By David J. Stewart
God Promised to Preserve His Word
When someone asks me if I use the King James Bible, I always say, “what other version is there?” As far as I’m concerned, the King James Bible is the Book for me, there are no other Bibles. I don’t like to call the King James Bible a version, I call it the “King James Bible.” God did NOT write several versions and did NOT promise to preserve several versions. No, God authored ONE book and promised in Psalm 12:6,7 to preserve it forever. “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.” As silver “purified seven times”, that’s how pure God’s Word is. Don’t tell me that God Who had the power to speak the world into existence isn’t powerful enough to preserve his Word.
All Modern Bible Versions are Corrupted
Scriptures are clear that God is NOT a God of confusion. “For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints” (1st Corinthians 14:33). All the different Bibles on the market today are confusing, they all say different things. For example, many new Bibles remove the Word “begotten” from John 3:16. The King James Bible says, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only BEGOTTEN SON, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16). Why would anyone want to remove this truth from God’s Word? Answer: to diminish the fact that Jesus Christ came to the earth as God Almighty in the flesh. All Believers are adopted Sons of God, but only Jesus is the begotten Son of God. To remove the word “begotten” from John 3:16 is a direct attack of the deity of Christ. If this doesn’t make you upset, something is wrong!
We must be on guard as Christians to the counterfeit attempts of the devil. God only authored ONE book, Satan has authored many. “For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light” (2nd Corinthians 11:13,14). Scriptures are clear that our enemy, the devil, wears the mask of a decent and good guy. Satan comes to us as a wolf in sheep’s clothing. The highway to hell is paved with good intentions and Satan is ready and willing to corrupt our thinking any way possible. Destroying our faith in God’s Word is Satan’s number one goal and tactic. The serpent in the Garden of Eden asked Eve, “hath God said?” Eve’s faith was shaken in the Word’s which God had spoken. The next step was for Eve to disobey God. If Satan can only keep us from accepting the Bible as God’s Word, then he has won the battle over our soul. If Satan transforms himself into an angel of light, then why should it be difficult to realize that Satan has gone into the publishing business as well. It doesn’t surprise me one bit that many of the new perversions of the bible contain thousands and thousands of errors. Satan is a happy camper nowadays. So it is vitally important that the Believer on Christ be aware of Satan’s game and tactics. Often, the best way for a sports team to prepare for future games is by studying their opponents past games on video. They are studying the enemy. We must do the same. The Bible gives us much information on the methods and means which Satan uses to corrupt people and destroy lives. The only way we can recognize Satan, his disciples or his works is by comparing them to the truths of God’s Word. Apart from this test, they may be very wonderful people to know and be around but still lost and on their way to hell. Don’t let them take you with them! We must allow the Word of God to stand true in our evaluation of people, not how nice and friendly someone may be. That’s the problems with many folks, they’re too trusting simply because someone is nice to them. Beware!
God has promised to preserve His Word as we learned in Psalm 12:6,7. This means that God’s Word DOES exist somewhere in the world today. I believe the 1611 Authorized King James Bible to be that book. Many people have used the excuse that the archaic English of the King James Bible is hard to understand. That is ridiculous! Should we rewrite Shakespeare because his masterpieces of literature are hard to understand? Of course not. So why can’t we study the King James Bible in the beauty of the King’s English? The honest truth is that the King James Bible is not difficult to understand. It is written at a fifth grade reading level.
Unbelievers Cannot Understand Biblical Truth
If your not a believer, you won’t be able to understand the Bible properly until you accept Christ as your Savior. This is the real problem. Most cults are started by people who attempt to study the Bible without the presence of the Author. The Holy Spirit is the Author. The Bible is NOT supposed to make sense to unbelievers! “But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are FOOLISHNESS UNTO HIM: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned” (1st Corinthians 2:14). The doctrine of the “trinity” is foolishness to the unbeliever and to the false prophet. The idea of God coming in the flesh is foolishness to the unsaved person. The concept of being “born-again” doesn’t make sense to the unconverted soul. I once had a man say to me, “that born-again stuff just doesn’t make any sense to me, I’m sorry.” His sinful heart of pride and unbelief has blinded his eyes from acknowledging the truth. He chooses to believe a lie rather than seek after the truth. The Bible is clear that the natural man (the unsaved man) CANNOT comprehend the Word of God and it is utter foolishness unto him. You can’t rewrite the Bible to help it make sense to the unbeliever! The unbeliever won’t understand the truths of God until the Holy Spirit indwells him at salvation. You can rewrite the Bible all you want and it won’t do any good. No, the honest truth is that all these new perversions of the Bible are copy-written. It’s all centers around sales and making more money. “For the love of money is the root of ALL evil...” (1st Timothy 6:10). One Bible after another keeps hitting the market. It’s just about to the place where you can join the “Bible of the month club.”
We are Born Again By the Incorruptible Word of God
Perhaps you are wondering what a chapter about the King James Bible is doing in a book called “Salvation.” Let me explain. The Bible teaches that we are born-again by putting our faith in Jesus Christ. Why? Because He is the One Who paid for our sins. We learn Who Christ is and what He did to atone for our sins in the Word of God. So basically, we are saved by putting our faith in the Word of God. “Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the WORD OF GOD, which liveth and abideth for ever” (1st Peter 1:23). We read in Hebrews 4:2, “For unto us was the GOSPEL PREACHED, as well as unto them: but the WORD PREACHED did not profit them, not being mixed with FAITH in them that heard it. Many of the Israelites in the Wilderness died and went to hell because they heard the Gospel preached (the Word of God) but didn’t believe the things they heard. You see my friend, you CANNOT be saved apart from God’s Word. If you don’t accept the Bible as God’s Word, then where will you find Jesus? It is the Word of God that brings the light of the Gospel of Jesus Christ to our darkened heart.
Jesus Christ is called the Word of God in Revelation 19:13, “...and his NAME is called The Word of God.” Do you know why? Because every single thing we know about Jesus Christ comes directly from His Written Word. The Word of God presents a picture of Jesus Christ and Who He is. We read in John 6:40, “And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which SEETH THE SON, and BELIEVETH ON HIM, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day.” It doesn’t get much simpler than this. What must a man do to be saved? You must do God’s will? What is God’s will according to John 6:40? To simply believe on Jesus Christ as He is portrayed in the Word of God. This is why it is vital that you have the Word of God. Notice the Words of 1st Peter 1:23 again, “Being born again, NOT of corruptible seed, but of INCORRUPTIBLE, by the WORD OF GOD, which liveth and abideth for ever.” Again, God is clear that He wrote ONE, INCORRUPTIBLE Word. There are many corrupted bibles on the market and in our churches. You can only be born-again of the INCORRUPTIBLE Word of God. In other words, you must have a proper view of Christ if you are to believe on Him as Savior. Otherwise you are not believing on Christ, you are believing on a false Christ. If I believe that Jesus was just a good man or a prophet and no more, that is NOT acceptable to God.
Corrupt Bibles are leading People Astray from the Truth
All modern Bible versions present a watered-down image of Christ. By straying away from the message of Christ's redeeming blood, many people have foolishly fallen into the heresy of Lordship salvation. Thus, fewer and fewer people are getting saved nowadays because of all the perverted bibles. The King James Bible is by far the most accurate and reliable Bible we have in the English language today. The concern with many other modern bibles is that a person may not recognize the deity of Christ or other vital doctrines. For example: we read in Philippians 2:5,6 of the King James Bible, “Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be EQUAL WITH GOD” (Philippians 2:5,6). The Bible couldn’t be more clear that Jesus came to this earth as God in the flesh. Jesus forgave sin that only God can forgive. Jesus accepted Worship that only God can accept. Jesus was equal with God in every way. Now read the same Scripture from one of the most popular bible perversions on the market today, the New International Version...“Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped.” Can you see the horrible difference and why I make a fuss over the King James Bible?
If a person is to be saved, then they must accept Jesus Christ as the Bible portrays Him. Surely, the simplest of faith is all that God requires to be saved; but that faith must be in Lord Jesus Christ, not “another Jesus” which false religion has to offer. Too many folks say that they’re trusting Jesus but don’t really know Who Jesus is. Anybody can say they're a Christian and that they’re trusting Christ but salvation is of the heart (which only God can see). The word “sanctimonious” refers to someone who does everything right on the outside but things aren’t right on the inside. They look very sincere and cross every “t” just right. They dot every “i” just right. They look like the genuine McCoy. However, they are hypocrites! They are pretentious and fake. Jesus made reference to such people in Matthew 23:27, “Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed APPEAR BEAUTIFUL OUTWARD, but are WITHIN FULL OF DEAD MAN’S BONES, and of all uncleanness.” People aren’t always what they seem! We must not be sanctimonious.
The 1611 King James Bible has Stood the Test of Time
I only use the 1611 Authorized King James Bible and would accept no others. The King James Bible is the soul-winners Bible and has stood the test of time. Jesus said in Matthew 4:4, “...man shall NOT live by bread alone but by EVERY WORD which proceedeth out of the mouth of God.” If I am to live by EVERY WORD of God, then I need an “Every Word Bible.” Not all Bibles say the same thing. They can’t all be God’s Word. There are multitudes of counterfeit Bibles on the market. We are to live by EVERY WORD of God. This means that God’s Word has an exact number of Words in it. Surely a translation will NOT have the same number of words as the original Greek or Hebrew it came from; however, there is an exact meaning which must carefully be conveyed by the translators. When men translate or paraphrase the Bible, they are warned by God against ADDING or SUBTRACTING from God’s Word. “Ye shall NOT ADD unto the word which I command you, NEITHER SHALL YE DIMINISH ought from it” (Deuteronomy 4:2). When I find a bible that is missing certain verses and passages of Scripture, I know it’s a counterfeit. When I find a bible that diminishes Jesus Christ and Who He is, I know it’s a counterfeit. When I find a bible that diminishes the existence of hell-fire, I know it’s a counterfeit. When I find a bible that removes the word “begotten” from John 3:16, I know it’s a counterfeit. When I find a bible that removes the word “virgin” from Isaiah 7:14, then I know it’s a counterfeit. In mentioning these counterfeit bibles, I am using a lowercase “b” on purpose. I have no respect for counterfeit bibles. There is NO compromise! Christians are much too complacent concerning the Bible and false teaching. We should stand and contend for the truth. “Who will rise up for me against the evildoers? or who will stand up for me against the workers of iniquity?” (Psalm 94:16).
Tampering With the Word of God Brings Destruction
Tampering with God’s Word is a great iniquity. It is a deadly and wicked sin to change the Bible. “For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall ADD unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book: And if any man shall TAKE AWAY from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book” (Revelation 22:18,19). God does NOT take it lightly when someone alters His Word. Listen to the warning by the Apostle Peter in 2nd Peter 3:16, “As also in all his (Paul’s) epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest (twist), as they do also the other scriptures, UNTO THEIR OWN DESTRUCTION.” Peter admitted that some of Paul’s writings were difficult to understand. They were NOT difficult to read but to comprehend. Some people were attempting to REWRITE Paul’s words into a more understandable paraphrase. Peter said they were doing it unto THEIR OWN DESTRUCTION. In other words, these people were changing the Bible into lies and foolishness. They didn’t know what they were doing! This is the same situation with the King James Bible today. These so called “experts” have rewritten and changed the Word of God to make it more easily understandable. The result is a lot of heresies and misinterpretations of the truth. The King James Bible is NOT hard to read but will be impossible to comprehend if you are not a Believer. For the Believer, we must “study.” “STUDY to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, RIGHTLY DIVIDING THE WORD OF TRUTH” (2nd Timothy 2:15). We must not be lazy in our Bible studies.
The King James Bible is not “a book”, it is “The Book.” It is Not a version, it is the Bible. It is the Hope of our salvation and a Lamp unto our feet. It presents our only hope in Christ crucified. It awakens man to his sinful condition and directs us to our wonderful Saviour. It is as a friend while we walk through the valley of the shadow of death. The Word of God has been preserved, word for word, in the King James Bible. May we love, cherish and obey the Word of God more than life, for to do so is to love the Lord Jesus Christ Himself.
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