The other day I got some deeper insight into why much of the church is where it’s at spiritually throughout the world. I listened to a preacher on You Tube tell his church that they, “need to understand that there are people even in the translation of the Bible who have a low view of the Bible.” I was startled by the statement initially, then saddened as he explained it further. He said, “They feel that the prevailing power which reigns over the Scripture is the contemporary reader rather than the author. So the idea of the translation is not to give us what the author intended, but to give us what the reader would want.”
He mentioned eight translations currently dominating the evangelical world; adding, “All of them make the reader sovereign … they want to put the Bible into the modern context and the modern language no matter what the author intended.” Now, three of the older translations he mentioned have been in my possession for some years, but I thank God for His mercy in that time because He’s never allowed me to consider myself sovereign when reading them. Like lots of fellow Christians around the globe, they only ever get used alongside an authorized version to give clarification on the meaning of certain words and phrasings. Where there’s discrepancy and inconsistency, they get put to one side … I’m simply not interested in knowing what the Author didn’t intend!
A young man went off to Bible College with one of the authorized versions of the Bible in hand. A few months later we were sitting in a room doing a group study and his authorized version was nowhere to be seen, replaced by, “a more accurate and readable translation.” He told us that it was the translation recommended by the College. To his statement, “The Lord is helping discover new manuscripts,” my response was, “Don’t you think the Lord got it right the first time?” He said he hadn’t thought of that. From the little I know of Bible colleges in this nation, it wouldn’t make much difference what he thought. The sovereignty of man rules mostly in those places regardless of who says what to the contrary.
It’s not wrong for one to have a modern version of the Bible, what is wrong is when such a Bible goes beyond modern English to modern thinking. Why? Because it’s not modern thinking at all, there’s no such thing! It’s demonic thinking; it originated in the Garden of Eden when Adam & Eve took upon themselves the judging of what’s good, what’s evil, what’s true, what’s false, what’s right and what’s wrong. “We will decide … we’ll set the standard,” is basically what they said, and that’s exactly what we’re seeing in the church today. I believe we’re seeing a deliberate rejection of revealed divine truth within those translations and a non-deliberate rejection of the same by lots of non-discerning Christians in possession of them.
Without the pure word of God as a restraint in the church, the natural progression regression is lawlessness in the church. And lawlessness in the church will at some point open the floodgates for lawlessness to flow throughout the earth. This is what we see happening today. Instead of leading the way to righteousness, the church is leading the way to rebellion. Using the words of an old saint, “When the church fails, God’s restraint is withdrawn.” Looking back on history, we’ve been given a mini picture of that whole deal in 1900-1940’s Germany. The theologians said the Old Testament was a compilation of myths and history, “but it’s not the word of God.” Later they officially refused to acknowledge the supernatural gifts of the Holy Spirit working in the church.
As a Christian, you can be more persuaded to embrace, abortion (infanticide, murder) same-sex (sodomite) marriage and euthanasia (murder, suicide) if all you have or have ever known is a modern translation of the Bible. But if all you have or have ever known is an authorized version of some kind, you’ll be repulsed by the very thought of them all. You will know without a shadow of doubt that the Bible you hold in your hand reveals to you the, pure words of the Lord, like silver tried in a furnace of the earth, purified seven times….Psalm 12:6. You will soon discern that each one of those practices shakes a defiant, rebellious, hedonistic fist at a Holy God who at some point soon is going to call down the most fearful judgment one can imagine.
I now simply do not believe it when I read or hear of someone claiming the latest translation to be a more accurate and more readable rendering of the word of God. God did get it right the first time. He put a holy awe and reverence around that ‘authorized version.’ He did not add to it nor did He take away from it. The Holy Spirit of God has preserved the word of God; He exalts the Lord Jesus Christ to His proper place and all glory is given unto Him. If that is true of all these other translations, then why isn’t the evidence of it manifesting itself in churches among those in possession of them who claim Jesus is Lord? Why isn’t holiness evidenced more so than humanism in those places?
No wonder it-all-depends-on-how-you-interpret-the-Scripture and that’s-just-your-interpretation are the mantras of much Christendom everywhere. With so many translations on offer to choose from, what else can we expect? They sound like godly sayings, but when Jesus is not evidenced as being Central and holiness is nowhere to be discerned, then they are the devil’s sayings. They fit perfectly with the all too-often devil inspired, Christians-are-not-perfect-just-forgiven. If it’s true that these translators do have “a low view of the Bible” then you can chisel it in stone that they also have a low view of the Lord’s view of the world, of man, of God and of sin and, that they’ll do everything in their power to change that view.
Rather than saying, “this translation is more accurate and readable,” they’d be more accurate (and honest) if they said, “this translation is more palatable.” Jesus told us that it’s the Holy Spirit who leads us into all truth John 16:13. He’s the only One who perfectly knows God’s mind not us, therefore … does not the same apply to the various committees of religious men sitting around tables debating which so-called new-found Hebrew and Greek manuscripts are more relevant for today’s culture? Have they forgotten that the Scripture tells us, these things we also speak, not in words which man’s wisdom teaches but which the Holy Spirit teaches 1 Corinthians 2:13 ? I want the mind of Christ, not the minds of men like these.
In warfare, we have armed forces whose job it is to smash their targets to smithereens. Then we have special forces whose job it is to infiltrate – small groups of highly skilled men entering a certain territory clandestinely, but with hostile or subversive intent. Translators with a low view of the Bible are infiltrators, not the other kind. They don’t smash (omit) doctrines, they undermine them. They change a few words here and there and eliminate others. Repetitious passages get deleted; Jesus and His titles are omitted; the blood of Jesus is devalued or omitted. It’s been said that the amount of words and phrases omitted equal the entire New Testament books of Peter 1 & 2. That amounts to about 4000 words! Most Christians are not aware of that.
Some who are aware say it’s no big deal. Well maybe they too have a low view of Scripture. The apostle Paul told us, all Scripture is given by inspiration of God, …. not, ‘some Scripture’ 2 Timothy 3:16. Imagine if 4000 bits & pieces were systematically removed from their house. That’s exactly what’s taking place in their spiritual house when they discount and discard an authorized translation for one of the modern ones. I heard someone once say of their modern translation, “It’s better; it’s not so repetitious.” It sounded advantageous at the time, but only because I was ignorant. Although there’s much I don’t understand wthin the Bible, I understand that if God put it there and He repeats it, He does so for a reason.
Repetition is a powerful method of learning in the natural world; how much more so for the supernatural world? Satan knows this. That’s why he has religious people babbling repetitious prayers. He knows that the more they do that the less likely they’ll ever be to sit quietly and ask God how to pray! And when people don’t pray according to the pattern that the Lord Jesus taught, Satan couldn’t be happier. In my post: You Can’t Get More Closed-minded Than That!, we see God has given us at least 13 glorious descriptions of the Bible, 5 powerful comparisons, and 11 beautiful reasons why it is the agency to all that we need to be hopeful and faithful for living out our Christian life. All of it, taken from an authorized version.
The modern translations I have don’t come anywhere near revealing the Bible in that manner, and they’re now old! But from what little I’ve observed of these newer translations, they’re even further away from it. The question worthy of asking is: who would do such a thing – the Holy Spirit or the unholy spirit? It is God who gives beauty for ashes Isaiah 61:3; it is Satan who gives ashes for beauty. He’s never had any other desire than that … jealousy is never capable of more than that. Men who have a low view of the Bible are not wise, they’re foolish. God’s holy word is unchanging, it will always be authoritative, it will always be powerful, inspirational and enlightening, it will always be eternal.
God the Holy Spirit will always triumph over His word. He will continue to reveal the true meaning of Scriptures deemed difficult to grasp. He will always have people willing to be obedient to His word. He will always have people who will not confuse man’s low-view teaching with God’s high view-teaching. He will always have people delighting in His word. He will always have people standing up for His word. He will always have people refusing to peddle His word. He will always have people who will not add to nor take away from His word. He will always have people willing to die for His word. It is most important to note: the way we relate to the word of God is the way we relate to the God of the word.
That means if I’m relating to a watered-down word or a compromising word or a humanistic word, then I’m relating to a watered down God or a compromising God or a humanistic God. But … there is no such God! There is a god of this world 2 Corinthians 4:4, but he doesn’t enlighten a person’s mind, he blinds it. And what better way to do this than to bring together a few politically correct men and women who already have a low view of the Bible and get them to come up with yet another new translation … with the intention of making its readers sovereign and not God. “Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth” John 17:17. “Be diligent (study) to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth 2 Timothy 2:15.
Thank you, Roger, for helping us see what is going on with some of the newer translations. Some day all the deceit will end . . but our Jesus and His word will never end! God bless you as you stand up for His Word!
“Some day all the deceit will end . . but our Jesus and His word will never end!”
How true, Debbie … thanks for reinforcing this.
When I think of those old saints who were burned & tortured for the pure word of God and the horrendous price their families and others have paid for the same and then look at what some are doing with it now, I marvel. Should we be tested with the ultimate price again in the future, my prayer is that by God’s grace we’ll pass the test. All God’s blessings to you.
Roger