Most of you are probably well aware that 2011 makes the 400th anniversary of the King James Version of the Bible or sometimes known as the Authorized Version. It is hard to imagine the impact that the KJV Bible has had on the English speaking world and non-English speaking nations as well. The KJV not only motivated the Church of Jesus Christ for 350 years but it also motivated other things as well such as politics and even the founding of the United States of America.
The debate over being KJV-only is getting old to me. I believe that we should possibly take a break in 2011 from debating the KJV-only issue to just re-read the King James Version and to take in the great legacy that the King James Version has behind it. At this point, no other English translation of the Bible has had a deeper impact on the world than the KJV. Granted the NIV, for example, has only been around since its publication in 1978 and while the NIV now outsells the KJV, the NIV will need another 330 years to match what the KJV has done. I am not convinced the NIV will last 400 years. I am not sure any other Bible translation will.
Just stop and consider with me the great Christians in the history of the Church who have used the King James Version as their choice Bible.
- John Wesley
- George Whitefield
- Charles Finney
- D.L. Moody
- Jonathan Edwards
- Francis Asbury
- Peter Cartwright
- E.M. Bounds
- A.W. Tozer
- Leonard Ravenhill
- David Wilkerson
- Richard Watson
- William Seymour
- Richard Allen
- R.A. Torrey
- Charles Spurgeon
- Andrew Murray
- Robert Murray M’ Cheyne
- Alexander Campbell
- Barton Stone
- William Booth
- John Hyde
- Rees Howell
And many more. The legacy of the KJV is incredible. Can you imagine a time in the Church when only one English translation was the standard? When you could enter a church in London, England and visit a church in Charleston, SC and the KJV would be used in both? For 350 years the English speaking Church used the King James Version as their only translation. I do believe (as did the KJV translators with their introduction in the KJV Bible) that better translations were to come (and have come such as the ESV) but I don’t know if any Bible will ever have the great impact on a society as the KJV has had on the English speaking world.
One final point. When I became a disciple of Jesus I begin to read the Bible from the NIV. While my parents gave me several copies of the King James Version as a boy, until I became a true disciple of Jesus at the age of 17, I never loved to read the Bible. The NIV helped me, for the first time, to understand the Bible and begin to apply it to my life. For that, I praise God for the NIV. I admit that the KJV is hard to read these days but I want to end this post by asking you (and myself) to begin to read from the KJV. As you read the KJV text, bear in mind all the great saints of God who have gone before us who are now with Jesus and were saved and preached from the KJV. Even great missionaries such as Hudson Taylor and David Livingstone used the KJV. That is incredible.
© 2011, Matt. All rights reserved.
