Why Fight Over Which Version of the Bible?
By David J. Stewart
Jeremiah 23:36b,”...for ye have perverted the words of the living God, of the LORD of hosts our God.”
I read some online comments today by a Baptist pastor in Arkansas, who said that he doesn't see any need to fight over which version of the Bible we should use. He said that faith in Jesus Christ is the only issue that matters and preachers ought not be fighting over different versions of the Bible. He said that he used to stand only for the King James Bible, until he read a foreword by a famous Independent Fundamental Baptist preacher who endorsed a book which used the Revised Standard Version.
We ought not form our opinions based on the contradictions of great men. Even the best of preachers still sin, make mistakes and sometimes preach things that are unbiblical. No man is without flaw. The preacher I just mentioned abandoned his King James only position because of a contradiction he found in another preacher. That is not good. I maintain a King James only position on the Bible (in English) because of the CONTENT of the King James Bible Itself, and not because I was taught to take this position, or for any other reason. All modern versions corrupt the Scriptures.
The most popular Bible version on the market is the New International Version (NIV), and it is terrible, removing the name above every other name, JESUS, in 38-places. Why would the NIV translators do that? Could it be because multiple NIV translators were homosexuals? Certainly, that is likely the reason why the word “sodomite” has been completely removed from the NIV. The NIV translators butchered Philippians 2:6 so badly that it actually teaches Jesus is not God. For a deeper look at the serious problems with the NIV, please read: Why Would Anyone Use the NIV?
Numerous well-known Baptist preachers have publicly stated that a person cannot be saved apart from the King James Bible. 1st Peter 1:23, “Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever.” The “Seed” by which we are born-again is the Word of God. Now if that Seed is corrupted, perverted or changed, then it becomes a false gospel, and a person cannot be saved from it. This is what those preachers mean when they say that a person cannot be saved from a corrupt version of the Bible.
Modern Bibles are Producing a Corrupt Generation of Churchgoers
I want you to notice something important about the NIV, which was first published in 1973. The first generation of preachers and Christians who adopted the NIV had been raised up on the trustworthy King James Bible, so they were doctrinally sound BEFORE they began using the NIV. They weren't fooled. However, it's a different story today. Preachers and churchgoers today have been raised up on the NIV and are doctrinally corrupt. A Christian who read Philippians 2:6 from the NIV in 1973 knew that Jesus was God, because they had learned that truth from the King James Bible. However, Bible students and churchgoers today who read Philippians 2:6 from the NIV sincerely believe that Jesus is not God.
KJV — “Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God.”
NIV — “Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped.”
Do you see how the NIV misleads people? Any thinking person would conclude that Jesus is NOT God after reading Philippians 2:6 from the NIV? The translators of the NIV have horribly perverted the Words of God. I've actually had web visitors write to me, trying to prove that Jesus is not God by quoting Philippians 2:6 from the NIV. The preachers who say that we shouldn't be fighting over which version of the Bible, were taught in seminary that Jesus is God or by a doctrinally sound Christian. Unfortunately, most people who read the NIV don't have such privileges and are led to believe that Jesus is not God. This is one reason why we should fight over which version of the Bible.
Another horrible problem with the NIV is it's perversion of Romans 10:9...
KJV — "That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved."
NIV — "That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved."
Satan has infiltrated many of America's Bible colleges, churches and religious institutions with the damnable heresy of Lordship Salvation, i.e., the teaching that a lost sinner MUST surrender his or her life to Christ to be saved, committing to live a life of obedience and to forsake sinful habits. Moody Bible Institute now teaches this hellish heresy. This false doctrine is taught in the NIV. Romans 10:9 in the NIV says that to be saved, a person must confess, “Jesus is Lord.” That's not Biblical. The King James Bible simply says to confess the Lord Jesus Christ. Confess what? We find the answer in Matthew 16:16, “And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.” A lost sinner need only confess that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and believe on Him from the heart. The teaching that a person must make Christ the Lord of their life to be saved, committing to live a transformed life for God, is a doctrine of devils. Moody Bible Institute requires sinners to make a commitment to Christ to be saved. That is heresy! This is another clear reason why we ought to fight over which version of the Bible to use.
The Fight Over the Bible is Really a Fight Over Doctrines
The NIV changes or removes over 64,000 words from the King James Bible. Thus, there are thousands of doctrinal differences. When we fight over which Bible, we are really fighting over which doctrines? I've just addressed the NIV, but there are HUNDREDS of false bibles on the market and circulating throughout the world's churches today. Many false prophets like to point out that the word “Trinity” is not found in the Bible, and they are correct; however, the word “Godhead” is found in the King James Bible in 3-places. Tragically, the NIV translators have completely removed the word Godhead. Why would they pervert the Scriptures and attack the Godhead? The answer is that Satan is the god of this world and uses the love of money to control carnally-minded people. For men, it's all about making money. For Satan, it's all about blinding the minds of unbelievers to prevent them from being saved (2nd Corinthians 4:4).
The apostate Arkansas pastor that I mentioned at the beginning of this article is horribly wrong. He reasons that faith in Christ is all that matters and so there is no need to fight over which Bible. But the NIV and other modern perversions of the Scriptures require sinners to do more than simply trust Christ, they also require a submission to Christ's Lordship. Modern apostates teach that sinners who are unwilling to stop living in sin cannot be saved. This goes 100% contrary to the plainest teachings of the Word of God. Romans 4:6 wonderfully states, “Even as David also describeth the blessedness of the man, unto whom God imputeth righteousness without works.” Salvation is of the Lord, a gift from God, which does NOT require any self-righteous works on our part. We are saved by HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS!
Pastors and Christians who say that we ought not fight over which version of the Bible to use, are in effect also saying that we ought not contend for the Christian faith. The doctrines of the NIV are very different from the doctrines of the King James Bible. I don't like to call the King James a “version,” I call it the Bible.
Something's Missing!
The word “Calvary” is mentioned once in the King James Bible, and yet it is so much a part of many old hymns (such as AT CALVARY) and the writings of mighty Christian authors. The NIV removes the word entirely. Thus, contemporary religious literature which is based upon the NIV is horribly lacking in Biblical character and richness. Hundreds of important Biblical words have been removed from the NIV:
Regeneration, mercyseat, Calvary, remission, Jehovah, immutable, omnipotent, Comforter, Holy Ghost, Messiah, sodomite, quickened, infallible, fornication, trucebreakers, winebibbers, carnal, slothful, unthankful, effeminate, backbiting, vanity, lasciviousness, whoredom, devils, Lucifer, damnation, brimstone, and the bottomless pit.
Need I go on? The differences between the King James Bible and the New International Version are staggering—the difference between day and night, white and black, salvation and damnation.
In every place where the precious King James Bible says that people came and “worshipped” Jesus, the NIV changes the word “worship” to “knelt.” You can kneel before a king without worshipping him. The King James Bible teaches that those people all came to WORSHIP the precious Lord Jesus Christ. How dare the NIV translators pervert the true meaning of the Scriptures and diminish the deity of Jesus Christ. Do you see how malicious those translators were? What do you expect from homosexuals? They hate the Bible! They hate Jesus Christ!
I could go on-and-on. I have given you just a handful, amongst hundreds of doctrinal conflicts between the different Bible versions, of WHY we ought to fight over which Bible to use. I hope and pray earnestly that you will only use the proven and trustworthy King James Bible, which has been used by mighty men of God and soulwinners for the past four centuries to win lost sinners to the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen and amen!
"Be on guard against any tampering with the Word, whether disguised as a search for truth, or a scholarly attempt at apparently hidden meanings; and beware of the confusion created by the senseless rash of new versions, translations, editions, and improvements upon the tried and tested Bible of our fathers and grandfathers."
"The true Church preaches REGENERATION; not reformation, not education, not legislation, but regeneration."
SOURCE: Dr. M.R. DeHaan, from the excellent book, THE TABERNACLE, p.. 101
