Why are Primitive Baptists stuck on the old King James translation of the Bible? It’s really quite simple. Every word of God matters and there is no reason to believe that modern scholarship has restored any of them. The KJV-only question is really a contest between church tradition and modern seminary scholarship. The King James translation is the Primitive Baptist tradition (and of every English-speaking denomination uncontested for 300 years); every other version is a product of modern seminary scholarship trying to move us away from what has been given to us. I will prove based on the Bible that all the modern translations should be set aside as suspicious at best, so we should hold on to the King James translation.
We will first briefly consider our adversary Satan, lest he
should get an advantage of us: for we are not ignorant of his devices. Then we
will lay down some basic axioms, state the argument, and prove it.
We just wrote an article about the Scriptures’ role as our
only rule of faith and practice and so the next obvious question is what do the
Scriptures say? It’s not nearly as complicated as the seminary professors want us
to think it is. Paul asked the Galatians, Who hath bewitched you, that ye
should not obey the truth? To bewitch is to deceive and mislead by juggling
tricks or imposter (Webster 1828 defn 2). If you feel overwhelmed by all the scholarly
work that has been done to “reconstruct” the text of the Bible, and decide that
we just have to go along with the latest scholarship, then you know what if
feels like to be bewitched. I respect that there’s so much that goes into textual
criticism that is way over my head, and that’s ok. I don’t believe God makes it
that hard for us to answer the simple question: What does God really say?
Let’s first consider that Satan is actively opposing the
Lord’s people and undermining his authority. From the very beginning of time we
hear: Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the
LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not
eat of every tree of the garden? Gen 3:1. Let’s state as an axiom, that
just because something is subtle or is only a small change, does not mean that
it isn’t dangerous. Let’s also note that Satan’s oldest trick in his bag is to
create a question in your mind about what exactly God said.
Now the next axiom to be laid down is that we should strive
for accuracy of God’s word when choosing a Bible above any subjective
preferences. That’s obvious but how often do people just go straight to what
language they are more familiar with or to other personal tastes without really
addressing whether the changes in the words are accurate? I say we should establish
what the words of God are and then submit our preferences to that. Choosing an
inaccurate book because we like it better would be destructive.
The third axiom was stated in the introductory paragraph:
The King James translation was the only authoritative Bible in our language for
centuries. From about 1660 to 1960 there was no real rival to the KJV, except
in only the most secular/progressive circles in the early 20th
century.
Finally, the fourth axiom is that the principles we use to
select the proper translation should come from the Bible. The believer can understand
the nature of God’s revelation laid out in Scripture without having a degree in
classical languages or the philosophy of religion.
My argument is that all new translations should be rejected because
their claims to better accuracy than the KJV undermines the promises of God
that his words are pure and that they would be preserved. The Bible describes every word of God as
important, and that he promised that they would be available to his church in
every age. If a modern translation does not claim more accuracy as the KJV, we eliminate
it because of the many changes they made to the text. Whether or not someone
says it affects a doctrine doesn’t matter! Someone who loves the very words of
God will not tolerate such laxity with Scripture lest it obscures the truth in
any way. If a modern translation had better accuracy than the the KJV, then some
article of God’s word was lost for generations which violates God’s promises.
What does God say about the preservation of his words?
- He commands his people to hearken to
them, not to add to them or diminish anything from them, but keep his
commandments. Deut 4:2
- His people live by every word that
proceedeth out of his mouth. Deut 8:3, Matt 4:4
- His words are pure and he will
preserve them from this this generation for ever. Ps 12:6-7. Even if some say
that he is talking about preserving the godly and faithful men, as we can see,
the godly and faithful man is keeping his words, so either way it’s a promise
that his words will be faithfully preserved pure.
- Every word of God is pure. Prov 30:5
- For ever, O LORD, thy word is
settled in heaven. Ps 119:89. Jesus and the Holy Spirit taught the Apostles
things that came directly from the eternal Godhead. Jn 12:49-50, Jn 17:8, Jn
16:13. The word of our God shall stand for ever. Is 40:8. These references mean
the fundamental substance of what we have in God’s revelation is something that
never changes, so it makes sense for us to keep the text as constant and stable
as humanly possible. Having a new revision every few years is the opposite of
that.
- He gave us a new testament, which is
a legal covenant. Heb 9. It’s not lawful to change the wording of even a man’s covenant.
Gal 3:15.
- Jesus promised that the law had been
preserved to him in every jot and tittle, and that his words would never pass
away. Mt 5:18, 24:35
- Curses are given to those how add to
or take away from the prophecy of this book. Rev 22:18-19.
- The faithful man of God loves God’s
word, meditates in it, hides it in his heart, loves it above fine gold, and
esteems it to be right concerning all things. Psalm 119: 11, 16, 97, 127-128,
140.
- The faithful man of God keeps his
precepts, commandments, statutes, words, testimonies, word, law, and judgments.
Psalm 119. Whatever may be entailed in the keeping of these things, a faithful
written record is a minimal starting point.
- Paul charges Timothy that the
Scriptures which he knew from his youth, as well the words and doctrine that he
received from Paul, were committed to his trust and to be committed to faithful
men who would teach others also. 1Ti 6:20, 2Ti 1:13, 2:2, 3:14-17.
As I hope you can see, for our confidence in the accuracy
and reliability of the text of scripture, we rely on the promise of God to preserve
them. God’s method of preserving his scriptures is not by him and him alone
such as election, redemption, glorification etc.; but it is by providentially
guiding and protecting his people who by their active and loving effort keep
his words. This means that the promise isn’t that his pure words would be
available for all humans everywhere, but that he would have a witness—a pillar
and ground of the truth—in his church. So, where you find his church, you will
find the accurate and reliable text in your time and place.
What does the modern scholarship that delivers new versions
or substitute bibles say about the preservation of God’s words?
- Texts discovered in the 18th
century, such as Sinaiticus Aleph, should be used to improve the accuracy of
the Bible because they are older copies (4th century) than the physical
copies relied on by Erasmus when he assembled the Greek “Textus Receptus” used
by the King James translators.
- Scholars reconstruct the Word of God
based on all available manuscripts that have been discovered.
- External evidence is weighed from
each variation of text such as the number of manuscripts containing a given variation.
- Internal evidence is weighed from
each variation to help explain which variant is more likely to be an omission
or an addition.
- The scriptures are inspired and
inerrant in the original autographs. However, since none of the original autographs
exist, the Bible you hold in your hand is not inerrant.
- The method of reconstructing God’s
word should be the same method of reconstructing Homer and Plato etc.
- Modern scholarship, examining 5,800+
manuscripts that are 500 – 2000 years old, gives a more reliable presentation
of God’s Word than the Bible delivered to us through the unbroken tradition of
men who love and esteem God’s Word.
I believe the above are fair statements representing what I
hear from even “conservative” circles of seminary authorities for what goes into
us knowing what exactly God has given for us to believe. In fairness, I believe
they are honestly trying to do their best to establish what is true and most
are not actually trying to get us to swallow heresy (even though there has
always been an element of that too). I’m hoping that you can see that the principles
of modern Bible revision are in violation of God’s word.
For most people, I will not be as influential as those
scholars that have devoted their lives to higher study and make their living off
it. My arguments aren’t sophisticated and my intelligence is mediocre. I also
don’t have a command of all the facts and details about the modern methods of
textual criticism like those who study it do. However, I think my approach is
based on faith and that is better than the wisdom of this world. Let’s keep in
mind what the Apostle Paul says before we just keep putting faith in those with
educational degrees. For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many
wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called: but God
hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath
chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty.
1Co 1:26-27.
I made an argument that common people like me can understand.
It’s healthy to be skeptical of those that make their living off selling new
revisions of the Bible. It’s not just the publishers and those that were
directly involved in the work. The whole idea that you really need to learn and
understand Greek and/or Hebrew to be a pastor, keeps the whole seminary
industry going and helps those that have a degree to keep it profitable for
themself. Having confusion in bible versions is all part of that racket.
Consider the antithesis that our Lord had with the educated of his day in Mark
12:37-40. And the common people heard him gladly. And he said unto them in
his doctrine, Beware of the scribes, which love to go in long clothing, and love
salutations in the marketplaces, and the chief seats in the synagogues, and the
uppermost rooms at feasts: which devour widows' houses, and for a pretence make
long prayers: these shall receive greater damnation. That doesn’t make me
right, it just means beware of those that live by priestcraft and don’t just
take their word because they know more than you and me.
I’m not against textual criticism, archealogical findings,
and advanced scholarship per se. I’m just against using those methods to change
God’s word or substituting something new for what has been passed down to us
from our good and faithful fathers. I think the discipline of finding and
studying ancient manuscripts is very interesting and the results of textual
criticism goes a long way in answering the critic with an amazing level of agreement
in all the old evidence. That is scholarly work reserved for a few that choose
to dedicate themselves to that field.
Many other things could be said in favor of various features
of the King James translation or refuting the arguments against it. I tried to
be brief while still getting to what I believe is the heart of the issue. To
restate my argument, based on the promises contained in Scripture, I trust what
the church has done by the providence of God in real time when they decided
which texts and translations that they would keep. Because they loved God and
would not tolerate the adulterations which existed in every generation, I do
believe the true church passed down what we need to hold on to and we don’t
need to revisit those decisions with ancient evidence centuries after they were
copied. May God bless you in your prayerful consideration of these issues and I
hope my effort was able to shed some light for you. As always, give God the
praise and glory for the light, but the fault is with me for any errors I have
made.
