PUBLISHER'S NOTE: All scripture quotations are
taken from the Authorized King James Bible. Any deviations are not intentional.
All underlines, bold and items within parentheses are the author's.
I would like to begin by saying that I believe that the Bible is the word of God. The question is, however, which Bible? To many of you who are reading this booklet, the answer to the question "Is the New International Version (NIV) the Word of God?" may appear to be simple. "Of course the NIV is the word of God", you might say. "And so are the New American Standard Version (NASV), the New King James Version (NKJV) and the Living Bible (LB)", along with a host of other new Bible versions that you might name. But is the answer to this question as simple as it might first appear? It is the purpose of this booklet to answer this question.
It is beyond the scope of this booklet to examine all of the various new Bible versions available today. For the sake of space, I will limit myself to the NIV. As for the rest, we will reserve them for future booklets.
A Look at the Issue
I used to go to a church where it was common practice to quote from a variety of Bible translations. The pastor would often say, "The NIV says ..., the NASV says ... - Who has the King James?", etc. During Sunday School one morning, the teacher was reading John 5:4. The King James Bible (KJB) says:
Up until this time, I had believed that the only differences between the NIV and the King James was that the NIV was supposed to be easier to read and to understand. Boy, was I wrong. I knew that I needed to look into the matter further. By the grace of God, I was able to do just that. The information contained in this booklet represents some of the information that resulted from that study.
They Can't Both Be Right
It is the purpose of this section to show that the difference between the Authorized King James Bible (KJB) and the NIV are irreconcilable. That is, they both can't be right. For example, In Isaiah 9:3, the KJB says:
You might find yourself saying, "Is it really that big of a difference? After all, we are only talking about one word here." I chose this verse to establish a point: They (the KJB and NIV) say the exact opposite. If one is right, then the other one is wrong. We can't possibly say that they are both correct. Did God increase their joy or not? Which words did God give to the prophet Isaiah? (2 Tim. 3:16; 2 Pet. 1:20-21)
As I stated in the beginning of this booklet, many people operate under the false assumption that all Bible versions are the Word of God - despite the fact that they disagree with each other. Are we to suppose that God has written more than one Bible and that he makes statements in one and then disagrees with them in another? Of course not. God only wrote one Bible.
I've actually shown the difference in Isaiah 9:3 to people and had them refuse to admit that they both can't be right. Please understand that we need to have an open mind, absolute humility, and a sincere desire for the truth. People may think, "Well, my church uses the NIV, and if I believe this ...", or "I just don't want to make waves." But, understand, to avoid conflict at all cost is not to be the attitude of a Christian. We should rather stand for the truth regardless of the conflict that arises from it. (Jude 3; John 15:20; Luke 12:51; 2 Tim. 3:12)
Our attitude toward this matter should be the same as God's. Revelation 22:18-19 says:
And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.
1 Peter 1:16 says:
Seeing It For Yourself
So far, we have looked at just a few problems with the NIV - a missing word here and a missing verse there. But the problem is much greater than just a word or a verse.
For starters, try finding the following verses in the NIV:
In the last verse (1 John 5:7), the NIV is very deceptive, for it does have a verse 7, but it is really part of verse 8. Verse 8 has been split into two verses in the NIV (verses 7 and 8) so that you won't know that verse 7 is missing. 1 John 5:8 (KJB) says:
But the problems with the NIV do not stop there. In addition to the verses that have been omitted entirely, thousands of verses have partial omissions. Many who have studied this issue in much greater detail than I, have stated that the missing words are in excess of 64,000 - not counting the additions. Remember what God said about those who take away from or add to his words. (Rev. 22:18-19)
Let me give you a few examples of verses that contain these kinds of omissions. In the KJB, the Lord's Prayer reads in Luke 11:2-4 as follows:
Substantial portions have been removed from hundreds of verses in addition to these. Many key words have also been removed. For example, the word "Christ" has been removed dozens of times. (Rom. 1:16; Acts 16:31; etc.) The word "Jesus" has been removed dozens of times. (Matt. 8:29; 2 Cor. 5:18; etc.) The word "Lord" has also been removed in a number of places.
Are There Errors in God's Word?
John 17:17 says:
One of the most disturbing changes occurs in Isaiah 14:12. The KJB says:
Lucifer ...
The NIV says:
I think, by this point, many of you are beginning to see that there are some very serious problems with the NIV. Let's look at a few more errors. Matthew 5:22 in the KJB says:
We find another error in Mark 1:2. The NIV says:
Doctrinal Differences
Many of the changes in the NIV, including some that we have already looked at, affect doctrine. For example, the deity of Christ (the fact that Jesus Christ is God) is attacked in a number of places. One example is 1 Timothy 3:16. The KJB says:
Many times I have heard those who support the NIV say, "No doctrine is affected by the changes in the new Bible versions." We have just seen that it is. What they really mean is that no doctrine has been removed entirely. That is, there is still another verse in the Bible somewhere that teaches the doctrine. So then, they believe it is perfectly OK to remove a doctrine in one place as long as they do not obliterate it entirely.
By this same logic, would it be OK with God if we removed the entire Gospel of Mark? After all, most of the doctrines taught in Mark are also taught in Matthew or Luke. No. This is faulty reasoning, and there is no excuse to remove even one word from God's words.
In the KJB in Luke 4:4, Jesus says:
Summary
So,
is the NIV the Word of God? We have seen omissions ranging from one word
to entire verses. We have seen errors ranging from misquoting a prophet,
to the removal of Lucifer (Satan) and the insertion of Jesus Christ in
his place. We have even seen changes affecting the doctrine of the deity
of Christ. After examining the evidence, could you say that the NIV is
the Word of God? Could you call the NIV "HOLY BIBLE?"
Our Vision
There are many false doctrines being taught today, both inside and outside of the Christian Church. We at Grace Bible Church have a great desire to see that these false teachings are exposed and refuted by the Word of God. It is our desire to produce materials that may be placed (free of charge) in the hands of God's people - to enable them to share the truth with those who have been misled by false doctrine.
Would you like to have a part in this ministry and help us get this message out to others? If so, you may make as many copies of this material as you need to give to those who have been misled by the false teaching exposed here. If you would like information on other subjects, write or email to the address listed at the beginning.
May God bless you as you do His work.