What's the big deal about having a perfect Bible anyway?

An introduction to a study on the King James Bible

By Keith Wallace

I think that part of the problem with people who don't believe we have a perfect Bible today is that they have never really sat down and thought about how important it is to have the actual words of God perfectly preserved, exactly as God wants us to have them.  Deep down people know we need the Bible because it is the only way God speaks to us today.  It is the only way we can learn about God and His plan through the ages for mankind.  But do people really stop and think just how utterly vital it is to have EXACTLY what God wants us to have?  I hope to shed a little bit of light on why it is so important in this very brief introduction.

There are many important things that we humans deal with during our lifetimes.  We have to make decisions all the time that can affect the course of our lives or the lives of others.  We decide to go to college.  We decide what type of job we will have.  We decide to get married or stay single.  We decide to take care of our physical bodies by eating right and exercising, or we sit around and eat what we want.  In our lives there are things that govern or instruct us along the way.  In our jobs we have rules, regulations and procedures that we must follow.  Many of these are for the economic good of the company we work for but some are for our safety.  The military has very strict rules and regulations that members must follow or the consequences could be extremely deadly or detrimental to the security of our nation.  So you can see that in our lives we must follow certain books or documents to ensure prosperity or safety.  If these guidelines were not accurate, then chances are we would suffer financial loss or some type of injury or death.  If we see the importance of having accurate guidelines for our day-to-day physical lives why wouldn't we see the importance of the only guidelines we have for our spiritual well-being, which we call the Bible?

If we do not have a perfect Bible which perserves not only the word of God (which is the message or ideas) but also the very words of God, how do we know that parts--if not all of it--are accurate?  And if there are parts that are inaccurate, then how do we know the rest isn't inaccurate as well?  If there are errors in a version of the Bible then that reduces the credibility of that book.  So for instance, if the Bible you are using says that David killed Goliath in 1 Sam 17:49-51 and in 2 Sam 21:19 it says that Elhanan killed Goliath--which is a contradiction (or error)--how do you know that the text in Romans chapter 10 about salvation isn't an error too?  If you bought a book on how to fix the engine in your car and there was a chapter that told you that your car has a six cylinder engine and your car actually has a four cylinder engine, would you trust the rest of that book to help you fix your car?  Of course not.  

The Bible is the only way for us to know how to be saved and to serve God.  The Bible is the only way for us to know God and to know about God.  If there is an error in the Bible then it cannot be trusted.  If there is an error in the Bible then how do we really know what God wants from us?  If we only have the ideas or the general message of God, how do we know exactly without a doubt what God wants from us?  We must have the exact words of God exactly as He wants us to have them.  Our salvation and our service to God is the most important thing on this earth.  Why wouldn't God give us perfection when dealing with the most important thing concerning us humans on Earth?

In the next section I will be discussing the modern versions of the Bible.  Please either go back to the King James Bible Information page and follow the next link or just click the link below to move on and keep studying this vital issue.

Back to the King James Bible Information Page

Section 1. What's the big deal about having a perfect Bible anyway?

Section 2. What's wrong with the other versions?

Section 3. What is the reason for all these different versions?

Section 4. Don't all the older and better manuscripts support the new versions?

Section 5. Isn't it a little presumptuous of us to think God would give the world only one perfect Bible in English?

Section 6. Conclusion.