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 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; >Prov30:5-7; 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 Your Brother,
Missionary David C. Bennett, D.
Min.
