Now I want to be perfectly clear. I do not begrudge this retailer for the selection they carried. As a retailer, all they were doing was stocking merchandise that would sell. The fact that Christian retailers don't stock many KJV Bibles, many devotions and study guides that use the KJV, and the subject of the books are man-centered and not God centered is an indication that the Christian community in America is not interested in those things. For if the Christian community were interested in the KJV and God-centered/Christ-centered resources, they would buy them and the stores would be full of them.
The lack of commitment to the word of God and the study of the Gospel in the Christian community is leading us toward a spiritual drought. Amos 8:11 says, "Behold, the days come, saith the Lord GOD, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the LORD."
While at this Christian retailer, my wife found a study that she would like to go through. The subject of the study was something that had been on her heart and she really felt that she would be blessed by doing the study. The study was compiled by a noted speaker who was the child of a very prominent author, speaker and senior pastor of a DFW metro-area church. When I took a look at the study, this author had not only elected to build this study off of modern translations, but she had used paraphrase translations like the NLT and the Message. Not only are the NLT and The Message paraphrase translations, meaning they take God's word and reword it to what they think it says, but it's not even taken from the Received Text, which, for hundreds of years was widely regarded as the true word of God.
How can we, as Christians, say that we are truly being Christ-centered, God-centered people if we are not even willing to take our thoughts and ideas directly from God's word? It gets worse.
Browsing the aisles of this retailer, I found more and more studies which used NIV and NLT versions of the Bible to support their research. I began to wonder if the KJV even still has a place at the table. Does it? Why the animosity toward the KJV? Why the exclusion of the KJV? The only study I found using the KJV was The Mind of Christ, and I find it interesting how it was also the only Christ-centered study I found.
Here's the conclusion I came to while visiting this establishment. As long as we continue down this road of abandoning the true word of God (The KJV and all other static equivalent translations of the Received Text), and gravitating toward paraphrase translations and translations from faulty manuscripts, all the while focusing the message on ourselves and not God, they we will continue toward an expended period of spiritual drought. During this time, we may very well deceive ourselves into thinking that we are experiencing revival due to our ability to manufacture miracles and gather people together for flesh-appealing events, but at the end of the day, we'll still be spiritually dry because we will have sought after fulfillment and emotional validation rather than the Lord.
If we continue down that path, we are setting ourselves up for deception as the end times draw near. The Bible is all about the Gospel, the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ for our sins according to the scriptures. Which scriptures? The true scriptures. If you want spiritual revival, open up God's word (any literal translation of the Received Text), and learn about God. Don't seek your own agenda. You'll remain dry. May God bless you as you read His word.
7 comments:
Bro. Leland. My wife owns a small christian book store and makes every attempt to stock material that is scriptural. As far as the KJV. it only accounts for 15% of all bible sales now. the NKJV has 16% the NIV. captures about 65%.
Most people who purchase a bible in Her store say that they want something that does'nt sound like Shakespear.
Bro. Leland I to have ran into the same problem. I think to myself where better for the devil to ensnare those around us than through a false word. A store I like to use is
online at http://swordbooks.com/
Follow my blog at
http://hisfamily4ever.blogspot.com/
I have noticed this, and was actually let go from a job for bringing something of this sort to the attention to people at the Baptist Bookstore in Texarkana. We had Sunday school literature that blasted Contemporary Christian Music (1994) And on the shelf was the Amy Grant album that was not a Christian album (Baby Baby schlock). I also asked why if we were so adamant agianst other denominations that we would sale items catering to these denominations. I understand that the bookstore there is for profit, but Catholic worship paraphenalia is sold there. It is the same way with the Bibles there also. Most people disown the KJV because it was the Bible of their parents and grandparents and they want to be new and exciting. They want to be different and mor advanced. That bible may have been ok for the old times, but these are newer and smarter times. I preach from the KJV and occasionally I will use another version for study or for reading. Sorry I went on the rant about the bookstore, I was just trying to point out hypocrisy. It is our bookstore and every bookstore. As an association, the ABA sort of sends out mixed signals. It is ok to make money off of this stuff, but not to believe the way that they do.
Bro. Leland,
Sorry I haven't done this is and it is not an afterthought: I really appreciate your posts on the KJV and admire you FOR MAKING THE CHANGE (that is our ultimate goal). Your testimony (you are a recent graduate) about what you were taught in seminary matches verbatim with a young pastor in the Shelby Co. Association about 20 years ago from the pulpit of his church (he still pastors there). It shows that our criticisms of that seminary are not as unfounded as some would like to claim. In fact, that is one of the primary reasons I am at LMBIS and not at the seminary you attended.
Brethren,
I engaged in a discussion with a young ABA pastor on his blog about this issue. I pointed out that there are differences between the KJV and other, modern translations. His response was: "At least we got the MESSAGE." Really, this issue IS about translation and different textual bases for the two streams of translation, but it is DEEPER that that: it is a question of did God preserve His Word and it is also a question(as the above response shows) of whether one truly believes in verbal, plenary inspiration.
Bro. Freeman,
Is that all that we have a bookstore for is for what people will buy? Go to the Bible itself in Revelation 22:18,19 where it warns about adding to and taking away. That is evidence enough that all translations are NOT the Word of God. Look at ANY modern translation (and as Bro. Leland pointed out some are not even that but PARAPHRASES), including the NKJV. Acts 8:37 which talks about a profession of faith before baptism is out, in brackets, or out in the footnotes. We do not have the original autographs, so if there were no translation that follows the originals, then we basically would be saying we do not have the Word of God today. I'm sticking with the KJV and yes, I believe it should be a test of fellowship.
Bro. Bobbitt,
Thank you for bringing these things to the attention of the staff at Texarkana. It is abominable and hypocrisy of the worst sort the things we sell in our bookstore. I was browsing through there one day and found books by Brian McLaren on their shelves. He is not just emerging but emergent and denies the fundamentals of Christianity. I think the best thing we could do is shut that store down, keep Bogard Press for printing books that are more Scriptural, and publishing literature. And we need to KEEP being vocal and MORE SO about our opposition about these things.
Brother Young Landmarker,
Whilst I share your desire to defend the KJV... but I don't think we should shut down the Texarkana book store. If so, we must shut down ALL ABA book stores for the same purpose - selling false versions. At least all the ones I know of. And then, while we still print the old ABA books... who would sell them?
I think it is a shame, but shutting them down is not the answer. Perhaps more diplomatic measures (which usually end up seeming weak when we are too lazy to do something about it) would be in order?
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