• King James Only, by David Cloud (article)
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Why the King James Bible?

by Pastor Alan Shelby

Alan Shelby taught this series as part of the Kansas City Baptist Temple's Shepherds School of Ministry Bible Institute curriculum. Three first three messages were “preached” to a church congregation during a Bible conference; the last four were given to a class during the KCBT Bible Institute (Shepherd's School of Ministry).

Many pastors today have left a “faith-based position” with regard to the Scripture. Alan addresses this issue in no uncertain terms and reminds us of what the Bible says about itself–its inspiration and its preservation down through history in the English language.

This course will also serve the student of the Bible by giving him a basic outline of the issues surrounding the history of the English Bible (especially dealing with the “KJV-Only Controversy”). Any one of these seven lessons could be further researched and developed by anyone with the desire to do the homework (Alan was even kind enough to provide a concise bibliography).

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The first message in the series: Why the King James Bible?

Thesis: The Bible is precious today because it is the only way we get direct, special revelation from God.

• Point 1: Samuel was a believer, but he did not know the Lord like he needed to because he did not know where to find the Word of God like he needed it.
• Point 2: If you want to get an “open vision,” you have to submit your ideas, opinions, and attitude to what God is going to tell you.
• Point 3: Building faithfulness in your life starts with your attitude toward the Word of faith in the Bible.

O SOUL, are you weary and troubled?
No light in the darkness you see?
There's a light for a look at the Savior,
And life more abundant and free!

His Word shall not fail you–He promised;
Believe Him, and all will be well:
Then go to a world that is dying,
His perfect salvation to tell!

Turn your eyes upon Jesus,
Look full in His wonderful face,
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim,
In the light of His glory and grace.

~ Helen H. Lemmel, 1922 ~

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The second message in the series: Why the King James Bible?

Reference: 2 Peter 1:21; 2 Timothy 3:16

Thesis: The Reformation led to the discovery of biblical preservation so that God's revelation could go through translation and give a new generation God's inspiration.

Definition: Scripture is the written preservation of verbal communication from God by making it visible in writing; Scripture is what was written and then recognized as authoritative.

There are two…

• There are two seeds: God's Word & man's word
• There are two Greek Texts: Received & Eclectic
• There are two lines of Bibles: Reformed & Revised

In times like these, you need a Savior
In times like these, you need an anchor
Be very sure, be very sure
Your anchor holds and grips the Solid Rock

In times like these you need the Bible
In times like these O be not idle
Be very sure, be very sure
Your anchor holds and grips the Solid Rock

In times like these, I have a Savior
In times like these, I have an anchor
I'm very sure, I'm very sure
My anchor holds and grips the Solid Rock

The Rock is Jesus, yes, He's the One
This Rock is Jesus, the only One
Be very sure, be very sure
Your anchor holds and grips the Solid Rock

~ Ruth Caye Jones (Mother Jones), 1944 ~

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The third message in the series: Why the King James Bible?

Reference: 1 Samuel 14:24-30

Thesis: The trouble with the truth is… it just won’t let you rest.

Point: The deep things of God are only found when you have the true Word of God.

Insight: The great revolutions based on “new discoveries” in the 1800s…

• A revolution in politics called socialism — FAILED
• A revolution in science called evolution — FRAUD
• A revolution in psychology called psychoanalysis — FREUD
• A revolution in religion called textual criticism — FLAWED

Have not I written to thee excellent things in counsels and knowledge, That I might make thee know the certainty of the words of truth; that thou mightest answer the words of truth to them that send unto thee?
~Proverbs 22:20-21~

The words of the LORD are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times. Thou shalt keep them, O LORD, thou shalt preserve them from this generation for ever.
~Psalms 12:6-7~

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The fourth message in the series: Why the King James Bible?

Reference: Amos 8:11-12

Statement of Need: If you do not know the word of God you don't know God, and when you do not know God you do not know how to live for God.

Thesis: Everything we have rises and falls on our relationship to the Bible.

• Point 1: What is the Bible? Definition…
• Point 2: How does the Bible Look? Description…

Quotes about the Bible:

It is shallow enough so that the most timid swimmer may enjoy its waters without fear,and yet deep enough for the most expert swimmer to enjoy it without touching the bottom.
~John Watson~

The Empire of Caesar is gone; the legions of Rome are rotting in the dust; the avalanches that Napoleon hurled at Egypt have melted away; the pride of the Pharaohs is fallen; Tyre is but a rock bleaching fishermen's nets; Sidon has scarcely left a wreck behind; but the Word of God still survives.
~John Cumming~

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The fifth message in the series: Why the King James Bible?

Reference: 1 Corinthians 14:36-38

God's Chain Link from His Revelation to Your Translation:

• Revelation
• Inspiration (Prophesying)
• Inscripturation (Scripture)
• Transmission (Manuscripts)
• Preservation
• Translation

Outline:

• Point 1: Materials of Transmission
• Point 2: Process of Inspiration
• Point 3: Method of Preservation

Conclusion: No modern language version of the Bible uses the Received Text. Our conclusion is aptly summarized by Dean Burgon:

I am utterly disinclined to believe, so grossly improbable does it seem—that at the end of 1800 years 995 copies out of every thousand, suppose, will prove untrustworthy; and that the one, two, three, four, or five which remain, whose contents were til yesterday as good as unknown, will be found to have retained the secret of what the Holy Spirit originally inspired. I am utterly unable to believe, in short, that God's promise has so entirely failed, that at the end of 1800 years, much of the text of the Gospel had in point of fact to be picked by a German critic out of a wastepaper basket in the convent of St. Catherine; and that the entire text had to be remodelled after the pattern set by a couple of copies which had remained in neglect during fifteen centuries, and had probably owed their survival to that neglect; whilst hundreds of others had been thumbed to pieces, and had bequeathed their witness to copies made from them. Happily, Western Christendom has been content to employ one and the same text for upwards of three hundred years [in 1883].

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The sixth message in the series: Why the King James Bible?

Thesis: It is consistent with the word of God to say that a translation of God’s words can truly be the Scriptures of God in a second language.

Outline:

• Point 1: The Nature of Translation
• Point 2: The Process of Getting a Text
• Point 3: The Process of Getting a Translation

Top 10 Reasons for Why You Need to Know What the Bible is: Here are the reasons we would give for why we take the stand we do on the King James Bible being the Word and words of God in the English language.

1. There is a denial of the existence of truth as an absolute standard and final authority.
2. Secular society criticizes the Bible as a mixture of truth and error.
3. When the Bible has been revised in English it has tended to become relativised.
4. A body of other “holy books” now compete with it.
5. The Bible becomes the basis of disunity when it is viewed skeptically.
6. Critics are trying to find a “canon” within the canon.
7. Satan makes sure that old heresies are recycled as new creative attacks.
8. Eternal life hangs in the balance because only the Bible has the words of life, Ps 115:3-4,8; John 6:68.
9. If we spend our life following something untrue, we are of all people most miserable, 1Cor 15:19.
10. The Bible claims to be inspired by the Holy Spirit, truly authoritative, and inerrant—but if we are not certain of the words of truth today, that does not matter.

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The seventh message in the series: Why the King James Bible?

How Apostasy Works: Three ways apostasy was working in Paul's day…

1. False knowledge was exalted above the scriptures, 1 Tim 6:20.
2. The literal meaning of scripture was spiritualized away, 2 Tim 2:16-18.
3. Philosophy is substituted for Scripture, Col 2:8.

Thesis: Any time you take away from the authority of the scriptures, you lose some of the anointedness of the Spirit.

Outline:

• Point 1: Scholars and Scriptures
• Point 2: Scribes and Scrolls
• Point 3: Tying up Loose Ends

Conclusion: Is the King James Bible Scripture?

Timothy had the Scriptures. Timothy’s grandmother knew where to find the Scriptures. Paul says, when you can identify something as Scripture, then you have something that was given by inspiration. So the question is not, Is the King James Bible inspired?

The question is this: is the King James Bible Scripture? Because if it is, then it is God’s words, given by a process of inspiration. And remember, all through the Bible, the Scripture is not tied to the original writings.

• Scripture does not equal originals.
• Scripture is that which was written and recognized as authoritative.
• Jesus did not have the originals when he said to search the Scriptures.
• The disciples did not have the originals when they believed the Scriptures.
• Timothy’s mother did not have the originals when she taught Timothy the Scriptures.
• When Paul translated the Hebrew into Greek and then quoted it, that was still Scripture.

So Scripture stands independent of the originals, irrespective of time, place, language, interveing years, numbers of copyists, etc. Therefore, whenever we can identify Scripture, in our age and in our language, we have something inspired by God.

The conclusion to the series: Why the King James Bible?

If you do not approach your Bible (in English) the same way David approached his Bible (some of which even by then was centuries old), then you don't have a book worthy of belief and a God worthy of worship.

Psalms 119:31 — I have stuck unto thy testimonies: O Lord, put me not to shame.

Psalms 119:116 — Uphold me according unto thy word, that I may live: and let me not be ashamed of my hope.

Psalms 119:159 — Consider how I love thy precepts: quicken me, O Lord, according to thy lovingkindness.

Psalms 119:161 — Princes have persecuted me without a cause: but my heart standeth in awe of thy word.

Proverbs 22:20-21 — Have not I written to thee excellent things in counsels and knowledge.

Proverbs 22:21 — That I might make thee know the certainty of the words of truth; that thou mightest answer the words of truth to them that send unto thee?

You have a decision to make. Did He or didn't He? A lot of that answer will be settled by answering one thing in your own mind: could He or couldn't He? If you know Him, then you know that He could. If you know that He could, then it's no problem believing that He did. And if He really did, then you know what you have in the Authorized Version, the King James Bible.