The Need for a Perfect Translation

The NEED for a PERFECT Translation: Do You Have a Jots and Tittles Bible? I. Purpose A. You're probably thinking, "This is the same ol' - same ol' stuff I've heard since I was a kid", or "Yeah, yeah we already know this stuff!" There are many out there in the world that name the name of Christ and claim "I used to be King James-Only, but... (e.g. I got tired of being a fundamentalist legalist...I went to Bible college...or I listened to a debate)." God forbid there'll be pups in this church that grow up and grow OUT of the right TEACHING about the Book, because they want their ears scratched from ecumenical girl scouts (the "don't sweat the small stuff as long as we all love Jesus" crowd). B. The purpose of this message is to clarify and explain the need for a perfect version of the Bible in the common language. C. There are two schools of thought regarding the topic of bible translations that have been at war one with another for hundreds of years. Only one of those philosophies line up with the doctrine of scripture. i. The first school of thought contends for a precise, word-for-word translation from the original tongues. ii. The second school of thought contends for a paraphrased translation from the original tongues into modern speech. a. There might come a time in the not-too-distant future that believers will claim that they no longer need "the Bible"; rather, faith will be based on some message and collection of stories passed down by tradition. D. Having a perfect Bible "forces" a professing Christian to dig deeper into studying the scriptures using the scriptures rather than the wisdom of scholars and theologians (1 Corinthians 2:13; 1 Corinthians 1:20).

II. The Million Dollar Question A. Do you have in your hand the scriptures which Jesus and the apostles spoke of? (Ezra 7:14) B. What ARE the scriptures? i. It is the word of God and words of God in writing (Isaiah 8:20; Luke 24:27; II Peter 1:21 c/w Psalm 50:16-17; John 10:34; Matthew 24:35). ii. It is the law of God, which is said to be perfect (Psalm 19:7 c/w Proverbs 30:5-6). iii. These scriptures are said to be holy and given by inspiration of God, and by them you have everything you need for godly discipleship (2 Timothy 3:15-17). C. If your confidence is in any translation based on Westcott and Hort's Greek texts (based on the "oldest and best" manuscripts") or Vatican-approved texts, you do not have the holy scriptures. i. Holy means "Properly, whole, entire or perfect, in a moral sense. Hence, pure in heart, temper or dispositions; free from sin and sinful affections. Applied to the Supreme Being, holy signifies perfectly pure, immaculate and complete in moral character; and man is more or less holy as his heart is more or less sanctified, or purified from evil dispositions. We call a man holy when his heart is conformed in some degree to the image of God, and his life is regulated by the divine precepts. Hence, holy is used as nearly synonymous with good, pious, godly." (Webster's 1828 Dictionary) ii. If your Bible version chucks entire verses and paragraphs out of the text, you don't have something that's whole, entire, and perfect. (See Mark 16:9-20; 1 John 5:7; Matthew 17:21)

III. What happens if you Take the Modern Versions Seriously A. If you take the modern versions seriously, you'll be fooled into believing you're eternally saved by your personal faith IN Christ as opposed to the faith OF Christ (Romans 3:22-25) i. "(22) This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, (23) for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, (24) and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. (25) God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of his blood - to be received by faith. He did this to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished." (New International Version) B. If preachers and preacher-boys (ministry students) take the modern versions seriously, they are justified in overseeing ministries and programs that aren't found in the new testament. Also, "correctly handling" the word of truth can mean anything since you're not told clearly HOW you're supposed to do it. This is the rotten fruit that comes from chucking the command to "study" out of the Book (2 Timothy 2:15). i. "Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth." (New International Version) ii. 2 Timothy 2:15 in the right Bible lays out WHAT the God-called preacher ought to do with the Book and HOW he ought to do it. Studying the Bible is the life work of the preacher. If you want new testament churches well fed with in-depth, scripture-full preaching; that man of God must STUDY. C. If Bible students take modern versions seriously, you can explain "spiritual realities" with "Spirit-taught words" however you want (1 Corinthians 2:13) i. "This is what we speak, not in the words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, explaining spiritual realities with Spirit-taught words." (New International Version). ii. The real Bible tells you to interpret the Book BY comparing the words of the scripture with other words of the scripture. D. If you take the modern versions seriously, you'll be taking old school, physical, Catholic self-punishment (Penance) lessons from Saint Paul (1 Corinthians 9:27). Maybe grow in grace by doing a thousand pushups until you drop! i. "No, I strike a blow to my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize." (New International Version). ii. The real Bible simply tells you to keep your mortal body under control, in other words, TEMPERENCE. It's not easy but at least you don't have to mangle yourself with a wire brush. IV. Did God Lie? A. The Lord promised to preserve his PURE WORDS despite the wickedness of the world (Psalm 12:6-7). There is only one condition where it's possible that God didn't really preserve his words and left them scattered in various manu-SCRAPS for scholars to pick and choose: God LIED. Of course, if you believe the Book, that's something he CAN'T do (Titus 1:2). i. The preservation of scripture has been put to the test throughout the ages, and two examples stand out in old testament history (Exodus 34:1; Jeremiah 36:27-28, 32). Jeremiah 36:32 allows for italicized words (added words) because they are "like words" for the English scripture to make sense. God likes playing jokes on gainsayers (people that argue so they can gain the upper hand on you). B. The Lord puts such value in his words that he'd scrap heaven and earth while keeping his words (Matthew 24:35; Mark 13:31; Luke 21:33). C. The words of God have been set up to last and endure FOREVER (Psalm 119:152, 160). D. A copy (likeness) of the originals is a valid form of preservation and doesn't necessitate error (Deuteronomy 17:18-19; Proverbs 25:1). V. Doctrinal Precision A. A perfect Bible is needed for precision in one's doctrine and order (Matthew 5:18; 2 Timothy 1:13). B. A lack of precision in doctrine and order results in every man following his heart and doing whatever he feels is right (Judges 21:25; Proverbs 18:2; 28:26). C. Nehemiah 8:8 sets forth the proper method of Bible study. You are told WHAT to read, HOW to read it, what to GIVE, and the results that come from that practice. i. If you've got a Bible that plays loose with words and grammar, you cannot hope to study for precise doctrine and order in church worship. This is why conservative denominations make historic creeds and confessions their final authority; and why liberal megachurch evangelicals make Mickey Mouse their final authority. D. Why even be precise in doctrine and order? Ask Uzzah (2 Samuel 6:6-11; 1 Chronicles 15:13). i. Interesting note - The number 6 is the Bible's symbolic number for MAN (Genesis 1:26, 31 [sixth day]; chapter 6). When you're doing things MAN'S way instead of God's way, there's trouble. The incident with Uzzah happened in chapter 6 and the paragraph where it happened started in verse 6. VI. True Unity A. So why can't we all just get along? I mean, we all love Jesus, don't we? True unity exists upon the love of the TRUTH (Read 2 John v. 1-11). If you love Jesus, you ought to love absolute truth because he IS the truth (John 14:6). B. The truth is to be found in the BOOK (John 17:17). True Christian fellowship is in the Book, NOT natural health, picnics, big families connecting with other big families, or talking about your favorite podcast (Philippians 1:3-5). As you get older in age, the sensation for thirst tends to decreases, but the actual NEED for hydration increases! Has your thirst for the Lord Jesus gotten weaker as the years go by? Maybe church attendance has merely become church attendance, rather than an opportunity to fellowship with Jesus, the desire of nations! Have your motives for being in church become less of, "Sirs, WE WOULD SEE JESUS?", and maybe more of "I can't WAIT to talk about what happened at work."? Faith dies only after zeal dies (Revelation 2:4). VII. Why the King James Bible is that Perfect Translation A. The King James Bible comes from a pure family of manuscripts that sprang out of Antioch in Syria, where disciples were called Christians first (Acts 11:26). The church at Antioch was a seedbed of faith rather than corruption. Paul was recommended unto the ministry of grace out of the Antioch church (Acts 13:1-3; Acts 14:26). It is by reading the brief record of the ordination service at Antioch that we get our pattern for ordaining preachers. B. It was translated under a God-fearing nation (England under James I) by holy men (Acts 10:35; Acts 13:26; 2 Peter 1:21). i. "...And in what sort did these assemble? In the trust of their own knowledge, or of their sharpness of wit, or deepness of judgment, as it were in an arm of flesh? At no hand. They trusted in him that hath the key of David, opening, and no man shutting; they prayed to the Lord, the Father of our Lord, to the effect that St. Augustine did; O let thy Scriptures be my pure delight; let me not be deceived in them neither let me deceive by them. In this confidence, and with this devotion, did they assemble together..." (The Purpose of the Translators, with their number, furniture, care, &c., The Translators to the Reader) C. The translators made it a goal to bring forth ONE MORE exact translation that ought not to be gainsayed. i. "For when Your Highness had once out of deep judgment apprehended how convenient it was, that out of the Original Sacred Tongues, together with comparing of the labours, both in our own, and other foreign Languages, of many worthy men who went before us, there should be one more exact Translation of the holy Scriptures into the English Tongue..." (The Epistle Dedicatory to James I). ii. "Truly, good Christian Reader, we never thought from the beginning that we should need to make a new translation, nor yet to make of a bad one a good one...but to make a good one better, or out of many good ones one principal good one, not justly to be excepted against; that hath been our endeavor, that our mark. To that purpose there were many chosen, that were greater in other men's eyes than in their own, and that sought the truth rather than their own praise." (The Purpose of the Translators, with their number, furniture, care, &c., The Translators to the Reader). iii. Contrast this with the onslaught of so-called bibles that are designed to compete against that one old-fashioned King James Bible. The King James Bible was once known in the 19th century as "our Common Version", and Satan didn't like that so he eventually polluted the common people with textual criticism. You are led to believe that the English language needs updating every 5-10 years with these new versions. D. The King James Bible was so ingrained in the hearts and souls of the English-speaking world, that even though new versions were being hurled at the people like fodder in the early 20th century; they refused to let the Book go! i. "To make things right we will have to undo much that is cherished error. The problem of revising the Bible shows how difficult it is to do this. For the last hundred years we have been trying to get out an edition of the Bible that is reasonably correct; but nobody wants it. What's wanted is the good old King James version, every jot and tittle of it, because most people are convinced that God dictated the Bible to King James in English." (Asia in the Balance, Manly Palmer Hall) Manly P. Hall was an occultist writer that was zealous about the prospects of a one world government.

VIII. Why Sinners don't want a Perfect Translation A. Sinners that love darkness rather than light prefer translations that muddy up sound doctrine so they're more comfortable in their sin and spiritual laziness (Isaiah 30:10; Jeremiah 23:36) B. Folks like to charge the King James Bible to be an archaic, out-of-date, dark text. Believe it or not, the Holy Spirit has dealt with this charge for centuries (Isaiah 29:11-13; 2 Peter 3:16). C. Some like to say, "God said it, I believe it; that settles it!" The Book stands as truth regardless of our faith (Romans 3:3). Real preaching begins with a King James Bible, preached by a man with the mindset of "God said it, THAT SETTLES IT!"