Is the King James Version required at your church?
Using the King James Version (KJV) only is not a pre-requisite at my church. Although I, and all my congregation, do use the KJV. When I preach, I let all new people and visitors know that I teach and preach out of the KJV because of my own personal convictions, and we have a stack of them for people to borrow if they want. It is also much easier for them to follow along with my preaching if our verses say the same things, because with different versions, the verses say different things.
So, anyone can use whatever version that they wish at my church, but I read, study, believe and preach from the King James Version, and stand up for it, over all other versions for the following reasons.
It is my own personal conviction, as a student of the word of God—who, by the way, started out by using the New International Version, (NIV). And, I have come to the conclusion after studying verses from the bible that God has promised to preserve his word perfectly for ALL generations
Psalm 12:6-7
The words of the LORD are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times. Thou shalt keep them, O LORD, thou shalt preserve them from this generation for ever.
Thru this intense study I have found numerous doctrinal errors in all the other versions, and I've found that only the KJV is without doctrinal error. The problem is not translation, but the problem is the underlining Hebrew and Greek text of the other versions.
The KJV (the Authorized Version, called the Textus Receptus), is also known as the Antiochan Text. Antioch was where the bible says that they were first called Christians.
Acts 11:26
And when he had found him, he brought him unto Antioch. And it came to pass, that a whole year they assembled themselves with the church, and taught much people. And the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch.
This is the text that the KJV was translated from. This is the text passed down from the Apostle Paul and put together by the Lord Jesus Christ's prophets in Paul's day. All the other versions use the Alexandrian Text from Alexandria, Egypt (Egypt, in the bible, is a type of the world), or some other perverted, underlining text. Those texts are perversions or counterfeits to offset the Truth of God's word!
Those other versions add to, take away from, and diminish God's word, the very thing that the Lord warns man against—not once, not twice, but three times!
Deuteronomy 4:2
Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall ye diminish ought from it, that ye may keep the commandments of the LORD your God which I command you.
Proverbs 30:5-6
Every word of God is pure: he is a shield unto them that put their trust in him. Add thou not unto his words, lest he reprove thee, and thou be found a liar.
Revelation 22:18-19
For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book:
And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.
Therefore, by faith, I am fully persuaded that for me as an English-speaking person, the KJV is God's perfect word in my language.
Hopefully this helps...Maranatha!
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Gen 3:5 (KJV) is troublesome to me because it reads "gods" in lieu of "God" in the NKJV. I believe that the KJV is the only authorized English version to use but can't understand the use of the the word "gods". Can you elobrate on that for me.
ReplyDeleteDear Anonymous: Thank you for your question.
ReplyDeleteGenesis 3:5 in the KJV is "gods," and not "God" like in the NKJV because Satan is not trying to tempt them to be like "God" the Creator, they were already like Him! That is, they had "god-likeness,” or godliness. Satan was tempting her with not being like "God," but like the "gods" or the angels. In the bible, angels are also known as "gods."
These passages are referring to and talking about angels!
Exodus 22:28
Thou shalt not revile the gods, nor curse the ruler of thy people.
Psalm 82:1
God standeth in the congregation of the mighty; he judgeth among the gods.
Psalm 138:1
I will praise thee with my whole heart: before the gods will I sing praise unto thee
Adam and Eve were already the son and daughter of God, and therefore like their Father.
Luke 3:38
Which was the son of Enos, which was the son of Seth, which was the son of Adam, which was the son of God.
But as a "son," Adam (and Eve) were to depend on the Word of their Father, like the Lord Jesus Christ did. It was a form of worship.
John 14:24
He that loveth me not keepeth not my sayings: and the word which ye hear is not mine, but the Father's which sent me.
Matthew 4:8-10
Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them; And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me. Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.
Satan wanted to keep them from depending on God, their Father, and to depend on "themselves" (but, which really amounted to listening to his word) like he and the fallen angels do. In essence, he tempted them to actually be less than they actually were—the same thing he does with us today in the church, the Body of Christ!
Galatians 4:9
But now, after that ye have known God, or rather are known of God, how turn ye again to the weak and beggarly elements, whereunto ye desire again to be in bondage?
So the reason that the KJV uses "gods," and not "God" like the NKJV, it is because God is not the issue in the temptation, the angels are.
Hopefully this helps...thanks again for writing.
Brother Ron Knight.