As he spake these words, many believed on him, John 8:30.
There were two types of people who sought to know the truth about Jesus Christ. There were those who no matter how many miracles they heard about, or how often they heard him speak, needed to understand his antecedents to believe on him. They answered and said unto him, Art thou also of Galilee? Search, and look: for out of Galilee ariseth no prophet, John 7:52. Peter Ruckman adequately answered that for anyone who would listen. He quoted the Bible; Jonah, the son of Amittai, the prophet, which was of Gathhepher, II Kings 14:25. Gathhepher was in Galilee.
My bet is that if someone were to have sat the Pharisees down and explained that to them, it would not have availed. People who sought to know who Jesus Christ was based on his lineage, proofs of his birth, or the history of whence he came, burn in hell today. Those who listened to his words, and were convinced by his words are in heaven today. Why? Couldn't the Lord have made a clean smooth path for doubters?
Why did he so purposefully obscure the facts of Jesus Christ's birth so that he was raised separately from where he was born. He was whisked out of the country right after godly men and women worshiped him in the temple. His supposed father was barred from the throne by the curse of Coniah, Thus saith the LORD, Write ye this man childless, a man that shall not prosper in his days: for no man of his seed shall prosper, sitting upon the throne of David, and ruling any more in Judah, Jeremiah 22:30. To any observers of Joseph and Mary's courtship and betrothal, the birth of Jesus Christ raised serious questions. Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not willing to make her a publick example, was minded to put her away privily, Matthew 1:19. To quote the unbelieving crowd; We be not born of fornication, John 8:41.
What am I saying here? I am saying that God bent over backwards to see to it that no man would ever settle the issue of Jesus Christ by studying his history, the legitimacy of his birth, or his rights to the throne of David. That leads us to the other type of person who tried to understand who Jesus was. The officers answered, Never man spake like this man, John 7:46. These men had no other answer for the Pharisees than to say, we believed because of what he spoke. The only true revelation of who Jesus Christ is, is through his word.
Is it any shock to my readers that the only true revelation of the word of God in English is through the word itself? I watch two types of people who investigate the King James Bible issue. One group is like the Pharisees of old, who demand to see the entire lineage of the book. They want to know which Greek was used, where that Greek came from, and they want to turn over every little stone to satisfy their carnal minds. The other group are people who heard what it said. They have the miracles of that book residing in their hearts. They can be troubled by accusations about the antecedents of the King James Bible, but they can never be overthrown.
Has anyone ever noticed the similarities to the history of the English Bible with its many twists and turns, and the obscurity of the origins of the life of Jesus Christ while he resided on this earth? We all would love to see a clear cut path from the book we hold today back to the Apostles' work. You will never find that. How convenient if we could find the Fedex receipt where the King James translators received their text from God! How convenient if their were Youtube videos of Cherubim scattering pixie dust over the translators as they worked, and the editors as they labored over 300 years!
I have probably done more to fill in gaps of the history of the English Bible than almost any man living today. (That is not to say I know the history best, or that there are not others who know things that I don't know. I am merely saying that God has granted me answers to many mysteries of the origins of the manuscripts found in England, the Wycliffe Text, the origins of errors and corrections in our bible, and the origins of the current spate of text editing coming out of our fundamental printers.) Yet, my people are rarely ever taught manuscript evidence. They became Bible believers from the majesty of the words themselves, the utter infallibility of its doctrines, and its work in their hearts. They are sheep who know but one voice.
Neither am I saying that a person should not study the history of the bible. What I am saying is that you will never settle the issue from history. If you are a person who thinks that weak readers need a new translation, or you wonder if the underlying original languages could perhaps guide you better than your bible, or you are troubled by every new accusation that comes against the King James Bible; you just don't get it.
There are probably few things that the devil has ever done better than to get the preachers, scholars, bible colleges, Sunday school teachers and commentaries to convince people that the bible used to be perfect, but its not any more. That is a doctrine that has permeated every seam of our culture. I deal with people in all walks of life. Sooner or later, the issue of biblical inerrancy will always come up. It happens in nasty little mobile homes wreaking of pot and booze, it happens on construction sites. It happens in doctors' offices. It happens in good suburban homes. The goodness of western culture, and its attendant fear of God were scoured from the consciousness of men by the doubt sown by fools.
The same people who complain about sodomite marriage, abortion, liberal school systems, new age reasoning, relativistic morals and modern courts, are often the same people who still sow the villainy of distrust of the word of God, by challenging it in public through translation or pedigree. Little do they realize that it is they to whom God will turn when he judges our nations. It is they who undermined the great work of God in the English Speaking people so that 130 years ago, the Bible and the King James Bible were synonymous, and yet today, people are unable to find any bedrock truth.
I do not witness to people about Jesus Christ. I witness to them about the King James Bible. They have heard about Jesus all their lives. It is almost impossible to find an American citizen from the dominant culture here in America, who has not been induced at some point to pray the sinners prayer. Regardless of their sincerity, or how wonderful it seemed the moment they prayed, they quickly blend back into the woodwork. How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? Romans 10:14. Somehow, our would be soul winners have not caught on that the people to whom they preach do not believe.
Oh, they will nod and say that they believe, but the statistics tell the tale. I often ask young people, "what do tadpoles become?" they always answer, "frogs". I tell them, "No, most tadpoles become fish food. Very few tadpoles ever become frogs." What do most of the so called converts of our modern soul winning churches become? They become fish food. They are worse off than a person who never heard. The person who never heard has hope, perhaps the Holy Ghost can convince that person to believe if the right soul winner comes along. It is those inoculated against real salvation by being given a small dose similar to the real thing, that will almost surely go to hell. When the Holy Ghost begins to convince them of sin, they have been taught that it is the devil trying to make them doubt.
How then do we get people to believe? So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God, Romans 10:17. They will never believe until they trust the word of God. They will never trust the word of God as long as men are challenging it in their sight, or giving them substitute truth. Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever, Peter 1:23. If you are still one of those people who believes that the Holy Ghost will woo sinners to himself and bring them to the new birth through the devil's seed, shame on you.
I often have people who come up to me and say, I know that you can get saved out of other versions because I got saved out of the NIV (or whatever), or my mother got saved out of the ESV. What they are asking me to do is to judge my bible and its doctrines by their life, instead of judging their life by the bible and its doctrines. I will never do that. Instead, I witness to people that God's word is still alive in the 21st century. They can know the truth, and the truth can make them free. If there is anything that distinguishes our age of Christianity from other ages, it is the unholiness of the lives of those who walk while claiming the name of Jesus Christ.
I want a church of people who are convinced of the King James Bible because of the holiness that it works in their lives. I want a church full of converts who spent years in vanity and pride, carrying not their Lord was crucified, who learn from the authority and power of a King James Bible being preached by a man who loves them, that they need to tremble at the law they spurned, till their guilty souls imploring turn to Calvary. My converts are known by the stunning changes in their lives, the holiness born in them and the chastisement of a God who loves them. Try to make them doubt either their bible or their salvation.