The King James Bible and USA based Mission
Boards
Many
Independent Baptist Churches which use only the King James Bible also use
mission boards in seeking to carry out the Great Commission. The purpose of
this paper is to help those churches to know where at least the following
seventeen boards stand on the Bible version issue.
The following
statements of belief on the Bible are taken directly from the individual web
site of the named mission organization.
Appalachian Independent Baptist
Missions: Standing Without Apology for the A.V.
1611 King James Bible.
Association of Baptists for
World Evangelism: We believe the Scriptures
of the Old and New testaments as originally written were God-breathed, both
verbally and in every part.
Baptist Bible Fellowship
Of
The Scriptures - We believe that
the Holy Bible was written by men supernaturally inspired; that it has truth
without any admixture of error for its matter; and therefore is, and shall
remain to the end of the age, the only complete and final revelation of the
will of God to man; the true center of Christian union and the supreme
standard by which all human conduct, creeds, and opinions should be tried.
1. By "The Holy Bible" we mean that
collection of sixty-six books, from Genesis to Revelation, which, as
originally written does not only contain and convey the Word of God, but IS
the very Word of God.
2. By "inspiration" we mean that the
books of the Bible were written by holy men of old, as they were moved by the
Holy Spirit, in such a definite way that their writings were supernaturally
and verbally inspired and free from error, as no other writings have ever been
or ever will be inspired.
Psalm 19:7-11; 119:89,105,130,160;
Proverbs 30:5-6; Isaiah 8:20; Luke 16:31; 24:25-27,44-45; John 5:39,45-47;
12:48; 17:17; Acts 1:16; 28:25; Romans 3:4; 15:4; Ephesians 6:17; 2Timothy
3:16-17; 1Peter 1:23; 2Peter 1:19-21; Revelation 22:19
BAPTIST HOME MISSIONS:
We believe the Bible is the inerrant Word of God and the sole authority for
faith and practice.
Baptist International Missions,
Inc.: The Inspiration of the Bible We believe the
Bible is the verbally inspired Word of God. We believe the writings of the
Old and New Testaments are fully God-breathed to the extent that the very
words were chosen by God from the human writers
vocabulary so that the Bible is the very word of God, inerrant in all its
assertions and teachings. The Bible is therefore the only infallible
authority for both doctrine and life. Since this is true, it is the special
revelation of God to man and the only basis for true Christian unity. (II
Timothy 3:16-17; Matthew 5:18; Acts 1:16; Mark 12:36; II Peter 1:19-21;
Hebrews 4:12; John 10:35;16:12,13;17:17)
Bible Translations In the English
speaking countries of the world, our missionaries preach from the King James
version of the Bible.
Baptist Missions to
Forgotten Peoples, Inc.: The Word of God We
believe the Bible is the divinely inspired Word of God in its entirety,
written by men as they were moved by the Holy Spirit, and that it is the sole
authority for the Christian's faith and conduct. We believe that the King
James Version of the Bible (KJV) is the preserved Word of God for the
English-speaking people of the world. (Psalm 12:6-7, II Peter 1:20-21)
Baptist World Mission:
POSITION STATEMENT ON ISSUES OF THE SCRIPTURES
I. ON THE KING JAMES VERSION
Recognizing that different convictions
exist among us regarding Bible texts and versions, we believe we should
balance soul liberty with Christian charity in these matters, and therefore,
agree not to magnify these differences. We believe we should leave such
discussion and decision to the privacy of individual conscience and the
sovereign determination of each local church. Though some men may use certain
versions in the study, we require the King James Version to be used by our
missionaries in their preaching in the United States. Also, we ask our
preachers in our Baptist World Mission meetings and conferences to use the
King James Version. We continue to believe that the King James Version is the
Word of God in English.*
II. ON BIBLE PRESERVATION
We believe God has promised in both the
Old and New Testaments to preserve His Word as given to us in the original
Hebrew/Aramaic and Greek texts (Psalm 12:6-7; 78:1-8; 119:89; 111; 152; 160;
Isa. 30:8; 40:6-8; Eccl. 3:14; Matt. 4:4; 5:17-18;
24:35; 28:20; Jn. 10:35; Col. 1:17; 1 Pet.
1:23-25; 2 Jn. 1:2; and elsewhere.) By His
Providential care, we believe God has kept His Word pure down through the ages
as He promised, and we reaffirm our belief in what our Baptist forefathers
wrote in their London Baptist Confession in 1677 and 1689. It states in part:
"The Old Testament in Hebrew, (which was
the native language of the people of God of old), and the New Testament Greek
(which at the time of the writing of it was most generally known to the
nations) BEING IMMEDIATELY INSPIRED BY GOD, AND BY HIS SINGULAR CARE AND
PROVIDENCE KEPT PURE IN ALL AGES, are therefore, AUTHENTICAL . . ."
Recognizing that different convictions
exist among us regarding the method and product of Bible preservation, we all
believe that God has indeed kept His promise and has preserved His Word in the
original language texts. We believe we should balance soul liberty with
Christian charity as to the method and product of Bible preservation, and
therefore, agree to respect different views. We believe we should leave such
discussion and decision to the privacy of individual conscience and the
sovereign determination of each local church.*
III. ON TRANSLATION WORK DONE BY BAPTIST
WORLD MISSION MISSIONARIES
Baptist World Mission missionaries must
consult with and secure permission from the BWM administration before they
begin any Bible translation project. No BWM missionary shall cooperate in any
ecumenical or New Evangelical Bible translation project. All completed
translations must have the approval of the BWM administration prior to
publication and distribution.
Unanimously
adopted by the Board of Directors on April 16, 1996.
* Statements borrowed from those by the
Independent Baptist Fellowship and adapted to BWM use.
Continental Baptist
Missions: We Believe In...The verbal and
plenary inspiration of the Bible as given in the original manuscripts, which
constitute the inerrant Word of God in all matters in which it speaks. 2 Tim.
3:16, 17; 2 Peter 1:19-21
Fundamental Baptist World-Wide
Mission: We believe in the Scriptures of the Old
and New Testaments as verbally and plenarily
inspired by God and without error in the original writings; that the Bible is
reliable in science, history, and every other matter it discusses; and that
the Bible is of supreme and final authority in faith and life. We believe that
the King James Version is the preserved Word of God for the English-speaking
people of today. It is the version used by our Mission and missionaries. We
diligently seek a true translation in the various foreign languages in which
we work.
Macedonia World Baptist
Missions, Inc.: The plenary, verbal, Divine
inspiration of Scripture, consisting only of the 39 Old Testament and 27 New
Testament books, in the original language, their consequent inerrancy and
infallibility, and as the Word of God, the supreme and final authority in
faith and life.
Open Door Baptist Missions:
We believe in the Holy Scriptures, accepting fully the writing of the Old and
New Testaments as the very Word of God, verbally inspired in all parts in its
original autographs, our infallible and authoritative rule of faith and
practice.
The Hope of Israel:
The Holy Scriptures
- We believe the Holy Scriptures (66 Books, apocrypha not included) of the Old
and New Testaments to be the only verbally plenary infallible inspired Word of
God; inerrant in the original writings, but providentially preserved in its
inspired state while maintaining infallibility and inerrancy in the King James
Bible. We believe that the King James Bible is the only Bible in the English
language that God would have us to use, preach ,teach, study, and memorize
from, because it is the God preserved translation of the
Masoretic Text and the Textus
Receptus for the English speaking people. The
Bible teaches that the providentially preserved Holy Scriptures are and shall
remain the only complete unerring and unchanging standard by which all human
conduct, creeds and opinions should be tried. (2 Tim. 3:16,17; 2 Peter
1:19-21; Matt. 5:18; John 16:12,13; Ps.119:9,11,89; I Peter 1:23; Rom 15:4;
Rev. 22:18-19; Is40:8; Matt. 24:35; Prov 30:5-7;
Ps 12:6-7; Matt 4:4; Deut 4:2; John 10:35; Is 59:21)
TABERNACLE BAPTIST MISSIONS
INTERNATIONAL: We believe in the verbal, plenary
inspiration and the infallibility of the Scripture (II Tim, 3:15-17; II Pet.
1:19-21), We believe that the Word of God has been
divinely preserved without contradiction or error in the King James Version
for the English-speaking people (Psa. 112:6-7;
138:2; Mt. 5:18; Jn. 12:48)
WORLD WIDE NEW TESTAMENT
BAPTIST MISSIONS, INC.: All Board
members, officers and missionaries of the Corporation shall subscribe to the
following statement of doctrine: A.
We believe that
the Bible is the divinely inspired Word of God. We believe
the Received Text (Textus
Receptus) carries the full authority of the Original Autographs which
includes The King James Version and translations in other languages that are
accurately translated from the Received Text (Textus
Receptus).
(II Peter 1: 19-2 1; II Timothy 3:15-17.)
Wayfarer Ministries
Baptist Mission: We believe that the
Scriptures of the Old and New Testament are verbally inspired of God, and
preserved in the KJV 1611. That the Scriptures are inerrant and are the
supreme and final authority.
Baptist Mid-Missions:
We believe that the sixty-six books of the Old and New Testaments are
verbally inspired of God and inerrant in the original writing and that they
are of supreme and final authority in faith and life.
(II Timothy 3:16-17; II Peter1:19-21).
Working with BMM is Bibles
International. This is their Translation Policy: Accepting
the Bible as the very Word of God, given to us by plenary-verbal inspiration,
and totally without error in its original manuscripts, the consultants and
translators of Bibles International, a ministry of Baptist Mid-Missions, base
their work upon the divinely preserved Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek texts, and
seek the guidance and help of God in achieving a good and accurate translation
of His Word.
While many texts in Hebrew, Aramaic, and
Greek, and many versions in English and other languages may be consulted,
final decisions on textual content are based on the
Massoretic text of the Old Testament and the Majority Text of the New
Testament. Translations produced by Bibles International express the very Word
of God as literally as possible in the receptor languages without distorting,
adding to, or obscuring the meaning of the original text.
In conclusion
as an Independent Baptist Church which uses only the King James
Bible you should only support those missionaries
and those mission boards which stand where you do on the King James Bible
issue! Your friend and
brother,
Missionary David C. Bennett, D. Min.
PO Box 1241, Dubbo,
NSW 2830 Australia
bennettatdubbo@aol.com
