One of my favorite statements made by our Lord in the Holy Bible is our text
verse from John 5:39... “SEARCH THE SCRIPTURES”!!! As I pondered
this important phrase from the Lord, I realized that in order to “SEARCH THE
SCRIPTURES,” you must first have the Holy Scriptures. Jesus didn't tell
us to “SEARCH THE VERSIONS”; but rather, He commanded us to SEARCH THE
SCRIPTURES!!!
May I say, if you don't have a King James Bible, you don't have a Bible. It is very sad that many pastors and preachers today lack spiritual discernment (Hebrews 5:14). Many of them love the praise of men more than the praise of God (John 12:42-43). Any born-again Christian who loves Jesus can plainly discern that the modern Bible versions have a serious problem with them, deliberately removing the Godhead, attacking Christ's deity and diminishing the Lord's preeminence. The new counterfeit Bible versions remove the word “begotten” from John 3:16; thus attacking the Lord's deity (that He is almighty God).
The big question is: Why would Bible translators diminish Christ's deity, preeminence and the Godhead? The answer is blatantly provided by the New International Version (NIV) translators themselves. In the introduction to the NIV, and on their website at Biblica.com, the NIV's publishers plainly admit that they invited several dozen religious denominations when they were making their translation. They asked for input from all the different religious groups, admitting that their goal was to produce a Bible version that lacked “sectarian bias.” In other words, they wanted a wishy-washy Bible version that made everyone happy. The result is apostasy!
I recently wrote a disturbing article titled, “The Ugly Truth About Bible Versions,” which exposes the sad truth that Bible publishers by law are required to make substantial changes to God's Word in order to fulfill copyright obligations. In so doing, they blatantly place doctrinal integrity and the truth secondary to making a new translation for the love of money. Shockingly, the American Bible Society's main webpage now has 582 different Bible versions which you can search from in 466 different languages (there are well over 100 English Bible versions). Folks, God only wrote ONE BOOK!!!
I recently heard an independent Baptist pastor explain to his congregation why he appeared to be texting during the church service. The pastor said that he was searching through different versions of the Bible, comparing them in preparation for his sermon. May I say, kindly, I'd fire that apostate pastor if I had the authority, and replace him with a genuine man of God who has enough spiritual discernment to identify which Bible is God's Word. I feel sorry for a church congregation whose pastor is scrambling through a dozen different Bible versions, trying to find the truth. What have our churches been reduced to? Satan has infiltrated the churches with counterfeit Bible versions, as foretold by occultist Alice Bailey.
Jesus commanded His disciples to “SEARCH THE SCRIPTURES.” When Paul and Silas preached the Words of God in Thessalonica, the Jews there rejected them. But when Paul and Silas by night came unto the Jews at Berea, they gladly received the Words of God. The Bible says that they “SEARCHED THE SCRIPTURES DAILY,” to see if these things were so. Acts 17:11, “These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.” Amen. I love that!
The Word of God is not only the final authority, it is the ONLY authority. What you do with the Bible determines what God does with you. When all else fails, read the instructions. Someone has said that B.I.B.L.E. is an acronym that stands for: Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth. It has been said that the smallest Bible in the world is the one that Christians live. Abiding in the Word of God keeps us humble. There are many believers who know much about the Bible, but they don't abide (live) in the Scriptures. David pondered the Scriptures that he read day and night. Psalms 1:1-2, “Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.” We ought to delight in the teachings, truths and promises of God, knowing that God always keeps His promises, and we can be rest assured in them.
The Holy Bible has all the answers. I like to call the Bible “holy,” because the word “Bible” simply means “book.” The Bible is God's inspired words: THE HOLY BOOK!!! John 5:39, “Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me.” In the Holy Scriptures we learn about Jesus. It's all about Jesus!
The Bible contains 29% prophecy. The Bible teaches that the spirit of all prophecy is “THE TESTIMONY OF JESUS”!!! Revelation 19:10, “And I fell at his feet to worship him. And he said unto me, See thou do it not: I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus: worship God: for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.” So if you want to understand Bible prophecy, then find out how it relates to the precious Lord Jesus Christ. God has revealed Himself to the world through the Living Word, which is Christ Jesus (John 1:1-3,14; Hebrews 1:2; 1st Timothy 3:16).
Perhaps the most important Scripture passage I can show you is from James 1:22-25, “But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass: For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was. But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.” The Bible is worthless if we don't obey it. Too many religious people know the Bible, but they don't live the Bible. Our churches are filled with religious zombies, going through the motions, but their hearts couldn't be further from the Lord and truth. I've seen independent Baptist churches where the people weren't being spiritually fed, dried up, a dead pulpit, absolutely lukewarm. They're HEARING, but not DOING. A church that doesn't fight is dead. They sing beautifully. They smile and shake hands nicely. They have a big religious school. Unfortunately, there's no real preaching and the church is nothing more than a religious business. This describes half of our churches today.
I'm not against listening to Christian radio, reading Christian books, looking through Christian magazines, and watching Christian television; but NOTHING CAN SUBSTITUTE FOR THE HOLY BIBLE. My friend... SEARCH THE SCRIPTURES!!! END
