While the church I grew up in was never an “extreme King James Only Church,” as soon as I entered the ministry in the mid 1990s, I was presented with books by authors such as Gail Riplinger, David Otis Fuller, and others. I heard from some preachers that a “Good Baptist”is a “King James Baptist.”
That set me on a journey to become pretty extreme with the King James Version insofar that, for a period of time, I looked down on anyone and everyone who did not have a “real Bible,” and sadly there were some years early in my ministry when I read more from Gail Riplinger, D.A. Waite, and others than what I actually read from the Bible! I not only looked at every other version with suspicion but I looked as them as perversions. This was in my own arrogance but sadly I was applauded for it. I was a novice in the Biblical doctrines, but at least I was a defender of the King James Bible. Those were the early days of the internet and there were plenty of forums and places to go to argue with people.
In late 2001, I went to New Mexico to begin working with a group over there who had not hard much teaching, and one of the first things I did was to tell them they could not be reading their NKJV or NIV Bibles. I told them they had to get King James Bibles. I wish I would have met them where they were and realized there is liberty in this subject. But I did not…
As late as the 2010s, I preached a sermon called “Being A King James Only Baptist.” Most of that was just arrogant parroting of stuff I read and heard. I preached it because there was a renewed interest on the subject due to a well written article that appeared in the Berea Baptist Banner in November 2010 and this subject came up at all the Bible Conferences. Looking back, it’s sad we were talking more about the three letters that were (or weren’t) on the cover of the Bible than actually what is written in it.
Three things gave me pause about the whole movement.
Number 1. As a teenager, I had learned Tok Pisin, or Melanesian Pidgin, from a native missionaries who were visiting from Papua New Guinea. I learned it so well that I can speak it, read it, and write it. I had a copy of their Bible and I could communicate with Brother Ekere Ibago, Brother Kenny Kundu and others. What I found is that these men were sound in the faith, and yet as I read the Bible in their language, I discovered that it was the equivalent of our modern versions. How could they read from, study from, preach from such a Bible and remain sound? According to everything I had read from Ripplinger and others, this should have never been true (but it was). More about the Pidgin Bible translations here.
Number 2. I began to notice other churches and ministries here in the USA that were (in the main) orthodox in their beliefs and yet they used other versions of the Bible. One ministry that had a major impact on me was Answers in Genesis. Some of the preachers I heard on the radio were preaching from Bibles that were not KJV and yet were preaching excellent sermons. I also noticed, on the flip side, some heretical groups that were King James Only. Nowhere could I find anyone who has fallen into error from reading or preaching from a NKJV, NASB, or ESV. It seemed to me that the issue was more about Biblical Hermeneutics than about the translation used.
Number 3. I noticed some Baptist brothers whose Bibles had different letters on the covers but I could not find anything else different about them. I was told stories that they hated the King James Version….that they were attacking the KJV even. But as I saw some of these brothers at conferences and online, I found the opposite was true, they were not attacking the KJV. I was told they were being divisive, and they were breaking fellowship with others yet I was not seeing the same thing. Indeed, in my observation, it was the KJVO brothers who were being divisive and wanting to break fellowship.
In fact, there is a passage that really raised some concerns for me as I examined the two opposing camps:
“Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. Let us not be desirous of vain glory, provoking one another, envying one another.” (Galatians 5:19–26, KJV)
Let me also share the quote from a more modern Bible version:
“Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions, envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, of which I forewarn you, just as I have forewarned you, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such things there is no law. Now those who belong to Christ Jesus crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk in step with the Spirit. Let us not become those with vain glory, challenging one another, envying one another.” (Galatians 5:19–26, LSB)
Isn’t it something how that strife, selfish ambitions, factions…are included in the works of the flesh along with sexual immorality, idolatry, etc? Meanwhile, the fruit of the Spirit is love, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Much of what I was seeing from the KJVO camp was looking more like the works of the flesh than the fruit of the Spirit as I was examining these things.
As the years went on, these things troubled me, and there came a time I could not simply continue to parrot what others said. I felt I was missing something. If I was going to continue in this path of King James Onlyism, I needed to sure up my own convictions.
“Now these were more noble-minded than those in Thessalonica, for they received the word with great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so.” (Acts 17:11, LSB)
The Bible does not itself address the subject of English Bible translations directly, so, I got myself some other Bible versions to read so I could solidify my KJVO position. First, the New King James Version. Then the English Standard Version. Rather than read about them, I would read and study them myself to strengthen my own own arguments.
I read them the way the Bible is intended to be read. I started at the beginning and read through, just like a person would any other book. It’s sad I even have to say this, but too many people especially the KJVO folks will flip open their Bibles and grab a verse to use out of context. That’s the way they preach Psalm 12:6-7, Matthew 5:18, etc. to try to prove their point.
As I read I found the Word of God to be fresh and understandable in a way I had never, but I was very cautious and optimistic. When a word did not sound right, I double checked my lexicons and Strongs and Vines, and found accuracy. As I read, I noticed that the supposed variations between the versions were not as extreme as I had been told….at least not in the versions I was reading.
Where Riplinger and others would show a verse to produce evidence of some problem, I found that taking that verse in context would clear up the problem in many instances. Other times, if something was not present in one gospel, it is there in another.
I also discovered that I was subconsciously skipping old archaic words rather than actually studying them. Having grown up on the King James Version, there were also words that I assumed I knew the meaning of but I did not. I have posted examples of these on my Facebook page and Mark Ward has done a great job of documenting these in his YouTube channel and in his book. I’ll also make a post about this in my blog later.
Then I examined my own doctrine, faith and practice. I realized that there is nothing I believe….nothing that my Baptist forefathers believed….that couldn’t be defended from a modern version. In other words, I could take any doctrine, and any sermon and preach it from a NASB, ESV, or NKJV.
The historic confessions, whether the First London Confession, The Second London Confession, The Philadelphia, the New Hampshire, or any number of historic Baptist Confessions can be defended using the major modern versions. The only exception to this rule is if your church has added some clause mandating a particular 400 year old Bible version. Some Baptists have done that within the past 50 years but that is not historic Baptist faith and practice.
Over the past 2000 years, there was no great conspiracy to corrupt the text of the New Testament and indeed God’s Word has been preserved in a great way. Of all the textual variants, the doctrine of God’s Word, the message of the gospel remains true! There is a great website at KJV Parallel Bible where you can see what I mean.
As I was studying, I also pulled out the facsimile copy of the 1611 King James Bible I had gotten as a gift a few years earlier. What I found fascinating was the “Translators to The Reader” (missing from most modern copies of the King James Version) – as you read that, you will find, they were not King James Only. Also just as fascinating and important are the marginal notes (also missing from modern copies of the KJV) indicating variant readings and textual criticism.
But there was still a problem. I was afraid of what others might say or think.
Yet one day as my family and I were going through the book of Proverbs, my wife said something to me and the children, and it went something like, “Does anyone else have a problem understanding what this is saying?” And that brought up a big discussion in my family. I knew my responsibility is bigger than the brethren.
So I opened the door for our home to other translations. Also, from that time forward I began to be more vocal in my sermons quoting other translations.
To borrow something I learned from Brother Mark Ward, which is also something the King James Translators themselves wrote: “Without good translation, there can be no edification.” Taking the principle from 1 Corinthians 14:8-12; 23-25, we ought to desire that there be understandable speech for the believer and the unbeliever too…even and especially when we read from the Bible. The Great Commission demands this.
I am thankful for the brothers and sisters I know who hold to the King James Bible. If that is you, by all means, read it and study it. I am not against the King James Version. I am opposed to King James Onlyism. Do not force your opinion on everyone else. It is ridiculous to believe that a 400 year old Bible written in a form of English that nobody speaks anymore is the only Bible we have. I love the KJV, but I also love other translations, especially the Legacy Standard Bible. I love to read the Word of God in my language. I love to preach the Word without having to preach the dictionary.
While there are some terrible translations, I recommend reading modern translations for yourself. Read the New King James Version, the English Standard Version, the Legacy Standard Bible.
Also, read some good books on the subject. Here are a few I recommend:
Authorized: The Use and Misuse of the King James Bible by Mark Ward
The Text of the New Testament: From Manuscript to Modern Edition by J. Harold Greenlee
The King James Only Controversy: Can You Trust The Modern Translations by James R. White
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