Every day is a new day to witness... and last night I was in a great debate on why King James is the not just superior version of the Bible, but is the closest to the "original" would be Greek and Hebrew texts... I was pretty triggered right before this all happened at my table, and they were great sports. But I will know even more next time on what to say. I get super excited that someone just believes, because I dealt with an unequally yolked relationship for 5 years.
Modern Versions of the Bible Change the Meaning of Verses
The biggest problem with the text in modern Bible versions is that it changes what the Bible says to the point that it preaches a false gospel that does not save. In many passages, the modern versions present a works salvation, corrupt key passages that are frequently used to combat false doctrines, and present the readers with a false definition of repentance in the Bible.
1) Modern Versions Present a Works Salvation
In Matthew 7:13-14, the ESV, NKJV, and NLT make it sound like getting into Heaven is a "hard" or "difficult" thing to do, whereas the King James Bible simply says that the way is narrow, meaning that faith in Jesus is the only way.
KJV 13 "Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: 14 Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it."
ESV 13 “Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. 14 For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few."
NKJV 13 “Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. 14 Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it."
NLT 13 “You can enter God’s Kingdom only through the narrow gate. The highway to hell is broad, and its gate is wide for the many who choose that way. 14 But the gateway to life is very narrow and the road is difficult, and only a few ever find it."
In 1 John 3:9, the modern versions fail to make the distinction between the spirit and the flesh. Regarding salvation, it is the spirit that gets saved, not the flesh. That is why we believe that a person's soul goes to Heaven when their physical body dies. The difference between the spirit and the flesh is that the spirit cannot sin, whereas the flesh still does sin just as much as it did before the spirit was saved. The King James Bible makes sure that these are not confused, but the modern versions and false prophets blend them together to create the false doctrine that every saved person has a "change of life" or "will sin less often" or "will stop sinning." For context, we will also include 1 John 5:1 "Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God: and every one that loveth him that begat loveth him also that is begotten of him." This is to reinforce that the only thing a person has to do to be "born of God" or be "born again" is to believe on Christ and trust nothing else.
KJV 9 "Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God."
NIV 9 "No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God's seed remains in them; they cannot go on sinning, because they have been born of God."
ESV 9 "No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God’s seed abides in him; and he cannot keep on sinning, because he has been born of God."
NLT 9 "Those who have been born into God’s family do not make a practice of sinning, because God’s life is in them. So they can’t keep on sinning, because they are children of God."
2) Modern Versions Corrupt Verses Used to Combat False Doctrines
Specifically relating to combating Calvinism, there are many verses in the King James that can be used to show that God wants everyone to go to Heaven. Typically, we reference 1 Timothy 2:4 and 2 Peter 3:9 to prove this, but there are other verses that can be used in addition to those.
Romans 12:3 is a great verse to use when showing that God gives everyone faith. From knowing this, one can see that if everyone has faith, then the reason why they don't get saved is because they choose to put their faith in something other than Christ. The modern versions change this verse from saying that God has given faith to everyone in the world to everyone in the Church at Rome when the book of Romans was written.
KJV 3 "For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith."
NIV 3 "For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you."
ESV 3 "For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned."
NLT 3 "Because of the privilege and authority God has given me, I give each of you this warning: Don’t think you are better than you really are. Be honest in your evaluation of yourselves, measuring yourselves by the faith God has given us."
Pertaining to predestination, Revelation 13:8 has been completely flipped on its head in multiple Bible versions. In the King James, it describes Jesus "the lamb" as being slain from the foundation of the world. In others, it says that there are people who at the foundation of the world are not written in the Book of Life. This is a big difference!
KJV 8 "All who dwell on the earth will worship him, whose names have not been written in the Book of Life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world."
ESV 8 "and all who dwell on earth will worship it, everyone whose name has not been written before the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb who was slain."
HCSB 8 "All those who live on the earth will worship him, everyone whose name was not written from the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb who was slaughtered."
NASB 8 "All who dwell on the earth will worship him, everyone whose name has not been written from the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb who has been slain."
This is why it is so difficult to convince someone who believes in a "faith + works" false gospel or one who believes in predestination that it is not true. They are using a different Bible with a completely different message.
3) Modern Versions Corrupt the Meaning of Repentance
Throughout the King James Bible, the word "repent" is used 112 times in many different contexts, making it clear that repentance is simply to change one's mind. When comparing the usage of "repent" in the King James with seven modern versions, the modern versions remove "repent" every time that God repents and every time a person repents when the context is obviously not repenting of sin. This can be seen on Google drive here: The Usage of "Repent" in 8 Different English Bibles.
The reason for this is because there is an agenda today to corrupt what the Bible says and change the definitions of words, therefore deceiving people into believing good works/deeds must be present as part of salvation. They are not. The NLT is the worst of all because it replaces "repent" with "repent of your sins and turn to God." Repentance is not to turn from one's sins, and anyone who says that it is is not saved and is preaching lies.
Modern Versions of the Bible Remove Verses
The New Testament in the modern versions of the Bible have 16 full verses removed from the texts. These include Matthew 17:21, Matthew 18:11, Matthew 23:14, Mark 7:16, Mark 9:44, Mark 9:46, Mark 11:26, Mark 15:28, Luke 17:36, John 5:3–4, Acts 8:37, Acts 15:34, Acts 24:6–8, Acts 28:29, Romans 16:24, and 1 John 5:7–8. The some of the greatest verses in the Bible are taken out in these modern versions.
Matthew 18:11 on salvation 11 "For the Son of man is come to save that which was lost." Acts 8:37 when the Ethiopian eunuch gets saved 37 "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."
Many other verses that did not make this list have parts of them removed, one of them being the second half of 1 John 5:13, which tells the unsaved readers to believe on the name of the Son of God in addition to giving assurance of salvation to those who already are trusting in Christ as their savior. In other sections, groups of verses are boxed off with comments telling the reader that some earliest manuscripts do not have the verses that are written on the page, making the reader think that it is not God's word. The most significant of these is in Mark 16, verses 9-20. This butchering of the Bible is no different than when Thomas Jefferson took a razor and scissors to cut out sections of the Bible that he did not believe in. The best evidence for this intentional corrupting of the Bible is the book of Mark itself. If you add up the number of verses of each chapter of Mark using the King James Bible, you will total 678 verses.
When you take out verses 9 through 20, the final 12 verses of the book, you have 666 verses in the book of Mark. What makes this even worse is that this section is called The Great Commission, where Jesus tells us to proclaim God's love to the entire world. Mark 16:15 states "And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature." These verses that are missing from the modern versions prevent us from being able to preach the love of God adequately, which is why we hold to what the King James Bible says.
These are just some of many examples of the intentional tampering with God's word in our English Bibles. Though some of the words may be difficult to understand when reading the King James, it is still superior to the modern versions. It is better to have to put effort into understanding a message that is full of truth than be fed easily understood lies.
Similarly, if “King James Only” defines one who rejects the theory that the “preserved” Word of God was hidden away in the Pope’s library and in a weird Greek Orthodox monastery at the foot of Mt. Sinai (a monastery which has a room full of the skulls of dead monks) for hundreds of years, call me “King James Only.”
If “King James Only” defines one who believes that it is necessary to have one biblical standard in a language as important as English and who believes that the multiplicity of competing versions has created confusion and has weakened the authority of the Word of God, call me “King James Only.”
ON THE OTHER HAND, I WILL NOT ACCEPT THE LABEL OF “KING JAMES ONLY” IF IT MEANS THE FOLLOWING:
If “King James Only” defines one who believes that the KJV was given by inspiration, I am not “King James Only.” The authority of the King James Bible is the product of preservation, not inspiration. The term “inspiration” refers to the original giving of the Scripture through holy men of old (2 Tim. 3:16; 2 Pet. 1:20-21). At the same time, I agree with the Pulpit Commentary when it says, “We must guard against such narrow, mechanical views of inspiration as would confine it to the Hebrew and Greek words in which it was written, so that one who reads a good translation would not have ‘the words of the Lord.’” To say that the King James Bible is the inspired Word of God in the English language because it is an accurate translation of the preserved Hebrew and Greek is not the same as saying that it was given by inspiration.
If “King James Only” defines one who believes the English KJV is superior to the Hebrew and Greek texts upon which it was based, I am not “King James Only.” In fact, I believe such an idea is pure nonsense, as it would mean the pure and preserved Word of God did not exist before 1611.
If “King James Only” defines one who believes that the King James Bible is advanced revelation over the Hebrew and Greek texts that God gave through inspiration to holy men of old, I am not “King James Only.”
If “King James Only” defines one who believes that we do not need to study Greek and Hebrew today or that it is not important to use lexicons and dictionaries, I am not “King James Only.” God’s people should learn Greek and Hebrew, if possible, and use (with caution and wisdom) study tools. When the Bible says that “holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost,” we know that the words they spake were Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek words. But foundational to the study of the biblical languages is a thorough understanding of the textual issue. We must study the right Greek and Hebrew, and we must also be careful of original language study tools, because many of them were produced from a rationalistic perspective and with great bias against the God-blessed Received Text.
If “King James Only” defines one who believes the preserved Word of God is available only in English, I am not “King James Only.” The Masoretic Hebrew Old Testament and Greek Received New Testament translated correctly into any language is the preserved Word of God in that language, whether it is German, Spanish, French, Korean, or Nepali.
If “King James Only” defines one who believes that translations in other languages should be based on English rather than (when possible) Greek and Hebrew, I am not “King James Only.”
If “King James Only” defines one who believes that a person can only be saved through the King James Bible, I am not “King James Only.” It is the gospel of Jesus Christ that is the power of God unto salvation (Rom. 1:16), and even a Bible that is textually corrupt contains the gospel.
If “King James Only” defines one who believes that the King James Bible’s antiquated language is holy or who believes the KJV could never again be updated, I am not “King James Only.” I doubt the KJV will ever be replaced in this apostate age, but to say that it is wrong to update the language again after the fashion of the several updates it has undergone since 1611 is not reasonable. Having dealt extensively with people who speak English as a second or third language, I am very sympathetic to the very real antiquation problem in the King James Bible. At the same time, I am not going to trade an excellent Bible with a few problems due to old language for a Bible filled with error due to a corrupt text and/or a corrupt translation methodology (e.g., dynamic equivalency).
If “King James Only” defines one who believes that he has the authority to call those who disagree with him silly asses, morons, and jacklegs, and to treat them as if they were fools because they refuse to follow his (or her) peculiar views, or if it defines one who threatens to sue those who challenge him (or her), I am not “King James Only.”
Why King James Only?
The argument for the KJV only goes something like this:
The Bible says that not one jot or tittle will pass from the Law until it is all fulfilled (Matt. 5:18). Modern versions violate this by making changes from the KJV. These changes are not just in the translation but also in the Greek texts from which their New Testament is translated.
King James only literature says that the NASB and NIV, the two most popular modern translations 20 years ago, make some 5,000 changes in the Greek text of the New Testament, often leaving out important words and phrases.
For example, the King James Version says in Colossians 1:14 that we have redemption "through his blood." Modern translations, following an updated Greek text, usually leave out "through his blood."
Are we losing the Gospel in these modern versions?
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King James Only:
Colossians 1:14
It is true that most modern versions leave out "through his blood" in Colossians 1:14. However, Ephesians 1:7, which says exactly the same thing, has "through his blood" in both the modern versions and in the KJV.
If this is some sort of conspiracy, it's not a very good one.
The fact is, modern translations are just trying to recreate the most accurate Greek text. There is no conspiracy, and you cannot teach any different doctrines out of the New American Standard than you can out of the King James Version.
King James Only:
1 John 5:7
Another notable passage is 1 John 5:7, which is not even found in most modern translations.
All Bibles say that there are three that bear witness: The Spirit, the water, and the blood. The KJV, however, following the 3rd edition of the Textus Receptus, adds that there are three that bear witness in heaven: the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit.
King James only advocates argue that the omission in the modern versions takes away from the doctrine of the Trinity.
Of course, it does not. There are plenty of verses in modern translations that describe all three members of the Trinity in the same verse (e.g., Matt. 28:19 and 2 Cor. 13:14).
King James Only:
So What About Matthew 5:18?
Matthew 5:18 is a prophecy passage. The word there for "fulfilled" is the Greek genoito, which means "happened." Jesus is saying in Matthew 5:18 that no prophecy of the Law will be forgotten, but all of them will come to pass down to the smallest part or "every jot and tittle."
Jesus was not promising that the Greek text of the New Testament would never be in doubt throughout the centuries. He wasn't even commenting on such a thing.
And if he was, then we have a big problem …
Losing the Words of God?
What about our confidence in the Word of God? King James only advocates argue that the differences, as well as notes that are usually added to modern versions, create doubt in the Word of God because they indicate that we are not certain about the original wording of certain passages of Scripture.
Here is where it is time for us to be honest. There are doubts about the original wording of certain passages of Scripture!
Back to 1 John 5:7
This page on 1 John 5:7, which appears to be well researched, says that it's "an overstatement of the evidence" to say that Erasmus promised to include the Comma Johanneum, as it is called, if someone produce a manuscript.
They do say that the converse is true. Erasmus did refuse to put it in without Greek manuscript support.
I left my description unchanged because those two statements are not that different, and I got my version from a history book as well.
1 John 5:7 is one of the passages where there is NOT doubt about the original wording. The King James version is wrong on this passage, and we know that.
The extra passage, saying that there are three that bear witness in heaven, is included in the updated edition of the Latin Vulgate, put out by the Roman Catholic Church around A.D. 800. The original Vulgate, done by Jerome around A.D. 400, did not have it.
When Erasmus put together the Textus Receptus ("Received Text")in the 16th century, he did not include the part about three bearing witness in heaven because it was not supported by even one Greek manuscript.
There were people who were offended by this, and Erasmus told them that if they could produce even one Greek manuscript that contained the disputed passage, he would include it in his 3rd version of the Textus Receptus (but see sidebar). He had already finished versions one and two.
Not surprisingly, they came up with a Greek text, which Erasmus was aware was almost certainly a forgery. Erasmus, however, did not like personal conflict, and he included the passage in his 3rd version just as he promised.
His conscience got the better of him, though, so when he created the 4th version, he left it out.
Unfortunately, the translators of the King James Bible used a text based on Erasmus' 3rd version, not his 4th.
Thus, when modern versions leave out 1 John 5:7 they are not taking away from the words of God, they are correcting the Greek text back to the original wording of the apostle John.
King James Only:
Questionable passages
King James only advocates are right about one thing: there are questionable passages in our Bibles. There are numerous places where th
e over 5,000 Greek texts of the New Testament disagree with one another.
Sometimes it is obvious where the problem lies. A passage is clearly duplicated or a word is left out, and it obvious that this was a copyist's error.
In other cases, however, like, for example, Romans 8:1, it is impossible to tell. Some Greek texts have the phrase "who walk not after the flesh but after the Spirit."
Some don't.
Is this a case where a copyist looked down at Romans 8:4, saw that phrase, and accidentally added it onto Romans 8:1 as well? We don't know. Therefore, even if a modern translation chooses to leave that phrase out of Romans 8:1, they normally include a note saying that some Greek manuscripts—usually less ancient ones—include the phrase.
Sometimes such difficulties can be resolved by examining quotes of the Scriptures in the early Christian writings. We have Christian writings dating back to A.D. 100, or even before, that quote some passages of the New Testament.
Sometimes, however, a difficult Greek text can't be found quoted by the early Christians.
As a result, there are some passages in our New Testaments where we do not know the original wording of the writer.
We can pretend all we want, but facts are facts and history is history. There are simply some passages of the New Testament where we do not know the original wording.
King James Only:
Have We Lost the Word of God
Part of the problem we modern Christians have, whether we hold to King James only or not, is that we have made the Bible into something it was never meant to be.
Until the 4th century, there were questionable books among the books of the New Testament. Some churches included James, 2 Peter, and 2 and 3 John, and some didn't. Some included Hebrews, and some didn't.
Some even included books like The Letter of Barnabas, The Shepherd of Hermas, and First Clement.
Even as late as A.D. 390, Augustine of Hippo (the famous St. Augustine) talked about how to resolved disputes over which books should be included in the New Testament:
Accordingly, among the canonical Scriptures [the skilled interpreter] will judge according to the following standard: to prefer those that are received by all the catholic churches to those which some do not receive. Among those which are not received by all, he will prefer such as have the sanction of the greater number and those of greater authority to such as are held by the smaller number and those of less authority. (On Christian Doctrine II.8.12)
The early churches lived for 400 years with those kind of doubts, and they did just fine.
In fact, they lived significantly better than we do!
King James Only:
What is the Word of God
The Word of God is neither the King James only nor any other Bible only. The Bible, whether read in the KJV or any other version, states clearly that the Word of God is not limited to what is written.
For this reason we thank God continuously; because when when you received the Word of God which you heard from us, you did not receive it as the word of man, but as it is in truth, the Word of God. (1 Thess. 2:13, emphasis added)
Eventually, I will have to do a page on the Word of God as it was understood in the Scriptures and in the early churches, which will thrill you, change your life, and build great confidence in God. For right now, let me just give you this.
Jesus Christ is the Word of God, and when he is planted in human hearts, like a seed (Jam. 1:18; 1 Pet. 1:23), he will produce in his followers everything they need to know in order to follow him.
That is why the Scriptures tell us—together as we speak the truth in love to one another (Eph. 4:11-16)—that we don't need any man to teach us. The anointing that comes from God will teach us all things (1 Jn. 2:27).
This is why Zaccheus knew, as soon as he heard the Word of God from the lips of Jesus, that he must do something about his love of money. He immediately promised to give half his goods to the poor and restore fourfold to everyone that he had cheated (Luke 19:8).
That same reason is why Peter knew, after hearing the Word of God from the lips of Jesus, that he was a sinner and that he needed to forsake everything and follow Christ (Luke 5:8,11).
Both men had the Word of God planted in their heart like a seed, and it gave them everything that they needed to know, whether they had heard it before or not.
This is the trust that the apostles and their churches had in the Word of God, which is the Scriptures, but is far more than the Scriptures as well.
You search the Scriptures because you think you have life in them; however, these are they which testify of me, and you refuse to come to me so that you might have life. (Jn. 5:39)
Primarily, Jesus Christ is the Word of God (John 1:1; Heb. 4:12-13), and we would fare much better if when we used the phrase "the Word of God," we were referring to him.
Now to him that is of power to stablish you according to my gospel, and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret since the world began, But now is made manifest, and by the scriptures of the prophets, according to the commandment of the everlasting God, made known to all nations for the obedience of faith: To God only wise, be glory through Jesus Christ for ever. Amen.
Romans 16:25-27 King James Bible (Pure Cambridge Edition)
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