Why we use the King James Bible
Category: Bible Study & Scripture
Speaker: Paul Chisgar
Date: June 7, 2024
Four months and they got a baby. Praise Lord, a grandchild. Amen, that’s a good deal. Amen. Brother Anthony. Praise Lord, Brother Anthony. Praise Lord. Amen. Praise Lord yesterday. Amen. Amen. Praise Lord for that. Amen. Amen. Amen. Praise Lord for that. Amen. Everybody’s got a praise Lord for that. That’s been a blessing. We had to do one of those tough things. Me and Sarah yesterday, and we’d have to go get ice cream together. It was really hard to do. And then we’d have to go to another restaurant and ate some food over there. It was great. Miss Cador. Amen. Amen. What a blessing. Praise Lord for Miss Mickey. Miss Pickey Raines. What a blessing this morning. I don’t know who last week, but that’s a blessing. Amen. Anybody just got a praise real quick here? Brother Fontaine.
Amen. Amen. That’s wonderful. We got a couple of prayer requests I was going to mention in Sunday school here. Brother, many of you might know this, but Brother Larry fell this week and just kind of had a setback. He’s still doing okay, but pray for Brother Larry if you would. Of course, Brother Jim, Miss Judy Lawson. Brother Jim’s had cancer, not doing very well at all. And we will just see what the Lord does. Of course, the Lord’s able and capable, loves him, but he may be home. But pray for that family, if you would. Ms. Ritha. She went to a specialist this week. Still really haven’t found out what’s going on. Got more important. So pray for Ms. Ritha Thompson.
And then Brother Warren, he’s doing a little better—talked to more, or texted, maybe it was—but he just had a tough time with his bladder cancer or whatnot. So pray for him, if you would, please. Ms. Marilyn Edmondson, she had the pacemaker defibrillator put in. Pray for her if you would. Brother Richard Elliott sits over here. Of course, Ms. Sherry McWhorter’s brother. He fell this week also, and pray for him. He’s been in the hospital. Had a little bleeding on the brain. I haven’t talked to them in the last day or so, but he was stable. Just pray for him, if you will. Boy, they’ve had a rough time because Brother John McWhorter has been very sick. They thought maybe he had the COVID-19. He does not. But he does have an upper respiratory infection, a little touch of pneumonia. So pray for him if you would. And Brother Ricky Anderson’s brother—he has a brother that lives up on the mountain, Mount Eagle they call it up on the mountain—he does have the virus. So pray for him. His health is not good at all. And so pray for him, if you would, please.
And then my brother-in-law, my sister’s husband, Harvey Ear, he had a kidney transplant a little while back. So he is very vulnerable to things, and he’s been very sick. Last day they kind of worried it might be the virus. As far as they know right now, it’s not. They’ve tested; they have to wait, waiting for all the results to come back, but it looks like his kidney is not doing good. And he’s in the hospital, so pray for him. She’s very, very sick, so pray for him. For all those, a lot of folks there. I tell you what, we got Brother Fontaine to lead us just a minute to go. Let’s get you to do again. Let’s pass that microphone. Turn it on. Let’s pass that over to Brother Fontaine, and we’ll get him to lead us again. And then we’ll dive right into this subject here. Would you pray? If you’re online there, wherever you are, let’s all just pray. And we’ll take these to the Lord in a word of prayer, if you will, please, Brother Fontaine.
Dear Heavenly Father and God, Lord. We love You and thank You, Lord, for this beautiful day You’ve given us, Lord. Thank You, Lord, God, for the truth in Sunday school and the good old King James Bible. Thank You, Lord, for so many blessings. And, Lord, we have these folks that are in need of help, Lord. We need You to help them out this morning, Lord. And we lift them up in prayer. Please, dear Lord, bless Jim and Judy Lawson, bless Larry Roselowski, and Rita Thompson, and Warren Sandgren, bless Marilyn Edmondson, and Richard Elliott, John McQuarter, Ricky Anderson, and Harvey Seldenia. And, Lord, we just thank You, God, for all the answered prayers so many times, Lord. You’ve come through and helped us and healed us, Lord, and we just love You. And we pray this prayer in Jesus’ name. Amen.
Amen. Thank you so much, brother. I appreciate that very much. We’re going to talk about this subject: Why We Use the King James Bible. At Rutherford County Baptist Church, that’s all we use. Personally, it’s all I use in my studies; all that’s all I use. Why is that? It is a very prominent subject in every day and time. There are well over 400 new versions, and that’s a little old statistics. I’m sure it’s much greater than that. They say they come up with a new version every six months at least.
And so it’s version. It’s amazing we have had the privilege of knocking on a lot of Muslim doors and witnessing to them, telling them about Jesus Christ. And one of the comments they’ll often make is, “Well, y’all have so many English versions of the Bible, which one is true?” Of course, they say, “Well, you know, the Quran, we just have one,” and so on. And if we did not have a Bible to stand on, they would have something on us, if you will. We’ve had them bring that up repeatedly to several different people. I don’t have many of our people they brought it up to, but I have had them bring it up to me. So if I have something I stand on, that’s key. Someone said, “If you don’t have something to stand for, you’ll fall for anything.” If you don’t stand for something, you’ll fall for anything. And why is it? Why is it that we use the King James Bible? And I don’t want to beat anyone over the head over the issue. I just want to talk with you frankly about it. Honestly, almost as if you were sitting down in the living room and just talking about the subject and trying to give you some truths and some facts on the subject.
Let me give you just a touch of history about that. Of course, when the Bible was translated—in the New Testament from the Greek, the Koine Greek, and the Old Testament for the vast majority in Hebrew—when it was being translated, 1611, when the King James was completed. Before that, it was illegal to have the Bible in the English language in Europe. Of course, the Roman Catholic Church had much to do with that. And the Roman Catholic priests, they were able to read Greek and the Greek New Testament. Of course, that’s how Martin Luther got saved. He read Romans 1:17, the Sola Fide—the justification by faith. Of course, that was in his Greek New Testament. He was able to read that. But the common people, they did not have the Bible in their own language. It was kind of building Bible translations. Some did it in secret, translating the Bible even before the King James Version Bible, meaning they were persecuted. Some of those were martyred for doing so. You’ll recognize some of these names: John Wycliffe, Tyndale, Coverdale, the Great Bible, Geneva Bible. Some of these are Bibles that were translated into English before the King James. And it was kind of part of a building and growing. And translation was becoming more of a sought-after, prayed-for thing for the Christian people.
And then King James came along. It’s very interesting. He was King James the 6th of Scotland, and then his cousin, Queen Elizabeth, died, making him King James I of England. So he’s both. Sometimes that causes confusion to people. He was very hated by the Catholic Church. They didn’t like him, and he taught salvation by faith in Christ, not the Roman Catholic Church or the Pope, whatnot, but just in Jesus Christ. They didn’t like that. But King James came along in 1604. He was asked, and in 1604, he said, “Yes, let’s get the best scholars we can find, and let’s have them translate the Bible into English so the common people can read the Bible. Everybody can read it in the English language.” They started out with 54 of the best scholars they could find. They ended up with 47 when we really began to get going. And here’s the thing: It was the King James Version. So, no matter where you were in Europe or in England, if you will, if someone had an issue with it, maybe a local sheriff, police officer, if you will, you could say, “No, this is the King’s Bible. This is the King James Version,” sometimes called the Authorized Version. We have the backing of the King, the Authorized Version. I’m allowed to have this. So nobody can really arrest you or persecute you for it because you had the King’s authority, permission. So that’s how we got the King James Version. Now, they started in 1604. It was not completed until 1611. It took them seven years to do that.
And how they did it—these scholars, these 47 of the best scholars they could find. By the way, those scholars were just so well educated, and it was such a prime time to translate. I don’t know if we have any person alive today that really matches up with one of these translators in their language skills. I’m amazed when I hear just an everyday person or even a preacher sometimes say, “Well, I think this ought to be the best word,” and their education and their Bible linguistics is so poor compared to one of these guys, and they think their authority allows them to change the Bible. We’ve got 47 of the best scholars of that day and time, which is much better than our day and time. And not only that, the hand of God was on it. So you understand what’s going on when people want to change the Bible. So these 47 scholars, they divided into six groups. Each group took a section of the Bible, and they translated it on their own. Then they all brought it back together, and then they compared what each other did. The whole group went through all of it, and then they had a select committee of the 47 that went through the whole thing all over again. It took them seven years. In 1611, it was completed. So that’s how we—that’s how we got the King James Bible.
And let me just say a word about this. A lot of good people use other versions, and they are not my enemies. I’m not after them. So often they just don’t know, and they’ve been taught on it. I think of many times in our foundation’s class we will teach them that, and people will say, “Pastor, man, I never knew that.” And they learn a little bit of it, and they get grounded in it. And here’s the thing about that: So often, Christian bookstores you go to—not always, but often—the owners or the headquarters of those bookstores are companies that are printing other versions. So you’re not going to have a lot of information out there about why we use the King James when many of the bookstores where Bibles are found in are owned by companies that print other versions. So you kind of understand the issue. A lot of people don’t know about it. Oh, we just had some folks join our church maybe six months ago, a year ago—good people. They said, “We always use the King James Version. We never really heard that much about it.” And oh, I think maybe I preached on it, or they had heard we just use King James, and so they began to study up the issue and they thought, “Wow, we never knew,” and they’re very thankful they’re in a church that uses just the King James Bible.
So let’s just talk about it. I’m going to give you—just try to keep very basic. This subject can get very deep, if you will. And we’re just going to kind of try to keep it on my level, simple, amen. And just kind of use, in our language, we’re going to give you four reasons why we use the King James Version. We’re going to go very quickly on that subject.
And so here’s the first of the four, the first reason why we use a King James Bible. Just a simple one: It is the only English version that does not have a copyright on it. All the other versions in the English language, there’s a copyright on them. Now, here’s the thing: I use what is called a Scofield Old Scofield Bible. And if I look in the front flyleaf of it, there is a copyright, right? I’d have to look it up. I think maybe this one’s from Oxford or whatnot. I’m not sure, but it’s not on the text, the words. Some of that is on the Scofield notes. Scofield has been around. He’s got a lot of notes in there and cross-referencing references and whatnot. And so there’s a copyright on that. But the actual words of the King James, there’s no copyright on. It’s the only English version that does not have a copyright.
Now, here’s the thing: Some that promote other versions will say, “Well, when the King James was first translated, there was a copyright on it.” And there was, for the first couple of years, just a little bit, and they did get some royalties from that to print more Bibles. But that was gone very, very quickly, very quickly into it. Some will try to get a typeset on all that. But the words of the King James Bible, there’s no copyright on that.
We have a good friend. He was in our church in the beginning days of the church. Before he was in our church, he had written some books, some Christian books. They’re in bookstores. In fact, Brother Fontaine, before he ever came to our church, he had found those in a Christian bookstore, one of them at least, and read them. And then he came to our church. He thought, “Wow, these books are in this church.” He was a good man, but he told me one time, he said, “You know, before I knew anything about the King James Version and all these different issues, I wrote those books before I knew.” He said, “I used the King James Version Bible in my books simply because I didn’t want to go through the hassle of writing to someone and getting their permission to use their version of the Bible in my books.” And he said, “I knew legally, man, there’s no copyright on the King James.” And so I could just put the King James in my books that were printed and published. There’s no legal problems, issues tied up. There’s no copyright on the King James Bible, the words of it. And so there’s no copyright on it. That’s very interesting. These new versions—someone’s getting some royalties off of that.
It is very interesting if you maybe just do a study on your own at home wherever and find out who owns the copyright of certain versions. Very interesting if you find out sometimes what company, what the parent company of those are. I was shocked several years ago when I looked at a company that prints a lot of the new versions and I found out the parent company, and that’s the same company that prints the Titanic Bible. I thought, “Wow.” It’s just amazing. There’s a lot of interesting study there. I would encourage you to do your own study on that. Of course, it does remind me of two different verses you’ll know: “The love of money is the root of all evil.” And so somebody’s getting royalties off of that. There’s a little money involved there. I think it’s like 1 Timothy 2:9, but the Word of God is not bound. You can’t—you can’t put something on that’s God’s words. And so, just very simple: The first reason why I use the King James Bible is because there’s no copyright on it. It’s God’s words, and no man says, “That’s mine.” There’s no copyright on them.
Second reason. Second reason, we’re just going very quickly, very simply here. First one: There’s no copyright on them. Second reason is because since 1611, every great revival in the English language that’s happened—I’m not talking about any local, I’m talking about great revivals, the Great Awakening, Second Great Awakening, the Pulitzer Revival—these revivals, this is what they used: the King James Bible. And it’s been proved and tested over the years. There have been many that have come out and said, hey, I think of years ago, one that said, “Within 100 years, the King James Bible will be obsolete.” It’s been 100 years since that statement was made, and it’s still out. And I think by far the most English Bibles that have been printed over time, by far it’s the King James Version Bible, and it’s still being used. God still has His hand on it. All the great revivals since 1611, if you trace it down through the centuries, it’s been the Bible used for every major revival to sweep across the country or a portion of a country in the English-speaking world. That reminds me of another verse. We’ll look up some verses in just a moment. I’m just kind of reading you some verses before we get to the subject. I’m trying to go fairly quickly so we get to it. But 1 Thessalonians 5:21 says this. It says, “Prove all things; hold fast that which is good.” And I just simply put: It stood the test of time. And it’s been attacked many, many times, and there’s been so much slander against it, but it stood the test, and it’s proven true. And God’s used it. God’s blessed it. God’s brought great revivals when people are using it. So, number one: It’s the only one that doesn’t have a copyright on it. Number two: All the great revivals in the English language since 1611—that’s what they’ve used right there.
And then number three, just—I like this one—the new versions have significant changes. Let’s just talk about that for a second. Some will say, “Well, why can you say they’ve been changed from the King James?” Well, after 400 years, I would think the King James would have the authority to say they’ve changed from that. There hasn’t been another version established all these hundreds of years. Well, it has changed from that, and the King James has been the standard for all those hundreds of years. So I think I have the authority to say, “Well, we’ve changed what’s been used,” you see. And here’s the thing. Here’s what you hear so often: “Well, it really doesn’t matter. They’ve just kind of taken the ‘thees’ and the ‘thous’ out.” We’ll mention that in just a few minutes here, the significance of them. But it really doesn’t matter. So what’s the big deal about the changes? It seems about the same to me. And I like it—let’s just take a little time, and let’s just compare a couple of verses here, and let’s just find out if it really truly makes a difference or not. Proof is in the pudding. I’m just kind of one of those guys, man, brass tacks. Let’s just get down to the brass tacks where the rubber meets the road. Let’s find out where. So we’re going to look at a couple of verses. If you look over in Luke chapter number two, Luke chapter number two. And by the way, if you’re online there, and we’ve got just—oh, I think nine people here this morning, counting myself—but if you’re looking online, read from your King James Bible, if you would like. If you have time to look up these other versions of all these verses, you’re welcome to do it. We’ve printed out some for our people that are here from the internet—these other versions. They’ll read in their microphones so you can hear what they say. But we just want to compare: Is it really, truly, does it really make a difference or not? And we’re over in Luke 2 and verse number 33, Luke 2 and verse number 33 of the Bible. And the Bible there says, “And Joseph and his mother marveled at those things which were spoken of him.”
Now, here’s the thing I just want to point out: The Bible, the King James Bible, was always very careful not to call Joseph Jesus’ Father. You’ll remember, you remember, Gabriel came and said, “Hey, Mary, you’re going to have a seed, you’re going to conceive,” and it’s going to be the Holy Ghost that conceives that seed. Isaiah 7:14—what’s the sign there? “A virgin shall give birth.” By the way, so many versions change that right there to “young maiden.” But no, no, a virgin shall conceive. That’s the sign. Young maidens give birth all the time, you know. And so I say that to say that it’s very, very important in the Bible. The Bible always says, no, no, it’s deity. Jesus is a great man, He’s a great teacher, He’s a great prophet, but He’s more than that—He is God. All right? And “In the beginning was the Word.” Okay? “And the Word was with God. The Word was God.” See, by the way, that’s interesting. The old Jehovah’s Witnesses and their New World Translation, they’ll add just one little article in there, changing the whole meaning: “And the Word was a God,” their version says. No, no, “The Word was God.” See? In verse 14 there in John 1, “And He was made flesh and dwelt among us,” and so on. So Jesus was God. Now, how has that happened? Well, Mary was conceived of the Holy Ghost. See? And if Joseph was Jesus’ father, then all you have is humanity in the birth. And then you have Jesus is just a mere man. The Word of God’s not true. John 1 is not true. Jehovah’s Witnesses are right? He’s not God? See? No, He is complete man, but He is complete God. Yes, Mary was married, but His Father was God. He’s God in flesh. See? And so if the Bible were to call Joseph Jesus’ father, then Jesus is not God.
Job, in the book of Job—I don’t think Job is speaking—but in the book of Job, it calls Jesus our daysman. He’s our mediator, the New Testament says. In other words, He can satisfy God. He knows God. He is God. He can satisfy the righteousness and the justice of God. Yet He’s man. He understands, and He’s been there. He’s walked. He’s been tempted in all points like as we are, yet without sin. And see, if He’s not both, then my salvation is not secure. See? And the importance—the importance of Joseph was as Jesus’ father, stepfather maybe, but not His Father. Now, so let’s just note how the Bible is so careful not to call Joseph Jesus’ father.
We have a couple versions here. Ms. Tammy, I believe you have the NIV. This is the 2011 version. They have several different versions out: the 1984, then they came out with the 2011. By the way, when they came out the 2011 version of the NIV, they said, “We got this one right.” Well, that makes me think about all those other versions, you know, they printed all those years. By the way, probably—I think this is for sure, I don’t think anyone might argue—of all the new versions, the most popular of the new versions is the NIV. All right. So, Luke 2:33 from the NIV. Ms. Tammy, would you read that, please? “The child’s father and mother marveled at what was said about him.” So, did you hear that? The child’s father. Wow, we’ve got a problem with that right there for sure. Sarah, which version do you have? The New King James Version? Would you read what the New King James Version says? “And Joseph and his mother marveled at those things which were spoken of him.” All right, so the New King James Version didn’t call Joseph Jesus’ father. John, what do you got? English Standard Version. Good deal. Would you read that one, please? “And his father and his mother marveled at what was said about him.” So many are going to the ESV. And so many, and did you notice even in the ESV? They called Joseph Jesus’ father. We got a problem with that right there. Brother Fontaine, what version? You got the Common English Version, I believe this is? Common English Version: “His father and their mother—excuse me, his father and mother—were amazed by what was said about him.” So, father? My goodness, father. Brother Anthony, you got the Holman Christian Standard, I believe it. Yes, sir. “His father and mother were amazed at what was being said about him.” Wow, wow. So, my goodness. So, see, if I use these other versions—the majority, not all of these we just read—but they’re calling Joseph’s Father, and so Jesus is not God, and so my faith, salvation is not secure. Boy, it just changes everything. I mean, Satan would love to jump on that one there and take my salvation. I wouldn’t be secure. I’m going to heaven.
Let’s look at another one. First Corinthians chapter number one. First Corinthians chapter number 1 and verse number 21. We’re going to read it from the King James Bible, and then we’ll see what these other versions say. 1 Corinthians chapter number 1 in verse number 21. The Bible says, “For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe.” Now the Bible makes that statement: “the foolishness of preaching.” And I try to understand what God’s talking about there. Well, several things about it to me can be a little bit foolishness of preaching. God’s chosen to use that, but He calls it foolish. One thing that’s a little bit foolish about it is really it’s just one sinner preaching to a bunch of other sinners, you know? And so a little bit you’re like, “Well, that guy’s got problems too.” Yeah, that’s true. I think the foolishness of preaching—I think about a guy standing up there yelling and screaming and spitting and stopping and sneezing there—all the rest of that, the foolishness of preaching. I get that. But God uses that. By the way, it’s sad how we’re taking that away in our day and time. A lot of teaching, but not a lot of preaching. There is a difference. And God says He’s chosen the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe. By the way, and I don’t want to go off from the subject, but teaching goes to the head; preaching goes to the heart. They’re geared for two different things. Both are important. Both are biblical. The preaching is needed. But let’s just see what these other versions say, and I emphasize that little statement of “the foolishness of preaching.” Ms. Tammy, you have the NIV. Would you read that, please? “For since in the wisdom of God, the world through its wisdom did not know Him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe.”
Wow. I get the foolishness of preaching, but “the foolishness of what was preached”? I’m to be preaching: God loves the world, even though the world’s sinful, fallen on the way to hell, God loves them. And His Son, Jesus, and He shed His blood on the old rugged cross. I like the second verse of the old rugged cross: “So despised by the world has a wondrous attraction to me.” And I say that and say, man, the message is wonderful. What is preached is great—the best news the world ever heard. And the NIV is saying “the foolishness of what was preached.” Wow, I got a problem with that. Sarah, would you just tell us what version you have? Would you read it, please? New King James Version: “For since in the wisdom of God, the world through wisdom did not know God, it pleased God through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe.” And you hear that? “The foolishness of a message.” Man, the message ought to be the cross, and He loves you, and He wants to redeem you. And “the foolishness of the message.” What a change. Are the changes significant? That’s pretty significant to me, friend. I love the message, and the messenger—sometimes I love him, sometimes I don’t—but not the message. It’s wonderful. Brother John, please. English Standard Version: “For since in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what was preached, of what we preach, to save those who believed.” There is again, “the folly of what was preached.” What a shame, what a shame. And it changes everything. Brother Fontaine, would you tell us what you have? Read it, please? This is the Common English Version: “In God’s wisdom, He determined that the world would come to know Him through its wisdom. Instead, God was pleased to save those who believed through the foolishness of preaching.” Brother Anthony, please. Holman Christian Standard Bible: “For since in God’s wisdom, the world did not know God through wisdom, God was pleased to save those who believe through the foolishness of the message preached.” Again, “the foolishness of the message preached.” Wow. Well, that just changes the meaning altogether.
Look over Matthew chapter number 18. We’re just going to look at a couple more, Matthew 18. And Matthew chapter 18, by the way, when Sunday school is over, we’ll go offline and then we’ll come back on for church. But we’ll be done at least by 10:30. And we’re moving along to get there. Just a couple other verses we’ll look at. Does it really matter? Does it really matter? Well, if Joseph is Jesus’ Father, that matters for sure. I mean, if “the foolishness of the message preached”—that matters for sure. Let’s look at this. Matthew chapter 18, Matthew 18, and verse number 11. Matthew 18 and verse number 11. The Bible there says, “For the Son of Man is come to save that which was lost.” That’s precious to me because I was lost. I was deserving of hell. I’m a sinner, fallen, no way to get back up. But Jesus came. The Son of Man came to save. I’m so glad He left heaven. I’m glad. It verifies it over there in John 3:17: “He came not to condemn the world, but that the world through him might be saved.” I love how the Bible fits together. And it’s a great verse just about why did Jesus come? He came to save that which is lost. I’m so thankful the Bible gives that truth many times. Every time I love it all, and I’m one of those who was lost. I’m so thankful for that.
Now, let’s see what the NIV says, just—if you could just center it down to verse number 11, Matthew 18:11, if you would, please. Verse 11 is gone. Verse 11—you sure it’s not in there somewhere? They have verse 10 and verse 12, but 11 is taken out. She’s right. She’s right. It’s just—complete verses are deleted. Some will say the NIV—I’ve not read the whole NIV and compared it key by key—some will say 16 complete verses are gone. Some will say 17 complete verses are gone. I’ve not read both of them side by side and compared every one of them, but thousands of words are omitted. Complete verses just deleted. And a verse like that, a wonderful verse: “Son of Man came to save that which was lost.” I love that verse, man. Why just take it out? It’s gone. It’s just not there, and such a precious verse. Let’s find out what version—what it says. New King James Version: “For the Son of Man has come to save that which was lost.” All right, so it’s got it in there at least. Brother John, English Standard Version does not have it. Wow, just gone, just gone. I say again, I’m shocked at the ones recently, the last couple of years, that went to the ESV, how many churches have done so. Just deleted verses. It’s just taken out. Brother Fontaine, please. It’s not there in the Common English Version either. Just not there. Wow, just gone. Just gone. Brother Anthony, please. Holman Christian Standard: “For the Son of Man has come to save the lost.”
All right, so it’s in there. So it’s in there. Let’s look at a couple of other ways. We’ve just looked at verses in the New Testament. Let’s go over the Old Testament for a moment here. Look over in Isaiah chapter number 14. Isaiah chapter number 14. And let’s look at a couple of verses over there in Isaiah, and then we’ll move on to the fourth point: Reasons why we just use the King James Version. It’s the only English version that doesn’t have a copyright on it. It’s just not there. And then all the great revivals, major great revivals in the English language since 1611—that’s what they’ve used. And then we’re just looking at the changes. Does it matter or not? And, boy, I tell you what, it matters when they start calling Joseph Jesus’ Father. Boy, the devil would have a field day with that one if that was in the Bible. And then they call “the foolishness of preaching,” they change it to “the foolishness of the message preached.” I think it’s the exact words of the New King James Version Bible, by the way. Let me just say a word—and I’m going to run out of time if I get caught up on two things—but let me just say a word about the New King James Version. Some will say it uses the same manuscripts that the King James used, and that’s kind of their justification for using that version. But can I say, every time it differs from the King James, it differs in the same place as all the other new versions differ. Same thing, 1 Corinthians 1:21. See? And where these other new versions have changed because they’re using other manuscripts and so on. So I’ll just say that about that. We’ve got to get back to it. We’re going to run out of time. We’ve got nine minutes left here. Isaiah chapter number 14, Isaiah 14. And look in verse number 12, if you would please. Isaiah chapter number 14. And look in verse number 12 of the Bible. And it says this: “How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer? Son of the morning, how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations?”
I kind of like it. The Bible here is a little bit making fun of Lucifer: “Hey, big boy, how’d you fall?” you know? Yeah, look at you, so big and mighty. Look at you falling down, you know. You’re the ones out weakening the nations, and look at you—you fall in flat on your face. That type of thing, that’s what’s going on here. I like that. Christian, the one person you are allowed, and it is very healthy for you to hate, is the devil. It’s a good thing to have a good hatred for the devil. All the hurt in this world, all the problems of this world, it all goes back to the Adversary, the devil. So I like it if the Bible’s kind of making fun of him a little bit: “Hey buddy, how about you? How’d you fall flat on your face?” That’s what’s going on here. So let’s look and see what these other new versions do with this here, Isaiah 14:12. Ms. Tammy, she has the NIV. Would you please start us off? “How you have fallen from heaven, Morning Star, son of the dawn! You have been cast down to the earth, you who once laid low the nations.” Now, wait a second, wait a second. They’re calling Lucifer, Satan, the devil—they’re calling the devil “Morning Star.” Now, wait a second. The Bible, Revelation 22:16, one of the names of Jesus is “Morning Star.” We have a plaque up in one of our restrooms at the house that’s got all the names of Jesus. I got a coffee cup that’s got all—there are a lot of names of Jesus, these different things and whatnot. We’ve given them out as gifts. Now, I love them. I like all the different names of Jesus. Wonderful. And I don’t know about all those, but some of those will have this name: The Bible gives us the Morning Star. But now, when the Bible is putting the devil where he deserves to be, falling flat on his face, they’re giving him the name of Jesus. Friend, that’s blasphemy. They’re giving the same name to Lucifer that our Savior has, one of His titles, and they’re giving that title to Lucifer. Friend, there’s a problem with that right there. I just have a problem with that, a major problem. We’ll get going too long; we’ll get to preaching and not teaching. We better keep moving here. Sarah, would you read for us, please? The New King James Version: “How you are fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How you are cut down to the ground, you who weaken the nations.”
All right, just call them “Son of the Morning.” John. Thanks, Brother John. English Standard Version: “O you are fallen from heaven, O Day Star, son of the dawn! How you are cut down to the ground, you who laid the nations low.” So they’re calling him Daystar. Got an issue with that one also. One of the names of Jesus: Daystar. My goodness, and they’re calling him that. Brother Fontaine, please. Common English Version: “How you’ve fallen from heaven, Morning Star, son of dawn. You are cut down to earth, helpless on your back.” Same thing, calling him the Morning Star. My goodness, wow, brother. Holman Christian Standard: “Shining Morning Star, how have you fallen from the heavens? You destroyer of nations. You have been cut down to the ground.” Boy, my goodness, and a certain sect of the Baptists that really went to the Holman Christian Standard Bible is calling Lucifer the Morning Star. What a shame. Let’s look at Isaiah 14, verse number 15. We’re just—we’re going to hurry along here. We’re going to get the last point in here, a couple of folks, and then we’re done. But Isaiah 14, you’re already there. Look in verse number 15. Speaking of Lucifer again, verse number 15: “Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit.”
Now, friend, I like that. The Bible is putting Lucifer right where he deserves to be. I am. Sometime I’ll tell the Lord, “Before You put him in hell, would You hold him down for just a second? Let me go over there and get a hit or a kick on him.” It might not hurt him, but it’s going to make me feel a whole lot better. I’m excited about Satan getting what he deserves, what deserves is made for him and his angels anyway. And honestly, after you hear all the pain and the hurt in the world, I remember the first time I dealt closely with a child who had been abused by man in a very sinful way. And I got off the phone, I just cried. And I hated the devil. It still bothers me, but I hate the devil all the more because he’s behind all that. Man, I’m looking forward to the devil getting what he deserves—put in hell. So, but I like it. The Bible just puts him in hell. I like that. Let’s find out what these other versions do. Ms. Tammy, please. New International Version, Isaiah 14:15: “But you are brought down to the realm of the dead, to the depths of the pit.” “The realm of the dead.” That could be a graveyard for it. Honestly, I went over the cemetery a little bit yesterday where my dad’s body has died. That could mean just Satan brought there. It doesn’t give much meaning. He’s not put down to hell where he belongs. Miss Sarah, please. New King James Version says, “Yet you shall be brought down to Sheol to the lowest depths of the pit.” Now look, if the newer versions are to help the average man understand why they change it—you talk to a regular guy on the street, he’s going to understand hell, but he’s not going to understand Sheol. And they’re going to translate it, translate it. See? And so, if they’re really—that’s the true purpose—then why are they making it much harder to understand? Brother John, please. English Standard Version: “But you are brought down to Sheol, to the far reaches of the pit.” Same thing, same thing. Brother Fontaine, please. Common English Version: “But down to the underworld you are brought to the depths of the pit.” My goodness, that’s pretty broad right there. Holman Christian Standard: “But you will be brought down to Sheol, into the deepest regions of the pit.” Sheol. I don’t have time to go into it, but just an everyday guy’s not going to understand that.
We’ve read enough of these. Number one, we said, why do we use the King James Bible? It’s the only one that doesn’t have a copyright on it. Number two, all the great revivals in the English language since 1611—that’s what they’ve used in the English language. The changes—you’ve seen the changes. We could look at many of them. By the way, there’s a little green pamphlet on the back table. When you get back in church, check that out. It’s got on there, “The Attack on the Bible.” They’ll give you many, many more verses along that line. Then the last thing, just very quick—we’ve got about a minute left. Last thing, just… In Tennessee vernacular, we’ll call it: If it’s not broken, don’t fix it. Someone said the King James Bible doesn’t need to be rewritten; it needs to be re-read. It’s not broken, friend. If I go in there and start changing it, I’m going to mess it up. Friend, you realize even the “thees” and the “thous,” the “yeas” and “yous” are significant. Thee and thou are singular; ye and you are plural. When you get studying the Bible, that matters. When you find “Lord” in the Bible, the King James Bible, and every letter is capitalized, that means Jehovah. You’re going to mess it up if you start tampering with it. Just leave it alone. It’s not broken. You say, “Well, it’s too hard to understand.” Well, listen, you get saved, the Holy Spirit moves inside of you. He’ll help you understand it. Many a preacher never graduated from high school, but he studied that book and asked the Holy Spirit to guide him, and he’s understanding some wonderful truths that many educated preachers don’t grasp. God can illuminate His word.
Brother John, Brother Martin, they went golfing yesterday. They liked golfing and they’re into it, and I went a little bit with them. When I was in high school, I played just a touch, but it’s been years. But you’ve got to learn terms. I mean, a splice and hybrid—I’m thinking, that’s a car, you know—or “the woods.” The woods—trees and forest out there—that means something, you know. The driver, and I understood “drive,” but all these different terms you—there’s terms that you have to learn. It’s the same thing with computers. I’ve had to learn megabytes and terabytes they got nowadays, the thing, or they used to talk about a mouse in the beginning days of a computer. All those are “mouse,” right around here, you know? And you got to learn all those things. Same thing with the Bible. You can have to study it a little bit, but I’d rather—I’d rather try to bring myself up to it instead of bring the Bible down to me. We’re running a touch over, but we only have nine people here, so we’re going to touch over. Let me just address this philosophy that’s out there: “Well, the English language is changing, so the King James will do for now, but in 100 years we might have another, 200 years we might have to have another version because it’s always changing.” Friend, languages—the English language is changing, but it’s going downhill. We’re much more slang than we were 50, 70, 100 years ago. Boy, when the Bible was translated in 1611, it was the most pure time, language-wise, very specific. So if I were to put the Bible in my language and our language today, I’d bring the Bible down. I’d rather just try to go up to it instead of bring it down to me. So no, it’ll be all right in 200 years if the Lord tarries. We’ll be all right. And somebody loves the book, is willing to study, the Holy Spirit teaching, it’ll still work for them.
Ronald Reagan said this. He said, “What would you say if someone decided Shakespeare’s plays, Charles Davidson’s novels, or the music of Beethoven could be rewritten or improved?” He’s talking about the King James issue, by the way. Ronald Reagan said that. Bottom line is just: Do I believe there’s a God big enough to give me the Bible in every word He wants written? I believe we do. I believe He’s put His hand on that book there.
One last story. We’re done. Oh, Curtis Hudson. He’s in heaven now. Great preacher years ago. He got prostate cancer. Got in his bones. He ended up dying from it. Curtis Hudson was very sick. He was in the hospital. He was just sitting there on his cot. And a preacher was visiting the hospital. Praise Lord for preachers who do that—just visiting people in the hospital. And he came to his room. He didn’t know who Curtis Hudson was, that he was a preacher, whatnot. But he began to witness to Curtis Hudson, and Curtis Hudson said, “I spent my life witnessing to people. I enjoy somebody witnessing to me.” He said, “I’m just going to let him witness.” He didn’t tell him he was a preacher. And as he started witnessing to him, Curtis said, “Man, I just enjoyed it. Let him talk.” And he said pretty soon he quoted John 3:36. It’s the last verse of John 3. It’s what it says. You got to listen real closely. It says, “He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life. And he that believeth not the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abideth on him.” But he didn’t quote it exactly like that. He quoted it like this. Now watch. Watch. Every word is important. “He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life. And he that obeyeth not the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abideth on him.”
And Curtis Hudson said, “Well, sir, which one is it?” And the visitor said, “What do you mean, which one is it?” He said, “Well, you quoted that verse one way, and then you quoted that verse another way.” He said, “Well, you quoted that verse part saying you believe in a verse, and he said, ‘You believe and obey.’” And he said, “You got everlasting life.” He said, “The second part says…” The visitor said, “Well, sir, that’s really ready for that question.” He said, “Well, I guess you have to obey.” And he said, “Well, sir, if that’s true, then none of us are saved, because none of us obey at all, all the time, for sure.” And then he was—he kind of just—he said, “Sir, I’m a preacher too, and I’m not trying to be mean. I appreciate you witnessing in a hospital. I love it. But,” he said, “I’ve read enough to know that was an American Standard Version you quoted to me when one word changed. And it changes the whole meaning of the verse. If that’s right, then we’re not saved, because none of us obey it all the time.” One word. Just one word. Hey, praise the Lord. We got something we can just bank on. If I’m sticking my eternity on it, I better have something that’s just sure. I just go ahead and stick with the old King James. It stood the test. Doesn’t have a copyright on it. Doesn’t have all the changes. If it’s not broken, won’t fix it.
Father, thank You so much for loving us. It’s been good to us. Thank You, Lord, for the English language. It’s such an important language, such an international language in so many ways. Thank You You’ve given us a Bible in the English language we can rest on. Help us to do so, Father. Bless our people. I have no doubt and like to help. Bless this morning in church. Well, thank You, Lord, for what You do. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.
Original File: Sunday School- Why we use the King James Bible - Pastor Paul Chisgar 32920