King James

Good Morning,

I asked a Bible teacher, "Do you believe the King James is the Word of God?"  He answered, “Yes,” and then as I asked followup questions. I received many varied answers regarding the Bible. He finally agreed that without Hebrew and Greek one cannot really know what the King James Bible says. He admitted that there is no English Bible that is accurate, word for word.

This idea is not new; it is actually common in the academic world.  In the middle of writing these words, I walked over to witness to a lady sitting in her car. She said, “With all of the different Bibles written by men, I simply have to trust what I feel God thinks.”  That is one of the reasons the devil has encouraged so many different versions – but that is not the big issue.  The varied editions and versions of the Bible take out vital doctrines: the deity of Christ, the reality of hell, the blood atonement, the second coming, and much more.  

Either we have a Bible or we do not!  The academic pastor or teacher would love to have people rally around him to hear what he thinks God said.  Saying things like, “What this word really means” or “This word should have been translated as...” should (in all honesty) alarm us and prompt each one of us to “study to show ourselves approved.” Paul reminded Timothy that “all Scripture is given by inspiration of God.” 

I will not attempt to explain manuscript evidence or establish versions and their authenticity in this article, but I will simply state that either we have a Bible or we do not.  Either God‘s Word has been preserved for us, or we have no idea where God‘s Word is.  In Matthew 4:4, Jesus did say, “Man shall not live by bread alone but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.”  I believe that God knows what He is saying and that He did preserve His Word so that we might live by every word as Jesus said. 

Here are a few verses to support this thought: 

Proverbs 30:5-6 “Every word of God is pure: he is a shield unto them that put their trust in him. 6 Add thou not unto his words, lest he reprove thee, and thou be found a liar.”

Deuteronomy 4:2 “Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall ye diminish ought from it, that ye may keep the commandments of the LORD your God which I command you.” 

If we are not to add to HIS WORDS, and we are to believe that EVERY WORD OF GOD IS PURE, then logically, we need to have God’s Word.  

When Paul was writing to Timothy, Paul reminded him that he had known the Scriptures since childhood and that the Scriptures were given by inspiration of God.

2 Timothy 3:15 “And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.” 

vs. 16 “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:”

I have been told that Timothy and the average person in that era spoke Aramaic, and that the Old Testament Scriptures were, for the most part, written in Hebrew.  If Timothy spoke Aramaic, then he probably had a translation of the Hebrew Scriptures into that language.  Whatever language he spoke, Timothy had Scriptures in that language so he could KNOW it from childhood.  The Scriptures that Timothy had were given by inspiration.  Therefore, there were and must be today, SCRIPTURES that were given by INSPIRATION or we would not be able to obey these verses. 

Matthew 21:42 “Jesus saith unto them, Did ye never read in the scriptures…"

Matthew 22:29 “Ye do err, not knowing the scriptures, nor the power of God.” 

John 5:39 “Search the scriptures…"

Since no one claims that any version of the Bible is inspired except for our KJV, and since the KJV has been responsible for every revival and great movement of God in modern history, I will simply believe my Bible to be inspired and preserved – It is the only Book I need to know the will of God for my life. 

Do not allow anyone to rob you of your Bible by silly intellectual debate about which language or which version is best.  With dozens of books on the subject and countless hours of research and study, I can assure you that our Bible is perfect and from God.  In simpler terms, when Jesus said we should live by EVERY WORD OF GOD (Matthew 4:4), He did not lie and He did not give you a command that you cannot obey.  It is only logical to assume that if He commanded us to live by every word then He would give us what we need to accomplish the assignment.  


Pastor