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KJV-Only
A Salvation Issue?
I
can recall when an inquirer asked me a penetrating question
one time about a certain Biblical issue. She
asked quite directly, “Do you think this is a salvation
issue?” It
would probably surprise the reader to know the issue she
had in mind, but the question itself is an important one. Is
the issue we are dealing with a salvation issue? Can
the King James Version issue be a salvation issue?
If
someone where to ask you this question, in regard to the
issue of whether the King James Version of the Bible is
vital for one’s salvation, how would you answer it? If
I were asked the question, I might feel impelled to answer, “It
may be, or it may not be. It
all depends!” Before
you take this answer and run with it, I had better explain
a little further. I
don’t mean, “If one fails to use the King James Version
of the Bible, exclusively, it is a matter of salvation?’’ Not
at all! In
fact, I mean the very opposite!
While
apparently some KJ-Only proponents question the salvation
of those who use other translations, it may be more accurate
to reverse the table. Can
one become so devoted to the KJV as an exclusive translation
and so closed, mean-spirited, and belligerent, that it
does become a matter of their salvation? However
one answers this, I believe that one should give serious
consideration to all of the elements in this matter. If
one zealously contends for the KJV only, does this reveal
a gross ignorance of Biblical translation principles? Does
it reveal an ignorance of history? Does
it reveal a lack of love for the truth, as it came to us
in the original Greek autographs? Does
it reveal a closed mind and heart, one unwilling to examine
the evidence? Does
it show a loyalty to the English language text that is
only 400-years-old, more than a devotion to the Greek text
that reaches closer to the actual writings of the apostles? Does
it indicate more loyalty to a fundamentalist position than
it does the truth of God itself? These
are questions worth pondering!
These
kinds of questions show what I mean when I raise the matter
of the KJV-Only position being a salvation matter. I
am convinced that there is much truth in the KJV of the
Bible. I am
convinced that saving truth is revealed in this translation—and
probably unnumbered multitudes have been saved through
reading and listening to the King James Version. For
several hundreds of years, it was the dominant version
in the English-speaking world, and it did inestimable good. But
how do we view this matter today—when
more accurate translations are available, when more than
5,000 manuscripts are available, and not merely a half
dozen? How
do we view this matter, when books and websites are available
to show the truth on this matter—yet some refuse to consider
whether they have been deceived?
Some
years ago, I learned of a King James Only church in our
area and I visited the site. The
name itself indicated that it was a “KJ” church! I
was amazed that a church would go to that extent to promote
their opinion that the KJV is the only acceptable translation
of the Bible! Doesn’t
it make one wonder what Paul or Peter or John—or Jesus
Christ Himself—would think of this kind of loyalty to an
archaic and inferior translation of the Bible?
Let’s
consider how far some have gone in their unthinking loyalty
to the KJV-Only position. Notice
the following statements from a King James Only church
or fellowship of churches (of a Fundamentalist Baptist
orientation). My
comments (in blue) will follow each portion:
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THE
WORD OF GOD
a) We
believe that the Holy Bible is a supernatural Book; that
it is the very God-breathed Word; that it is the full,
the final, and the complete revelation of God's will to
man; that it has God the Holy Spirit for its author, salvation
for its end, and truth without any admixture of error for
its matter; that it was written by holy men of old as they
were moved by the Holy Spirit; that it is verbally and
plenary inspired and a perfect treasure of holy instruction;
and that it reveals the principles by which God will judge
us, and is, therefore, the true center of Christian union,
and the supreme standard by which all human conduct, creeds,
and opinions shall be tried.
We heartily agree
with this statement that shows a high regard for the truthfulness
of Holy Scripture and its inerrancy. Indeed,
all Scripture is inspired of God and authoritative for
belief and practice (cf. 2 Timothy 3:16-17). That
word will last forever (1 Peter 1:23-25; Matt. 24:35) and
we must revere it with all of our heart!
b) We
believe the King James Version to be the preserved Word
of God for the English speaking people, faithful and
true to the original autographs (Textus
Receptus & Masoretic); that other versions
are inferior and flawed, with most being outright
intentional perversions of God's Word; that other
English versions are totally unnecessary, as the King
James is not only faithful, but an
absolutely effective conveyance of God's message
to English speaking mankind. We believe that the
King James Bible does not just
contain the Word of God but is the very Word of God for
English speaking peoples.
This statement begs
the question. One
who thoroughly studies the 5,000 Greek manuscripts (that
reach back to the second century) and compares these with
a handful of manuscripts that are very late, will see the
folly of equating the Textus Receptus with the original
autographs. Some
of the articles we are including in this website will show
the truthfulness of this. While
it is regretfully true that many modern versions are “flawed,” as
this statement says, it is also true that most of them
do rest on a better Greek text. Some
of the modern translations do represent honest attempts
by capable, Scripture-believing scholars to accurately
translate the text for the spiritual benefit of the readers.
The claim that the
KJV is “absolutely effective” in conveying God’s message
to English readers is definitely false. Even
if one only looks at the English language used in the 400-year-old
KJV, one can easily see that hundreds of words have either
changed meanings or are no longer in use. Archaic
language, to which come tenaciously cling, does obscure
the meaning of God’s message as originally given 2,000
years ago!
c) We believe that the King
James Bible should be used in all English preaching services,
in the Sunday School, in all English Christian literature
and publications, in all memory work, and
in all other places except in the case of showing errors
of the other versions; that all the verses in the King
James Bible belong in the Old and the New Testaments
because they represent words that were in the original
Texts; and that, though there might be other renderings
from the original languages which could also be acceptable
to us today, for an exhaustive study of any of the words
or verses in the Bible, the student
should return directly to the Traditional Masoretic Hebrew
Text and the Traditional Received Greek Text rather
than to any other translation for help.
If the KJV represents
an inferior English text, resting on an inferior Greek
text, it is a serious and tragic error to tell others that
they must read the KJV only and only use the KJV in public
assemblies—and not even use other translations to honestly
compare readings. This
is a serious and deceptive error, one that prevents the
people from more clearly understanding the very truth of
God! In an
professed effort to be loyal to the Scriptures, this position
is actually obscuring the Word of God and preventing others
from better understanding that Word for their spiritual
and eternal benefit!
We do believe that the King
James Bible is without error and
that no other rendering could "better" convey
the word of God than it does now. We believe
that all officers and workers in our church and mission
endeavors that we support must adhere to this position
and only use the KJV in
preaching, teaching, and study except in the case to
prove errors to others found in the other English versions.
This statement is
patently false. It
is a lie. Hopefully,
it is an unconscious lie, but, with all of the evidence
available, it is a deception that need not exist. There
are several false teachers who do promote the KJV as the only translation
that conveys the truth of God. Some
have gone so far as to say that it is better to rely upon
the English King James Version than it is to consult the
Greek text itself. They
contend that the Greek must be corrected by the KJV, instead
of the KJV being corrected by the Greek! When
people of the pew, unlettered professing Christians, are
exposed to irresponsible statements like that above, their
own mind and conscience is formed by such deceit and they
then perpetuate the error of their teachers!
d) We believe that the books
known as the Apocrypha are not the inspired Word of God
in any sense whatsoever. (Ps. 119:89; II Tim.
3:16-17; Rev. 22:18-19; Jn. 17:17; Jn. 3;32-34; II Pet.1:20-21;
I Pet.1:10-12; Zeph. 1:1; Ps. 19:7-11; Ex. 20:3-17; Ps.
1:2; Jn. 12:48)
We can definitely
agree with this statement!
(*We
will not hold to nor endorse close fellowship with churches that
do not stand on the Textus Receptus of the New Testament
and the Masoretic text of the Old Testament. This
means we will be separate from
those churches that use any English version other
than the KJV. We expect all the missionaries that
we support to also adhere to this standard)
This
indicates the length to which some KJV-Only proponents
will go to uphold their indefensible stand. They
separate themselves from those who may even use a more
accurate translation of the Scriptures! They
separate themselves from people who are more knowledgeable
about textual criticism and the history of translations. In
their professed loyalty to the Bible, they actually are
revealing a disloyalty to the original writings of the
apostles and prophets! Furthermore,
Scripture warns us of those who would separate themselves
and create sects and parties, at least on those matters
that are not Biblical (Jude 19; Gal. 5:20, Greek).
We
urge our readers to look into this contemporary aberration
and then reject it. We
urge you to become daily Bible-readers, who study their
Bible diligently, and seek to understand the message that
God has communicated to us—by the Holy Spirit—through the
written pages of Scripture. We
are saved by the Word of God and sanctified by that same
Word (2 Tim. 3:15; John 17:17). Let
it be our daily food! (Matthew
4:4)
Richard Hollerman
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