KJB:Why God Has Preserved His Holy Word by John S. Green & Steve Shatka Second Revision, 10 October 1987 By John S. Green and Steve Shatka with assistance from: Jerald Hohndorf, Sherman Smith & Don Smith John S. Green P. O. Box 46793 Omaha, Nebraska 68046 There has been some confusion in the past several decades as to the validity of the Holy Bible. Some say 'there is no God', thereby eliminating any doctrine that says all are condemned. "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God" ** Romans 3:23. Others say 'there is a supreme being and someday we might meet him, but the so-called supreme being has no affect on our lives today.' This statement attempts to eliminate any possibility of God's preexistance and His ability to create anything, much less a universe or a solar system. "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." ** John 1:1 "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth." ** Genesis 1:1 These two groups of people make God out to be lesser than or equal to man. At the same time, these people are out and out rebelling against God's authority and His precious, Holy word. Someday, if they don't get saved, all of these people will go to Hell. Then there is a group of people that hold to the attitude of 'Sure, there is a God. I believe in Him. But I'm not going to serve Him. I'm just going to sit back and let Him serve me.' ????? Others take this one step further as they attempt to adhere to that same sort of value system. These people may be characterized by their attitude toward God's Word in this statement: 'Sure, I'm saved. I believe in God. I believe in Heaven and Hell. But I sure don't believe there could be any thing on this Earth perfect. Why not even God could keep His Bible perfect even if He wanted to. I mean with so many versions of the Bible out, how's a person to expect a perfect Bible when each different version contradicts the other version. Why even the Bible contradicts itself. And besides, I just want to believe parts of the Bible, anyway. There is no way to keep mistakes from getting into it. And...' on and on. These people really have not seriously considered God's ability and what He can do. What Was God's Original Intentions? In this article on the inerrancy of God's Word, we will examine some Bible verses that illustrate God's INTENTIONS. What did God INTEND to do with His Word? Did He intend for it to be so controversial? Did God want the Bible to cause confusion or did God want the Bible to eliminate confusion. From what source does confusion come from? Does confusion come from Satan, or does God cause confusion? "For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints." 1 Cor 14:33 "For we have not followed cunningly devised fables, when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eye witnesses of his majesty. For he received from God the Father honour and glory, when there came such a voice to him from the excellent glory, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. And this voice which came from heaven we heard, when we were with him in the holy mount. We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto YE DO WELL THAT YE TAKE HEED, as unto a light that shineth unto a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts: <-- This verse knocks Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the <-- out those who say scripture is of private interpretation. <-- the Bible is open <-- to interpretation For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost." 2 Peter 1:16-21 Notice in the last part of the above passage that there are two key ingredients for prophecy to be given to man. (1) The men the prophecy was given to were HOLY men. They were men who served God based on Bible convictions. (2) The motivating factor in receiving prophecy was the Holy Ghost, or the third part of the Holy Trinity. If men were to allow selfish desires to motivate their desire to rewrite the Bible, then the work they produce would not be God's work: it would be man's work. Anytime man does something that is out of God's will, that work will be corrupted by sin because only God can prevent sin from perverting works of righteousness, however well intended that work is. This is the reason that when men who were well meaning attempted to 'translate' the Bible after God had given man the King James Version of 1611, those works were perverted by sin and the fruit yielded by those works is tainted: WHY? Not because the men were not well meaning or righteous, but because the Holy Ghost was not the motivating factor behind the 'translators'. God's Words Are Pure Words "The words of the Lord are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times." ** Psalms 12:6 "The fool hath said in his heart, there is no God." ** Psalms 14:1 These two verses seem to go together. The people who deny God's perfection are in a sense saying, there is no God. The same God that promised salvation also promised His Word. What reason would God have for denying his Bible? God has no reason to do such a thing: to the contrary, God wants people to depend on His Holy Word. Let's define the key term in the first verse, above. Obviously, God uses words to communicate His thought to men. There is a certain adjective that is used to describe God's words. That adjective is the word "pure". Pure means 'to be free from what weakens or pollutes.' Taking that definition, one could without question say that if pure means to be free from what weakens or pollutes, then impure would mean the opposite is true: impure words would contain faults that weaken the total unit, or would pollute the meaning of those words as a unit or book. So you see, God's intention is to present man with His Word. Not just any kind of Word; but a PURE Word. A Word without impurity. A Word man can use to find out what God's expects of him in order for that person to be excused from the everlasting punishment that awaits every unsaved individual. Just think... if there were impurity in God's Word, how do we know that the impurity did not affect the plan of salvation: i.e. how do we know that the plan of salvation not is missing an important part? The answer is God has kept His Word PURE, without impurity, beyond any shadow of doubt. Thats how we can count on the fact that God's Gospel is not an erroneous Gospel. God's Word Is For Improvement Of Man Not For Man To Improve Upon God's Word "All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works." ** 2 Timothy 3:16-17. These verses say that the Bible is inspired by God and can be used to teach God's doctrine, to correct a sinner, and to instruct those who seek God's will. "Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path." ** Psalms 119:105 For what reason would you want to teach doctrine, to correct a sinner, or to instruct righteousness? That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works. Stated another way, so that each Christian may be able to discern good from evil, to do right instead of wrong, to know that he is a sinner in need of a Saviour, to know where God stands on certain issues of the day, (simply: to know God). There is a God. There is a God of righteousness. He has not abandoned me. He has died for me on Calvary's tree. He has given me the choice of going to Heaven or going to Hell. If I reject his payment for my sin, I will go straight to Hell. If I accept his payment for my sin, I will go straight to Heaven. It's a very simple choice to make. I wonder why so many people in America won't lower themselves or lower their pride to accept a Christ who was mocked, was beaten, was whipped with a "cat of nine tails", was tortured beyond belief... for who? Why Did Jesus Christ Have To Die In The First Place? For you. For me. For sinners. Why would the God of this universe allow himself to go through that for no reason? It is for no reason if people reject Him. "I do not frustrate the grace of God; for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain." ** Gal 2:21 If it were possible for people to get to Heaven ANY OTHER WAY than by accepting Jesus Christ's payment on Calvary, then Jesus Christ died on Calvary for no reason. "Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God." ** John 3:3 Christ would not have to have died any death at all, much less a very grievous, painfull death if it were not the only way to admit sinners into a perfect place such as Heaven. It is for no reason if people deny His Word, or the power thereof. Think about it. Our first point has now been explained, God's intentions concerning the preservation of His Holy Word are now clear. We looked at when the Word of God originated: in John 1:1, the Bible said the Word existed even before the foundations of this world we live on. We also examined a promise God left us in Psalms 12:6, that proclaims the purity of the Word of God. The ultimate purpose of God's Word was to allow sinners to better know their creator, as 2 Timothy 3:16-17 stated. The intent of God was to give man a pure, inerrant, Holy Word by which man could gain an intimate relationship with the Creator of this universe. Is God Powerful Enough To Preserve His Word? Now that the intent of God is no longer in question, the next step is to examine the CAPABILITY of God. IS THE GOD OF THIS UNIVERSE CAPABLE OF KEEPING HIS OWN WORD PURE, WITHOUT ERROR, PERFECT ??? "For God sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God." John 3:17-18 "Jesus saith unto him, Rise take up thy bed, and walk. And immediately the man was made whole, and took up his bed, and walked: and on the same day was the sabbath." John 5:8-9 The verses above testify that Jesus Christ, who is God, has the power to save a man from going to an eternal torments of fire called Hell. Clearly, this is the greatest of all miracles, of all the power of God that has been witnessed to man unto this day: that God has the power, or the capability to save a man from his sins and allow that same man who is a sinner, by choice of his own will, to enter the gates of Heaven. You will not see a greater miracle than the salvation of a wicked old sinner. I challenge any person to show me in the Bible a greater miracle than this. So this example in John 3:17-18 shows God's capability to save a person from his sins and from going to Hell. The next verse shows God's capability to physically affect a man's imperfect body. The man in this verse was afflicted with an infirmity thirty eight years! Not any doctor: witch, rich, or otherwise, could heal this poor man and it could be logical to assume some (if not, many) had tried to heal this sinner from his physical infirmity. But thank God there was one would could, and that one was Jesus Christ. After thirty eight years of suffering, Jesus merely spoke these words: "Take up thy bed and walk" and the man was healed. What Does Christ Use To Conquer Satan's Attacks? Refer to Matthew, chapter 4. After being hungry in the wilderness for forty days and forty nights, Satan comes to Jesus and tempts him. Now, what tool did Jesus use to fend off these attacks against his character? Three times Jesus was tempted. Three times Jesus used this same tool. Three times, Jesus Christ, the very God of this Universe, used His WRITTEN WORD to defeat Satan. Not any tongues, not any wierd dance or jumping up and down: Jesus Christ used the Written Word of God that had been handed down through centuries of manuscripts. Was it the original text as received from Moses? No. It was a text that had been copied BY MAN down through several thousand years. Could there have been error in that word? No. The proof is in the performance. God's Word was just as pure back then as it is today. So, why is there such a controversy today and where did all these translations come from? Satan is using a trick he used back in the Garden of Eden. The ONLY way to defeat Christians is to confuse them with a perverted version of God's Word. The perversion has just enough truth in it to allow baby Christians to be distracted from the real Word of God. What happened in the Garden? Gods perfect Word was "And the Lord God commanded the man, saying. Of every tree of the Garden thou mayest freely eat: But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, THOU SHALT NOT EAT OF IT: for in the day that thou eatest thereof, thou shalt surely die." Satan induced Eve to pervert it by adding a few small words. His perversion read: "Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of every tree of the garden: But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, ye shall not eat of it, NEITHER SHALL YE TOUCH IT, lest ye die." Do you see the difference between the words God spoke and the words the woman spoke. That's why man cannot be responsible for translating God's Holy Word. God is the one who is responsible. God is the one who confused the languages at Babel. "And the whole earth was of one language, and of one speech." Genesis 11:1. "And the Lord said, Behold the people is one, and they have all one language; and this they begin to do: and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do. Go to, let --> US <-- go down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand one another's speech." Genesis 11:6-7. The Trinity came down and made it so there were needed translators to translate God's Word from language to language. God is the one who physically performed the confusing of the speech. It is therefore God's responsibility to insure that His Holy Word is translated correctly: not man's, for if man were the creature entrusted to translate this Holy Bible, we would have perished in our sins long ago, never having even one hope of eternal life in Heaven with God. It's God who performs the translation, not man. Man is only the instrument in God's hand. What Testimony Does The Holy Word Of God Offer Of Itself? We now see God has the capability to conquer not only spiritual realms, but physical realms as well. Now let's find out what Jesus Christ himself has to say about the written realm of His Holy Bible; however, some definitions are in order before we procede. (The following definitions were taken from "American Dictionary of the English Language published by Noah Webster in 1828, (C) 1967 by Rosalie J. Slater. This dictionary was put together by Noah Webster himself for the purpose of providing an authoritative guide to the English language without all the perversions of some of the meanings such as there are today.) A realm is a royal jurisdiction or extent of government; a kingdom, or a king's dominions. The word Holy as applied to the Holy Bible means WHOLE, ENTIRE, PERFECT, FREE FROM SIN, SACRED. (This kinda wipes out the group of people that say the Bible is not perfect. If they really believed that, they would not entitle their perversion 'Holy Bible'.) "There is another that beareth witness of me; and I know that the witness which he witnesseth of me is true. Ye sent unto John, and he bare witness unto the truth. BUT I RECEIVE NOT TESTIMONY FROM MAN: but these things I say that ye might be saved. He was a burning and a shining light: and ye were willing for a season to rejoice in his light. But I have greater witness than that of John: for the works which the Father hath given me to finish, the same works that I do, bear witness of me, that the Father hath sent me. And the Father himself, which hath sent me, hath borne witness of me. Ye have neither heard his voice at any time, nor seen his shape. And ye have not his word abiding in you: for whom he hath sent, him ye believe not. Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me." John 5:32-39 Man's Challenge, God's Litmus Paper Jesus actually dared the Jews to search the Scriptures to find out what they said: He even said they did not listen to the voice of God. Why did He say that? Was it not the Jews who held the Scriptures so dear to their own hearts? I think the Jews were very slightly foreshadowing the type of people that would come in the last days (of which we are in now). Here is what I mean: "This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves (perverts), covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, UNHOLY, Without natural affection (homosexuals and lesbians), trucebreakers (the Russians), false accusers, incontinent (which means 'not restraining the passions, lusts, and appetite, particularly the sexual appetite'), fierce, despisers of those that are good, Traitors (John Hinkley Jr., The James Walker clan), heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; (And get this next one: it's the knock-out, one-two punch) HAVING A FORM OF GODLINESS, BUT DENYING THE POWER THEREOF: (and here is what God's commandment is to people who realize they are in the company of such people) FROM SUCH TURN AWAY." 2 Tim 3:1-5 Parenthetical comments by John Green Does God Ever Break Any Of His Promises? Men, unsaved or saved, I put forth to you that not only is God's intention to keep the Bible pure, not only is He capable of keeping the Bible pure, but if man were entrusted with the task of keeping God's Word, we would all be going straight to a devil's hell today because we simply would not have God's Word in any form that would resemble the Word God spake. God is intent, God is capable, and God has kept His Word HOLY, PERFECT, and WITHOUT ERROR. If the Bible were not kept in this state, men could not trust it to tell them of Christ death; and therefore, Christ died for nothing. Christ didn't die for nothing, Christ died for you. Christ died for me. Christ died for sinners, such as we are, such as every person is. Keep in mind 2 Timothy 3:5 "Having a form of Godliness but denying the power thereof: from such turn away." Let's examine the truth that's in this verse by finding out God's promises to us. God has placed many promises in His Word that provide for the many short comings of man. For instance, God promised He would supply our basic needs of life. "But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus." Phil 4:19 There are, as some scholars count, 7487 promises in the Holy Bible. If God ever were to brake ONE of his promises, He would be a LIAR and unable to pass righteous judgement on guilty sinners. Nor would he any longer be HOLY to bestow Grace on an undeserving world for every sinner that comes to Christ. (God's Grace is defined as 'The free, UNMERITED love and favor of God.') The apostle Paul starts out the book of Titus by saying "Paul, a servant of God, and an apostle of Jesus Christ, according to the faith of God's elect, and the acknowledging of the truth which is after godliness; In hope of eternal life, which GOD, THAT CANNOT LIE, PROMISED before the world began." Titus 1:1-2 God even describes the purpose of His Holy Word through a promise in Hebrews 6:17-19. "Wherein God, willing more abundantly to shew unto the heirs of promise the immutability of his counsel, confirmed it by an oath: That by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us: Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and stedfast, and which entereth into that within the veil." "God forbid: yea, let God be true, but every man a liar; as it is written, That thou mightest be justified in thy sayings, and mightest overcome when thou art judged." Romans 3:4 Satan tempted Jesus three times in the wilderness. Each time, Christ used His own Word to respond to Satan. The only possible way for man to be justified is through God's perfect, inerrant Word. If there were errors in God's Word or if it had not been translated exactly as God wanted it, there is no way in Heaven or Hell that any man could ever be justified by an imperfect word. That's why Romans 3:4 says that man is justified in God's sayings. Even Jesus Christ himself used the Word of God to forbid Satan from allowing Satan's temptation to overcome him. God's Word has been preserved. God has brought His Word down through the ages and has come to us in the King James Version, commonly called the Authorized Version of 1611. God does not contradict himself, ever. All you have to do is to take one look at the other 'translations' to see they cannot possibly be the inspired Word of God. Compare verses between any perversion and the Authorized Version and you will see why. Especially pay attention to those perversions such as the New American Standard which in some parts deny the fact that God is a Trinity and that Christ is such as most of these perversions do in 1 John 5:7. God's Word says "For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost; and these three are one." If the version you are using does not describe God as being a Triune God in that verse, you are not using God's Bible. This is only one example among many. Find out for yourself: NAS, NIV, NAKJ, and all the others do not only change the thee's and the thou's, they CHANGE ENTIRE VERSES and their relevance to the entire Bible. Search it out and if your honest, you will see that this is true. If the other 'bibles' that goofed that verse up were truly a bible God would call Holy, they would not have been as corrupted as they are. This is why God said "Take heed that no man deceive you. For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many." What better way for Satan to lead so many people astray than to publish a perverted version of God's Holy Word. That way people will have a form of godliness to go by but deny the power of godliness by the fact that they are misinformed on certain truths of God's Bible. "Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away." ** 2 Tim 3:5 In conclusion, we discovered that God's intent for His Holy Bible is to keep it pure. His capability is able to keep His Holy Bible pure; and His PROMISE is to keep His Holy Word pure. "Being born again, NOT OF CORRUPTIBLE SEED, but of INCORRUPTIBLE, BY THE WORD OF GOD, WHICH LIVETH AND ABIDETH FOR EVER." ** 1 Pet 1:23 This verse tells us that the Bible is incapable of being corrupted even if man wanted to corrupt it (some have even tried). There will always be a version of he Bible that is pure, inerrant, incorruptible. God's Word never dies. God's Word never changes. God's Word never fails. God's Word will never pass away. "Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words SHALL NOT PASS AWAY." Matthew 24:35