I thought it might be interesting to relate to you why I have taken the position that the King James Version of the Bible is not my Bible of choice, the Bible I prefer, but is instead to me, the Living Word of God!

As I have often said, I was saved reading a gospel tract at my place of business, a service station that I managed. I had a cheap KJV (red around the edges) Bible, when I was saved. Once I was born-again, the hunger for more, drove me to reading that Bible every day.

There was no question in my mind but that that Bible was the inspired Word of God. The same year I was converted I went to study for the ministry at a good Christian college. The course in Bible required me to take many hours of Greek (the original language of the New Testament).

In those classes I began to think myself wiser than the Book I once thought was inspired. I was told the originals (original copies of the New Testament and the Old Testaments) were inspired, but that the Greek and Hebrew texts that we now had were not necessarily completely reliable and certainly the KJV could have been better translated . . . and they would give me their (my teachers) version of how it should read.

However, the wonderful preachers I heard, Dr. Bob Jones, Sr., Dr. M.R. DeHaan, Dr. John R. Rice, and many others, never failed to interject a phrase like "that's what the Bible says, or the Word of God says," and linked their preaching directly to the King James Version they were using.

It seemed a little inconsistent to me, but who was I but a lowly college student and they (the teachers) were learned professors to whom we gave respect.

A little thought kept occurring in my mind that armed with this superior knowledge of Greek and the way it should be translated, made me, in some way, superior to the common layman and even some of the less educated preachers I had come across.

Statements like, "I have the same Bible the Apostle Paul had, the KJV!", would just make me chuckle about their ignorance! Imagine them actually trusting a Book, calling it inspired, when we all knew it was filled with errors that should be corrected. However, we could never really point them out.

I proceeded to memorize scores of verses for my own personal edification, as well as to aid my preaching and teaching from the KJV. The same year I was saved, the Revised Standard Version came out. I heard (no less) than Arthur Godfrey himself quoting the KJV 23rd Psalm and objecting to the introduction of the RSV saying you couldn't improve upon the "Bible!" Hence, I rejected the RSV.

During my college days it was considered even more educated to look at other translations and say when preaching, "the so-and-so translation puts it this way . . ." Some of my professors said that the American Standard Version of 1901 was the most accurate. (The 1881-85 Revised Version was never mentioned, probably because it had been out of print for years).

But, even the ASV translation of 2 Timothy 3:16 was pointed out as an error. Moody Press had published the Williams Translation of the New Testament. Other than students who wanted to seem intellectual (I'm sorry, I was one of them) it was never read. I read it through and marked it.

In the 40-plus years I have been saved, I have read the entire Bible through over 30 times and many books of the Bible twice that many. Halley, of Halley Bible Handbook fame, read the Bible (KJV) over 200 times!

I tolerated the modern language versions and believed their advertising, that they were easier to understand, etc., without actually doing a comparison. I thought that it was just "much ado about nothing" until I got pinned down with a couple of statements.

If I never thank Dr. Peter Ruckman for anything else, I must thank him for the fact that he made me think! He challenged me to ask myself the searching question, "Did I have the real, inspired, Word of God anywhere?"

I answered myself that the King James Version had been sufficient to cleanse my soul, teach me doctrine, convict me of the separated life! This Bible (the KJV) was what called me to preach and to soul-winning! The more I studied, the more I compared, the more I checked out the translators, the more I became convinced that the KJV was the inspired and preserved Word of God that God had allowed the English-speaking world to have for hundreds of years!

I began to suspect that there was something (or one) far more sinister behind the translations that were being ground out by the score, than just the money motive. Having been in the Christian bookstore business now for over 30 years, I'll have to conclude that a large part of the translations, and study notes, and reference versions, have more to do with money than they have to do with helping the Christian grow in grace.

I saw a slogan for a Christian publishing company the other day, "A Name You Can Trust", but when we received a shipment of books from them, they had changed some of the texts that people wrote 100 years ago to the NIV! We, of course, had to send back those books. To cause confusion, lack of memorization, the Devil has generated these many new translations.

Although I love the Scofield Reference Bible, all of Scofield's notes are not inspired and are not completely reliable to teach doctrine.

Yes, use reference Bibles such as the Thompson, Scofield, Ryrie, but always, with a weather eye for error and doctrinal bias. Believe the TEXT of the KJV, embrace it and cling to it as your standard.

Other bibles have tried to replace this standard and usually used the word "standard" is in the title of their bible, hoping that people would embrace it as the new standard for the church of Jesus Christ.

However, the KJV has, for the years it was the standard, produced the strongest moral governments this world has ever seen. The "Revised Standard" the "American Standard", the "New American Standard" and others that have tried to capitalize on the name, are still not the standard.

The KJV was, although it never claimed to be, the standard, from 1611-1885 (274 years) without a challenge. The R.V. tried but, you can't even buy an 1885! It's gone. In 1901 the Americans decided not to let the British have the only "updated" retranslation of the Bible, and came out with the American Standard of 1901. It has been out of print for many years, but the KJV keeps marching on.

Modern language versions, and the rehashes of the Modern language versions, and more of the modern language versions are being published and are targeting groups. I would not be at all surprised to see a gay and lesbian bible come out! (Torch Editor: A Sodomite bible)

Since the NIV drops Sodomite, it could be a rehash of that. With all the furor that James Dobson and others put up about the NIV, they are still going to publish it here in the USA according to Christian Booksellers magazine, this month.

Who do you believe? Thomas Nelson Company that claims their New King James is superior when they also publish Good News For Modern Man? Do you believe Zondervan Corp., Broadman, (coming out with a new Bible revising the Revised Standard Version)?

This entire issue of "which Bible" boils down to who do you believe? Is it that old leather-lung street preacher that told you how to be saved? Is it that humble pastor who led you to Christ with that KJV? Is it your parents (though not scholars) that lived that Bible in front of you and paid your way to go to a college they thought would not shake your faith. (but it did?)

Or, would you believe Dr. Jack Hyles, Dr. Bruce Cummons, Dr. Harold Sightler, Dr. Hugh Pyle, Dr. D.A. Waite, Dr. Bob Gray (Germany), Dr. Gail Riplinger, Dr. Peter Ruckman, Dr. Charles Keen, Dr. Tom Malone, Dr. Lee Roberson, Dr. Wally Beebe, who all believe that we have an inspired Bible to preach from in the KJV! Of course, there are thousands of others!

I've said it before, but, it bears repeating. I would hate to have my contribution to Christianity in the 20th century be that I caused people to doubt their Bibles because they used the King James Version.

I have faith in that blessed Book: more than I have faith in colleges that changed through the years (e.g. Princeton and Yale), college professors, New Age pastors, etc. Take your King James Bible by faith, history of its works (won more souls than any other version) and who believes it! Don't waver about your faith in it!

Remember, I went from believing it, to doubting it, to believing it again. Don't do that! There is no reason to doubt the Bible, the King James Version!