KJV-Only Reason # 10

It's Friday again, so if this is too long... you've got all weekend :)

Ok, time for my last episode for King James Version Only reasons... I would like to define once again what I mean by KJV-Only:
The King James Bible is the perfect, inerrant, accurate, inspired and glorifed word of God in the English language. I believe that to be true.

• Perfect = free from defect and complete in the source/texts from which it was translated
• Inerrant = there are no "mistakes," "mistranslations," "bad renderings," "careless oversights..."
• Accurate = it is a perfectly accurate translation of the word of God from the original languages
• Inspired = in that the original autographs were inspired by God, and subsequently they were preserved by God, a perfectly accurate tranlsation of the inspired word of God, makes it an Inspired word of God as well, in the English language.
• Glorified = inasmuch as we give it the glory that it is due - by reading, meditating and obeying

I have give 9 reasons on my blog, here, why I am KJV-Only as described above, and here they are again:

• Reason #1: Because a man of God challenged me on the issue when I spued my ignorant challenges against it.
• Reason #2: Because the KJV has all of the verses that are supposed to be in there.
• Reason #3: Because the Translators of the King James Bible treated the Scriptures as the word of God.
• Reason # 4: Because the KJV was translated from the Most and Best manuscripts.
• Reason # 5: Because I can depend on it being around for another 100 years and I won't need to replace it and learn a new version.
• Reason # 6: Because the language is more difficult, which allows it to be more precise and to excercise the mind better.
• Reason # 7: Because the translators of the KJV were more engrossed in the ancient languages than modern translators.
• Reason # 8: It is the standard by which all other versions are compared.
• Reason # 9: Because the King James Bible has been tried by some of the most educated and scholarly minds on the planet, yet it still has not been proven to be guilty of error beyond reasonable doubt.
• Reason # 10: Because the doctrines found in Scripture of the purity, preservation and perpetuity of God's word are best understood with all that is behind the King James Bible.

The Bible's doctrine of purity of God's word:

Proverbs 30:5 - Every word of God is pure: he is a shield unto them that put their trust in him.
Psalm 12:6 - The words of the LORD are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times.

The word "pure" means without any mixture of corruption. Psalm 119 says that God's word is very pure. If you go up to any NASV, NIV, RSV or ESV user, and ask them if their books are without any mixture of corruption, without any mistake at all, none of them will make the claim that it is completley pure. Therefore we can disqualify them as being the pure word of God. It might be 95% the word of God, but it can not be considered the pure word of God. I believe the King James Bible has stood the test of time of accusations of error against it. And I believe that it manifests itself as being the pure word of God.

The Bible's doctrine of preservation of God's word.

Isaiah 40:8 - The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever.
Matthew 24:35 - Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.

I start with preservation, because most of the parties involved in this issue agree with the view of the inspiration of the original autographs. Though many in the world will disagree with this statement, I start with this premise: The words of the original autographs were given by inspiration (inspiration means to breathe into) of God. So, I will not spend time on that issue.

Where disagreement will start is in the preservation. God has promised to cause His word to stand for ever and that they will not pass away. God's inspired word has to be preserved - because God said so. The proponents of the other translation will say that God's inspired word can only be found in the original autographs, and what we have today are corrupt (not-pure) copies. The King James Bible is translated from the Received Text, which is what the body of Christ has used throughout this age of the church.

The Bible's Doctrine of the Perpetuity of God's word.

Isaiah 59:21 - As for me, this is my covenant with them, saith the LORD; My spirit that is upon thee, and my words which I have put in they mouth, shall not depart out of thy mouth, nor out of the mouth of thy seed, nor out of the mouth of thy seed's seed, saith the LORD, from henceforth and for ever.
Psalm 100:5 - For the LORD is good, his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations.

There shouldn't be a need to focus on this subset of Preservation. That is, God's preserving of God's word tells us that it will be availabled to every generation. Some proponents of the other translation (...cough... James White ...cough...) have suggested that God preserved His word in the sands of Egypt for over a millennium until they were rediscovered. They would say, Yeah, God preserved His word, but it was not available to the world... it was preserved in Heaven.

The doctrine of Perpetuity tells us that God's word would be in the mouth of "thy seed," and "thy seed's seed" - all generations. It would not pass away "henceforth and for ever." Every generation since John finished his portion of it has had God's pure, inspired and preserved word. Not every person had it. Not every person could read it. Not every person obeyed it. But God's word is faithfully available.

God's Faithfulness

(Jer 33:20) Thus saith the LORD; If ye can break my covenant of the day, and my covenant of the night, and that there should not be day and night in their season;
(Jer 33:21) Then may also my covenant be broken with David my servant, that he should not have a son to reign upon his throne; and with the Levites the priests, my ministers.

These and other verses tell us that God gave the day and night as signs of His covenant that He had made with people. Particularly here, with David and with the Levites. Not getting into the covenants today, but rather into His faithfulness. He says when you stop having days and nights, when the sun stops rising and the moon and stars are no more, then, and only then, should you start doubting God's faithfulness... The sun came up this morning... last night I saw the moon too... He will keep His word!

We sang last night in our very last church service at the old building, 1039 North Greece Rd, the song from Lamentations 3: Great is Thy Faithfulness. I will miss that old building. It is where I was saved, baptized, commissioned with my parents to go to Guatemala, married, dedicated my children, and a whole bunch of other fun stuff... But I look forward to staying faithful to God in our new building at 990 Manitou Road (oh, and I love that it is only a mile and a half away from our house!!)

God is faithful. He will keep His word and His promises to us. But just as with His omnipresence, His faithfulness is good for us, but it also can have negative consequences. Because He is faithful to His word, we should not expect Him to start allowing things that He hasn't allowed in the past. Sin is not going to, all of a sudden, be acceptable in His eyes.

He has proven Himself faithful to me. Time for me to show myself faithful to Him. Just a thought...

Beautiful Hannah

Annabelle, that means Beautiful Anna (or Hannah). Annabelle was our firstborn. God used her to change our lives. It is because we had a child that Sarah and I really started making sure we went to church. Our thought was that (even though we weren't doing very good spiritually at the time) we wanted to make sure that our child grew up in church and not anywhere else. Because of her, we were around church more. Because we were around church more, we were invited to a Home Bible Study. Because we were in a Home Bible Study, we started getting interested in the Bible and falling in love with it and with God Himself.

Anyway... Hannah... She was Samuel's mother (1 Samuel 1-2). Probably the thing she was most notable for was her willingness to give of her son back to the Lord. She promised God that if He gave her a son that she would give him back to Him. Well, God came through, and so did she. How hard it must have been for her to give her son back to God.

My Annabelle also has a habit of giving up things for other people - I notice it especially when it is for me, but she does it for others too. Many times, I will have to go do something, and even when the kids are over at their favorite place to visit, Nana's house, when Annabelle sees that I am going alone, she will say, "I'll come with you daddy." I've asked her if it was just to be with me, and she truthfully answered, No... (how sad) But then she tells me that she just saw that I was going to be alone which made me sad, and she didn't want me to be sad.

I think we could learn from these two girls. Giving of ourselves becomes easier when we realize the source of all that we have. For of Him, and through Him, and to Him are all things, to Whom be glory forever! (Romans 11:36)

Just a thought...

KJV-Only Reason # 9

Well, in my KJV-Only posts, I have avoided looking at specific verses to add to the number of Reasons. Instead I have tried to give broad sweeps of why I am KJV only. I plan on doing one more reason after this one, and then my plan is to do something to get myself excommunicated...

Until then, I submit Reason # 9 that I am KJV-Only. Here's what I mean by that. The 5th reason I had given for being KJV Only is because of its faithfulness and that it will be around for another 100 years. Today's reason is similar, but a little more added to it:

Reason # 9: Because the King James Bible has been tried by some of the most educated and scholarly minds on the planet, yet it still has not been proven to be guilty of any error beyond reasonable doubt.

It has been around for 400 years as the premiere English translation. That of itself is remarkable. But then when you consider all of the people that have written against it - you would think by now that it would not even be in print any more. I have read books and articles on the other translation, but the arguments have not been conclusive enough for me to reject the KJV-Only position. James White's the King James Only Controversy really helped me out in solidifying my stance. I will be honest about it. There are some things in his book that when I read them, I was too ignorant of the subject of which he was speaking for me to give an answer, but when I weigh those in light of all the other arguments, I am not moved.

It is not conclusive in and of itself, but it is reasonable to give credibility to any position that can give a scholarly answer to all of the scholarly accusations thrown against it.

God's Omnipresence...

I would like to start by just quickly mentioning this website that I "came across" on the Internet. http://www.observetodo.com/ :) Anyway, on to my thought today.

(Psa 139:1) O LORD, thou hast searched me, and known me.
(Psa 139:2) Thou knowest my downsitting and mine uprising, thou understandest my thought afar off.
(Psa 139:3) Thou compassest my path and my lying down, and art acquainted with all my ways.
(Psa 139:4) For there is not a word in my tongue, but, lo, O LORD, thou knowest it
altogether.
(Psa 139:5) Thou hast beset me behind and before, and laid thine hand upon me.
(Psa 139:6) Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high, I cannot attain unto it.
(Psa 139:7) Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence?
(Psa 139:8) If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there.
(Psa 139:9) If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea;
(Psa 139:10) Even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me.
(Psa 139:11) If I say, Surely the darkness shall cover me; even the night shall be light about me.
(Psa 139:12) Yea, the darkness hideth not from thee; but the night shineth as the day: the darkness and the light are both alike to thee.

The "omnipresence" of God... I don't know if there's another passage in the Bible that just lays out the blessedness of knowing that God is ever with us. David sings, "If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there." God is present, even in hell. The man that dies in his sins apparently does not sense or experience that presence, but He is there.

What comforting knowledge it is to have, that God Himself is ever present with me. It doesn't matter what situation I've gotten myself into, God is there. It doesn't matter what enemies are rising up against me, God is there. It doesn't matter who hates me (because of my posts on music!) God is still there.

(Jer 23:23) Am I a God at hand, saith the LORD, and not a God afar off?
(Jer 23:24) Can any hide himself in secret places that I shall not see him? saith the LORD. Do not I fill heaven and earth? saith the LORD.

Um... "Can any hide himself..." Like... Um... I liked it when God was saying that He would be with me wherever I am. But now I realize that His omnipresence means that He will be with me wherever I am!

Whenever I am in a place that I ought not to be, God is there. Whenever I am acting impatiently, God is there. When my pride rears its ugly head, God is there. He fills heaven and earth, and one day my work shall be made manifest, and I like everyone else, shall stand before the judgment seat of Christ.

I like the old analogy of trying to read the upper case phrase: GODISNOWHERE. It's a 'trick' because it could either read, God is now here or God is nowhere... Actually, that's an easy one. It doesn't work to say God is nowhere, so clearly it means God is now here. And that's the truth - Whither shall I flee from thy presence?!

Just a thought...