Baptism for the dead

“Else what shall they do which are baptized for the dead, if the dead rise not at all? why are they then baptized for the dead?” 1 Corinthians 15:29

This is an intriguing and difficult passage, for which several different theories suggest what it means. For example:

• Some regard the words “the dead” is equivalent to or means “the resurrection of the dead” with baptism verifying belief in the doctrine of the resurrection.
• Some believe that Paul spoke of a cult practice he did not endorse, but that it nevertheless showed their belief in resurrection.
• Some seem to think more on the line of a baptism of persecution, trial, and death.

Most of the different views are “harmless,” and support the theme Paul was elucidating – resurrection. On the other hand, the Mormon Church has finessed “baptism for the dead” into a major ordinance, an important part of their faith and practice. They have their members baptized by proxy for long-dead people who were not Mormons, in order to “save” them. There is no such practice in the New Testament.

It is best to understand this verse in its context of resurrection (the theme of 1 Corinthians 15), and in light of other texts that connect baptism, death, and resurrection. New Testament believers are never baptized for the benefit of others who are physically dead. Baptism (immersion) is a portrait of death, burial, and resurrection. Romans 6:4 says, “Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.” There were are baptized “into death.” In Colossians 2:12 we are “buried with him in baptism” and “also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead.” If there is no resurrection of the dead, then is Christ not risen (1 Corinthians 15:13). “And if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain” (v. 14). Therefore, too with our baptism. It is practiced in vain if there is no resurrection of the one who is dead. “Then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished” (v. 18). To be “baptized for the dead” is for our death to sin in Christ, and representing his resurrection and in hope of our own. If the dead rise not at all, what shall we do? Shall we continue with a form that is meaningless in what it pictures and to what it points?

Best/Worst, Last/First

The Devil offers his best up front, with a hidden end.

• Proverbs 20:17 Bread of deceit is sweet to a man; but afterwards his mouth shall be filled with gravel.
• Proverbs 23:31-32 Look not thou upon the wine when it is red, when it giveth his colour in the cup,
• when it moveth itself aright. At the last it biteth like a serpent, and stingeth like an adder.
• Hebrews 11:24-25 By faith Moses, when he was come to years, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter; choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season;

God saves the best for last, with exceeding great and precious promises.

• John 2:10 and saith unto him, Every man at the beginning doth set forth good wine; and when men have well drunk, then that which is worse: but thou hast kept the good wine until now.
• Hebrews 12:11 Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby.
• Romans 8:18 For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.

Pure Cambridge Edition Bible

In a Baptist Board thread, The Bible at your fingertips, the subject of the Pure Cambridge Edition King James Bible came up. I had never heard of this so-called “pure” edition of the King James Bible, so did a little online research. Here is some of what I found, which exposes another “false friend” of the King James Bible.

According to one site (which is supportive of the King James Version Bible), the Pure Cambridge Edition is “an out-of-print Cambridge text [circa 1900], determined to be ‘pure’ by Mr. Verschuur, a young and ambitious Pentecostal man from Australia.” They commend his research as “fairly exhaustive” but go on to say that his conclusions that the Cambridge text he uses is superior to other Cambridge texts cannot be defended, and that when he cannot defend his points, “he relies on his ‘Pentecostal’ experiences to defend them.” They say his book Guide to the Pure Cambridge Edition of the King James Bible makes this “Pentecostal defense.”

Matthew Verschuur has a website called Bible Protector where he promotes the Pure Cambridge Bible. This site links to Victory Faith Centre in South Geelong, Victoria, Australia – so I assume that is the church he attends.

Matthew Verschuur’s “Statement to all King James Bible (KJB) supporters concerning the Pure Cambridge Edition (PCE)” can be found HERE. In this he writes,

There has been a great ignorance of the fact that a final purification took place in the history of the King James Bible. Those who have studied the history of the King James Bible in depth would have been aware of the major purifications that took place, such as the editions of 1629, 1638 and 1769. There was also a proper purification that took place circa 1900, which has resulted in the final text of the King James Bible, which is in all ways the definitive presentation of the King James Bible, and should not be altered. 

Verschurr gives the following “test” to help identify the “pure” edition.

1. “or Sheba” not “and Sheba” in Joshua 19:2
2. “sin” not “sins” in 2 Chronicles 33:19
3. “Spirit of God” not “spirit of God” in Job 33:4
4. “whom ye” not “whom he” in Jeremiah 34:16
5. “Spirit of God” not “spirit of God” in Ezekiel 11:24
6. “flieth” not “fleeth” in Nahum 3:16
7. “Spirit” not “spirit” in Matthew 4:1
8. “further” not “farther” in Matthew 26:39
9. “bewrayeth” not “betrayeth” in Matthew 26:73
10. “Spirit” not “spirit” in Mark 1:12
11. “spirit” not “Spirit” in Acts 11:28
12. “spirit” not “Spirit” in 1 John 5:8

Thought I would relay what I found to you readers. Some of you are probably quite familiar with this edition and claim. Others of you were probably like me, in the dark. By calling his own edition “pure,” Matthew Verschuur is, at the least, implying that everyone else who does not have the Pure Cambridge Edition Bible is using an “impure” King James Bible. To me this sounds like a bunch of “hocum” and ultimately means there was not “pure” King James Bible until 1900! If not, why not?

Andrew Tribble, Pioneer

Excerpts from “Rev. Andrew Tribble, Pioneer,” Bess L. Hawthorne, in Register of Kentucky State Historical Society, Vol. 24, No. 71 (May, 1926), pp. 187-190.

The earliest known member of this family was George Tribble, of Welsh extraction, and a farmer in Caroline County, Virginia. Nothing further is known of him, though there are references to a George Tribble of King and Queen County, who may have been the same person. Of his family we know nothing with the exception of one son, Andrew Tribble…

Andrew Tribble was born 22 March 1741, and very early became a member of the Baptist Church. Often he was heard to say that he was the 53d Baptist north of the James River. Soon after his conversion he began to preach, and went to Orange and surrounding counties to baptize new converts. Then for a while he was a member of Goldmine Church in Louisa County. From this church he was sent as a messenger to the first meeting of the General Association of Virginia in May, 1771.

In 1777, he became pastor of a little Baptist Church in Albemarle County, variously known as Albemarle, Buck Mountain, and Chestnut Grove. This church was organized in January 1773, being the first Baptist church in Albemarle. It was near “Monticello,” the home of Thomas Jefferson. It is said the two men became personal friends and Jefferson often attended the meetings here. Many claim that Jefferson gained his idea of a popular government for this country through watching the business management of this little Baptist church by Rev. Andrew Tribble…

In 1768, most probably while he was preaching in Orange County, he was married to Miss Sarah Ann Burris (Burrus)…

Andrew Tribble and his family moved to Kentucky in 1783, and first settled on the Dix River, but soon moved into what is now known as Clark County…

Tate’s Creek Church…was…founded by him in 1786 under the name of “Tate’s Creek Church of Separate Baptists.”…they formed “Tate’s Creek Association of United Baptists” [in 1793].[i]

His last sickness was long and painful. It was caused by stricture of the bladder and resulted in his death on 22 December 1822 (or 30 December 1822)[ii] …His wife, Sarah Ann Burris-Tribble, survived him several years, her death occurring on 15 December 1830, when she was past 77.

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[i] The Tate’s Creek Association was formed by four churches from the South Kentucky Association, after the South Kentucky Association refused the terms of union offered by the Elkhorn Association. See A History of Kentucky Baptists, by J. H. Spencer, p. 88.

[ii] Tribble’s tombstone is inscribed with December 30.

Alan Dershowitz explains, and other links

The posting of links does not constitute an endorsement of the sites linked, and not necessarily even agreement with the specific posts linked.

• Alan Dershowitz explains how the Supreme Court just ‘pulled the rug out of part two of impeachment’ -- “You don’t have to comply with a subpoena of Congress unless a court tells you you have to comply.”
• Antibiotic resistance and cancer: six surprising places scientists are looking for new drugs -- “Scientists recently announced the discovery of a novel antibiotic produced by bacteria living inside a nematode (roundworm).”
• China imprisoned more journalists than any other country in 2019: CPJ -- “China imprisoned at least 48 journalists in 2019, more than any other country, displacing Turkey as the most oppressive place for the profession, a report by the Committee to Protect Journalists report said on Wednesday.”
• Dr. John Clarke – From Ill News to Good News -- “My goal is simply to present enough info to pique interest in this man’s life and labors perhaps lead others to do more comprehensive research.”
• From Crisis to Liberty – John Leland and the Liberty of Conscience -- “John Leland’s life, ministry and politics were full of purpose and accomplishment.”
• How birth control pills may be affecting women’s brains -- “The study authors found that women who had been taking birth control pills had a significantly smaller hypothalamus compared to non-pill users.”
• How Psalm 113 Changed My Life -- “That psalm stuck with me like a bad toothache. Its outdated embrace of patriarchy was unthinkable!”
• John Piper on how Faithful Preaching Should Root Out Racism -- “What I think is needed is for every pastor to just get really serious about the text. I mean really serious about the implications of the text.”
• Kimberley Strassel: Democrats drop ‘quid pro quo’ from impeachment case to protect Joe Biden -- “It suddenly occurred to some members of the Democratic Party that the incredibly widespread definition — this very broad definition that they had to manufacture in order to ensnare Donald Trump in it — could ensnare, for instance, their own frontrunner for the Democratic nomination.”
• Obadiah Holmes, The Baptist Martyr The Puritans Should Have Left Alone -- “Obadiah Holmes asked to speak, but Magistrate Encrease Nowell refused. Holmes spoke anyway, saying he was about to shed his blood for what he believed.”
• Nobodies Were the First to Know -- “Immanuel, God with us, means God is truly among all classes of people, not simply the connected or well-resourced.”
• Reporters Enraged Over Media Portrayal in ‘Richard Jewell’ -- “Eastwood’s movie, which comes out Friday, portrays federal law enforcement and media as powerful forces that combined to destroy Jewell, the security guard falsely suspected of the 1996 Summer Olympic bombing in Atlanta.”
• Texas Judge Says Christian Beliefs Prevent Her From Conducting Same-Sex Weddings -- “Justice of the Peace Dianne Hensley, an elected official serving McLennan County in central Texas, insists she’s done nothing wrong by officiating at weddings for straight couples while turning away same-sex couples because of her conservative Christian beliefs.”
• The Latest in the Saga of The Alamo Cenotaph -- “I have shared with you previously about the endeavor of some to remove the term ‘heroic’ from Texas State history books as a description of the defenders on the Alamo.”
• Today’s Tension: Broad Versus Narrow Complementarianism -- “It seems to be a moment of reckoning for complementarianism. One can tell since the loudest questions aren’t being asked from outside the camp, but from inside.”
• Wendy’s Chooses to Promote Adoption, Not Abortion -- “The late Dave Thomas, Wendy’s founder and an adoptee himself, made several trips to the White House to raise awareness about adoption and to advocate for adoption benefits for federal employees.”
• What is baptism for the dead mentioned in 1 Corinthians 15:29? -- “One point of view on the subject.”

Quid pro quo

Unless a person has been asleep for the last couple of months, there is no way that they could not have heard the term, “quid pro quo,” as the circus in Washington has hit its fever pitch with all three rings occupied. Elephants and Asses, alike, can be seen acting out their orchestrated parts. The hypocrisy of all of these “politicians” is on full display as each side accuses the other of dastardly deeds in the quest to gain power.  Each side will do whatever they can to maintain or expand their own seats of influence.  This term itself, is a Latin phrase which literally means “this for that.”  There is no political operative in the world who does not daily practice “quid pro quo,” although they would like for us to think that they all just act out of a benevolent and altruistic heart which yearns to “do the right thing.”

Mike McInnis in Grace Gazette, Volume XVII, Issue 49

Sleep Not, Soldier

While searching for hymns in 7s. meter, I ran across “Sleep Not, Soldier” by Elizabeth Gaskell (1810–1865). I was unfamiliar with the hymn and the writer. The source where I found the hymn, Timeless Truths, says it was first published in 1848.

Elizabeth Gaskell was born Lindsey Row, Chelsea, London, as Elizabeth Cleghorn Stevenson. She was the daughter of William Stevenson and Elizabeth Holland. Her mother died when Elizabeth was 13 months old, and an aunt raised her. In 1832 she married William Gaskell, a Unitarian minister. She was a writer of poetry, short stories, and novels -- some of which have been adapted for television by the British Broadcasting Corporation. Elizabeth died in 1865 in Hampshire, while visiting a home she had purchased there.

The hymn is perhaps set with various tunes. One I found was Navarre, arranged by Daniel B. Towner in 1908.

1. Sleep not, soldier of the cross,
Foes are lurking all around;
Look not here to find repose;
This is but thy battleground.

2. Up! and take thy shield and sword!
Up! it is the call of Heav’n;
Shrink not faithless from thy Lord;
Nobly strive, as He hath striv’n.

3. Break through all the force of ill;
Tread the might of passion down;
Struggling onward, onward still,
To thy conqu’ring Savior’s crown.

4. Through the midst of toil and pain,
Let this thought ne’er leave thy breast;
Every triumph thou dost gain
Makes more sweet thy coming rest.

What Is an Apostle?

Interesting series on the apostleship, some of you might like to read.

• What Is an Apostle? Requirements from Acts 1:21–26, Part 1 -- “The candidate was required to be someone who followed Jesus during his entire earthly ministry, beginning from Jesus’ baptism by John to Jesus’ ascension into heaven.”
• What Is an Apostle? Requirements from Acts 1:21–26, Part 2 -- “Pulling all of the above together, Acts 1:21–26 denies the possibility of apostles today and their correlative ministry of apostleship.”
• The Apostleship of the Apostle Paul: One Untimely Born -- “The answer is no because Paul describes himself in terms that imply he was an exception to the rule.”
• Was Barnabas an Apostle? -- “In this broad usage, then, an apostle was a first-century evangelist who bore witness to the resurrection of Christ, an itinerant missionary sent by Him to make disciples of all nations.”
• Apostles: A Wrap-up -- “Having hardly scratched the surface for this topic, hopefully I’ve laid out the broader principles that establish the multiple senses of the term apostolos as it is used in the NT.”

In other words, concentrate on concinnity

• brobdingnagian, adjective. Huge; gigantic.
• bulverism, noun. The rejection of an argument on the basis of the character, motives, or identity of the one making it rather than on its logical soundness or the validity of its assumptions.
• concatenate, verb, transitive. formal, technical. Link (things) together in a chain or series.
• concentrate, verb. Focus one’s attention or mental effort on a particular object or activity.
• concinnate, adjective. of speech or writing. Put together with neat propriety: of elegant style. verb. To arrange or blend together skillfully, as parts or elements; to put together in a harmonious, precisely appropriate, or elegant manner.
• concinnity, noun. rare. The skilful and harmonious arrangement or fitting together of the different parts of something.
• contemptus mundi, noun. Disregard of or disdain for worldly or temporal concerns.
• gramadoelas, noun. A remote rural region; the backwoods, the ‘sticks’.
• gym bunny, noun. A person who spends a lot of time exercising at a gym, esp. to improve his or her appearance rather than for reasons of health or fitness.
• interpause, verb, intransitive. To pause in the midst of something.
• majuscule, adjective. Large, as either capital or uncial letters; written in such letters (opposed to minuscule).
• minuscule, adjective. Very small; (of letters or writing) small; not capital; written in such letters (opposed to majuscule).
• orthodoxy, noun. Authorized or generally accepted theory, doctrine, or practice; right belief.
• orthokardy, noun. Right feeling, loving attitude (in the biblical sense).
• orthopraxy, noun. Rightness of action (as distinct from or in addition to rightness of thought); right-doing, practical righteousness; correct practice. Sometimes contrasted with orthodoxy.
• ossify, verb. transform into bone; become rigid in habit or belief.
• snarf, verb (used with object), slang. To eat quickly and voraciously; scarf (often followed by down or up).

The Call of the Tamalada, and other links

The posting of links does not constitute an endorsement of the sites linked, and not necessarily even agreement with the specific posts linked.

• 5-Year-Old Carries Baby in Subzero Cold After They Are Abandoned, Police Say -- “...the temperature was about 31 degrees below zero, officials said, and both children suffered unspecified injuries from the cold...The children are expected to make a full recovery, Ken Marsh, a department spokesman, said Sunday.”
• A Star Is Born -- “Texas’ iconic lone star might trace origins to 1817 Mexican coins.”
• Careful Conversations: Craft Sound Arguments -- “It can be harder to spot issues in informal logic than what is called ‘formal’ logic, but most conversation is carried out ‘informally’ so you will need to learn how to maneuver there.”
• Church Plants Need Pastors, Not Entrepreneurs -- “After all, “church plant” is itself a bit of a misnomer. It’s a statement about chronology, not ontology. Church plants are churches, and churches don’t ultimately need entrepreneurs. They need pastors.”
• Focus on Texas: Deserts -- “These landscapes, seemingly barren and monochromatic, come alive in the lenses of our readers.”
• God’s Grace in the Midst of Rapid Leadership Change -- “Paul stayed in Thessalonica perhaps 3–6 months, and he was briefly in Berea as well. In both instances, just as the believers came to know the gospel, so also they had come to know Paul as a spiritual father who quickly had to leave.”
• Lazarus the Bug -- “The wonders of ironclad beetles seem to include an ability to return from the dead.”
• New Report Shows Widespread Non-Citizen Voting in Virginia – “The Heritage Foundation, meanwhile, maintains a lengthy and growing database of proven voter fraud that has resulted in criminal convictions or overturned elections.”
• Presidential Misconduct: Some Historical Perspective -- “Once Gerhardt argued that Trump’s conduct was ‘worse than the misconduct of any prior president,’ we no longer had any intellectual obligation to take him seriously on the topic.”
• Sexism Isn’t Why Warren Is Falling -- “Her stock in the Democratic primary had been climbing steadily since midsummer...She’s been in free fall ever since.”
• The Call of the Tamalada -- “...making tamales...often prompts a tamalada—a lively gathering of friends and family toiling in the kitchen preparing dozens and dozens of tamales.”
• The Sufficiency of Scripture -- “Scripture is sufficient for Christian practice. At the level of behavior, Scripture offers principles which guide believers in their day to day lives.”
• Turley Calls Case for Impeachment ‘Woefully Inadequate’ -- “Turley, who emphasized that he was not a Trump supporter and voted against him in 2016, nevertheless urged a measured and cautious approach to impeachment, warning of potential repercussions for future administrations if a less rigorous approach was followed.”
• U.S. Supreme Court leaves in place Kentucky abortion restriction -- “The justices declined without comment to hear an appeal by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of a lower court ruling that upheld the law after a federal judge previously had struck it down as a violation of the U.S. Constitution’s First Amendment guarantee of free speech.”
• Veteran-owned coffee company donates to police bashed by Starbucks employee in Oklahoma -- “Black Rifle Coffee Company donates bags of coffee to an Oklahoma police department after an officer was labeled a ‘pig’ by a Starbucks barista.”
• Walker Knight, founding editor of Baptists Today newspaper and former editor of Home Missions magazine, dead at 95 -- “His father worked as a managing editor in Kentucky. Knight followed in his footsteps...”

Freewill Baptist/Methodist: J. P. Lunsford

James Pierce “Jim” Lunsford, son of Aris C. Lunsford and Mary M. Ledbetter, was born 1834 in Tennessee, and died November 27, 1918 at Mt. Enterprise, Texas. He was buried in the Old Prospect Cemetery. His unmarked tomb was recently marked with a Confederate marker in a dedication ceremony Saturday, October 18, 2014.[i] Jim married Sarah Ann Walters in 1855 in Chattahoochee County, Georgia. She was the daughter of Ezekiel Walters and Mary Ann Sanders.

James Lunsford was a Confederate Civil War Veteran.[ii] He was also a Free Will Baptist and Methodist Minister. According to genealogist Elaine Maduzia (his great-great granddaughter), Lunsford moved to Alabama shortly after his marriage. They came to Texas in a wagon train and settled in Cherokee County in 1877. She also stated that James P. Lunsford was one of the founding members and minister of the Old Prospect Church. It is known that the Methodists used the old meeting house as well as the Baptists. Some records indicate he was ordained twice – in August of 1875, by Methodist Episcopal Church South at Greenville, Alabama and in 1877 by the First Free Will Church, Cherokee County, Texas.[iii] If this is correct, records in the Texas Free Will Baptist Association may suggest that he left the Free Will Baptists and went back to the Methodist Church – at the least the Texas Association removed him from their body in 1894 regarding doctrinal differences.[iv]

Almedia Lunsford Nelson often told a story of Jim Lunsford being wounded in the Civil War. He received a wound in his forehead and the doctors used a silver dollar to replace the bone loss there. She said one could still see the imprint of the coin years afterward.[v]

Jim and Sarah had ten children. The Lunsfords’ lives continues in the families and churches in southern Rusk County and northern Nacogdoches County, as well as other places to which the family has spread. Charter members of Old Prospect Baptist Church at Sand Flat, Rusk County, Texas, Mallie Marie Matlock Strong and Ralph Matlock – children of J. H. Matlock and Etta Elizabeth Lunsford – were grandchildren of Jim Lunsford. He also has great-grandchildren and great-great-grandchildren that are or have been members of Old Prospect Baptist Church, as well as other relatives. Jim Lunsford’s descendants who are members of Mount Union Free Will Baptist Church include Mary Wharton, Maxine Gaddy, John Connell, Robert Little, and possibly several others. He has descendants in other churches, of course, but these two are the most closely related to where he and his family lived.

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[i] The day also honored Lunsford’s wife Sarah and his brother Isaac Lee Hilliard Lunsford.

[ii] According to his Confederate Pension application (Comptroller's File No. 14264), Lunsford served as a Private in the 1st Alabama Artillery Co D, enlisting Sept. 6, 1862. The Roll of Prisoners at New Orleans, La. (From Book No. 2, Folio No. 232) states he was captured at Fort Gaines, Aug. 8, 1864 and transferred to Ship Island Oct. 25, 1864. It appears that Lunsford was a member of the Golden Drain Masonic Lodge, of which P. M. C. Winder was a member. Winder was son-in-law to Lemuel Herrin.

[iii] Perhaps the meaning is “Free Will Baptist”. It is not clear with which church he was affiliated after 1877, but the assumption has been that he was a Methodist preacher in the Prospect Church. In correspondence Elaine Maduzia revealed that she has lost most of her records due to a computer crash, and that this one online is all that survived – so she could not document the source of this information.

[iv] “We find one minister, brother J. P. Lunsford, out of harmony with our church, advocating usages not in keeping with the teaching of our church. We are reliably informed that he has declared himself independent of our body, pronouncing us heterodox in doctrine and usages. We recommend that the name of this brother, J. P. Lunsford, be dropped from the list of ministers.” From a report on the state of the churches in the Minutes of the Seventeenth Annual Session of the Texas Free Will Baptist Association, October 19-20, 1894 (pages 3-4) Rusk County churches Isabel’s Chapel, Old Prospect, and Sharron have no information in the statistical table (p. 9). Under the circumstances, this implies, but doesn’t prove, that Isabel’s Chapel and Sharron were in J. P. Lunsford’s sphere of influence.

[v] My Genealogy Home Page: Information about James Pierce Lunsford.

Jesus taught

Jesus taught

With authority (invested with divine authority, with obvious mastery of his subjects, and without fear)

• Matthew 7:28-29 And it came to pass, when Jesus had ended these sayings, the people were astonished at his doctrine: for he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.
• John 8:20 These words spake Jesus in the treasury, as he taught in the temple: and no man laid hands on him; for his hour was not yet come.

With application (go, do)

• Luke 10:37 And he said, He that shewed mercy on him. Then said Jesus unto him, Go, and do thou likewise.
• Matthew 19:21 Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me.

With integrity (by example, modeled what he taught)

• Luke 13:14-16 And the ruler of the synagogue answered with indignation, because that Jesus had healed on the sabbath day, and said unto the people, There are six days in which men ought to work: in them therefore come and be healed, and not on the sabbath day. The Lord then answered him, and said, Thou hypocrite, doth not each one of you on the sabbath loose his ox or his ass from the stall, and lead him away to watering? And ought not this woman, being a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan hath bound, lo, these eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the sabbath day?
• John 13: 14-15 If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet; ye also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have given you an example, that ye should do as I have done to you.

With continuity (the same, over, again)

• Mark 10:1 And he arose from thence, and cometh into the coasts of Judæa by the farther side of Jordan: and the people resort unto him again; and, as he was wont, he taught them again.
• John 7:14 Now about the midst of the feast Jesus went up into the temple, and taught. John 8:2 And early in the morning he came again into the temple, and all the people came unto him; and he sat down, and taught them.

Wherever he was

·         In private (when alone with his disciples), Matthew 24:3 And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world? And Jesus answered and said unto them… Mark 9:28-29 And when he was come into the house, his disciples asked him privately, Why could not we cast him out? And he said unto them...

·         In public (without equivocation, openly, not secretively; his private teaching corresponded with his public teaching), John 18:20 Jesus answered him, I spake openly to the world; I ever taught in the synagogue, and in the temple, whither the Jews always resort; and in secret have I said nothing. John 7:26 But, lo, he speaketh boldly, and they say nothing unto him. Do the rulers know indeed that this is the very Christ?

·         On a mountain, Matthew 5:1-2 And seeing the multitudes, he went up into a mountain: and when he was set, his disciples came unto him: and he opened his mouth, and taught them, saying

·         By the sea side, Mark 2:13 And he went forth again by the sea side; and all the multitude resorted unto him, and he taught them.

·         From a ship, Luke 5:3 And he entered into one of the ships, which was Simon’s, and prayed him that he would thrust out a little from the land. And he sat down, and taught the people out of the ship.

·         In the synagogues, Luke 6:6 And it came to pass also on another sabbath, that he entered into the synagogue and taught…

·         In the temple, Mark 12:35 And Jesus answered and said, while he taught in the temple, How say the scribes that Christ is the Son of David?

·         Across the Jordan, Mark 10:1 And he arose from thence, and cometh into the coasts of Judæa by the farther side of Jordan: and the people resort unto him again; and, as he was wont, he taught them again.

·         At Capernaum, Luke 4:31 and came down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee, and taught them on the sabbath days.

·         In houses, Matthew 13:36 Then Jesus sent the multitude away, and went into the house: and his disciples came unto him, saying, Declare unto us the parable of the tares of the field.

Teaching the Bible with Integrity

We have not taught the Bible with integrity: John’s Gospel as John’s Gospel; Proverbs as Proverbs; Judges as Judges; Exodus 20 as Exodus 20. Instead we have taught John’s Gospel as John’s Gospel; Proverbs as John’s Gospel; Judges as John’s Gospel; Exodus 20 as John’s Gospel ...if we have taught the latter at all...What our children (and we ourselves) need is exposure to the whole Bible in its integrity, “for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works” (2 Timothy 3:16-17).

Joseph Tate Bayly

God the Source of Joy

“Almighty God, Thy Lofty Throne/God the Source of Joy” (stanza 10 below) is a text based on Psalm 89:14-18, and found in The Psalter With Responsive Readings,[i] with the tune Lux Cœlestis by Henry Basford. It is perhaps more often sung with the tune Winchester New. The hymn praises God for the mercy and justice, truth and grace, faithfulness and judgment. Fifteen long meter metrical stanzas based on Psalm 89 follow:

1. My song forever shall record

The tender mercies of the Lord;

Thy faithfulness will I proclaim,

And every age shall know Thy name. (v. 1)

2. I sing of mercies that endure,

For ever builded firm and sure,

Of faithfulness that never dies,

Established changeless in the skies. (v. 2)

3. Behold God’s truth and grace displayed,

For He has faithful covenant made,

And He has sworn that David’s Son

Shall ever sit upon his throne. (vs. 3-4)

4. The heavens shall join in glad accord

To praise Thy wondrous works, O Lord;

Thy faithfulness shall praise command

Where holy ones assembled stand. (v. 5)

5. Who in the heavenly dwellings fair

Can with the Lord Himself compare?

Or who among the mighty shares

The likeness that Jehovah bears. (v. 6)

6. With fear and reverence at His feet

God’s holy ones in council meet;

Yea, more than all about His throne

Must He be feared, and He alone. (v. 7)

7. O Thou Jehovah, God of Hosts,

What mighty one Thy likeness boasts?

In all Thy works and vast designs

Thy faithfulness forever shines. (v. 8)

8. The swelling sea obeys Thy will,

Its angry waves Thy voice can still;

Thy mighty enemies are slain,

Thy foes resist Thy power in vain. (v. 9)

9. The heavens and earth, by right divine,

The world and all therein, are Thine;

The whole creation’s wondrous frame

Proclaims its Maker’s glorious Name. (v. 11)

10. Almighty God, Thy lofty throne

Has justice for its cornerstone,

And shining bright before Thy face

Are truth and love and boundless grace. (vs. 13-14)

11. With blessing is the nation crowned

Whose people know the joyful sound;

They in the light, O Lord, shall live,

The light Thy face and favor give. (v. 15)

12. Thy Name with gladness they confess,

Exalted in Thy righteousness;

Their fame and might to Thee belong,

For in Thy favor they are strong. (vs. 16-17)

13. All glory unto God we yield,

Jehovah is our help and shield;

All praise and honor we will bring

To Israel’s Holy One, our King. (v. 18)

14. For Him My mercy shall endure,

My covenant made with Him is sure;

His throne and race I will maintain

Forever, while the heavens remain. (vs. 28-29)

15. Blessed be the Lord for evermore,

Whose promise stands from days of yore.

His word is faithful now as then;

Blessed be His name. Amen, Amen. (v. 52)

---

[i] John McNaugher, Chairman (1857-1947), Pittsburgh, PA: The United Presbyterian Board of Publication, 1912.

Abbrevations for Bible Translations

Below is a list of abbreviations for nearly 100 translations of the English Bible. I place them here not as an endorsement, but as a resource that can be referred to when searching for these abbreviations – especially when I may reference a number of abbreviations in a post on this site.

ABBREVIATIONS OF ENGLISH BIBLE TRANSLATIONS
Abbreviation	Bible Translation
ACV	A Conservative Version, Walter L. Porter (public domain)
AKJV	Authorised King James Version (1611, 1769)
AMP	The Amplified Bible (2015)
AMPC	The Amplified Bible: Classic Edition (1987)
ASV	American Standard Version (1901)
AV	Authorised Version; same as AKJV and KJV
BBE	The Bible in Basic English (1965)
BHIB	Bible Hub Interlinear Bible (2004-2018)
BLB	Berean Literal Bible, Bible Hub and Discovery Bible (2015)
BRG	Blue Red and Gold Letter Edition Bible (2012)
CCB	Christian Community Bible (1988)
CEB	Common English Bible (2011)
CEV	Contemporary English Version, American Bible Society (1995)
CJB	Complete Jewish Bible, David H. Stern (1998)
CLV	Concordant Literal Version (1914 ... 2003)
COV	Coverdale Bible, Miles Coverdale (1535)
CSB	Christian Standard Bible (2017, an update of the HCSB)
DBY	Darby Bible, J. N. Darby (1890; Public Domain)
DRA/DRB	Douay-Rheims Bible, American Edition (1899)
DLNT	Disciples Literal New Testament (2011)
ECB	exeGeses Companion Bible (n.d.)
EMTV	English Majority Text Version: New Testament, trans. Paul W. Esposito (2009)
EHV	Evangelical Heritage Version: New Testament & Psalms(2017)
ERV	Easy-to-Read Version, World Bible Translation Center (2006)
ESV	The English Standard Version, Crossway (2001)
EXB	The Expanded Bible, Thomas Nelson Inc. (2011)
GNB/GNT	Good News Bible (1992) aka Good News Translation; formerly Today’s English Version (1976)
GNV	Geneva Bible of 1587, 1599
GRT	The Great Bible (1539)
GSD	The New Testament: An American Translation, Edgar J. Goodspeed (1923)
GW	God’s Word, God’s Word to the Nations (1995)
HCSB	Holman Christian Standard Bible (2003).
HNB	Holy Name Bible, A. B. Traina (1950-1963)
HNV	Hebrew Names Version of the WEB (2008, aka Messianic Edition of the WEB)
ICB	The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible, Thomas Nelson (1986, 1988, 1999, 2015)
ISV	The Holy Bible: International Standard Version, ISV Foundation (1996-2012)
JB	Jerusalem Bible, Darton, Longman & Todd (1966)
JUB	Jubilee Bible (2000, 2001, 2010).
KJ21	21st Century King James Version, Deuel Enterprises, Inc. (1994)
KJB	King James Bible; same as AV and AKJV
KNX	Knox Bible, Westminster Diocese (2012)
LEB	Lexham English Bible, Logos Bible Software (2012)
LITV	Literal Translation of the Holy Bible, J. P. Green (1976)
LONT	Living Oracles New Testament, A. Campbell (1827)
MAT	The Matthew Bible (1537)
ME-WEB	Messianic Edition of the World English Bible, Public Domain (2008), See HNV
MEV	The Holy Bible, Modern English Version, Military Bible Association (2014)
MLB	Modern Language Bible: The New Berkeley Version in Modern English (1969)
MNT	Moffatt’s A New Translation of the Bible, Containing the Old and New Testaments (1926)
MOUNCE	Mounce Reverse Interlinear New Testament, R. H. Mounce & W. D. Mounce (2011)
MSG	The Message: The Bible in Contemporary Language, E. H. Peterson (2002)
NAB	The New American Bible (1970-1986)
NABRE	The New American Bible, Revised Edition (2010)
NASB, NAU	New American Standard Bible, (1960 ... 1977; Updated Edition 1995)
NCV	New Century Version, Thomas Nelson, Inc. (2005)
NEB	The New English Bible, Oxford University Press (1970)
NET	The NET Bible/New English Translation, Biblical Studies Press (2005)
NIRV	New International Reader’s Version, Biblica, Inc. (1998, 2014)
NIV1984	The New International Version, Biblica, Inc. (1984)
NIV2011	The New International Version, Biblica, Inc. (2011)
NIV	The New International Version, used for both 1984 and 2011
NJB	New Jerusalem Bible (1999)
NKJV	New King James Version, Thomas Nelson, Inc. (1982)
NLT	New Living Translation, Tyndale House Foundation (1996, 2007)
NLV	New Life Version, Christian Literature International (2006)
NMB	New Matthew Bible, Ruth Magnusson Davis (2016)
NOG	The Names of God Bible, Baker (2011)
NRSV	New Revised Standard Version (1989)
NSB	New Simplified Bible (2003-2006)
NTE	New Testament for Everyone, Nicholas Thomas Wright (2011)
NWT	New World Translation of the Jehovah’s Witnesses (1950-1961)
OJB	Orthodox Jewish Bible, Artists for Israel International (2011)
PNT	The New Testament in Modern English, J. B. Phillips (1958)
QB	A New and Literal Translation, aka The Quaker Bible, Anthony Purver (1764)
REB	Revised English Bible (1989)
REV	Revised English Version (2013)
RGT	Revised Geneva Translation (2019)
RSV	Revised Standard Version (1952, 1971)
RSV-CE	Revised Standard Version, Catholic Edition (1966, 2006)
RV	Revised Version (1881-1885)
TBB	The Bishop’s Bible (1568)
TEV	Today’s English Version, now known as Good News Version
TLB	The Living Bible, Kenneth Taylor (1971)
TLV	Tree of Life Version, Messianic Jewish Family Bible Society (2015)
TMB	Third Millennium Bible, aka New Authorized Version (1998)
TNIV	Today’s New International Version, Biblica (2005)
TPT	The Passion Translation. BroadStreet Publishing (2017)
TYN	Tyndale New Testament, William Tyndale (1526)
VOICE	The Voice Bible, Thomas Nelson/Ecclesia Bible Society (2012)
WBT	Webster’s Bible Translation (1833)
WE	Worldwide English New Testament (1969, 1971, 1996, 1998).
WEB	World English Bible (1997)
WMB	World Messianic Bible (2014); aka Hebrew Names Version (HNV)
WNT	Weymouth New Testament, Richard Francis Weymouth (1903)
WSL	The New Testament, John Wesley (1790)
WYC	Wycliffe Bible, John Wycliffe (1395, translated from Latin)
YLT	Young’s Literal Translation, Robert Young (1898)

If the above Excel file does not display correctly on your computer, try the link. It is not ideal, but hopefully functional.
Abbrevations of English Bible Translations