The Perversion of Scripture
Satan’s Attack Against the Bible
2 Corinthians 2:17
By Pastor Craig Ledbetter
I.
Introduction
A. There are many things that Satan hates
1. He hates God – that’s for sure. He hates anything that has to do with God
2. He hates God’s people - He hates especially the Jews
3. He hates YOU – you are made in the image of God
4. As a matter of fact, Satan hates everything – he is a hater
B. Most of all, Satan HATES the word of God, the Bible
1. You wouldn’t believe it, but he hates that book – he hates simple words on a page!
2. He hates every word, every line, every chapter, every page!
C. Why?
1. Because GOD wrote it
2. Because it is true!
3. Because it changes lives (John 8:32)
4. Satan is a LIAR and the father of lies (John 8:44)
5. Satan can’t stand the truth, because everything he does is based upon deception (2Thes 2:8-11)
6. And the truth of the Bible exposes him for who he is
D. Satan is limited
1. Satan cannot destroy the word of God, so he seeks to twist it, corrupt it, pervert it, change it, and ruin it
2. He has been doing that for almost 6,000 years (Gen 3:1-3), and he is not giving up!
3. As a matter of fact, he is stepping up his attack on the Bible more and more as we get closer to the end
E. If there is one thing we need to be aware of, it is Satan’s tactics, his devices against the Bible. I intend on exposing them!
F. This morning, AND tonight, I want to look at how the devil is working very hard to change the Bible so that it become powerless, and useless in your life, and in this world!
II.
Message
A.
God’s Promise
Concerning Scripture
1. They Came from HIM – Inspiration (2Tim 3:16)
a. They are HIS words, not man’s (John 7:32,45,46)
1) The Bible is such a book that man could not write if he wanted to, and would not write if he could.
2) Towards this Book, he has shown the most intense hatred, revealing a determination to get rid of such a condemnation of his own depraved condition.
3) The hatred towards the Word of God is because the Bible reveals man's sin, ignores his wisdom, makes his greatest achievements to seem puny, and lays his pride in the dust.
4) Every engine of destruction that human wisdom, human science, human philosophy, human wit, human force and human brutality could bring to bear against a book has been brought to bear against the Bible - and the Bible still stands.
b. God perfectly guided the 40 writers to write what He wants us to know about Himself
c. Proven by
1) Prophecies
2) History
3) Science
2. They Can be Completely Trusted (Mt 24:35) – they are preserved for us in our hands this morning
a. What you have in your hand IS the very words that Jesus spoke, that Moses wrote, that Pharaoh said, that Adam did, and that what David sang! Just in English! Thankfully!
b. God promised to preserve His words for every generation… if they will only want them (Psalm 12:6,7)!
B.
The Word of God is THE
spiritual life-blood of the human race!
1. It brings salvation "Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God. . ." (1 Peter 1:23)
2. It produces faith ". . . faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God" (Romans 10:17).
3. It produces spiritual growth ". . .desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby:" (1 Peter 2:2)
4. It is the only thing that can comfort and fix the human heart!
5. Jesus Christ said in John 6:63, ". . .the words that I speak unto you, they are SPIRIT, and they are LIFE."
C.
God’s Commands
Concerning Scripture
1. Learn them - Study them
2. Test them, Prove them. Act 17:11 These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.
3. Don’t add to or take away from them
a. The Lord warns against "adding and taking away" from His Word.
b. Deuteronomy 4:2 reads: "YE SHALL NOT ADD unto the word which I command you, NEITHER SHALL YE DIMINISH ought from it . . ."
c. Proverbs 30::6, reads, "ADD THOU NOT unto his words . . ."
d. And just in case you missed it, GOD'S LAST WARNING is Revelation 22:18,19, ". . . IF ANY MAN SHALL ADD unto these things. . . 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. . ."
e. And despite these clear warnings, the new versions, take out and add text, over and over!
4. Don’t criticize them – let them criticize YOU (Hebrews 4:12)
5. Memorize them. Psa 119:11 Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.
6. Trust them. John 8:31 Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed;
7. Use them! Obey them (James 1:22)
8. And yet, almost none of these commands are being followed today!
D.
The Authority of
Scripture
1. This is where people fall out – they don’t like authority, especially absolute authority
2. But, Christians are supposed to obey the Scriptures (Acts 5:27-29). They are our absolute authority
a. Not princes, or popes, or priests, or pastors
b. We honour and obey our parents because God tells us to
c. We obey the government because God tells us to
d. We pray for all that are in authority because the Bible commands us to
e. A wife obeys and respects her husband because GOD told her to
f. A man loves and cherishes his wife not because it is an easy thing to do, but because the word of God told him to!
3. Jesus subjected His authority to the word of God (John 5:39; 12:49; 17:8)
4. Even God the Father subjected himself under the authority of his word (Psalm 138:2). He made Himself DO whatever He promised! He limited Himself to the words in a Book!
E. The Enemies of Scripture (2Cor 2:17)
1. Satan’s problem with the Bible
a. He knows it is the only thing that is true, and effective in protecting people from his power and plans. He can’t mount a direct, head on attack against the Bible; he has to just slowly, carefully, ever so slightly, just keep adjusting it until it has no power in people’s lives
b. So he questions it, and questions it, and questions it
1) Yea hath God said?
2) If thou be the Son of God…?
3) Never cares about answers – just wants to create doubt and cause people to not want to even TRY and see if God actually has an answer!
c. Satan misquotes it, and misuses it – trying to provoke Jesus to act on his own will instead of according to God’s word
d. And Satan changes it – BOY does he change it
1) Removes what he doesn’t like. Like the miracles, and the rebukes against hypocritical religious leaders, and emphasis on faith alone and not works!
2) Says, “Judas wasn’t that bad of a person – he was misunderstood”
3) Says, “Jesus didn’t MEAN a burning lake of fire” he meant only torments in this life!
e. And then he replaces it
1) New versions of the bible all the time
2) Condensed versions, gender neutral versions
3) Paraphrases
4) ANYTHING but the actual words
5) All along the way, he substitutes TV, entertainment, emotions, hurts, arguments, busyness, bills, depression, anger, stress, worries, in the place of the solid rock of God’s word!
2. Did you know that he is not the ONLY enemy of Scripture?
a. The world system
1) Men love darkness rather than light
2) They by nature don’t like anyone telling on them, and exposing their sinfulness
3) But, that is to be expected!
b. Backslidden Christians
1) They are the strangest enemies of this Bible
2) Disobedient
3) Want God to back off a bit, and not be so demanding
4) They want a smoother cross, an easier life, a pre-digested bible, an emphasis on themselves instead of on the pre-eminence of Jesus Christ
5) They want to be entertained on Sunday, not preached to!
6) They want the church to be a spiritual babysitter for their children, and a place that meets all their needs, not one that demands them to get off their butts and get reading and obey the Bible!
7) Oh yeah! I have seen some serious enemies of the Bible, sitting right in church!
8) They won’t even TRY and learn the Bible as written – constantly buying “newer” bibles, thinking they are better, and easier to understand!
F.
What’s the Big Deal?
Some Errors in Modern Versions
1. If a printer’s error snuck in, would you know it?
a. The 'Printers Bible' 1612: In some copies, Psalm 119:161 reads, 'Printers have persecuted me without a cause' rather than 'Princes have persecuted me...'
b. The 'Wicked Bible' 1631: Omits an important 'not' from Exodus 20:14, making the seventh commandment read, 'Thou shalt commit adultery.' The printers were fined £300 and most of the copies were recalled immediately. Only 11 copies are known to exist today.
c. The 'Sin On Bible' 1716: John 8:11 reads, 'Go and sin on more' rather than 'Go and sin no more.'
d. The 'Fools Bible' 1763: Psalm 14:1 reads, 'the fool hath said in his heart there is a God,' rather than '...there is no God.' The printers were fined £3,000 and all copies ordered destroyed.
2. Why don’t “Christians” know perversions when they read them?
a. It’s because they are too busy watching all the TV
b. It’s because they are bored with books that have no pictures!
3. Are the new versions different? Most people believe the different versions are basically the same. They believe the newer versions are just "harmless" updating of words and made easier to understand.
4. NOTHING COULD BE FURTHER FROM THE TRUTH!
5. It is HARD to get saved (Mark 10:24; Matthew 7:14)
|
AV (King James Bible) |
New International |
The Message |
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Mk 10:24 |
…how hard it is for them that trust in riches to
enter into the |
…how hard it is to enter the |
"You can't imagine how difficult to get into God's kingdom" |
…how difficult a thing it is to
enter into the |
6. Repentance is not necessary to get saved (Matthew 9:13)
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AV (King James Bible) |
New International |
The Message |
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Mt 9:13 |
for I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. |
For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners. |
Go figure out what this Scripture means: 'I'm after mercy, not religion.' I'm here to invite outsiders, not coddle insiders." |
For I came to call, not righteous people, but sinners. |
7. The reason for Jesus coming is missing (Matthew 18:11)
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AV (King James Bible) |
New International |
The Message |
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Mt 18:11 |
For the Son of man is come to
save that which was lost. |
OMITTED |
OMITTED |
OMITTED |
8. Joseph was Jesus’ “father”? (Luke 2:33)
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AV (King James Bible) |
New International |
The Message |
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Lk 2:33 |
And Joseph and his mother… |
The child’s father and mother… |
Jesus’ father and mother were speechless with surprise at these words. |
Its father and mother… |
9. Jesus needs OUR help doing the work of saving souls (John 9:4)
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AV (King James Bible) |
New International |
The Message |
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John 9:4 |
I must work the works of him that sent me. |
We must do the work of him who sent me. |
We need to be energetically at work for the One who sent me here. |
We must work the works of him that sent me. |
10. You don’t have to believe on Jesus before baptism (Acts 8:37)
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AV (King James Bible) |
New International |
The Message |
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Ac 8:37 |
If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest.
And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. |
OMITTED |
OMITTED |
OMITTED |
11. Salvation is a process, (a journey), and not immediate (1Cor 1:18)
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AV (King James Bible) |
New International |
The Message |
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1Cor 1:18 |
For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish
foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God. |
For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. |
The Message that points to Christ on the Cross seems like sheer silliness to those hellbent on destruction, but for those on the way of salvation it makes perfect sense. |
For the speech about the torture stake is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is God’s power |
12. Satan knows that as he keeps changing the Bible, people will become more and more confused, and read less and less of it, and will rely less and less on God’s promises, and end up ruined – just like himself!
III.
Conclusion
A.
God gave us His words,
and has promised to preserve them, and offers them
at great expense and personal sacrifice to billions of people all over the world
B.
Everything is dependant
upon the very words of God
1. Our nation’s future. Psalms 9:17 The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God.
2. Our homes and families!
3. Especially, our souls. James 1:21 Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls.
a. How can someone know God without the Bible?
b. How can someone hear what HE said without his own words?
c. Oh that people knew just what the devil has done in lying to them about how they do NOT need this Book!
C.
Satan HATES the word of
God, the Bible
1. Satan cannot destroy the word of God, so he seeks to twist it, corrupt it, pervert it, change it, and ruin it
2. But that is not the worst of it!
D.
Christians help ruin
Scripture when they…
1. Won’t live it – the world desperately needs to see the Bible lived in front of them before they will read it – they need to see if it actually works!
2. Won’t obey it – make it of none effect like the Pharisees did
3. When they pick and choose what they will obey
4. When they actually go against it
a. It says to do one thing, and we go our own way!
1) Won’t shut their mouths talking bad about someone who has hurt them
2) Won’t pray for them and love them and bless them
3) Won’t humble themselves
4) Won’t forgive people, even though some of the strongest language in the Bible is against those who WON’T forgive – not against those who hurt people!
5) Won’t open their mouth and tell someone about the wrath to come, and the only way of salvation being in JESUS!
b. We easily ruin the Scriptures all by ourselves – make it of none effect!
5. When they make up their own rules and way of living (Mark 7:7-13)
E.
What you need to do
now…
1. Get you a King James Bible
2. Get rid of your “newer” perversions
3. Get that Book into your life
a. It will convict you first, and make you very uncomfortable
b. About hell, and sin, and the lies you have been following
c. And then it will tell you of the love of God in sending His only begotten Son to take your place on the cross
d. And it will offer you a way of escape, through repenting of your sins, and believing just in Jesus Christ to save you!
4. Read it and teach it to your children
5. Discover just how better off, and blessed and happy and stable you will be!