The Disappearing Bible

© Copyrighted by David F. Reagan. As long as this notice is included, permission is granted to copy and distribute this material (electronically or in print form) for individual use or for small groups. All other rights (such as use in books, periodicals, on web pages, etc.) are reserved and must be obtained by permission from the author. Contact David Reagan at Antioch Baptist Church, 5709 N. Broadway, Knoxville, TN, 37918 – (865) 688-0780 – Fax (865) 689-1611 – qa@learnthebible.org

NOTICE: This article is available from Antioch Publications in tract form.

Hurry!  Hurry!  Run to the bookstores!  Search your attic!  Hide what you have!  The Bible is disappearing!  It is disappearing from our homes.  It is disappearing from our churches.  It is disappearing from our hearts.  The Bible of C. H. Spurgeon and D. L. Moody; the Bible of Charles Wesley and Isaac Watts; the Bible of Billy Sunday and John Bunyan is fading away.  Do whatever is necessary to hold on to the truly preserved Word of God—the King James Bible of 1611. How do I know that God’s Word is disappearing?  Do we not have it just as much in the modern versions?  How about the New International Version (NIV)?  It is the most popular version now.  Is it not just as much the word of God?  No, it is not.  God’s Word is disappearing even in the NIV.

The NIV has totally omitted 17 verses.  In it you no longer read Matthew 17:21; 18:11; 23:14; Mark 7:16; 9:44,46; 11:26; 15:28; Luke 17:36; 23:17; John 5:4; Acts 8:37; 15:34; 24:7; 28:29; Romans 16:24; or I John 5:7.  These verses deal with doctrines of great importance: the doctrine of the Trinity (I John 5:7); the doctrine of hell (Mark 9:44,46); the doctrine of salvation (Matt. 18:11; Mark 15:28; Acts 8:37); the doctrine of prayer (Matt. 17:21).  And marginal notes discredit other passages that are left in.  The NIV translators would have preferred to leave out Mark 16:9-20 and John 7:53-8:11.  That’s an additional 24 verses.  Why would someone want to remove these passages?  Who would want to remove Matt.18:11?  It states, “For the Son of man is come to save that which was lost.”  Yet, the advocates of the new versions declare that no doctrines are affected by the new bibles.

Something else is disappearing from the NIV.  There are many Biblically significant words that are simply no longer there.  By this I mean that these words are not mentioned even one time in the NIV. This includes all the following words in quotation marks.  There is no longer a “Godhead”.  There is no “Jehovah” or “blessed and only potentate”.  There is no “Holy Ghost” and He is not the “Comforter”.  God is no longer “immutable” or “omnipotent” - there goes Handel’s Messiah.  Christ is no longer the “only begotten” or the “first begotten”.  We no longer need to worry about “devils” or “Lucifer” or “damnation” or “brimstone” or the “bottomless pit”.  Hell which is mentioned 54 times in the KJV is mentioned only 14 times in the NIV and is entirely removed from the Old Testament.  But why worry about hell or damnation?  In the NIV, there are no “trucebreakers” or “winebibbers”.  No one is ever accused of being “carnal”, “slothful”, or “unthankful”.  In the NIV, there is no “backbiting”, “vanity”, “lasciviousness”, “fornication” or “whoredom”.  In fact, no one is “effeminate” and there are no “sodomites”.  No wonder the NIV is so well loved by so many.

It is a good thing that there is not much to be saved from in the NIV because it’s harder to get saved as well.  No longer is Christ crucified on “Calvary”.  He is not the “testator” who brings us the New Testament or the “daysman” who stands between God and us.  He has not sprinkled His blood on the “mercyseat”.  He was not placed in the “sepulchre” and His resurrection is no longer established by many “infallible” proofs.  It only makes sense then that we are no longer “quickened” and there is no more “propitiation” or “remission” or “regeneration” in the NIV.

All the words in quotation marks and many others have been totally removed from between the covers of the New International Version.  Therefore, it follows that the Word of God is no longer “incorruptible”.  It is not the “engrafted” Word of God.  There is no “verity” and Christ does not say “verily, verily”.  There is no “science” falsely called and there are no “fables”.  Perhaps that is why the saints no longer “abide in Christ.

With all that the NIV has removed, one must wonder how much the next popular version will omit.  There are many other reasons for rejecting the new bibles.  However, these omissions ought to disturb every true believer.  Never give up your King James Bible of 1611.  It is still God’s perfectly preserved Word for English-speaking people.  Praise the Lord for His gift of truth!            

NOTICE: This article is available from Antioch Publications in tract form.

 

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