I’ve posted a new video blog called “Are King James Bible Believers Idol Worshippers? Here’s the video, and an outline below.
Outline
- Here are some quotes from people who don’t believe any book on earth is the complete inspired word of God:
- “The bottom line is that some KJV only folks worship the KJV Bible above God.” (From an article called The Idolatry of KJV Onlyism)
http://arminiantoday.com/2011/08/20/the-idolatry-of-kjv-onlyism/ (Arminian Today) - “KJO-ism is small, narrow, cult-like, idolatrous and heretical”http://www.johnpiippo.com/2011/08/idolatrous-cult-of-king-james-onlyism.html (John Piippo)
- “It is time for serious Bible students and people in the pews to leave their KJVs home … The idolatry of the KJV-only groups must be opposed.”http://sbcvoices.com/its-time-to-retire-the-kjv/ (Dave Miller, SBC Voices)
- This is nothing new: Here’s a quote published in 1869, from a review of some forgotten all-new-and-better translation of the New Testament. It defines Bibliolatry as “the power of a Paper-Pope,” “Superstition,” and the belief “in the infallibility and absolute freedom from error of King James’ version.”http://books.google.com/books?id=tSOgAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA442#v=onepage&q&f=false
(And by the way, the same article said “that nine-tenths of the members of Protestant churches in this country” held to the KJV Only view – in 1869!)
- “The bottom line is that some KJV only folks worship the KJV Bible above God.” (From an article called The Idolatry of KJV Onlyism)
- So what does this accusation mean?
- The accusers are saying KJB believers are putting the Bible before God in our lives; indeed they have explicitly said we worship it. I can only assume they mean this figuratively.
- Let’s look at what idolatry is, since that is the charge of the accusers.
- The book of Ezekiel speaks of idolatry more than any other book in the Bible. If you want to know what idolatry is and does, read it.
- Eze 20:16 …they despised my judgments, and walked not in my statutes, … their heart went after their idols.
- Israel had turned to idolatry away from God’s judgments. What were those judgments?
- Ex 24:3 And Moses came and told the people all the words of the LORD, and all the judgments: and all the people answered with one voice, and said, All the words which the LORD hath said will we do.
- Israel had broken this promise by turning away from God’s words to idols.
- The book of Ezekiel speaks of idolatry more than any other book in the Bible. If you want to know what idolatry is and does, read it.
- So tell me: if I am an idolater, where do I go to get God’s judgments and statutes, so that I can break the idols in my heart?
- None of these accusers believes that we can have God’s perfect word in any tangible form. Remember, God’s words are pure.
- Ps 12:6 The words of the LORD are pure words:…
- If I can’t believe I have God’s word in purity then it is wrong to say I believe I have God’s word.
- So the problem is not that we have an idol, it’s just that we believe we have God’s word, pure and perfect.
- None of these accusers believes that we can have God’s perfect word in any tangible form. Remember, God’s words are pure.
- Is the problem with Christianity today that people are placing God’s word in too high a place in their life?
- Back to the accusation of idolatry
- Psalm 119:36 says “Incline my heart unto thy testimonies, and not to covetousness.”
- Bible says in Col 3:5 covetousness … is idolatry:
- What are God’s testimonies? Ex 31:18 And he gave unto Moses, … two tables of testimony, … written with the finger of God.
- A heart inclined to God’s word is the opposite of a heart inclined to idolatry!
- Psalm 119:36 says “Incline my heart unto thy testimonies, and not to covetousness.”
- Is it possible to place God’s word so high in your life that it becomes an idol?
- Psalm 119 is the longest chapter in the Bible, and it’s about David’s love for God’s word.
- Ps 119:47 And I will delight myself in thy commandments, which I have loved.
- Ps 119:48 My hands also will I lift up unto thy commandments, which I have loved; and I will meditate in thy statutes.
- Commandments are given with words: Deuteronomy 6:6 And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart:
- Psalms 28:2 Hear the voice of my supplications, when I cry unto thee, when I lift up my hands toward thy holy oracle.
- Ps 119:97 O how love I thy law! it is my meditation all the day.
- Ps 119:140 Thy word is very pure: therefore thy servant loveth it.
- Ps 119:167 My soul hath kept thy testimonies; and I love them exceedingly.
- David appealed to God on the basis of his love for God’s word:Ps 119:159 Consider how I love thy precepts:
Do you think God regarded this as an idol in David’s life?
- What about God’s attitude toward his own word?
- At least twice the Bible speaks of God’s word being glorified:
- Ac 13:48 And when the Gentiles heard this, they were glad, and glorified the word of the Lord: …
- 2Th 3:1 Finally, brethren, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may have free course, and be glorified, …
- And here’s a verse truly despised and mutilated by the Bible of the Month club:
- Ps 138:2 I will worship toward thy holy temple, and praise thy name for thy lovingkindness and for thy truth: for thou hast magnified thy word above all thy name.
- At least twice the Bible speaks of God’s word being glorified:
- Oh, I hear them already: “but the KJV is just a translation!” Fine then, show me what I can love as David did. You show me where I can read God’s law so I can make it my “meditation all the day” as he did.
- Psalm 119 is the longest chapter in the Bible, and it’s about David’s love for God’s word.
- Maybe this accusation of idolatry is merely because we have something they don’t: something to hold in our hands when we say God’s word is our final authority. What’s theirs? If your authority is really what God has said, can’t you show it to me without reservation or qualification?
- How are God’s works done?
- Psalms 33:4 For the word of the LORD is right; and all his works are done in truth.
- John 17:17 Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.
- We see that any work of God is done according to his word.
- That’s God’s work. Ultimately, what is and idol?
- Isaiah 2:8 Their land also is full of idols; they worship the work of their own hands, that which their own fingers have made:
- If you make something with your hands, not according to God’s word, don’t fool yourself and think you are doing God’s work. When you glory in works of your own hands you are just building idols in your life.
- Remember this quote from earlier?
- “It is time for serious Bible students and people in the pews to leave their KJVs home …” “The idolatry of the KJV-only groups must be opposed.”http://sbcvoices.com/its-time-to-retire-the-kjv/ (Dave Miller, SBC Voices)
- He also said this: “It is a tradition without value that can actually hinder the work of the church.”
- I think he’s speaking from experience. Clearly the King James Bible got in the way of this man’s work.
- God’s works are done in truth, and God’s word is truth. If you have to push this book out of your way to build something, you’re not doing God’s work. Maybe you’re building idols.
Great job I learned something about God’s Word. Thank You.
Amen Brother! Keep the fire of God Burning! I LOVE THE KING JAMES VERSION OF THE BIBLE THE PURE WORD OF GOD!
Amen brother this is right on the mark
We KJBA [King James Bible Authority] folks are only trying to do what God Himself does — honor His word(s). Psa. 138:2 in the King James Bible.
Excellent Brandon.
Saw you first time on You TUBE
🙂 ishak
Could not agree more! We are told to “Hold fast the faithful Word” (Titus 1:9). It is the “Word” that is faithful, and the KJV stood alone as God swept millions into His church across the world; now these presumptuous, bright-eyed religious hucksters have put a couple of hundred so-called translations on the “market” (money motive) and NONE of these agree with any of the others. They are not “translations,” but rather, interpretations,” which ignore the sense of the passage and insert their own views as to what God has said. They also take the proverbial pen knife and rip out anything not suited to their ideas, in an attempt to make it palatable to carnal men, devoid of the spirit.
“Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life.”
The accusations brought up here are ridiculous and thus provide for arguments that may sound plausible but not necessarily so. Here is my question to you: What was then God’s pure Word in English before 1611? Also, what is God’s pure Word in all of the other languages? If so how do I know for a fact? What is the express, direct special written revelation from God? For sure I know that: For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost. Also: 2 Peter 1:19-21 – We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts:Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation.For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost. And these words were “inscripturated” long before 1611!
If God became a “respecter of persons” providing an “inspired” translation for the English speaking people was it not a violation of His own Word? And does it not fit the description of “exclusivism” (a main defining characteristic of Cults)? Would your view not be classified as extra biblical?
Now so you know. I use KJV, I prefer KJV, I use the TR as opposed to W&H and actually do not accept W&H theory of criticism. I helped Bearing Precious Seed with translation work, participated in the launch of Trinitarian Bible overseas etc…but I never subscribed to KJV only.
I don’t want to sound like an enemy and I hope I won’t be treated like one..
Blessings,
Mark
Mark, this video is 12 minutes long and specifically replies to a single accusation. I did not address all the things you bring up in your comment because I have a narrow scope for this video. Many of the things you bring up in your comments are dealt with throughout this website (see the articles and faq pages to start with) and I will certainly be addressing many of those issues again in future posts.
PS, the idea that an inspired English translation breaks God’s word that he is not a respecter of persons is just silly. How would that be any different from providing his words in “only” Greek and Hebrew? Besides, if it’s not inspired, then by definition, it is not God’s word. 2Ti 3.16.
The answer to your question is simple and obvious: Because those were the languages God Himself chose to deliver His direct revelation to mankind under the direct inspiration of the Holy Spirit…and ALL of it was delivered at that time in those languages ( 2 Tim. 3:16,) the faith (objective) that was once and for all delivered to the saints (Jude 1:3)! The entire process and the choice of languages were not the arbitrary decision of anyone or any group of people. Silly? He did not have to re-deliver it again in a supposedly even more “perfect” way for the KVJ translators in 1611. Again I use and prefer the KJV myself and don’t subscribe to current “interpretation” versions nor the modern perversions.
Thanks Brandon,
I left a comment on your youtube page with the video. Strong stuff brother- keep up fighting the naysayers! I already downloaded and embedded on my church’s website:)
Keep it coming…………
Looking forward to future blogs. Thanks, Bro. Brandon, for this edifying post!
The versions teach us one thing-that it is perfectly normal for a “bible” to have mistakes in it. So studying the Bible becomes a task of finding the mistakes in it and “correcting” them with text books (that we call “the original Greek) instead of reading God’s Word and confidently proclaiming; “Thus saith the Lord!” If there are mistakes in the Bible, then anything goes. We live in an age of “anything goes.” This can be traced to misplaced authority. The only authority is the Scriptures. If you say that the Bible is the Word of God, and you believe in your heart that it has mistakes in it, you have blasphemed the Author.
A few random comments for those who believe the lie that one language cannot be perfectly translated into another language: How long did God sit in the sand with His head in His hands at the Tower of Babel, trying to figure out how to create new languages? So the Original Greek was perfect? OK. Jesus did not speak Greek. So everything He said is a perfect translation into the Greek. How did that work? James 2:3 contains the word “gay”. It translates into every language unless used with Satan’s definition. So, in my opinion, God’s Words translate just fine, but Satan’s words do not. One of the ways that Satan attacks the Word of God is by changing definitions of words. This is yet another reason to avoid modern translations. Are we so foolish that Satan can make a text book and call it “Textus Receptus” and we use it to “correct” the Bible? I believed the lie that the KJB was to be avoided for most of my Christian life. When I was challenged to read it, I learned that it is not hard to read or understand at all. It just took an adjustment period and it became EASIER to read and understand than any of the modern versions that I had loved. So…when the translators say that a new version must be made because the KJB is so hard to read, that is evidence that they have never read it! I love the freedom I have in knowing that God provided a perfect Bible. When I compare it to any and all versions, the nature of the differences makes it obvious that the new versions are counterfeit. Take the mustard seed heresy for example. In all the versions, the “bible” claims to say that if we have the SIZE of a mustard seed, we can do great things. In other words, a tiny bit of faith is sufficient to do great things. But Jesus always scolded little faith and praised great faith! In the real Bible, Jesus said if we have faith AS a mustard seed, we can do great things. This is anthropomorphizing the seed and saying we need GREAT faith. This is one instance out of hundreds where the versions say the opposite of the Bible. The versions say “reject a divisive man” in Titus 3:10. The Bible says “reject a heretic”. A divisive man stands up for God’s Word and against heresy in a liberal church. The versions allow for that man to be kicked out. I could go on….
Thanks you for your insight… I wish you could expand a little more for me on just how the mustard seed is not saying the same thing? I’m now KJB only and is finding corruptions in the false bibles. I would be gratefully appricated. Your sister in Christ our Lord. madonna
Excellent video. We are always accused of being in the “King James Only” cult. Your video explains it in the best way that we have ever seen. God bless you.
Glad you enjoyed it. The charge of being in a “cult” is just as silly as being an idolater. You can agree with them on every issue point-by-point, but the second you say you actually hold the Bible in your hand when you say God’s word is inspired, they go crazy. To them, it’s “cult-like” to actually have a final authority that is not rested in an institution or a man. To them, it is “cult-like” to carry your final authority with you wherever you go.
Great! I’ll be visiting your blog regularly and look forward to future post. Just started one 3 months ago myself. http://av1611studyblog.blogspot.com/
Keep holding forth the word of life!
Good video Brandon ! You touched on several things that the anti- AV people often mention. I was given an NASV back in 1979 and swallowed the whole idea that the Lockman Foundation had printed in the introduction of the version. I thought the NASV was the best because it is a literal ‘word-for-word’ translation — { as opposed to the sloppy ‘Thought-for-thought’ translation style of the NIV and such }. I was unaware that when the NASV & The Lockman Foundation put verses in [Brackets] , or put them at the bottom of the page or leave out words & verses , that they were fibbing about “Better , Older Manuscripts’. It never crossed my mind that ‘Christians’ would flat out LIE about something so very important as God’s Holy Inspired Bible. I thought the K.J. people were old stuck-in-the-mud types. I used / promoted the NASV for some 20 years , and then one day at a book Store which was ‘going-out-of-business’ , I saw a book titled: “Which Bible?” by Fuller for .99 cents. Good buy ! Good book! That book ‘flipped the switch’ that made me do some investigating. I then found out about Dean Burgon , who stood against W & H in England and denounced their lies. We do NOT worship the 66 Books — but we do worship and trust & believe in the Creator who is revealed in those 66 Inspired Books !!!
When you ask “Is it possible to place God’s word so high in your life that it becomes an idol?”, the truth is those who are accusing the KJV only folks, actually do NOT PLACE GOD’s WORD high enough in their own personal life.
Hi, I loved this post, and use this site quite often as I am a KJV bible believer as well, so thanks for this.However I would like to point out those that say KJV readers are idolators, may say this for a reason.. For instance,you can be a idolator if you only read it as a book. The word says God is a spirit:and they that worship him,must worship him in spirit and in truth. John 4:24. We Must love his word(truth)john 17:17 says his word is truth. We must have his spirit Romans 8:9. So their point may have just that. Great Video:)