JOHN DOE'S
BIBLE

bible.jpg

by Daniel Aceituna

Hi, John, how's it going?
Great.   I just got me a new Bible.
Really, can I see it?
Sure, I have it right here.
Hmm, I notice it's a New International Version (NIV).
Yes, I like the way it reads.   I think it is easier to understand.
You know, John, you really should get it ready for when you go to witness to someone.
I agree, I was thinking of marking off certain verses for quick reference.
Good.   In fact, I know some verses you would probably want to have handy.
Great.   I'll mark them off right now.
Okay.   First let's start with Luke 4:4 where Jesus states a profound truth that justifies our reason for
showing someone what the Bible says.   Look it up with me in your Bible.

    "And Jesus answered him, saying, It is written, That man shall not
    live by bread alone, but by every word of God."
      Luke 4:4 (KJV)

This points out that knowing what God says is as important as daily nourishment.   It sets the stage for
showing someone the plan of salvation.   Now, let's look at . . .
Wait!
What's wrong?
A part is missing from that Verse in my Bible.
Which part is that?
"[B]ut by every word of God."   The reference to God's Word is missing.   All it says is "Man does not live
by bread alone"
.

Well I guess you can't use that Verse as we intended, so let's go on and mark off Matthew 18:11.

    "For the Son of man is come to save that which was lost."
    Matthew 18:11 (KJV)

Here we see Jesus stating His mission - that of saving the lost.   This points out the fact that a person must
see themselves as lost before they are ready to get saved.   The next verse we are going to look at is . . .
Wait!!!
Now what?
Something is wrong here too!!
Are you missing another part of a verse?
Are you kidding?   I'M MISSING THE WHOLE VERSE!!
The whole Verse?
Yes, it goes from Matthew 18:10 to Matthew 18:12 with no Verse 11 in between!!
Wow, but there's such a profound truth in Matthew 18:11.
You're telling me.   Hey!   Wait a minute.   You knew this Bible had parts missing didn't you?
Well, I must admit I did.   I just wanted you to read it for yourself.
But I don't understand.   I thought all Bibles were the same.
Well, actually all Bibles are not equal.   There are two factors that must be considered in selecting a Bible.
The first is what original text it is translated from and the second is who translated it.   The NIV was
translated by a committee that was selected and coordinated by Edwin Palmer.
Was he a saved man?

Well, I'll let you decide that based on what he said in his book, The Holy Spirit (Grand Rapids, Michigan:
Baker Book House, 1974), p. 83.   In this book he quotes a verse from his NIV and then says: "This (his
NIV) shows the great error that is so prevalent today in some orthodox protestant circles, namely
regeneration depends upon faith . . . and that in order to be born again man must first accept Jesus as his
Saviour
"
.
Wow!   You mean someone who said that is responsible for the NIV?
Yes.
But he's tampering with the only thing that will save a person - the Word of God.
Don't be too surprised.   Jesus dealt with the same thing in His days.   He said:

    "But woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye shut up
    the kingdom of heaven against men: for ye neither go in yourselves,
    neither suffer ye them that are entering to go in."
      Matthew 23:13
    (KJV)

The scribes were responsible for handling and preserving God's Word.
So the NIV was translated by men who doubted God's Word?
Yes, and not only that, but the manuscript they used was a corrupted one.
You mean they started out with the wrong text in the first place?
Yes.   Their primary text was the Westcott and Hort Text.   Westcott and Hort developed a theory which
resulted in the publication of a new critical Greek text.   They both were Christ rejecting and deniers of
verbal inspiration.   Westcott said he has "great difficulty with the notion of sacrifice and vicarious
punishment"
.   He sees man paying this debt.   Hort said, "Christ's bearing our sins . . . (is) an almost
universal heresy"
.   Between starting off with a bad manuscript and using biased translators you end up with
a very corrupt Bible.
I can see that, but just how corrupt is the NIV?
Ok, let's assume that you were going to use it to lead someone to Christ and see how effective it would
be.   We have already seen how the NIV de-emphasizes that a person must see themselves as lost.   What
would you show them next?
Well, if they truly see their need to get saved, I would show them how they can't save themselves by their
good deeds.

Good.   Let's see how the NIV responds to that.   It says, "by standing firm you will save yourself" in Luke
21:19 (NIV).
Good night!!   That sounds like salvation by works.
Right.   Now if not by works, how is someone saved?
Through repentance which means changing your mind about sin and turning away from it; and faith which
is taking God at His Word that Christ has paid for all our sins.

Right.   The Bible says:

    "...I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance."   Mark
    2:17 (KJV)

But the NIV says: "I have not come to call the righteous but sinners."   Mark 2:17 (NIV)
Wow!   What happened to repentance?
I guess you don't have to repent according to the NIV - just sin all you want.   Next let's see whether a
person can actually trust that Christ has paid it all.   The real Bible says:

    "...when he had by himself purged our sins," Hebrews 1:3 (KJV)

But the NIV says, "After he had provided purification for our sins" Hebrews 1:3 (NIV).
The NIV seems to be implying that Jesus alone can't save us.
Right.   Salvation by faith requires that Jesus alone provided payment for sins.   That faith must
rest upon a Saviour who took our hell.   The real Bible says:

    "He [David] seeing this before spake of the resurrection of
    Christ, that his soul was not left in hell..."
    Acts 2:31
    (KJV)

But the NIV says, "That he was not abandoned to the grave . . ." Acts 2:31 (NIV).   If Christ
is to be our Saviour, He better have paid the penalty for sin and that means death and Hell not just
the grave.   By the way, it is also important that blood was shed for our sins.

    "...without shedding of blood is no remission."   Hebrews 9:22
    (KJV)

That's why the real Bible says:

    "In whom [Christ] we have redemption through his blood, even
    the forgiveness of sins:"
    Colossians 1:14 (KJV)

But the NIV says, "In whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins."   Colossians 1:14
(NIV)
Hey!   What happened to the blood?
The NIV doesn't think it is necessary.
I guess there's not a lot to put your faith in with the NIV.
No, in fact, on the last paragraph of the preface of the 1978 edition of the NIV it says, "Like all
translations of the Bible, made as they are by imperfect man, this one undoubtedly falls short of
its goals."
  According to that statement God is too puny to make sure that His Word stays
preserved enough to accomplish His goal of getting souls saved.
And from the little that I've seen, I don't think the NIV could accomplish that goal anyway.
Right!   And I want you to know that I haven't even scratched the surface.   There are hundreds
of places where the NIV deviates from God's true Word.   Unfortunately, I can't use them all in
this tract without infringing on their copyright.
Huh?   What do you mean?
The NIV Declaration of Copyright states that, "The NIV text may be quoted and/or reprinted up
to and inclusive of 1,000 verses without the express written permission of the publisher providing
the verses quoted do not amount to a complete book of the Bible nor do the verses quoted account
for 50% of the total work in which they are quoted."

You mean they actually restrict people from hearing the "word of God" for profit's sake?
Yes, their intention is to make money not save souls.
Well, they are not going to make money off of me.   I'm taking mine back for a refund!!

A NOTE TO THE READER:

As previously stated, we have only scratched the
surface.   The following is a list of other Verses
that have either been omitted or altered.   (This
list is not complete due to limited space.)
Matthew 1:25; Mark 16:9-20; Luke 2:33; Luke
9:56; John 3:15-16; John 6:47; Acts 2:38; Acts
8:37; Ephesians 3:9; Colossians 3:6; I Timothy
3:16; II Peter 3:9; I John 4:3; I John 5:7-8;
Revelation 21:24

We recommend that you look up these Verses
and compare the Bible you presently own with
the Authorized 1769 King James Version.   Even
if your Bible is not NIV, it's likely that it has
been translated from a similar corrupt text.

If you require more information on Bible
translations, the following list of references is
recommended.

Tract   "Should We Trust the NIV?" by E. L.
            Bynum
Tract   "God Wrote Only One Bible" by J. J.
            Ray
Tract   "Which Bible?" by Dr. David Fuller
Book   "Can I Trust My Bible?" by Dr. Al
            Lacy
Book   "Let's Weigh the Evidence" by Barry
            Burton
Paper   "Things to Keep in Mind" by Kevin
            Paulson

All of the above material can be sourced
through:

CALVARY BAPTIST CHURCH
2030 West Main Street
Valley City, North Dakota 58072
701.845.9220

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