The Gospel Is What Matters

Articles

The Gospel Is What Matters

By Skip Toomaloo
July 2, 2006

“But he gives more grace. Wherefore he says, God resists the proud, but gives grace unto the humble.” (James 4:6)

In my experience in giving testimony or witnessing for Jesus I have found many who argue that the Bible is not the literal or actual word of God.

Perhaps I would agree that since the first pen put ink to the first parchment, or the first stick scratched the first clay tablet, language has changed to such an extent that the full and complementary meanings of many of the original biblical phrases have been lost.

This doesn’t matter much in the overall theme and presentation of scripture.

There are those who would decry using the King James Version of the Bible simply because many of the old English words do not convey the actual intent of the Greek, Latin or Aramaic wordings of the surviving parchments.

Begging and bartering over phrases and then discounting an entire collection of books simply because they are not 100% exact to the desire of someone who disagrees with the content does not seem productive to the gaining of knowledge. You can prove anything with scripture if you abuse context enough.

I continually face the argument that the bible is “contradictory”. But I have yet to have someone tell me how this is so. No Apostle contradicts another in who Christ is and was, unless you count Judas Iscariot. They were all in agreement that Jesus was the Living Son of God and that his miracles and resurrection proved the point beyond the shadow of any doubt.

To attempt to disprove the truth of the resurrection by arguing against translations is to ignore the full story of what the translations are attempting to convey.

Let us admit that the translators of the King James Version made a few mistakes. We understand that there were more than several edits of this version in attempts to make it more complete. We even have a “New King James Version” and a few subsequent edited versions of that.

Then there is the “New American Standard” (NAS, NASB), The “New International Version” (NIV) and their various and sundry revisions and editions, each purporting to be a more complete and accurate translation of the original languages.

What of Luther’s translation into the German? What of the various Chinese translations? It would be interesting to see how certain meanings and nuances have been accounted for in Mandarin Chinese or even Polish or Russian.

It really hasn’t mattered one bit into which language the bible has been translated into. The message of the Gospel of Christ rings clear and the effect of belief is the same no matter which culture the Gospel is preach in.

How are people enabled to embrace the faith of Jesus in Brazil, or South Africa, or Iceland, or Communist China? Each one of these areas could not be more different from the other, yet all contain individuals who have heard the Gospel of Christ and found the truth of salvation. I can assure you that not all were influenced by a King James Version either.

Those who would beat their skulls against words that are relatively obsolete are “kicking against the pricks”. The more current editions and versions are replete with references about how much more sure that particular edition or version is.

None of that matters either. Most of the hype is merely to sell the book. There are so many so-called “better” versions on the market that are now under copy write because much of the original content has been changed or supplemented for simplicity when there was no need for any of that.

God wrote a simple message through men that had not much more education than modern eighth grade school students. It is a message that has reached through centuries and that has changed hearts and lives. It is a message that feeds the poor and gives comfort to the sick. It is a message that saves.

There is no telling the motives of those who have decided they are the ones responsible to destroy something good and decent. The reasons for wanting caring men and women turned away from a faith that explains love and grace and mercy and peace are reasons based in selfishness and pride that only Jesus can understand and explain.

So we are responsible to remain “humble”. It doesn’t matter that those stuck in their own imaginations have nothing good to add to the spirit. Jesus gives “grace” to the humble.

The “proud” are free to be who they want to be; remaining in spiritual darkness, apart from the grace of God.

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Email Skip: skiptoomaloo@hotmail.com

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