Part 2
In my previous post, I shared some background as to how I became interested in the "which Bible?" debate, and the conclusion I ultimately reached. Namely, that the King James Bible is the pure, perfect, and preserved Word of God. In this post, I will examine one of the biggest questions I had when studying the issue, and the reasoning which led to my conclusion.
To answer this question, it is necessary to first consider the purpose of the Bible. As our Creator, God needed a way to communicate with man, and throughout the ages He has mainly done so through the written Word. In the Bible, God reveals to us who He is, what He loves and hates, what He is like. It reveals the history of mankind, what God has already done, and what He will do in the future. Furthermore, as 2 Timothy 3:16-17 shows, the Bible is essential for salvation, sound doctrine, and instruction on how we are to live and believe as Christians.
The problem with having multiple Bible versions is that they can’t all say the same thing. They will inevitably contradict each other, as shown in my previous post. What do you do when this happens? If one version says God was the Father of the Lord Jesus Christ, and another implies that Joseph was his father, how can you know for sure? What do you do if one version teaches the Trinity of the Godhead, and another one doesn’t? Or if one version teaches that salvation is a process, and another says it is complete with belief in the Lord Jesus?
Does God really contradict Himself like that, or has He given us His perfect, infallible Word?
The most prevalent answer to this question today is “Yes, God did give us His perfect Word, but only in the original manuscripts”. In other words, God's Word was only perfect when He originally inspired authors such as Moses, Daniel, Paul, and Peter. According to this conclusion, we must go back to the Greek and Hebrew text in order to “truly know” what God said.
From this premise, two main approaches are taken, forming two separate groups in the Bible battle:
The first, more traditional group generally lean towards the KJV or NKJV, but consistently attempt to correct it with the “original Greek/Hebrew”. To disguise this fact, they will say something like “We believe the ___ is the closest to the originals,” or “We prefer the ___ over other versions”. Sometimes they even sound like they only believe the KJV, but when you examine their stance further, they cannot say that the KJV itself is pure and perfect- only the “originals” are.
The second, more contemporary group, imply that you get to be the judge as to which version is best. They (generally) believe that though “only the originals were perfect”, the Bible is essentially “evolving”, and can be constantly improved through “modern scholarship” and “new evidence”, and thus “more accurate translations”. They admit their versions have errors (as shown by the constant need for updates), and instead focus on “which version is most accurate”.
In both cases, the choice is ultimately left to you to choose which version you “like” best, which version you “feel” is what God said, or which version is “easiest” for you to understand. Both cases are dependent to varying degrees upon a personal knowledge of Greek and Hebrew languages (and thus, “scholarship”). And neither case allows for the possibility that there could be a truly perfect Bible in the common language of today. Which brings me to the key flaw in thinking that “only the originals” can be perfect-
THEY DON’T EXIST!!!!!!
We don’t have them. We can’t read them. We might have “copies”….but how do we know these copies are exactly the same as the originals? What if they are wrong?
In other words, by denying that God could have a perfect Bible today, we are indirectly stating that God FAILED to preserve His own Book.
What kind of God would that be? One so powerful and caring of man that He would inspire “men of old” to write down His words, only for the words to be lost and destroyed through time?? How can we trust a God so weak He could not preserve His very words?
Or has he?
Did He not promise repeatedly to do so?
Clearly, God promises to preserve His Word. But in what language? He never says. I don’t see the
word “Greek” or “Hebrew” or “Aramaic” in any of those verses – do you?
For the sake of argument, let’s assume for a moment that God did only preserve His Word in the “original languages”. But what use would that serve? How could we place our faith in words written in a language we could not understand? Would God really expect us to fluently know “the original language” in order to know the “true meaning of what He said”, when He claims that even the simplest of children can understand His Word enough to be saved and know Him? And finally, isn’t it possible that God could speak in English as well as Greek and Hebrew?
BINGO!!!
In the Old Testament, the (key) language of the Bible was Hebrew, because God had called the Israelites to be separate unto Him. In order for non-Hebrews to have God’s Word or to obey the Law, they had to come to the Israelites. In the New Testament, with the transition of salvation from the Jewish nation to the Gentiles, God’s Word was given in the ruling language of the day – Greek. Today, English is the universal language, and has been for several centuries. Could God have preserved His Word, the Holy Bible, in this current “common language”?
Consider again, the reason why the Bible is of such importance. And the confusion which ensues as soon as you allow validity to multiple versions which contradict each other.
As a Christian, we must have a final, written Authority. Our eternity depends on it. Our faith and hope depend on it. We must be able to trust the fact that we do have God’s true Word, and that we can know what He says. Because His Word is (or should be) our standard for living, in all matters of faith and practice.
By surrendering our assurance in a single Bible, we lose our source of confidence. We are left to “choose for ourselves”, based on feeling. We become dependent on others, pastors, scholars who claim to know the “original languages” to interpret the Bible for us. At best, we are left confused, with our foundation and faith weakened, and our doctrine skewed. At worst, we become proud and haughty enough to think that we are smart enough to correct God’s Word, and imply that He is so powerless to preserve His Book that He must depend on us to preserve it.
Or maybe, just maybe, God foresaw this potential dilemma, and saw fit to ensure that we do have, and can be assured of, a final Authority. A single, Holy Bible, God’s Word, for us. Preserved – forever. And given to us in a common language.
I am firmly convinced that He has.
In my next post, I will explain why I believe it has been preserved as the King James Bible.
Does there really need to be only one true Bible?
The problem with having multiple Bible versions is that they can’t all say the same thing. They will inevitably contradict each other, as shown in my previous post. What do you do when this happens? If one version says God was the Father of the Lord Jesus Christ, and another implies that Joseph was his father, how can you know for sure? What do you do if one version teaches the Trinity of the Godhead, and another one doesn’t? Or if one version teaches that salvation is a process, and another says it is complete with belief in the Lord Jesus?
Does God really contradict Himself like that, or has He given us His perfect, infallible Word?
The most prevalent answer to this question today is “Yes, God did give us His perfect Word, but only in the original manuscripts”. In other words, God's Word was only perfect when He originally inspired authors such as Moses, Daniel, Paul, and Peter. According to this conclusion, we must go back to the Greek and Hebrew text in order to “truly know” what God said.
From this premise, two main approaches are taken, forming two separate groups in the Bible battle:
The first, more traditional group generally lean towards the KJV or NKJV, but consistently attempt to correct it with the “original Greek/Hebrew”. To disguise this fact, they will say something like “We believe the ___ is the closest to the originals,” or “We prefer the ___ over other versions”. Sometimes they even sound like they only believe the KJV, but when you examine their stance further, they cannot say that the KJV itself is pure and perfect- only the “originals” are.
In both cases, the choice is ultimately left to you to choose which version you “like” best, which version you “feel” is what God said, or which version is “easiest” for you to understand. Both cases are dependent to varying degrees upon a personal knowledge of Greek and Hebrew languages (and thus, “scholarship”). And neither case allows for the possibility that there could be a truly perfect Bible in the common language of today. Which brings me to the key flaw in thinking that “only the originals” can be perfect-
THEY DON’T EXIST!!!!!!
We don’t have them. We can’t read them. We might have “copies”….but how do we know these copies are exactly the same as the originals? What if they are wrong?
In other words, by denying that God could have a perfect Bible today, we are indirectly stating that God FAILED to preserve His own Book.
What kind of God would that be? One so powerful and caring of man that He would inspire “men of old” to write down His words, only for the words to be lost and destroyed through time?? How can we trust a God so weak He could not preserve His very words?
Or has he?
Did He not promise repeatedly to do so?
“The words of the Lord are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times. Thou shalt keep them, O Lord, thou shalt preserve them from this generation forever.”
- Psalm 12:6-7, Psalm 100:5
“For ever, O Lord, thy word is settled in heaven.” – Psalm 119:89
“The word of our God shall stand forever” – Isaiah 40:8
“Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away…”
– Matthew 24:35, Mark 13:31, Luke 21:33
"...The word of God, which liveth and abideth forever...The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away: But the word of the Lord endureth for ever. And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you."
-1 Peter 1:23-25
word “Greek” or “Hebrew” or “Aramaic” in any of those verses – do you?
For the sake of argument, let’s assume for a moment that God did only preserve His Word in the “original languages”. But what use would that serve? How could we place our faith in words written in a language we could not understand? Would God really expect us to fluently know “the original language” in order to know the “true meaning of what He said”, when He claims that even the simplest of children can understand His Word enough to be saved and know Him? And finally, isn’t it possible that God could speak in English as well as Greek and Hebrew?
BINGO!!!
In the Old Testament, the (key) language of the Bible was Hebrew, because God had called the Israelites to be separate unto Him. In order for non-Hebrews to have God’s Word or to obey the Law, they had to come to the Israelites. In the New Testament, with the transition of salvation from the Jewish nation to the Gentiles, God’s Word was given in the ruling language of the day – Greek. Today, English is the universal language, and has been for several centuries. Could God have preserved His Word, the Holy Bible, in this current “common language”?Consider again, the reason why the Bible is of such importance. And the confusion which ensues as soon as you allow validity to multiple versions which contradict each other.
As a Christian, we must have a final, written Authority. Our eternity depends on it. Our faith and hope depend on it. We must be able to trust the fact that we do have God’s true Word, and that we can know what He says. Because His Word is (or should be) our standard for living, in all matters of faith and practice.
By surrendering our assurance in a single Bible, we lose our source of confidence. We are left to “choose for ourselves”, based on feeling. We become dependent on others, pastors, scholars who claim to know the “original languages” to interpret the Bible for us. At best, we are left confused, with our foundation and faith weakened, and our doctrine skewed. At worst, we become proud and haughty enough to think that we are smart enough to correct God’s Word, and imply that He is so powerless to preserve His Book that He must depend on us to preserve it.
Or maybe, just maybe, God foresaw this potential dilemma, and saw fit to ensure that we do have, and can be assured of, a final Authority. A single, Holy Bible, God’s Word, for us. Preserved – forever. And given to us in a common language.
I am firmly convinced that He has.
In my next post, I will explain why I believe it has been preserved as the King James Bible.
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