One of the most abused and
misunderstood topics in the New Testament is "faith." God says
it is impossible to please Him without faith (Hebrews 11:6). Recently in
this column, we have examined teachings and practices which many
religious people accept, but which are not from God. "So then faith
comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God" (Romans 10:17).
Departures from God's Word did not come from God, and they cannot be of
faith.
As the 4 gospels-Matthew, Mark, Luke,
and John-record the events of Jesus' birth, life, death, burial, and
resurrection, it is evident they were penned after these occurred.
Reading these accounts, faith is produced in us. There has been no
record left for us of any word Jesus Himself wrote. The only mention of
His writing anything is in John 8:1-11, and what He wrote has not been
recorded. Every word of the New Testament was written by men, chosen by
God to do so. The writings are now in a format that is easy to read.
Rather than reading an ancient language from a scroll, today's New
Testament is printed in the language of the reader. It is divided into
chapters, paragraphs, and verses. Some Bible printing companies print
the words of Jesus in red ink. This choice is made by the printing
company and in no way lessens the importance of those words not in red
ink. Some use large type for the visually-impaired. The New Testament is
available on audio and CD tapes. The color of the ink, the size of the
type, whether one may read, or listen to, the words - none of these
formats diminish the content. It is vital, however, that those
translating the New Testament into today's languages stick exactly to
the meaning and context of the original languages. There is no place for
any change in the meaning. In this example from the American Bible
Society's "Contemporary English Version" (CEV) you can clearly
see a change from the meaning of the original languages: In Acts 22,
Luke, the writer of the book of Acts, records Saul's conversion. The
ancient reading of verse 16: "And now why tarriest thou? arise,
and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of
the Lord." The CEV's reading: "What are you waiting for?
Get up! Be baptized, and wash away your sins by praying to the
Lord." However, in the Acts 9 account of Saul's Damascus-road
meeting with Jesus, Luke records God's call to Ananias: "And the
Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the street which is called
Straight, and enquire in the house of Judas for one called Saul of
Tarsus: for, behold, he prayeth" (v.11). Readers who study the
3 accounts of Saul's conversion (Acts chapters 9, 22, and 26) know that
Saul's behavior before his baptism was not that of a saved man. Read
Acts 9:9. No doubt, he had been praying much over those 3 days. However,
his prayers did not wash away his sins. He still had them when Ananias
came to him. The CEV teaches error when equating the washing away of
sins with prayer. Every word God has chosen to record in the New
Testament is important and no man dare label as "unimportant"
any of them! Choose with care the version you read. Not all versions are
accurate, as we have seen. With a concordance, study all accounts of a
Bible event or topic. God has recorded what is needed to produce faith. "And
many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of his disciples, which
are not written in this book: But these are written, that ye might
believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye
might have life through his name" (John 20:30,31).
God has a
marvelous gift
waiting for you!
Click on the
picture to learn
more.
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