Faith in God’s Word
As a Christian or indeed anyone coming into the faith, you Must have a level of faith in order to please God. The bible tells us it is impossible to please Him without it. Hebrews 11:6
So first and foremost you have to believe and have total faith in the word of God. I mean how can you say that you have faith in God if you doubt the bible.
Now the thing is over the centuries there have been many attempts to confuse, pollute and discredit the bible. Some bibles that were produced were done so leaving out crucial scriptures or even misquoting the original Greek text.
False Teachers
After the Apostle, Paul planted churches the bible tells us false teachers and preachers would arise. They would spread a false doctrine and pollute the gospel.
Paul warns the Corinthians in his letter about being deceived by this false preaching. He warns them not to be turned away from the simplicity that is in Christ being fooled by false preachers and false apostles.
Paul did address some doctrinal errors in matters of Christian duty and he also defended himself against those that tried to discredit him (2 Cor 11:1-15).
To those that were seeking proof that Christ was speaking in him, Paul mentions what he had already told them twice before.
He tells them again in 2 Corinthians 13:5;
“Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?”.
They are to examine themselves for the proof that Christ was speaking through Paul because they are the fruit of His teaching, as he was the one that led them to the saviour.
A Crime To Have A Bible
William Tyndale an English scholar from the fifteenth century, became one of the leaders in the Protestant movement.
He made it his mission to translate the bible into English. He was the first to write a translation in English from the Original Hebrew and Greek received text.
The Roman Catholic Church took this as a direct challenge to their authority and their laws and Tyndale was executed.
He was strangled and his body set on fire for giving the people of England the word of God in their language.
The reason for this was because the Roman Catholic Church wanted to remain in control of the scriptures and didn’t want the likes of you and me to have access to it. They wanted to control how much we knew about Gods word.
If they had succeeded in this where would we be today? I can’t imagine not being able to read my bible, could you?
In fact, in those early days when the bible was first produced in English, it was illegal to read it not to mention have one in your possession.
This is commonly referred to as the “Dark Ages”, it was a time when Bibles were burnt. The Roman Church was so afraid that the people would realise they had been lied to and question the Church’s teachings.
The bible tells us in Romans 10:17 “So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God”.
So without having access to the word of God, we would have to rely on a man to tell us what the scriptures say. This was not God’s plan!
The King James Bible
If what we are hearing is not based on the true word of God, then we would all be lost. In 1604 King James authorised the translation of the Bible into English, 54 Scholars from around Europe came together to undertake this task.
They used the Greek Text of Stephus, an updated copy of the Erasmus text which is now known as the “Textus Receptus”. This was the foundation for their translation and it took them seven years to complete.
It is said that each book had to pass 14 tests before it was accepted as scripture. In 1611 the work was completed and the King James Version [KJV]that we have today was born.
Since then there have been many bibles release some of which are definitely in question (but I’ll save that for another time).
I’m not saying you shouldn’t use other bibles but it makes sense to have a King James Version to compare it to. The KJV’s Textus Receptus is backed up by 95% of all ancient Greek manuscripts.
Between the years 1611 and 1911, the King James Version produced more Spiritual Fruit than any other bible. Many missionaries, Evangelists, hymn writers and church founders were inspired by it.
So to increase your faith, make sure you’re feeding on the correct source!
A wise man will hear, and will increase learning; and a man of understanding shall attain unto wise counsels: Proverbs 1:5
Written By
Pastor Donovan Benjamin
November 8, 2016