Is Giving Children the King James Bible a Sin?

In a recent debate, the ubiquitous anti-KJVO apologist Mark Ward asserted that the King James Bible should not be given to children. 

“There comes a point at which it’s so close to this ditch that actually it is a sin for a given Bible translation to be handed to children. I’m saying we’ve reached the point where there’s a sufficient number of readability difficulties that it’s time to turn away from the King James in institutional contexts. Would I say it’s a sin to hand to your child? Here’s what I’d say, quoting the King James: ‘to him that knoweth to do good and doeth it not to him it is sin.’”

Some people have tried to defend Mark by saying that he “misspoke.” I am not aware that Mark has said he misspoke. Regardless, this is not an isolated statement. He recently said much the same in an interview with Scott Ingram. He also is pretty clear about the sin issue in his book Authorized. He says that using the King James Bible “for most situations…using the KJV violates Paul’s instructions in 1 Corinthians 14” (Authorized: the Use and Misuse of the King James Bible, p. 137). And what is disobedience to God’s instructions through an inspired apostle, if not sin? I do not believe Mark misspoke. If he has, he needs to clearly and flatly, without caveats and calculations, say that using the KJV and giving the KJV to others to use IS NOT a sin.

Even folks who are not supporters generally of the King James Bible recoiled from such a claim. One of those folks is James Snapp Jr. In a recent blog post he brought out several points against what Mark said. I found one particularly intriguing contradiction of Mark’s claim that I had not thought about previously. It is this – even the practice of Bible publishers disagrees with Mark’s assertion about not giving a KJV to children.

“Mark Ward: … Thomas Nelson Publishers disagrees with you. They publish a children’s version of the KJV. Lo and behold Hendrickson Publishers also publish a Children’s KJV New Testament. Lifeway and Holman Bible Publishers also publishes a Kids KJV. There are even KJV Bibles marketed to be given to illiterate babies. The KJV Armor of God Bible is marketed with the claim that it is ‘perfect for ages 6-10.’ Is it sinful to give such Bibles? No.”

I suppose one could argue that these publishers are merely creating those Bibles in order to make more money. However, I think it would be hypocritical for Mark himself to make such an argument, since he has been making a living in the Bible publishing industry.

Since I wrote the above, Mark has added a new video to his repertoire, Continuing the Conversation, in which Mark is supposed to clarify his statement about giving the King James Bible to children. You can listen yourself to see what you can find about it.

And now there is another video, Mark interviewed by Dwayne Green in Its SINFUL to give a KJV to a CHILD? | Debate Retrospective with Mark Ward. As best I can understand, these are clarifications that ultimately fail to clarify. Mark even said, “There’s my slight sort of clarification that really isn’t.”

Can never be written again

Hartley Coleridge (1796-1849), son of Samuel Taylor Coleridge, speaking of the King James Bible as the perfection of English language prose, while commenting on Quaker Anthony Parver’s translation of the Bible.

“We doubt, indeed, whether any new translation, however learned, exact, or truly orthodox, will ever appear to English Christians to be the real Bible. The language of the authorised version is the perfection of English, and it can never be written again, for the language of prose is one of the few things in which the English have really degenerated. Our tongue has lost its holiness.”

Hartley Coleridge, Biographia Borealis, or Lives of Distinguished Northerns, London: Whitaker, Treacher, & Company, 1833, p. 718.

Great God! thy kingdom come

1. Great God! thy kingdom come,
With reverence would we pray,
May the eternal Three-in-One
His sovereign sceptre sway.

2. May grace triumphant reign,
And Christ exalted be;
Sinners, deserving endless pain,
Thy great salvation see.

3. May mercy, truth, and peace,
Fill each believer’s soul,
And the sweet kingdom of thy grace,
Their raging lusts control.

4. May love and harmony
Among thy saints abide,
Thy presence set each bosom free
From enmity and pride.

5. Go on, thou mighty God,
Thy wonders to make known,
Till every sinner bought with blood,
Shall trust in thee alone.

6. Thus let thy kingdom come,
And free salvation reign,
Till all thy saints arrive at home,
And never part again.

(Written by William Gadsby, this is #683 in A Selection of Hymns for Public Worship)

William Gadsby (1773-1844) was a minister of the Strict and Particular Baptists in England. For 38 years he was pastor of the Strict Baptist church at Manchester, England. He was the first editor of The Gospel Standard periodical. He compiled a selection of hymns (including many of his own) and published them in a hymnbook entitled A Selection of Hymns for Public Worship in 1814. It is one of the oldest English hymnbooks still used for congregational worship.

Gadsby was the son of John Gadsby and Martha Lingard, born January 3, 1773 in Warwickshire. In 1793 he was baptized by the Particular Baptist church at Cow Lane in Coventry. He was ordained in 1800 and became the pastor of St. Georges Road Particular Baptist Chapel in 1805. Gadsby died January 27, 1844 at age 71 and was buried at the Rusholme Road Cemetery in Manchester. For more information on William Gadsby and his hymnbook, see the doctoral dissertations “Engaging the Heart: Orthodoxy and Experimentalism in William Gadsby’s A Selection of Hymns for Public Worship,” by Deborah A. Ruhl.

As a common meter hymn, it can be effectively set with most any good common meter tune.

Our preaching, and other quotes

The posting of quotes by human authors does not constitute agreement with either the quotes or their sources. (I try to confirm the sources that I give, but may miss on occasion; please verify if possible.)

“Church, you don’t need to fit in when God has ordained you to stand out.” -- Damien Reese

“Our preaching is not the reason the word works. The word is the reason our preaching works.” -- H. B. Charles, Jr.

“Swelling is not the same as growing.” -- Damien Reese

“Men fall in private long before they fall in public.” -- J. C. Ryle

“Church has become a seating station instead of a sending station.” John Wyatt

“Be careful who you vent to ... a listening ear can also be a running mouth!” -- Unknown

“Those that spare not the flock and lead disciples away can only succeed in a climate of Scriptural ignorance.” -- Benjamin Mabee

“Never approach a bull from the front, a horse from the rear, or a fool from any direction.” -- Country proverb, (used in the book Plots and Pans, by Kelly Eileen Hake, but probably not original to her)

“What was fundamental for the early church has become supplemental for the modern church” -- Joby Martin

“Look back thankfully and look ahead faithfully.” -- Larry Wade, Jr.

“Something happens through preaching that cannot occur in any other communication context. God is committed to preaching, by which he speaks through the proclamation and explanation of his word.” -- David Jackman

“Why are you mad that you got up on the wrong side of the bed, when you ought to be glad that you got up on any side of it?” -- John Wyatt

“May your words be so seasoned with Scripture that when people argue, they argue with Scripture and not you.” -- Dustin Benge

The Blessed Man, Psalm 1

Psalm 1 contrasts one singular “the man” (vs. 1-3) versus plural ungodly men (vs. 4-5). Ultimately, the only one man who fulfills this perfectly and completely is our Lord Jesus Christ.

Verse 1

• He does not walk in the counsel of the ungodly.
• He does not stand in the way of sinners.
• He does not sit in the seat of the scornful.

Verse 2 

• He delights in the law of the Lord.
• He meditates in the law of the Lord day and night.

Verse 3

• He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water.
•     o He brings forth his fruit in his season.
•     o His leaf also shall not wither.
• Whatsoever he does shall prosper.

Verse 4 

• The ungodly are not like the blessed man.
• The ungodly are like the chaff which the wind drives away.

Verse 5 

• The ungodly shall not stand in the judgment.
• Sinners shall not stand in the congregation of the righteous.

Verse 6

• The Lord knows the way of the righteous. (1 John 2:1 …Jesus Christ the righteous)
• The way of the ungodly shall perish. (Luke 13:3,5 ...except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish. John 10:28 ...I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish. Cf. John 11:25)

The descriptions of the blessed man in Psalm 1 can and should be seen as a reflection fulfilled in Jesus Christ’s life and character. Therefore, may we in this Psalm not lose sight of Jesus Christ. Only Jesus Christ never did what the man described in Psalm 1 does not do. Only Jesus Christ always did what the man described in Psalm 1 does do.

Jeremiah 10:23; Psalm 37:23. 1 Peter 2:21 “...leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps”

Seeing God’s blessing rests on this kind of man, we may rightly resolve that we want to be that kind of man. To the extent that we follow the Lord, we may not do what this blessed man does not do, and may do what this blessed man does do. However, in this way we will always fall short of being the blessed man, and find that our true blessings are found in The Blessed Man himself!

Psalm 2:12 Blessed are all they that put their trust in him.

Fulfilling a former purpose

Acts 20:1-6 fulfilling a former purpose

Verse 1: Paul had previously purposed to pass through Macedonia and Achaia, and then go to Jerusalem. Staying in Ephesus a little longer, he sent Timotheus and Erastus ahead of him into Macedonia. Now Paul is moving on that purpose. He bids the disciples in Ephesus a loving farewell.

Verses 2-3a: Paul traveled through Macedonia to exhort and encourage the disciples, then went into Greece. Greece is identified as Achaia in Paul’s purpose, described in Acts 19:21. He stayed there for three months. It possibly was during this time Paul wrote his letter to the Romans (cf. Romans 15:25-26, 31).

Verse 3b: The Jews here “laid wait” for Paul (cf. v. 19), indicating an intent to ambush him, for evil intent – either to arrest and accuse Paul before the authorities, as they had done at other times; or possibly to accost and kill him. Perhaps they intended to attack Paul on board ship, since knowing of the plot, Paul changed his course to reroute back through Macedonia rather than sail to Syria from Greece. Some have suggested a contrived robbery at sea, since Paul was carrying a contribution from the churches in Macedonia and Achaia to the saints in Jerusalem.

Verse 4: Accompanying Paul to Asia were eight men:

• Sopater of Berea
• Aristarchus (of the Thessalonians)
• Secundus (of the Thessalonians)
• Gaius of Derbe
• Timotheus [of Lystra, 16:1]
• Tychicus (of Asia)
• Trophimus (of Asia)
• Luke [a “we” section begins verse 5. Acts 20:5-21:18, from Philippi to Jerusalem]

Verse 5: Sopater, Aristarchus, Secundus, Gaius, Timotheus, Tychicus, and Trophimus go on ahead of Paul, Luke, and (presumably) Silas to wait for them at Troas.[1] Troas is a city of Asia north and west of Ephesus, from whence those which dwelt in Asia heard the word of the Lord Jesus. Sopater is probably the same person as Sosipater of Romans 16:21. Aristarchus is mentioned in Acts 19:29, 27:2; Colossians 4:10, and Philemon 24. Gaius was a common name of that day, which is used several times in the New Testament, probably for more than one person, considering that Derbe (v. 4) is not in Macedonia (19:29). See Acts 19:29; Romans 16:23; I Corinthians 1:14; and III John 1. Timotheus is, of course, Paul’s son in the faith, Timothy. Tychicus is mentioned in Ephesians 6:21, 24; Colossians 4:7, 18; II Timothy 4:12; and Titus 3:12. Trophimus is mentioned in Acts 21:29 and II Timothy 4:20. Secundus is mentioned only here in Acts 20. “tarried for us” indicates that Luke has rejoined the group.

Verse 6: the author, Luke, evidently stayed at Philippi during the events of Acts 17:1 to Acts 20:5-6 – possibly 6 years.[2] Note that this time the trip from Philippi to Troas took five days, in contrast to two days on the initial trip from Troas to Philippi recorded in Acts 16:11-12. After this five-day journey, they stayed in Troas seven days.

---

[1] Silas has not been mentioned by name since he and Timothy joined Paul in Corinth (18:5). Outside of Acts he is mentioned (by the Latinized form “Silvanus”) in II Corinthians 1:19; I Thessalonians 1:1; II Thessalonians 1:1; and I Peter 5:12.
[2] The calculation and approximation of this time includes possibly a month in Thessalonica (17:1ff.), stays in Berea and Athens (chapter 17), over 18 months in Corinth (18:11), a trip back to Jerusalem and Antioch (chapter 18), 3 years in Ephesus (cf. 20:31), travel through Macedonia, and 3 months in Greece (20:3) before going back through Macedonia.

God Bless the USA Bible

This post is not a recommendation of the Bible views of Tim Wildsmith. However, his review of the God Bless the USA Bible is timely and interesting because of the political circumstances. The reviews are not political, but rather talk about the binding and print quality of this particular Bible.

The flying roll

The flying roll.

Zechariah 5:1-4.

5:1-4 Then I turned, and lifted up mine eyes, and looked, and behold a flying roll. And he said unto me, What seest thou? And I answered, I see a flying roll; the length thereof is twenty cubits, and the breadth thereof ten cubits. Then said he unto me, This is the curse that goeth forth over the face of the whole earth: for every one that stealeth shall be cut off as on this side according to it; and every one that sweareth shall be cut off as on that side according to it. I will bring it forth, saith the Lord of hosts, and it shall enter into the house of the thief, and into the house of him that sweareth falsely by my name: and it shall remain in the midst of his house, and shall consume it with the timber thereof and the stones thereof.

Lambert’s Cafe in Sikeston, Missouri has a tradition of throwing dinner rolls to customers. That might be the first kind of “roll” that enters the thoughts of American readers. However, this flying roll in Zechariah is a scroll, the “roll of a book” (cf. Jeremiah 36:2,4,32; Ezekiel 2:9), a written message from God. The Messiah the Branch will remove sin from the land (3:9b; Daniel 9:24-27). This removal of sin is either through forgiveness or destruction. Luke 13:3, 5 “except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.” Cf. Zech 3:8-9 and 4:6-7.

3:8-9 Hear now, O Joshua the high priest, thou, and thy fellows that sit before thee: for they are men wondered at: for, behold, I will bring forth my servant the BRANCH. For behold the stone that I have laid before Joshua; upon one stone shall be seven eyes: behold, I will engrave the graving thereof, saith the Lord of hosts, and I will remove the iniquity of that land in one day.

4:6-7 Then he answered and spake unto me, saying, This is the word of the Lord unto Zerubbabel, saying, Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the Lord of hosts. Who art thou, O great mountain? before Zerubbabel thou shalt become a plain: and he shall bring forth the headstone thereof with shoutings, crying, Grace, grace unto it.

The law of the Lord is worldwide it “goeth forth over the face of the whole earth” (v. 3)

• John Gill notes that God has exact knowledge of the sins of all men, and strict remembrance of them.

The law of the Lord is equal, it is “for every one” (v. 3).

Matthew 22:40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.

• On this side “that stealeth” (the 8th commandment on the second table; relationship to man)
• On that side “that sweareth” (the 3rd commandment on the first table; relationship to God)

The law of the Lord is fixed in God’s purpose, enforced by the Lord, “I will bring it forth” (v. 4).

• The curse of the law and the wrath of God are certain, fixed in God’s purpose.

The law of the Lord is triumphant, enforced on the sinner, “it shall enter…and shall consume it.”

• The curse of the law and the wrath of God are certain of victory. God will overcome and overwhelm all sin.

Conclusion.

The curse of the law extends as far as the rule and control of the law. The law is in writing “on a roll” and “in the hearts” (Joshua 8:34; Romans 2:15).  It is universal in its scope of time (perpetual) and space (global) and impartiality (for all man). “What I have written I have written" (John 19:22; Daniel 6:8). The angel asks “What seest thou” and Zechariah answers, “I see a flying roll.” In size the roll was twenty cubits long and ten cubits wide, that is, 30 feet X 15 feet. It is an uncommon size.

The sinners against whom the judgment of the curse of the law is levelled are: (1) “every  one that stealeth” and (2) “every one that sweareth.” The curse lands on those that break either table of the law. Here God does not rank one sin above the other. These two kinds of sin are representative of and summarize the “two tables of the law,” man’s relationship to man and man’s relationship to God. The curse applies equally to those who break either table. James 2:10 For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.

In the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments, God has inscribed and preserved his law and his gospel. 

Galatians 3:10 For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse: for it is written, Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them.

Galatians 3:13 Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree:

Sin must be removed through either forgiveness in Christ or destruction from Christ. God’s word is the standard by which we are judged, and all must give account to God. God’s roll of his writing has flown through the face of the whole earth. The grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men – but God does not tolerate sin. The unrepentant unbelieving will be punished, with the Lord “in flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: who will be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord.”

When the great day of his wrath is come, who shall be able to stand?

John’s Baptism

“…John the Baptist had the greatest ministry with regard to his baptism. Since there was no antecedent to baptism in the Tanak, he initiated that which the Saviour declared was required for all Christians—believer’s immersion. After all, the Lord asserted, saying, ‘He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned’ (Mk. 16:16). Moreover, the Lord asserted obliquely that John’s baptism was from heaven (Lk. 20:4). Although denominationalists have desired to relegate the ministry and baptism of John to the Old Testament, Scripture is clear that he inaugurated the New Testament Era (Lk. 16:16). If John were an Old Testament prophet, then his baptism by immersion subsequent to salvation would be invalid for Christian churches. Nevertheless, the Lord Jesus Christ is the author and finisher of the Christian faith (Heb. 12:2), and He certainly did not have an ‘Old Testament baptism’!”

Thomas M. Strouse, “Foreword,” The Church that John the Baptist Prepared

I long to be soaring away

Maria De Fleury was a Baptist poet and hymnwriter, descended from French Huguenots. Additionally she engaged in religious and political controversies of her day. Her father was probably J. de Fleury, Sr and her brother J. de Fleury Jr, the artist, engraver, and painter. George Dyer eulogized Maria de Fleury as “Maria” in his ode “On Liberty” – written after her death in the fall of 1792.

The following, titled simply, “An Hymn,” appeared on pages 95 and 96 of de Fleury’s book Divine Poems and Essays on Various Subjects (1791). The third stanza is the text of a popular Sacred Harp song, Panting for Heaven.

1. Ye Angels, who stand round the throne,
And see my Immanuel’s face,
In rapturous songs make him known,
Tune, tune your soft harps to his praise:
He form’d you the Spirits you are,
So noble, so happy, so good,
While others sunk down in despair,
Confirm’d by his power, you stood.

2. Ye Saints, who stand nearer than they,
And cast your bright crowns at his feet,
His Grace and his Glory display,
O tell of his love as is meet;
He sav’d you from Hell, and the Grave,
He ransom’d from Death and Despair,
For you he was Mighty to Save,
Almighty to bring you safe there.

3. O when will the period appear
When I shall unite in your song!
I’m weary of lingering here,
And I to your Saviour belong!
I’m fetter’d, and chain’d up in clay,
I struggle and pant to be free,
I long to be soaring away,
My God and my Saviour to see.

4. I want to put on my attire,
Wash’d white in the Blood of the Lamb,
I want to be one of your choir,
And tune my sweet harp to his name:
I want—O I want to be there,
(Where Sorrow and Sin bid adieu,)
Your Joy and your Friendship to share,
To wonder and worship with you.

In other words, a to v

• advect, verb. To move by the process of advection (the horizontal flow of atmospheric properties).
• convect, verb. To transfer heat or a fluid by convection (the vertical transport of atmospheric properties).
• fiat, noun. An authoritative command or order to do something; an effectual decree.
• desuetude, noun. (In law) a doctrine or principle that that long and continued non-use of a law or statute renders it invalid.
• expurgate, verb. To clean up, remove impurities, especially to expunge objectionable materials from something before publication or presentation.
• fatuous, adjective. Foolish; inane; silly; complacently or inanely foolish (applied both to persons and to their acts).
• innocuous, adjective. Not causing disapproval; lacking intent or capacity to injure; harmless.
• mendacious, adjective. Telling lies, especially habitually; dishonest; lying; untruthful.
• nocebo effect, noun. When a patient’s negative expectations for a treatment cause the treatment to have a worse effect than it otherwise would have. Opposite of placebo.
• parsimony, noun. Unusual or excessive frugality; thrift; extreme economy or stinginess.
• persnickety, adjective. Overparticular or fussy about trivial details; fastidious; demanding.
• piffle, noun. Nonsense; trivial or senseless talk.
• placebo effect, noun. When a patient’s positive expectations for a treatment cause the treatment to have a helpful effect (especially in reference to a placebo, an inactive “look-alike” treatment). Opposite of nocebo.
• rodomontade, noun. Pretentious boasting; bluster; a bragging speech.
• saudade, noun. A deep emotional state of melancholic longing for a person or thing that is absent; yearning for something indefinite and indefinable (from Portuguese).
• scriptorium, noun. A room set aside for the copying, writing, or illuminating of manuscripts and records (especially in a medieval monastery).
• sine die, adverb. Without a day specified for a future meeting; indefinitely (from Latin, without day).
• teleology, noun. The philosophical interpretation of natural phenomena as exhibiting purpose or design.
• telestich, noun. A short poem in which the last letters of each successive line form a word or name.
• verisimilitude, noun. The quality of appearing to be true or real; something that has the appearance of being true or real.

Some praise for old Bancroft

Romans 13:7 Render therefore to all their dues...honour to whom honour.

At the time the King James translation was made, Richard Bancroft (1544-1610) was Bishop of London and then in 1604 made the Archbishop of Canterbury. Bancroft was the supervisor and overseer of the translation project. He died before the finished product was published. Much of what I hear and read about Bancroft is negative (and some deservedly so). For that reason, I was pleasantly surprised when I came across a short piece about Bancroft by Paul V. M. Flesher, a professor in University of Wyoming’s Department of Religious Studies. Writing about the discovery in 2016 of the remains of Bancroft in a crypt beneath the St. Mary-at-Lambeth Church, Flesher included this tribute to his connection with the translation authorized by King James I.

“Bancroft was perhaps the most important figure in the creation of the King James Bible…

“James convened the Hampton Court Conference in January 1604 to address their concerns. It was not a success for the Puritans. Bancroft, who was then bishop of London, was widely known as a fierce opponent of the Puritans. He helped persuade the king to reject the Puritan calls for church reform.

“But, James shared one desire with the Puritans, which he granted. That was their request for a new, ‘authorized’ translation of the Bible. Even as he acceded to their request, he added a twist: James put the anti-Puritan Bancroft in charge of the project…

“Archbishop Bancroft pioneered a new approach to Bible translation, one which helped the translation overcome the political and religious conflict in which the project was conceived.

“Earlier translations had essentially been done by individuals, without consultation or review. Bancroft brought together 47 experts in biblical studies from Oxford, Cambridge and London. Here, he was surprisingly even-handed, bringing in the best scholars whether they were establishment or Puritan…

“And, by all accounts, the King James Bible succeeded. Within 50 years, its ‘majesty of style’ made it the widest circulating English Bible. It traveled to the American colonies, where it was frequently reprinted. For more than 300 years, it was the main Bible used in the English language, and no other Protestant Bible could compete with it.

“Archbishop Bancroft, whose burial site we now know, was a partisan bulldog for the Church of England establishment. Yet, he guided the creation of a new Bible translation that lasted for more than four centuries and was accepted by most branches of Protestant Christianity.”

The Coffin of Archbishop Bancroft and the King James Bible, by Paul V. M. Flesher, professor in University of Wyoming’s Department of Religious Studies.