INSPIRATION AND PRESERVATION (Continued)
As we continue to look at the issue of what the Bible does say about the doctrine of the preservation of Scripture, let us look at Isaiah 40:8. �The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand forever.� Once again we have that little word �forever� just as we saw last week in Psalm 119:89.
This would seem to a troublesome concept to those who deny the eternality of the Scriptural record. This verse does not say, �The word of our God shall stand until the faulty copyist makes notations in the margin...�, or �until the word of God is changed by church councils...,� or �until the sands of time have obscured the real words.�
This verse does not say, �The word of our God shall stand until it is lost. But, then some men who do not agree that God has the power to preserve that Word will reconstruct what they believe He might have said.�
There is an important reason why God has promised to allow His Word to stand forever. The People�s Study Bible recognizes this reason, �Its [the Word of God] perpetuity is the surest guarantee of our eternity and our happiness as well.�
We have a �know so� religion because we have an �I told you so� God Who has promised that He would preserve His Word for all eternity.
If the Word is not preserved, we can have no reason to hope that It�s pronouncements are true. I have belabored this point for the past several weeks. It remains important. If the Word of God is not secure, we have nothing which can be trusted to tell us anything about God, or salvation, or the spiritual world. We are, if the Word be not secure, in worse shape than the infidel for we trust a lie. Well, maybe not. But, how would we know if the Word of God, and by extension the Person of God, is not trustworthy in preservation?
Micah 5:2 says, �But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be the ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old; from everlasting.�
When the wise men came to Herod, the king, to inquire the place of the birth of the Messiah, Herod asked the chief priests and scribes where this place might be. In Matthew 2:5 we see their answer. �And they said unto him, In Bethlehem of Judaea: for thus it is written by the prophet...�
Fuller (Counterfeit or Genuine) notes about this reply to �...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.� (The Micah and Matthew passages)
When one considers that a scant thirty years from the time which these wise men traveled from the east, these same scribes and priests would lead the chant to �Crucify Him�, in relation to this Messiah, we are struck with their fidelity to a trust in the Word. They did not believe that the Words of God were untrustworthy.
Isn�t it amazing to consider that those, humanly speaking, who were the driving force behind the crucifixion of Jesus were truer to their Bibles than are most of those in the fundamentalist movement of today!
Today far too many of the fundamentalist camp, those who claim a fidelity to the Word of God, do not accept even the pretense of fidelity to the Words of God. They agree with the skeptic and the cultist that the Word was lost in time. �Oh,� they will argue, �We have reassembled that which God could not keep. We now have a text much closer to what was originally written under inspiration.�
What, I continue to ask, can we ascertain from an inspired Word if we are not certain that we know what were the Words so inspired? Is man stronger than God, so that he can reconstruct that which God had allowed to be lost? If, as we are told by so many of these faithless fundamentalist�s, the Word was lost somewhere along the way, why do we bother to claim an inspiration for words to which we no longer have access?
Maybe Jesus did not die on the cross, as Islam preaches. Maybe Jesus is not God incarnate, as the Jehovah�s Witness� claim. Maybe Paul was just being foolish, in the third chapter of Galatians, when he argued about the promises of God, �Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ.� (Galatians 3:16)
How do we know that these allegations are not true if the Word be not preserved of God!
Don�t tell me, �But, the Holy Spirit will guide us into truth.� How can we even know that this is true if it is not from our understanding of the preserved Word of God?
Our �good feelings� are the products of transitory bodies. Unless we are energized by the Spirit of God our feelings will betray us. Our feelings cannot understand the things of God because God is Spirit and our feelings are human. God gave His Word to us so that we would have an anchor to hold our souls even in the storms of human experience. If the chain to that anchor is burst, if we have lost our written connection to the Truth that God wanted to communicate to us, then we are cast adrift on a sea of spirituality with no map, no guide, and no compass! ...And, no hope.
But, God has preserved His Word! He said He would do so. Folks, God ain�t lied yet; and, He ain�t about to start now.
History also tells us that God has preserved His Word. The time honored Traditional Text has been in existence in every time since the original Words were penned by the inspiration of God. This text has been found in all quarters of Christendom. This text is our Ark in the flood of despair which has overflowed the world of sin.
God is good. He would not leave us without a witness to His love. ...And, He hasn�t!
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14 October 2005
INSPIRATION AND PRESERVATION (Continued)
We begin this week with another Scripture that declares the doctrine of the preservation of Scripture.
One of the clearest passages in the New Testament as regards to this doctrine is found in Matthew 5:17-18. Here Jesus says, �Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.�
To those who might quibble about the clear meaning of this verse, Fuller (Counterfeit or Genuine) makes clear the point of Jesus� teaching. �To whatever the law refers, it is written, or else the use of �jot� and �tittle� would not be meaningful.�
It is clear that Jesus was talking about the written record of God.
The Ryrie Study Bible argues that, �The Lord�s point is that every letter of every word of the O. T. is vital and will be fulfilled.� I would not argue with this assessment. But, I would add to it.
The concept of �Old Testament� and �New Testament� is Biblically based. (see Matthew 16:28) But I would believe that the �Law� of God refers to more than just the Old Testament Scriptures.
It is true that in the Jewish reckoning of the O. T. Scriptures, in the day of Jesus physically upon this earth, contained a division of Law, Writings, and Prophets. So, it might be possible to argue that the reference to �the law,� at this place in Matthew might refer to just those Old Testament words. After all, Jesus does speak about these Scriptures as they point to His ministry upon the earth. But, He was also referring to that which should come after His sacrifice, resurrection and ascension. He talked about to the end of heaven and earth, and �till all be fulfilled.�
In this case it is obvious that He was preauthorizing, what we recognize as prophecy, the continuance of those New Testament Scriptures in the same manner as was He speaking of the Old Testament Scriptures. To argue otherwise is to divide the Words of God into multiple pieces with some more important than others.
To say that this verse only applies to the Old, and not to the New, Testament, is to argue that the Old Testament is more closely overseen by God than is the New Testament which contains the record of the life, death, resurrection, and present ministry of Jesus. It is to argue that the New is somehow less important in the mind of God than is the Old Testament.
It is also important to notice the verse in context.
Immediately preceding this prophecy of Jesus concerning the reliability of Scripture are these familiar verses:
�Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men. Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.� (Matthew 5:13-16)
Notice what these verses say about the Christian and his witness. First, we are to be an influence in the world toward the things of God. Jesus says that if we were to lose this ability to influence the world, we are useless and might as well be �...trodden under foot of men.�
Second, we are called �...the light of the world.� That is an important consideration. A comparison of this passage with the first chapter of the Gospel of John, would show that our �light� is a reflection. Jesus is the True Light of the Word. We are �lights� only in the sense that we carry forth the truth of Him into the world.
A candle is not a light. It is a �stick� upon which the light of the fire stands. It is fuel for the light; but, it is not the light. We are lights only in the sense that we are called to hold aloft the Truth that Jesus Christ died in time that we might live in eternity.
Our �light� is to be blazed into the world. There is a purpose in this. We are to use the light of our testimony of Jesus Christ to point people toward the Father. That is our purpose. This will lead people to the Savior Who gives us the gift of peace with God and salvation from our sins.
The last two verses of the Book of Matthew give us these instructions from Jesus:
�Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.� (Matthew 28:19-20)
I submit that it is not possible that we are able to carry forth the dictates of this Great Commission without a secure knowledge that we have a secure Word from God. How could we teach �all things� if we have not a sure Word to tell us of all things?
How can we be a witness of that which we do not know? How can we know unless the Scripture gives us illumination. The Holy Spirit works within our souls to energize and explain the Written Message. Without that Written Message, we are not able to access all the Spirit has to offer us. With a faulty, or piecemeal message, we are asking the Spirit to make do with �second best.� He has promised to provide us with �first best,� in an inspired, and a preserved, Message from the God of Heaven.
Those verses from Matthew, chapter five, which are the direct antecedent of the great affirmation of Jesus as to the reliability of the Biblical Message give us the picture of what is our responsibility with that Message. God would not give us responsibility to do something with that which He has not given us the access.
We do not have all of the sermons which Jesus gave upon this earth. John mentions this toward the end of his Gospel Message. (see John 20:30-31) But, those that the Holy Spirit saw fit to place in the inspired record are there because they are to speak to us, as well as to those first century hearers.
Jesus may have told the hearers of this sermon that they could trust the Bible which they had. But, He was telling us the same thing. We can trust the Scripture because Jesus said we could do so. That Scripture is inspired, and preserved, and will not fail unless Jesus was mistaken.
He wasn�t!
The challenge for us is to show the confidence in this Scripture so that the world may see the power and love of God. This will bring honor to the God of that Scripture. Our trust in the Scripture is a necessary ingredient in our purpose in the economy of God. Without this trust, and use, of God�s preserved Scripture, we are fit only to be trod under by the feet of men.
I believe that Jesus paid a great price on the cross so that we would have a much better purpose in our lives for Him!
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21 October 2005
INSPIRATION AND PRESERVATION (Continued)
We continue to look at Scriptural references which attest to the Biblical doctrine of the Preservation of Scripture.
In the twenty-fourth chapter of the book of Matthew, Jesus was speaking about the end-times when He noted that, �Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.� (Matthew 24:35)
This is an interesting statement. But, what could it mean? John 20:30-31 tells us, �And many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book: But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.�
The Bible, here, tells us that some of the acts of Jesus are lost to recorded history. So, also, are some of His words. What are we to do, in light of this Biblical revelation, with His statement in Matthew? Are we to suppose that He was just engaging in hyperbole to emphasize His point about the preceding prophecies? Maybe we must admit that He was mistaken in this instance.
But, to argue either of these theories is to cast doubt upon the prophecies He just uttered. If He was wrong, or was just using figures of speech, in the one, can we believe the other to be true? Worse, if He had engaged in error, or enhancing of, His message, could we trust anything He had to say? Worse, still, if we cannot trust the words of Jesus, can we trust anything else about Him or His message, life or death? If the answer to any of these questions is �yes,� we cannot trust Him to be our Savior considering He has shown Himself to be a man, given to boasting and exaggeration as much as any of us.
This is an important point. The answer is very simple. Jesus was still speaking prophecy when He said, �Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.� His words had bearing upon what He had already said. But, they were also a prophecy in their own right.
As to the first clause of this verse, turn to II Peter 3:10. �But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.�
Sermons could be preached on this verse concerning the final destruction of all sin in the creation of God. Verse thirteen continues: �Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for a new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.� There will come a time when the earth and heavens will be purged of sin and rebellion. But, there will not come a time when His words will pass away because they are pure; they have proceeded from the breath of God and have no admixture of sin within them.
The second clause from Jesus� words in Matthew is the promise that we have a sure and certain Word from God. It will not fail. The Salem Kirban Reference Bible makes the point, of this verse, that �Here the Lord asserts the absolute certainty that the events just described will some day come upon the world.�
That much is true. But, I would note that there is more. The Scripture, Jesus here asserts, will never pass away. We can trust the Words which God has preserved. To allege that the Scriptures were lost to history and needed to be reconstructed at any point in time is to allege that Jesus was wrong in His statement that His words would never pass away. It is a theory of doubt and unbelief to argue that new discoveries of ancient texts have shown us to have been using a flawed text. Hort, Westcott, Tischendorf, and the rest are at odds with the clear words of Jesus Christ.
The Traditional Text is not the God honored text because we say It is - or even because history says It is. The Traditional Text is the God honored text because Jesus Christ said that He guaranteed the preservation of His words. This is the text of the God fearing churches since the time of the original penning of the inspired message. If the words of Jesus mean anything, the Traditional Text must be the true, inspired, inerrant, Words of God. To argue anything else is to argue that God was either mistaken, or that Satan was powerful enough to dislodge the intent of God.
I can not accept either allegation and still accept Jesus Christ as my Savior. If He was wrong, or He was not strong enough to defeat the adversary, then He cannot be the propitiation for my sins. He would not, in that event, have the power to be that perfect sacrifice!
It is an eternally important fact that Jesus was not mistaken in His prophecy that the words of prophecy, the inspired Scripture of God, would never fail.
If the testimony of John�s Gospel were not enough to make this point, Mark bears witness to the same words in Mark 13:31. I know that the so-called �synoptic Gospels� repeat many of the same events. That is to be expected since they were covering the same life of the same Person. But, those points which are reiterated are shown to be points that are important.
When I was in grade school I hated the drills we had in arithmetic. They were so boring. The same thing, over and over, and over and over... But, it is important to know that 3 x 3 = 9. It is important to know that by putting posts on sixteen-inch centers the four-foot plywood will fit perfectly and securely. Without that little bit of math (O. K. A whole lotta math!), we might not be able to build a structure which would stand through a summer storm.
God has given us a Structure of His Message that will stand through all the storms of our life. We know that this Structure will stand through our lives, in part, because It has stood through the storms of the centuries as He said it would. We can trust His Word because we can trust Him! But, just as importantly, we only know that we can trust Him because of what His Word has told us about Him!
Some would argue that this is a circular reasoning. It isn�t. It is reasoning supported by two pillars of Truth. There is also a third Pillar - the witness of the Holy Spirit. Again, we learn of this Pillar through the Truth of the Scriptural Message.
The Romans had a system of plumbing by which water was brought into their city from great distances. They were able to do this because they had observed that water, every single time, flowed downhill. That single fact was the basis for all of their aqueducts. Probably through these aqueducts they also learned that water would seek its own level; this made fountains possible without elaborate machinery.
When they put the apparatus of their aqueducts into motion, they saw the facts which they already knew existed, work to their interests.
We know that the Scripture is trustworthy because we have seen that to be so in It�s pronouncements. As we have looked at these statements we have also been able to see that the prophecies of Scripture come to pass - every single time. Because of the fidelity of God to both His Scripture and to the creature to whom They were given, we have been given the privilege of learning of Him and of experiencing His power and influence in our lives and endeavors.
When we begin to walk, and work, in the faith described in the Bible, we see the facts which we already know exist begin to evidence themselves in our lives. The Life Application Bible says, about this verse in Mark, �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.�
Again, and importantly, this is so only because we have a Bible we can trust. We have an eternal Word because the Eternal One has promised it is so.
***
28 October 2005
INSPIRATION AND PRESERVATION (Continued)
Another place where we see Jesus affirm the doctrine of the preservation of Scripture is in John 10:34 - 36. �Jesus answered them, Is it not written in your law, I said, Ye are gods? If he called them gods, unto whom the word of God came, and the scripture cannot be broken; Say ye to him, whom the Father hath sanctified, and sent into the world, Thou blasphemest; because I said, I am the Son of God.�
First, I think we need to clear up our perception of this reference as it pertains to the deity of Christ.
The background of these verse was a discussion between Jesus and the Jewish religious leaders. The discussion had turned to the subject of Jesus� Messiahship. �Then came the Jews round about him, and said unto him, How long dost thou make us to doubt? If thou be the Christ, tell us plainly.� (John 10:24)
Jesus answered, �...I told you, and ye believed not...� (v. 25) Jesus continued and ended with the statement which affirmed His deity, �I and my Father are one.� (v. 31) These religious leaders fully understood His meaning. They were going to stone Him because, �...thou, being a man, makest thyself God.� They knew that Jesus had not been talking simply about a �oneness of purpose;� He had been speaking of being God, not simply of acting in concert with God.
He never corrected their assumption. This, unless Jesus is argued to have been misleading His accusers, is confirmation of the fact that He did claim absolute deity in His self.
His argument in the verses we have referenced is not to deny His essential deity. The argument is to continue to show the hypocrisy of the men who stood accusing Him. He said that even the Old Testament Scriptures had called men by this title, who were not of deity in themselves; so, what was wrong with Him to Whom the designation properly applied, using that title of Himself. He offered proof that this was a true assessment. (Vv. 36-38)
Strong (Systematic Theology) makes note that religious leaders (as well as political leaders in the near Theocracy of Israel) were sometimes called �god.� Often Scripture calls those who are representatives of God, �god,� themselves. This is done since they stand in the place of representing God (examples: Exodus 4:16; 7:2; Psalm 82:6). But, the connection leaves no doubt as to what is meant. These are men standing as representatives of God.
In the passage we have referenced from John, however, we see a picture of Jesus doing the works of God in concert with, rather than as a vassal of, God. The association is working as deity rather than in response to the commands of deity.
The salient point under dissection today, however, is the words, �...the scriptures cannot be broken.�
Fuller (Counterfeit or Genuine) notes that the argument of Jesus, quoted from Psalm 82:6, is important to our discussion of inspiration and preservation. �Christ�s argument rested on the fact that the Old Testament Scriptures had been preserved.� It was in light of that preservation that He relied upon them as authority.
I could argue that my mother once told me, �Don�t get old and fat at the same time.� You wouldn�t know whether she had said that or not. There is no record of this. All you would have is my word on the subject. The veracity of the statement would rely upon my both my fidelity to being truthful, and on my often faulty memory.
I could tell you that Linda said, �Yes� when I asked her to marry me. I could produce a wedding license and say that this proves the fact. But, did she? Might she have said, �O. K.�? Or, might she have said, �Why not?� Might she, even, has asked me. (Didn�t happen that way!!)
My wedding license is only a proof that something in the affirmative was said. But, the exact words... No.
I could tell you that once I was speaking to a crowd of preachers. I gave reference to my use of a C-PAP machine for easier breathing at night. I mentioned that this machine forces air into my nostrils at night so I�ll not stop breathing due to sleep apnea. I said, �This means that I�m not fat. I�m just full of hot air.�
This, you can prove. I have a copy of the DVD made of that meeting. I can�t get around having said it. I am guilty.
Jesus was not appealing to the veracity of the Scriptures as a recollection of what might have been. He did not say that they gave only an accurate reflection of what might have been said. He said, �This is the record. This happened.�
The Life Application Bible says, of this passage, �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.�
That statement above is true. But, it is not accurate. We must, of course, if we accept Jesus as the Lord of our lives, accept His word as true. But, that Word remains true whether we accept it or not. We know that His Words, and the Words to which He appealed, are true because God has promised to preserve His Word. Jesus was able to rightly appeal to these words because of the Power of God in the Preservation of those words.
The Lindsell Study Bible says, �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.�
I agree with what Lindsell said in this place. Jesus never suggested that any part of the Scripture could ever be lost to His true churches. His trust in the veracity of Scripture was grounded in the conviction that these were inspired Words which would be kept pure throughout the ages of time and the ageless �time� of eternity. He taught the preservation of His inspired Words.
II Timothy 3:16 gives us another important insight into the preservation of the Scripture. The amazing thing is that so many of the modern translations will mistranslate this simple affirmation of the inspiration of Scripture. The verse says, �All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.�
How many of the newer translations say, �All scripture that is inspired...� Again, something true, but not accurate.
�All scripture is given by inspiration...,� means that all of the Bible is inspired. �All scripture that is inspired...,� means some of the Bible might not be inspired - just those parts which were given by inspiration are inspired while the other parts are not.
The scholarship of man claims the right to decide which parts are truly inspired and which parts are of the fallible writing of man. I have a small problem with this view. If the fallible writing of man is responsible for the non-inspired writing contained in the Scripture, how can we trust the fallible editing of man to decide which is inspired and which is not? �Trust me,� we are told, �I�m the expert. But, don�t trust the writer, he was just a man.� Should we add, �And, don�t trust Jesus when He said the Word would stand. He was just God. I am the scholarly expert.�
Seems to me that this is the opinion put forth.
The People�s Study Bible rightly notes, �...limited inerrancy generally leads to unlimited errancy.�
The mistranslation owes itself to two facts.
The first of these is that the new translations, almost without fail, use a base text different from that of the Traditional Text used by the translators of the King James Bible. They use texts cobbled together by various committees and councils. About the only thing most of these translation committee�s agree upon is that God was not powerful enough, or at least not caring enough, to preserve His Word.
From this point, a lack of faith in God, the pride of man takes over. The only Scripture we are allowed to accept, according to these experts is that which they in their wisdom and scholarship have accepted as true. In effect, since they do not accept a God loving, or competent, enough to keep control of His inspired Word, they have become the arbitrators of what God is allowed to say.
Thus we are given regular updates and revisions of the Scriptural base which the experts were certain was the closest to the originals. At least this belief, that their efforts have produced the best possible reconstruction of the Words of God, was so until the publishers decided to put out a new copyrighted text.
The second fact is that the proper translation would point towards a secure Word which was preserved. The theology of the �Bible correcters and custodians� can not allow for a preserved Word because it would blow away, like the fall leafs on a maple tree, their doctrine of an uncertain, unpreserved Scripture. It would mandate the control of Scripture from their carnal intellectual pride to the Power of the Living God of Eternity.
That doctrinal base of an unpreserved Scripture is important in what it accomplishes among men.
From this doctrine flows rivers of polluted water. But, like all water, it flows downhill. It flows away from the Throne of Grace, never able to reach unto that Throne.
With this doctrine we are given a changing message. We are given a message that ties itself to the culture of the day rather than to the principles of Deity.
Look about and see if this is not true. We have churches which have decided that God might not have meant it when He said that homosexualism was a sin. We have translations which have decided that it might not be right to translate �God, the Father,� as is written in the originally inspired Words of God. That would be offensive to women; so we say �God, the Father/Mother.� Jesus is no longer referred to as, �The Son of God,� as do the New Testament documents. He is now the �Offspring of the Eternal.�
The Words of God are made subject to the conventions of man. The Truth of the Words of God is allowed only when they agree with the �feelings� of sinful mankind. Any Word which doesn�t �toe the line� of society must be beaten into a vocabulary of submission.
Our baseless Bibles have birthed a society which calls sin, diversity. Righteousness is called bigotry and hate. Standards of right and wrong have given way to a relativistic society which says, �If it feels good, do it. And, if you�re big enough to get away with it, it must be right.�
Without a trust in the influence of the Word which God gave and preserved, we are given no rational to be anything but callous to the plight of others who might accept that narrow Word. Now, it seems in society at large, are we not compelled to be courteous toward one another even on the natural plane of existence. Just reference the vindictiveness of modern political debate to see this fact in action.
Or, reference the attacks on those of us who accept the truth of Biblical preservation from the experts who respectfully disagree with us; we are branded as anti-intellectual and divisive for defending the Word which God has given us.
In the culture of the day, �Have a happy holiday� has replaced �Merry Christmas� because someone might be offended. What about those who are offended because their beliefs have been co-opted by those who chose to jeer at them? Well, those religious people thus offended are just displaying their bigotry.
I have heard that the British military band played a tune called, �The Word Turned Upside Down,� when the final victory was won by Washington during the War for American Independence. How �Upside Down� has the world of humanity turned since first we began to turn the truth of the God given and Preserved Word of Scripture over to the ash heap of history?
That is what man, even far too many religious men, has done with these new translations based on false textual bases.
Do you remember �Who shot J. R.�? This was from the popular television show, �Dallas.� In the last episode of one season, J. R. was shot. In the opening of the next season, the person who shot J. R. was to be revealed. During the summer the speculation was enormous as to who among the cast of characters might have done this. To keep the hype going, the produces - if I recall this correctly - filmed several different episodes so that even the cast could not let out the word of who had fired the shot. This was done so the T. V. audience would be larger.
It was!
Only one of these scripts was correct.
Only one of the many texts of Scripture is correct. I�ve read a translation of that one. It says that mankind will go into the apostasy we see today. But, it also says that God wins in the end. Wouldn�t it be foolish to cast your lot with the losing side! Trust God�s preserved Word in the God honored Translation which was culled from the Traditional Text - the Preserved Text.
I use the King James Bible because it is true to the True Words which God has preserved for us. Let us continue to stand for our Lord and His Word.