Question:
Is the King James inspired and why?
Michael
Answer:
Dear Michael,
This is a great question that as of the past few months has been a very hot topic in the fundamental, Baptist circles. As for your question, YES, the King James Bible is inspired. 2 Timothy 3:16 says, “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:” You will notice several things about this verse. First of all, God says, “All scripture…” He did not say just the originals, but “All scripture…” If the KJB is Scripture, and it is, then it is inspired.
Secondly, you will notice the word “is” is in the present tense. God did not say, “All scripture was given…” but He said, “All scripture is given…” That means it is still inspired today.
Thirdly, inspiration means there is life, and through life we get understanding. The Scriptures say in Job 32:8, “But there is a spirit in man: and the inspiration of the Almighty giveth them understanding.” You will notice that we can understand the Scriptures because They are inspired. If the KJB was not inspired, then the Holy Spirit of God could not speak to us, thus we would not be able to understand the Scriptures. It is important for the KJB to be inspired, because without inspiration we cannot understand the Them.
Fourthly, if the KJB were not inspired then we could not get saved for death cannot give life. Because the KJB is inspired it means that it is alive. This is why we can get saved today because they are STILL inspired. If the KJB is not inspired, then nobody in the English-speaking world could get saved.
Next, Psalm 12:7 says, “Thou shalt keep them, O LORD, thou shalt preserve them from this generation for ever.” God promises in this verse that He would preserve His Word forever. I want you to understand that God does not inspire a language, but God inspires His Words. God Word was inspired in Heaven before there was a language on Earth. Anything we have ever had on Earth that we called God’s Word, whether it were Greek, Hebrew, Aramaic or the English King James Bible is the inspired and preserved Word of God. None of these were the “originals.” John 1:1 tells us that Jesus is the original. Nowhere in Scripture do you see that God only inspired the originals. The terminology “originals” is a liberal terminology to make people believe that only experts can determine what is or is not Scripture. Because God promised to preserve His Word, then we today have the inspired and preserved Word of God in the KJB.
To get a fuller explanation of what I believe on this subject, you should order my booklet The Battle for God’s Word from my online store.
I hope this helps to answer your question.
Allen Domelle
Evangelist