KJV Only???

 When I really set my heart to study the Bible for myself, I immediately began to fall in love with the written word of God.

I had been a Christian since I was 5 years old, but it wasn't till my 31st year that I decided I needed to know that Bible for myself. 

Until then, most of my knowledge of scripture and doctrine was based on other people's understanding of scripture. I read my Bible, but not daily and not in depth. I read enough to ease my conscience or to get what I needed for that day, most days. 

But I began to hunger to know Jesus intimately for myself, leading me to study His book to me for myself. 

And I fell in love—not just with the Bible, but with Jesus! 

But about 4 years into my study of the Bible, someone told me one day that the only version we should be studying was the KJV... and I was devastated. 

I had grown up with the KJV and didn't even realize there were other options out there until I was 18 years old and discovered an NKJV Bible in a Christian bookstore one day. 

And as I began to read it, I fell in love with that particular translation. I had never been a big fan of Victorian English books or movies, and the KJV just read like Victorian-era speech to me, so the NKJV was like a breath of fresh air and I was hooked!

But one night I felt led to give my new NKJV Bible to a young girl who had just given her heart to the Lord.

 I went back to reading my KJV Bible and soon quit reading as faithfully as I had been. 

Years later, while living in Japan, I picked up my husband's NKJV Spirit-Filled Study Bible and once again, fell in love with the Bible.  The words literally seemed to leap off the page and into my heart as I read and, again, my love for Jesus was stirred as I grew in knowledge of Him.

A few years later, in 2008, I began to earnestly pursue studying my NKJV Bible as if it were my part-time job. Every morning, as soon as I got home from taking my kids to school, I sat down on my bed with my Bible, concordance, dictionary, and notebook (pre-smartphone days!). 

For hours each day (usually 1-3, since I still had a toddler), I poured over the words of God, the testimony of Jesus. I highlighted, looked up definitions, followed references, and most importantly, I began to meditate on what I read. 

And He began to speak to me, ME, Himself!

Verses began to click, links began to be highlighted in my mind, and suddenly I began to build up on the foundation that had been laid in me by others. 

I grew in knowledge and wisdom at a pretty rapid pace, to be honest, because I had an insatiable desire to seek and know the knowledge and wisdom of God. It had become a priority to me.

God promises us:

"And ye shall seek Me, and find Me, when ye shall search for Me with all your heart. And I will be found of you, saith the LORD..." Jeremiah 29:13&14

So, when this person rebuked me for reading anything other than the KJV, I was truly heartbroken. The NKJV version had led me to develop an intimate relationship with Jesus and I could not fathom switching back to the one I had struggled with in times past. 

So, I went to my leadership, my father & pastor. I told him what this person had said and asked if I had to switch to the KJV. 

And to this day I am so very thankful for his wise and kind response—his example taught me to respond the same way to others on this and other topics of doctrine that are not hard and fast "hell-bound" issues. 

He said, in so many words, there is no Bible verse that suggests the KJV is the only version that God has sanctioned... and if you can't prove it with the Bible itself, then you cannot make it a hard law of God. 

Is it maybe a good suggestion to at least use the KJV as your main source (for various reasons I won't go into in this post), sure. 

But can you make it a command of God and condemn people who don't read the KJV? NO.

Second, he told me, there are times you're going to hit a dry spell in your study of the Bible where it seems like it's just ink on paper. In those times, he said he goes into a Christian book store and starts browsing through different Bibles until one starts "speaking" to him. 

As soon as that happens, he said, he buys that Bible and starts reading it.... regardless of version, bcause it's more important to get something out of what you read than to make sure you only read a certain version. 

And he told me that day, ANY amount of money you spend seeking Jesus is money well spent. We will spend $50 on a pair of shoes but won't justify $50 on a new Bible when we're in a dry season. Spend the money, he said. 

He told me there were certain books of the Bible that God used different versions of the Bible to open his understanding of that book up to him. 

For instance, Jeremiah flows much smoother in the NKJV than the KJV. 

He said there have been seasons he read a NASB Bible and got so much out of it, till one day it just was like ink on paper. 

Then he switched to a NKJV and it happened again, for maybe just a few months or even a year, then he would switch again. 

And here he is, over 45 years of studying the Bible and he has read it through over and over and in various translations. And he's one of the deepest revelatory preachers I know. 

Then, he gave me some pointers, things to keep in mind:

I was already teaching adult Sunday School at that time and he told me the majority of our church read the KJV, so any time I quoted directly from my NKJV, or any other version, there was a disconnect with my audience as they tried to figure out where I was reading from or translate it to the version they were more familiar with. 

He said, you might want to consider reading out of the version they're reading along with, at least when you teach, just to keep the flow and not allow any distraction or hindrance to the main point of the message. 

He said there was a lot more evidence to suggest that the commission of the KJV version was more divinely inspired than any other version, so there was that to consider. 

But ultimately, he told me to pray about it and let the Holy Spirit guide me. It's HIS book and He alone can tell each individual what He desires or expects from them.

I cried that day but decided to try and like the KJV, lol. And, eventually, I did find a KJV Bible that I love and now read. 

BUT, I also still read a couple other versions along with the KJV as I study and seek out the hidden treasures of that word of God. 

If the KJV reads a little clunky, I go read my particular favorites, the NASB, NKJV, or the NLT (when I need to understand it on a 5th-grade level, lol).

Usually, by the time I'm done studying a passage, I've read it in the KJV, then in 3 or 4 more versions, then the KJV one more time, then meditated on it until I feel like I have a good understanding of what the Spirit was saying.  

What I have realized is, "KJV Only" has become just one more man-made tradition that *some* people use to feel more spiritual than those who read other versions. 

Which means, it's a doctrine rooted in pride. 

Traditions are good and useful up until the moment they become a hammer to beat another person over the head. 

Jesus rebuked the Pharisees on multiple occasions for loving their traditions more than the actual commands of God. LET THAT SINK IN!

The greatest command of the law is to love God and others, so to take the word of God and beat anyone else down, regardless of the verse or tradition you use to do so, is to break the greatest commandment of all!

Of course, not all who prefer the KJV do so out of pride or beat people over the head with their doctrine, and not everyone believes it gives them a certain spiritual seniority... but those who are hateful and critical about it certainly do. 

As I began to study out what version I should make my main source, I came to some interesting truths.

The version we read matters less than whether or not we're reading it with the Author.

I have a distinct memory of sitting on my bed one day, reading my Bible, when I became distracted by the wind blowing in the trees outside my window. 

Then, I began to weep as I watched the birds eating and heard the Voice of my Father speaking to me, taking me through scripture after scripture on His love for me. 

And just had this one thought: If He can speak to me out of nature, out of the mouth of humans, or even out of the mouth of donkeys... how can I believe He can speak to me through only one translation of the Bible?

How narrowminded would it be to believe the God of the universe, the one who created every single language that has ever existed, and speaks them all fluently, can only speak to His children through the thous and thees of the King James Version of the Bible?!

Smith Wigglesworth said:

"Some people read their Bibles in Hebrew, some in Greek; I like to read mine in the Holy Ghost."

The first time I read that quote, after I had already settled the same in my heart, I knew exactly what he meant. It's not the translation you read or how many word studies you do... it's whether or not you're allowing the Author to lead you through it. 

HE will interpret all Scripture Himself, using various translations, people, languages, nature... all by His Spirit, IF we will ask and allow Him to.

Here are some random thoughts on the topic that I believe the Lord gave me as I studied this out for myself years ago:

- When the King made a decree, he always made sure it was sent out in EVERY language so that all the people had a perfect understanding of what he intended. 

For instance, when King Ahasuerus made the decree for all men to bear rule in their OWN house (or, you could say, to possess their own vessel in sanctification and honour): 

 "For he sent letters into all the king's provinces, into every province according to the writing thereof, and to every people after their language, that every man should bear rule in his own house, and that it should be published according to the language of every people." 

God is more concerned with our individual ability to understand and comprehend His word than making sure we all speak one single language, or translation, of the Bible. 

- If God can keep Daniel alive in the lions' den, the 3 Hebrew boys from burning up in the fiery furnace, or us in a wicked and adulterous generation—He's well able to keep us in the "wrong" or different translations of the Bible.

Have faith in the Voice of the Holy Spirit to lead and guide you, especially as you study His word! 

He is well able to put a check in your spirit if something doesn't line up with His Voice—even in the different translations, Bible studies, teachings and sermons we use to guide us in our understanding.

Be sensitive to His Spirit in every area of your life and He will KEEP you from false doctrine and misunderstandings. 

Again, sometimes He'll correct you with scripture, leadership, or by directly opening up your understanding, giving you divine revelation to correct a wrong interpretation.  

- Up until the time of the captivity in Babylon, Hebrew was the singular language of God's chosen people. 

But as different nations ruled over the Jewish people, their language began to become mingled (as in Daniel, who used mixed in some Chaldean with Hebrew) and eventually changed entirely to Greek and Aramaic under Roman rule. 

So, by the time Jesus physically walked this earth, most Jews could no longer speak Hebrew and were now speaking Aramaic or Greek and reading from the Septuigint, a Greek translation of the ancient Hebrew Old Testament.

What did Jesus, our perfect example, do?

He likely read Hebrew and Greek scrolls in the temple, spoke Aramaic in His everyday life and sermons, and He divinely inspired His disciples and apostles to write in Greek after He ascended. 

He didn't come on the scene and immediately demand they all return to the "chosen" language of Hebrew. He didn't concern Himself with trying to bring everyone into a unity of an earthly language or translation: He gave them ONE SPIRIT to commune with Him!

On the day of Pentecost, a pure language was given to God's children, a language not of tongues but of the voice of the Spirit of God!

Now, we can have a perfect understanding of Scripture and revelation according to the Spirit, who is not limited by language or translation. 

This means a Hispanic man who reads the KJV can come to the same knowledge of God as an Italian reading the NASB, if both are hearing the SAME Spirit of God as they read!

In essence, God eliminated the need for a common language or translation by given us free, immediate, and continuace access to His own mind by His own Spirit. 

THAT is amazing! 

No wonder the devil tries to get us distracted with versions and languages and doctrines of devils and man's traditions... he's trying to hide the fact that we have the Author of that Bible living in us, revealing His mind to us every single day!

So, which translation of the Bible should we be reading?

Whichever one the voice of your Father is speaking to you through today. 

It may change tomorrow. It may be multiple translations at once. It may be He desires to speak to you directly today, in the spirit of your mind (which will also line up with His revealed written word). 

However He speaks, FOLLOW that Voice! 

And for gosh sakes, put down your rocks of offense if He has someone else in a different translation than you. 

He's God. He gets to do that, lol.