Why do I personally use the KJV? (2)

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Why Do I Personally Use the KJV?

This series of messages is designed to answer the question, “Why do I, personally, only use the KJV and why do I, as pastor, continue to lead SCBC to use only the KJV?”

My personal stated position and the stated position of SCBC is

We believe that God inspired His Word in the original languages.

2 Timothy 3:16 KJV 1900

All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:

We believe that God has preserved His Word through the ages so that we can confidently say, “Thus saith the Lord.”

1 Peter 1:23–25 KJV 1900

Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever. For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away: But the word of the Lord endureth for ever. And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you.

We believe that God has preserved His Word, for English speaking people, in the KJV.

Dr. Charles Surret, in his book, The Certainty of the Words, wrote:

It would seem, then, more consistent to not only prefer the Textus Receptus for one’s Greek Text, but for those who desire an English Bible to choose the old King James Version.

Whether one considers one translation more “readable” or not, the Bible-believer should desire accuracy above all other considerations when choosing a translation of God’s Word.

We must also never forget:

The Devil hates God’s Word!

Ever since the Living Word ascended back into Heaven, Satan has concentrated his attack on the Written Word of God.

Satan has never been able to defeat the Living Word and we can rest assured that he will never be able to defeat the Written Word of God either.

Satan’s attacks on the Written Word of God have been...

The Devil seeks to cause people to doubt God’s Word!

Genesis 3:1 (KJV 1900)

...Yea, hath God said...

Why Do I Personally Use the KJV?

Reason 1: Why did Tischendorf go looking to begin with?

Tischendorf did not believe that he had the Word of God.

So, he went looking to “recover” the Word of God.

I can tell you this, Textual Critics are still seeking to “recover” the Word of God.

However, a group of scholars, led by Eberhard Nestle and Kurt Aland, decided that Westcott-Hort had not gotten it right, so, in 1898, they produced the Nestle-Alland Greek Text.

As of right now, there have been 28 versions of the Nestle-Alland Greek Texts published.

Changes to the actual Greek text were made between each version.

Textual critics are still trying to discern whether or not they have the actual Word of God.

Reason 2: The Catholic Connection

Last week I pointed out the how very different the Catholic church treated William Tyndale, the first person to translate the Bible into the English language (They burned him at the stake.) and how the Catholic church treated Constantine Tischendorf (The Catholic church welcomed him with “open arms.”).

As I mentioned last week, one writer stated:

Satan’s first strategy had been to kill the Christians and destroy their Bible…Satan’s second strategy was to substitute a fake Bible for the real one.

Allow me to add an additional “connection” to this point:

Members of the Editorial Committee of the United Bible Societies' Greek New Testament which is he Nestle-Aland Text that I have already referenced included, from 1975 until his death in 2012, a Jesuit and Catholic Cardinal, Carlo M. Martini.

God’s Word says:

2 Corinthians 6:14–17 KJV 1900

Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness? And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel? And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you,

Reason 3: Doctrine has been affected.

I have already, in the previous weeks, mentioned this. However, I decided to go ahead and give it its own “Reason.”

Turn to and read Acts 8:36-38.

The eunuch, to whom Philip was witnessing asks, “Can I be baptized?” Notice Philips response in vs. 37:

Acts 8:37 KJV 1900

And Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.

Pretty important doctrine, wouldn’t you agree? Before a person can be baptized, they need to be saved!

However, in the ESV:

English Standard Version Chapter 8

And as they were going along the road they came to some water, and the eunuch said, “See, here is water! What prevents me from being baptized?” 38 And he commanded the chariot to stop, and they both went down into the water, Philip and the eunuch, and he baptized him.

In the ESV there is no vs. 37!

How many times does doctrine need to be changed or altered for you to say, “I had better stay away from that translation?!?!?”

Reason 4: Where did they come from?

Where did the Textus Receptus come from? Where was its origin?

Where did the Codex Sinaiticus & Codex Vaticanus come from? Where did they originate?

Dr. David Sorenson, in his book, God’s Perfect Book, states:

There clearly have been two streams of Bibles through history.

One had its roots in Antioch-Syria, dating from the mid-second century onward.

The other stream of Bibles had its roots in Alexandria, Egypt, dating from the fourth century.

All scholars agree with this assessment.

The Textus Receptus can trace its roots to Antioch-Syria.

(This is also often referred to as a “Byzantine Text type.”)

The Sinaiticus and Vaticanus trace their roots to Alexandria, Egypt.

(They are often referred to as being “Alexandrian Text types.”)

Why is this important? What is the significance?

Antioch-Syria

Without belaboring the point, you’ll remember that Antioch-Syria was the center of Paul’s missionary missionaries. (Acts chapter 13.) It was the hub from which Paul took the Gospel to the rest of the world!

Alexandria, Egypt

Alexandria, Egypt was, at one time, the capitol of Egypt. It has the largest library in ancient history containing some 900,000 works. Alexandria, Egypt was also the home for many perversions of the Gospel.

Alexandria, Egypt was the home of Gnosticism.

…Which, among other things, denies the deity of Jesus Christ. They would teach that Jesus Christ only “became” God when the Spirit of God rested upon Him at His baptism.

Once again, I reference Dr. David Sorenson:

…the Alexandrian-based Critical Text diminishes the virgin birth of Christ to the point of almost eliminating it.

There appears to be a pattern of random and incremental eroding of the doctrine of Christ.

Mark 1:1 KJV 1900

The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God;

You’ll remember, from several weeks ago, that I pointed out the fact that the Westcott-Hort left out the phrase, the Son of God, from Mark chapter 1 and verse 1.

The Apostle John warned of this teaching; the denial of the deity of Christ.

1 John 4:3 KJV 1900

And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world.

2 John 7 KJV 1900

For many deceivers are entered into the world, who confess not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist.

Alexandria, Egypt was also the home of Arianism.

Arianism is an influential heresy which also denies the deity of Christ which originated with the Alexandrian priest Arius ( c. 250– c. 336). Arianism maintained that Jesus was created by the Father and was therefore not God on the same level as God the Father.

Arianism also denies the existence of the Trinity.

1 John 5:7–8 (KJV 1900)

For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.

And there are three that bear witness in earth, the spirit, and the water, and the blood: and these three agree in one.

But, notice the ESV (a translation based upon the Westcott-Hort):

English Standard Version Chapter 5

For there are three that testify: 8 the Spirit and the water and the blood; and these three agree.

The ESV leaves out part of vs. 7 and part of vs. 8 - the part which states that the Three that bear record in Heaven are the Father, the Word (Jesus Christ), and the Holy Ghost!

Scholars agree that the Westcott-Hort is based upon an Alexandrian Text type meaning that it comes from an area well known for their heresy. Going back to my previous reason, do you really want to read a Bible translation that has been based upon a Greek text which has changed Biblical doctrine? Or, would you rather read from a Bible - the King James version whose...

lineage can be traced through believing churches to believing editors to the days of Theodore Beza. It was from the Beza’s fifth edition that the King James Translators primarily worked.

Reason 5: Are they the oldest and the best?

This is the often the main support for why textual critics choose the Westcott-Hort text over the Textus Receptus. They believe that the Codex Sinaiticus and Codex Vaticanus are the oldest and, because of that, they must be closer to the original and therefore that would make them the best.

Consider this:

Would God have withheld the truth for 1800 years, only to have it show up in an Orthodox monastery in the desert? And then would God arrange for it to be stolen, first 43 leaves of it in 1844, then the rest of it, with Russian help, in 1859? And then would He have it only “released” to the public in 1862 —but not directly, only as an altered, printed copy?

Daniels, David W.. Is The "World's Oldest Bible" A Fake? (p. 3). Chick Publications. Kindle Edition.

Codex Sinaiticus

In 1815, William Turner, who visited the Mt. Sinai Monastery, wrote:

To my enquiries after manuscripts and a library the priests answered, that they had only three Bibles, and I took their word more readily, as [Richard] Pococke [in the mid-1700s] states they had no rare manuscripts.

In 1845, Porfiry Uspensky visited the monastery and wrote:

The best Greek manuscripts are stored in the priors’ cells. There are only four of them, but they are very precious for their antiquity, rarity and handwriting features...

In 1844, Constantine Tischendorf “rescued” 43 leaves of the Sinaiticus from the trash heap of the Mt. Sinai Monastery. These pages, by the testimony of others were “pure white.”

Some 15 years later, Tischendorf returned and persuaded the monks of the monastery to give the remainder of the manuscript to Tsar Alexander II of Russia. These remaining pages are not “pure white” but have the look of being aged.

The difference in color between the first 43 leaves and the remainder of the text has been verified.

Codex Vaticanus

The Codex Vaticanus appeared in the Vatican’s library in 1475. It has no history before that time. No one knows where it came from.

The Codex Vaticanus has been dated to the 4th century. However, of interesting note is that the dating of ancient manuscripts is a process known as paleography. Jean Mabillon is credited with founding the science of paleography in the late 17th century. Any idea who Jean Mabillon was? He was a French Benedictine monk; he was a Catholic. Another Catholic connection!

More questions about the age and authenticity of both the Sinaiticus and Vaticanus could be shared but we do not have the time to go into those.

Is it the best?

Scholars have pointed out that there are over 25,000 corrections to be found in the Codex Sinaiticus. (Those corrections take the form of additions, deletions, or substitutions.) These corrections were made by at least 4 different individuals. (This does not inspire confidence. Also remember that the Nestle-Aland Greek Text has been corrected, on average, every four years and is now on its 28th revision!)

Compared to the Textus Receptus, 2,800 words have been deleted from the Critical Texts.

When you compare the Sinaiticus with the Vaticanus, scholars tell us that they disagree more often then they agree. In fact, it is said, that it is easier to find a place where those two manuscripts disagree than it is to find a place where they agree.

Why Do I Personally Use the KJV?

To sum all of this up, some of my main reasons for holding to the King James Version of the Bible are

Tischendorf didn’t believe that he, in the 19th century had the Word of God, and therefore he needed to go find it.

The Catholic Connection

Doctrine has been affected in the Critical Texts

The origins of both the Textus Receptus and the Critical Texts

I don’t believe that the Critical Texts are the oldest nor do I believe that they are the best.

While there is much more that I could share, I would simply state that the more that I study this issue for myself, the more I am convinced that I hold in my hands the Word of God for English speaking people - the King James Version.

This position likely does place me in the minority among preachers in the Charlotte area and I know that this position places our church among the minority in the Charlotte area, I have strong confidence that it is the correct position for myself and for this church and it would be the position that I would encourage every Christian to take!

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