Sermons
June 27th, 2009 by Pastor Solley062809AM The Holy Scriptures and the King James Bible.
Sub. The King James Bible
Theme: Why we use the King James Bible.
Text: 2 Tim 3:15-17
“The Holy Scriptures and the King James Bible” 2 Tim 3:15-17
IntroductionI am going to bring a message this morning on why we use the King James Bible as well as defend it. That we are a KJB church is no secret, that is stated on the flyer we hand out, it is all that is used here, we only have evangelist and missionaries come in that are faithful to the KJB, and you hear it often enough from the pulpit. But a valid question that one needs to be able to answer is, why? That the preacher says so, or the church always has used the KJB is not a good answer. If we are going to stay faithful to the KJB when so many are turning away from it then one should know the reason why.
I. An important reason why God gave man His Word is stated in 2 Tim 3:15-17: 2 Tim 3:15-17 Timothy is a young pastor and Paul under inspiration of the Holy Spirit is giving him instructions for the leading of the local church.
A. The one thing that is brought out several times in two epistles if for Timothy to stay true to the Word of God: Over and over again in both 1 & 2 Timothy the importance of preaching the Word is brought out and for good reason. There are six areas that are addressed in these three verses that tell the importance of staying true and preaching the Word of God.
B. And Timothy didn’t have to worry about which Bible to use: There was only one and this was before the Bible in English.
1. Timothy knew he had before him the inspired Word of God: 2 Tim 3:16 Inspiration means God breathed.
2. And again, Timothy did not have to choose which Bible to use: There was only one.
II. But today we do have to ask which Bible to use: There are a multiplicity of Bibles or books that call themselves Bibles out there today and new ones or revisions of old ones coming out all the time. So which Bible should we use.
A. Are they all the holy Scriptures? 2 Tim 3:15 If they are then why the differences between them? Did God give more than one Word? Have they all stood the test of time? Are they all faithful to the Word that Timothy had before them. These are questions that need to be answered. I will say those things are true of the KJB but why?
B. The message is going to come in four parts this morning: (1) The faith that is necessary to believe the Bible is the Word of God. (2) The record of history. (3) The evidence that is before us. (4) A decision we must make.
PROP: Let us consider the question of why we use the KJB this morning. TS. So that we may be able to give an answer.
Body
I. Would you8 consider first of all the measure of faith one needs to have: When I open this Bible I hear not the words of the prophets of the Old Testament, not the words and ideas of the apostles of the New Testament, but when I open the pages of this sacred book I hear from the very God of heaven. I hear from the all powerful, all knowing God of creation. I hear from the one who spoke the world into being, from the one who sees all and hears all, I hear from God Himself when I open the Bible. I believe I have in my hands all that God wants man to know and all that we need to know for salvation and Godly living in every area of life. I believe that I have before me today the very words of God Himself. I believe I have this in my KJB.
A. It does take a measure of faith to believe this: You can believe what you want about the Bible but I believe that this is the Word of God. And it does take a measure of faith to believe this. But that should not surprise us or set us back.
1. It takes a measure of faith to believe how this world came into being: Gen 1:1 In the beginning God created the Heaven and the earth. It takes a measure of faith to believe that God created all things but I do believe that.
2. It takes a measure of faith to believe that God would send His Son to die for sinners: Rom 5:8 But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. It takes a measure of faith to believe that but I do believe.
3. It takes a measure of faith to repent, believe and receive: Acts 3:19 Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord; It takes a measure of faith .
4. It takes a measure of faith to believe the Bible is the Word of God: But I do believe the Bible is the Word of God.
B. It takes a measure of faith to believe how God gave His Word: 2 Peter 1:19-21 God did use human instruments but only as those men were moved by the Holy Ghost in inspiration. – 2 Peter 1:21
1. How do I know the record of creation is true? Because it is not the words of Moses but the Word of God.
2. How do I know the record of the virgin birth and incarnation is true: Because they are not the words of Matthew or Luke but the words of God.
3. How do I know the words of the gospel message are true: Because they are not the words of Peter, John or Paul but the very words of God.
4. Holy men of God were moved by the Holy Ghost in inspiration: 2 Sam 23:2 It takes a measure of faith but I believe that.
C. It takes a measure of faith to believe that God preserved His Word: Ps 119:89; Matt 24:35; 1 Peter 1:25 And this only makes sense for if God would give His Word would He not them preserve His Word? I believe God preserved His Word.
D. It takes a measure of faith that God proven dually guarded the copying of His Word: Prov 30:5 There was no printing press, no copy machines and so the Word of God was copied and recopied by hand. How could this take place many times over without mistake?
1. I believe God guided and protected the process so that later generations and more people could have His Word:
2. The same God who exercised the power to give His Word could exercise the power to preserve His pure Word: It takes a measure of faith to believe that but I do.
ILL. I can share with you the care with which the scribes copied the pure Word of God and preserved its purity.
E. It takes a measure of faith to believe these things but believe them we must:
1. Why would you come here if you were not sure you are hearing the Word of God from God?
2. I would not preach to you if I were not sure it is a Word from God:
3. Even those who do not stand for the KJB must believe these things about the KJB: The reason being that the Bible in English, the Bible that came to be the KJB was the only Bible in the English language for over 300 years.
a. If the KJB were not the Word of God how did people get saved during that time?
b. If the KJB were not the Word of God how did the church grow during that time?
c. If the KJB were not the Word of God how did the great revivals take place during that time?
F. Even those who do not stand with the KJB do not dispute that it is the Word of God: It takes a measure of faith.
II. Now a short history lesson on where the KJB comes from along with the versions of the Bible: The Word of God was given in two languages, the Hebrew language of the Old Testament and the Greek language of the New Testament. The period of time in which God gave His Word it what determined the languages used. Both the Old and New Testaments were given through the Jews, Israel in the Old Testament and born again Jews in the New Testament. Hebrew was the Jewish language and as one comes into the New testament Greek was the language of the world and that is why God used Greek in the NT.
A. As time passed there became a need for a Bible in the English language: Hebrew and Greek ceased being common languages centuries ago and there became a need for an English language Bible.
1. These translation of Greek began in Latin as early as 150AD: Some may have heard of the Old Latin Vulgate.
2. During the reformation a man named William Tyndale began to bring the Bible from Greek to English: It is his work that came to be the KJB of 1611 that we have today. But he brought the Bible to the English 100 years earlier. The KJB is an ancient Bible and William Tyndale was martyred for his faith and translation of the Word of God.
B. Tyndale and later the translators of the KJB used two accepted texts to do their work: The Masoretic Hebrew text which has never been questioned and the Textus Receptus, or the authorized received text of the New Testament.
1. Even by as early as 300AD the original manuscripts were lost: They were lost through constant use. (ILL)
2. But we believe by faith that God preserved His pure Word: That is an element of faith.
3. The Masoretic and Textus Receptus were the Hebrew and Greek texts of the early church and reformation:
4. The KJB was translated into English using these two accepted and respected texts: For over 300 years it was the standard.
5. The KJB is the only English Bible taken from these texts: It stood alone for 300 years and continues to stand alone.
C. Two manuscripts, never accepted as truth and never in use surfaced around 1840: These Greek manuscripts had never been accepted or in common use. There were many false manuscripts just as there are many false gospels today.
1. One was found in a waste basket and was being used to start fires in a monastery: It is known as the Sinaiticus.
2. The other was discovered in the Vatican in Rome but it was not being used: It is known as the Vaticanus.
3. Two scholars by the names of Westcott and Hort began to give much weight to these two manuscripts: So much so that they took these two manuscripts and compared them to the Textus Receptus of the KJB and they found multiple differences as they should have if one were the true text of God and the others were never accepted as such.
4. They made the changes they deemed necessary and came up with their own text called the Westcott and Hort Greek Text: Their text differs from the Textus Receptus in over 36,000 places in the Greek language and this translates into 5,000 in English. All Bible are not the same my friend.
5. Every Bible version and revision on the scene today is taken from the Westcott and Hort Greek Text: Only the KJB is taken from the received, authorized Textus Receptus. All others are taken from the Westcott and Hort corrupt text. The ASV, the NASV, the TEB, the LB, the JWB, the NIV all come from the same Greek text, the corrupt Westcott and Hort text.
B. And all these Bible versions make false claims:
1. Read from preface of the RSV: (#1)
2. Read from Good News for Modern Man: (#2)
3. Read from NWT: (#3)
4. Read from the NASV: (#4)
5. Read from the Living Bible: (#5)
6. Read from the NIV: (#6)
C. Bibles not taken from the received text must make false promises and claims:
1. They have a common way to get around a stern warning: Rev 22:18-19 Most include these verses but say they are not in the original manuscripts which is a claim that cannot be verified.
2. But these words are in the received text, the one faithful to the originals:
D. There we have the history of the KJB along with the history of the Bible versions:
III. Now a look at Biblical evidence: Because they all come from a common text all the versions of the Bible are going to have similar problems. You will find that all of them take away from the Deity of the Lord Jesus Christ, all take away from the importance of the shedding of blood for the forgiveness of sin, all present a different gospel and all take away from the wrath of God and of hell. In fact while the KJB records the word “hell” 31 times in the OT the NIV does not record it once.
A. Here are some examples from the RSV:
1. Matt 8:29 – RSV takes out the name Jesus.
2. Matt 18:11 – RSV takes out the verse entirely.
3. John 6:47 – RSV “He who believes has eternal life.
4. Rom 1:16 – RSV take Christ out.
5. 1 Peter 4:1 – RSV takes out the words for us.
B. I could do the same with all of these versions for hours today: The NASV is worse than the RSV.
C. The most popular Bible version today is the NIV: It is the Bible of the one world church and new evangelical today. But what of the NIV?
1. Luke 2:33 – NIV “The child’s father and mother”. Joseph was not and is not the father of Jesus Christ.
2. John 3:7 – NIV ye to you. Why is that important?
a. Ye is plural, everyone must be born again.
b. You is singular, only Nicodemus needed to be born again.
3. John 3:16 – NIV changes only begotten to one and only. The problem with that is John 1:12 Who are the “sons of God”?
4. John 6:69 – NIV takes out Christ and changes to “Holy one of God”. Problem with that is 1 Peter 1:16
5. Col 1:14 – NIV loses the word blood from this verse.
6. 1 Tim 3:16 – NIV takes the word God out.
7. 1 Peter 2:2 – NIV preaches a false gospel here.
8. In the NIV the word mercyseat is gone:
9. In the NIV the word Godhead is gone:
10. In the NIV 16 verses that are in the TR are left out:
D. Here is an alarming problem with the NIV:
1. The fall of Lucifer or Satan is recorded in Isaiah 14: Isa 14:12 Notice Stan is called “son of the morning”.
2. This is how the NIV reads; “Isa 14:12 How you have fallen from heaven, O morning star, son of the dawn You have been cast down to the earth, you who once laid low the nations
a. In the NIV Satan is called the “morning star”.
b. What is the problem with that?
3. In the Bible the “morning star” is a title of the Lord Jesus Christ: Rev 22:16
4. According to the KJB who was it that fell as recorded in Isa 14:12? It was Satan.
5. But according to the NIV who was it that fell in Isa 14:12? According to the NIV it was Jesus.
6. I certainly have a problem with that:
E. The god of the Bible versions is not the God of the KJB:
IV. So what are we left with today and what decision are we forced to make?
A. We are left with many having no or little confidence in what is preached from the pulpit:
1. If I am preaching the pure and true Word of God then you need humble yourselves and accept it:
2. But if not then you can pick and choose what you want:
3. And there are many who have no confidence in the preaching of the Word today:
a. As a result lives are ruined.
b. As a result families are ruined.
c. As a result the church is weakened.
d. As a result the church has turned into a picture of Israel in the time of the judges.
B. As a result many are being deceived today by popular preachers and authors of our day: There are a host of modern day preachers who are deceiving people with false doctrine taken from a false text.
1. I am often asked what I think of this man and of that author: To tell you the truth I don’t read much other than my Bible.
2. When someone is using the wrong Bible I do not read their books: I know if they are off on the Bible they will be off on other things and I know what I believe about the Bible.
3. What do I think of this man on TV? If he is using the wrong Bible I don’t listen to him. If he is off on the Bible he will be off on other things.
C. People ask me about commentaries: What ones do you use getting messages ready?
1. Truthfully I don’t use any: I read my Bible and pray and I try to give to you what God gives to me.
a. That is why my messages are not all that deep. I am not all that smart.
b. But I will try to give to you in a simple way what God has given to me.
2. Where do my messages come from?
a. Personal Bible reading and prayer everyday.
\ b. I also like to read old messages from sound men for seed thoughts.
D. So what should we do? Stay faithful to God’s standard and God’s Bible.
1. The KJB is the Bible taken from the received text of the early church:
2. Read it, study it and heed it:
3. When it is hard to understand read it some more: Get a good dictionary.
4. Understand Satan’s game today:
Conclusion
I. You need a measure of faith to believe the Bible is the Word of God:
II. I can share with you in greater detail the history of the KJB and the versions as well:
III. There is much that the versions take away from Christ, the blood, salvation and the Word:
IV. So we need to decide to stay true to God’s standard: