, (make to) stand (-ing, still up, upright), best state.� (Hebrew-Greek Key Study Bible p. 80 [Hebrew and Chaldee Dictionary])
e. Forever - �...concealed, i.e. the vanishing point; gen. time out of mind (past or fut.), i.e. (practically) eternity; freq. adv. (espec. with prep. pref.) alway (-s), ancient (time), any more, continuance,
eternal (for, [n-]) ever (-lasting, -more, of old), lasting, long (time), (of) old (time), perpetual, at any time, (beginning of the) world (+ without end).� Hebrew-Greek Key Study Bible p. 86 [Hebrew and Chaldee Dictionary])
5. Isaiah 40:8 -
a. �Its [The Word of God] perpetuity is the surest guarantee of our eternity and our happiness as well.� (The People�s Study Bible p. 1123)
b. For ever - Same as �forever� in Psalm 119:89. (See III, D, 4, e) (Hebrew-Greek Key Study Bible p. 872)
6. Matthew 2:5 - A quotation from Micah 5:2 about �...the place of the birth of Christ. The quotation of the prophecy of Micah depends entirely upon the one word �Bethlehem,� which is recorded in both passages.� (Counterfeit or Genuine p. 185)
7. Matthew 5:17-18 -
a. �To whatever the law refers, it is written, or else the use of �jot� and �tittle� would not be meaningful.� (Counterfeit or Genuine pp. 182-183)
b. �The Lord�s point is that every letter of every word of the O. T. is vital and will be fulfilled.� (Ryrie Study Bible p. 1145)
8. Matthew 24:35 - �Here the Lord asserts the absolute certainty that the events just described will some day come upon the world.� (The Salem Kirban Reference Bible p. 1227)
9. Mark 13:31 - �God and His Word provide the only stability in our unstable world. How shortsighted to spend so much of our time learning about this temporary world ... While neglecting the Bible and its eternal truths.� (Life Application Bible p. 1444)
10. John 10:34-36 -
a. Here we see Jesus arguing with His enemies from Psalm 82:6. �Christ�s argument rested on the fact that the Old Testament Scriptures had been preserved.� In light that preservation He used them as authority. (Counterfeit or Genuine pp. 184-185)
b. �This is a clear statement of the truth of the Bible. If we accept Christ as Lord, we must also accept his confirmation of the Bible as God�s Word.� (Life Application Bible p. 1576)
c. �The Lordship of Jesus requires that Christians believe what Jesus taught. He never raised a question about any part of Scripture. He went so far as to assert that even the smallest particle of a word cannot be destroyed without the heavens and the earth first being destroyed.� (Lindsell Study Bible p. 164 [N. T.])
11. II Timothy 3:16 - �Experience teaches ... That limited inerrancy generally leads to unlimited errancy.� (The People�s Study Bible p. 11)
12. I Peter 1:23 -
a. For ever - �...perpetuity (also past); by impli. the world; spec. (Jewish) a Messianic period (present or future); -age, course, eternal, (for) ever (-more); (n-) ever, (beginning of the, while the) world (began, without end.)� (Hebrew-Greek Key Study Bible p. 47 [Greek Dictionary of the New Testament])
b. Abideth ( & endureth v. 25) - �...to stay (in a given place, state, relation or expectancy); -abide, continue, dwell, endure, be present, remain, stand, tarry (for), X thine own.� (Hebrew-Greek Key Study Bible p. 47 [Greek Dictionary of the New Testament.)
13. I Peter 1:24-25 -
a. �...Peter reminds the believers that everything in this life - possessions, accomplishments, people - will eventually fade away and disappear. Only God�s will, word and work are permanent. We must stop grasping the temporary and focus our time, money and energy on the permanent - the Word of God...� (Life Application Bible p. 1930)
b. �Quoting Isaiah 40:6-8, Peter stresses the enduring nature of the Word of the Lord. Flesh and all other materialistic features are
destined for destruction. In none of these can one afford to place his trust. But what God says is permanent, enduring and trustworthy.� (The Criswell Study Bible p. 1452)
IV. The Preservation of the Old Testament Text.
A, �The ancient Hebrew scribes handled the Word of God with extreme reverence. Their work was done with the utmost care and meticulous fidelity. No mistakes in copying were permitted. Copies of the Old Testament were made on sheets of finely prepared animal skins which were sewn together to form long scrolls. If a scribe made a mistake, the entire sheet had to be destroyed and a new copy written. To further guard against error, the scribes counted the words and letters of a copy to make sure nothing had been added or left out. They even went so far as to identify the middle letter on each sheet. If the middle letter was missing or out of position, they knew a mistake had been made.� (The Bible: Preserved For You p. 6 [125})
B. �The Old Testament text was preserved by the Old Testament priesthood and the scribes and scholars that grouped themselves around the priesthood.� (The King James Version Defended p. 111)
C. �We firmly believe that God preserved His word through the Masoretic Hebrew text of the Old Testament and the Textus Receptus Greek Text of the New Testament. We firmly believe that the King James Version of the English Bible is a true and faithful translation of these two providentially preserved texts.� (Use the Bible God Uses p. 1)
V. God acted through the body of believers to preserve His Word.
A. �God�s preservation of the New Testament was not miraculous but providential. The scribes and printers who produced the copies of the New Testament Scriptures and the true believers who read and cherished them were not inspired but God-guided.� (The King James Version Defended p. 224)
B. �It is a remarkable fact that no early Church Council selected the books that should constitute the New Testament Canon. The books that we now have crushed all rivals, not by adventitious authority, but by their own weight and worth.� (Introduction to the New Testament p. 25)
C. �...during the fourteen centuries in which the New Testament circulated in manuscript form God worked providentially through the usage of the Greek-speaking Church to preserve the New Testament in the majority of the Greek
New Testament manuscripts. In this way the True New Testament Text became the prevailing Traditional Text.� (Counterfeit or Genuine p. 201)
D. �When a copy having mistakes was compared with others, the mistakes were easily revealed and easily corrected.� (Counterfeit or Genuine p. 201)
E. �The printed text of the Traditional Text was a step in God�s preservation of the True Text of His Scripture.� (The King James Version Defended p. 111)
VI. The preserved Word of God is the standard for the Christian.
A. �Scholars today believe that God inspired words but preserved thoughts.� (An Understandable History of the Bible p. 104)
1. This type of theology robs the Bible of its preeminence as the Message. The Message then becomes only what the �religious professional� finds it to be by his study, rather than what God has clearly said. Man then becomes the measure rather than man measuring up to God�s Standard.
2. This is a meaningless theology as it is impossible to relate thoughts, in any sort of precise manner without the use of words. Take away the words and thoughts will become unintelligible. The expression of thought is made possible via the use of the words.
3. This type of theology will lead to several things.
a. This leads to a lack of trust in Scripture.
b. This leads to a lack of trust in God.
c. This removes any standards of right, wrong or leadership.
d. In essence, this type of theology stems from several things.
(1) It stems from a basic of rationalistic belief rather than a deistic belief that there exits a God powerful enough to protect His Own preserved Message to mankind.
(2) It stems from a mind stance that the Bible is simply another book from antiquity. No special providence is attached to its transmission or care.
(3) It stems from a soul-fear that the critics might just be right so the christian (small case) had better find an answer to protect his concept of god (small case) from the onslaughts of more intelligent people.
(4) It stems from a fear of �losing� one�s faith to the advancement of human intelligence.
(a) This comes from a low view (or a �no view�) of the Person of God.
(b) Faith is a charismatic (powerful) gift from God. (Ref. Ephesians 2:8-9). Do we, honestly, believe that man is more powerful than God and thus able to rip His gift from our souls.
(c) Eve did this in the Garden when she succumbed to the tempters version of God�s Word, Goodness, and Power.
[1] Look at the results of this on the human race.
[2] Consider the results of this, even in a partial sense, victory of Satan in the spiritual realm of the church and society of today!
B. �...if the Bible loses or loosens Its hold upon us an infallible standard of truth and action, everything else, as we are beginning to realize, goes down with it into the same abyss of doubt.� (Christian Theology p. 21)
C. �The charge is often made that we believe in double inspiration. They mean by this, that we are teaching that the King James translators were inspired of God. Nothing could be further from the truth. It is God�s word that is inspired.� (Use the Bible God Uses p. 1)
1. �...it is very important to note that the Bible nowhere states that the men who wrote the Bible were inspired men; only their writings were inspired...� (The Bible Under Attack p. 25)
2. �If it [The King James Version] is to be called the Authorized Version, let it be known that it was authorized, not by an edict imposed upon the
people, but by popular acclamation. (The Bible in the Making p. 181)
VII. The attitude of Christ toward the Scripture was one of trust. He treated the Scripture as
an authority.
A. �The authority of the Scriptures rests upon the deity of Christ.� (Why I Preach that the Bible is Literally True p. 19)
1. Jesus did not defeat Satan in the wilderness by any display of His Eternal Godhood. Satan was defeated by the Man, Christ Jesus, Who knew that His Bible was trustworthy. �What light [this] shed on the mind of Christ! �It is written...� / �It is written...� / �It is written...� That was enough. Victory was won by wielding the Word of God, �living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword (Heb. 4:2).� (Note from compiler: This reference here is from the NASV. It should be obvious that I, personally, did not use this translation, but the author cited did so.) (The Bible Under Attack pp. 10-12)
2. �...the highest proof of Scripture is uniformly taken from the character of him whose word it is.� (Calvin�s Institutes [One, vii, 4] p. 28)
3. �...Christ so identified Himself with the Scripture that it is impossible to touch one without touching the other.� (The Bible Under Attack p. 9)
4. Some of the above citations come from books which use modern translations. As noted in the foreword, not all of the works cited will agree with my conclusions. It is the strong stand which these works have taken on the importance of the inspiration of the Scriptures which I cite. Yet, I do believe it is incredible that one who can believe so strongly in the inspiration of the Scripture can still hold to a system in which God is said to have lost control of His true text, or to believe that Satan or man have wrested this inspired material from His hands and replaced them with false texts for centuries of time!
B. �It is not difficult to understand a biblical critic who cares nothing for its divine Saviour, doubting the veracity of the Scriptures, but it is strange to find a believer professing his faith in the Lord and then disregarding Christ�s doctrine of the inspiration of the Book.: (Why I Preach that the Bible is Literally True p. 10)