Chapter Twenty-Six
Be a doer of God’s Word - not just a hearer!
Does it really matter which version of the Bible a person reads from? Are all modern Bible translations accurate? Contradictions between versions suggest not. Every version of the Bible cannot be correct, or there would be no real differences between them. Some translations may be correct where others aren’t and yet incorrect in their own areas. Every new version bears its author’s personal prejudices, and no two authors agree or disagree completely. Honesty should be the principal focus for all, but translators may struggle with temptation in favor of their spiritual preferences. Can the real truth be discovered today? Many will say no, some will say yes, but only a few have done the research necessary to know why a particular version is accurate or inaccurate. Needless to say, the Bible translation process has caused much confusion in the world because versions that do not agree cannot all be accurate, and even when a particular version is chosen, how can the reader stand confident that he or she really knows what the original truth was? Research into Bible translation events becomes a necessity if one is to know without a doubt which Bible really is the preserved message from God. How many people have actually done that deep of a study?
It should be apparent from the prior consideration of Joseph Smith’s corrupted version of the Bible, that honesty has not always been applied to every Bible version. Chapter twenty-five revealed that not all translators used accurate manuscripts to translate from. It becomes apparent then, that it does matter which version of the Bible one should read if a person truly desires to know God’s message fully and accurately. Not every translation is reliable.
God expects men to worship him in truth. Jesus said:
“But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him.
God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.” 223
The ultimate conclusion from the above verses must be that God has preserved his message somewhere on the earth in order that the truth may be found by all who truly desire to know. God cannot expect men to be able to worship him in truth if the truth is not available. The only real question is, Where?
Honest persons who truly desire to know God’s perfect message could have a huge task before them if they choose to weed through all the corrupted versions to find the truth. There are a multitude of Bible versions available. Seekers must consider each one against the others if they are to weed out the dishonest translations like Joseph Smith’s corrupted copy. Even then, how could a person ever truly know they have found the exact message from God? A study of the original ancient manuscripts would be in order except that the original autographs deteriorated long ago. This leaves available thousands of ancient manuscripts, full or partial, that are copies of copies. They are written in Hebrew, Greek, Latin, German and various other foreign languages. A language study would be necessary that could take years. Access to the ancient manuscripts could pose the final hurdle. The task would be nearly impossible if not totally impossible. Does God expect every person to put that much effort into finding his perfect message? Readers must decide for themselves whether or not such a deep search for truth is necessary. This writer will direct the reader to reconsider the information presented in chapter twenty-five. It is this author’s conclusion that the KJV Bible is the inspired inerrant infallible preserved plenary Word of God for English speaking people. This is a conclusion from many years of personal study. It is based upon a mass of information that cannot be given in one single book. The appendix at the end of this book will direct interested readers to some of that information by numerous scholars who have already done that research. Wise men seek wisdom! Readers who are not convinced should seek wisdom! On judgment day it is certain that there will be no acceptable excuses for those who had opportunity to seek wisdom and refused to seek it.
Many people do not speak English and may not have had access to a KJV Bible. This leads to a few questions, such as, What happens to all the people who aren’t English and who do not have the ability to read from the KJV Bible?, or, What happens to all the people who, without realizing it, read a corrupted copy of the Bible like Smith’s version? This author will once again remind readers that the simplicity of the gospel, (Jesus took the punishment for all sins and offers forgiveness to all who will repent and turn to him), can probably be found in most all versions of the Bible whatever language and however corrupted. To a certain extent, God can work with what is available if the reader’s heart is honest and open to God’s Holy Spirit. The devil has not won a total victory through his efforts to confuse men about God’s message. God has never once been confused about what the truth is, and he is still convicting men about their sin and drawing honest hearts to the Savior. He alone has the right to be the final judge, and he will judge righteously. Will he judge every person by a perfect copy of his Holy Word even if they did not have a perfect copy to live by? This is an interesting question that each reader must decide in light of what Jesus said in John 12:48 quoted earlier. It also leads to another question.
What if God chose to judge each man only with the Bible version they had to read from? Even if some versions are not exactly correct, are there not plenty of God’s commands available in any version of the Bible to judge men for their sin? People who read his commands and do not obey them would receive condemnation the same as other persons who read from different versions but did not obey. God expects people to obey his Word, not just read it for pleasure:
“But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.” 224
“And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?” 225
“ . . . Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them.” 226
“But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation;
Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.” 227“For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps:
Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth:” 228
God’s laws can only condemn mankind; they cannot save the guilty soul. Jesus came to do that! His sacrificial death provides salvation to the repentant soul for every person who will place his or her faith in Jesus. Those who will repent, trust him alone, and follow his Holy Word, will be saved. Chapter twenty-seven will consider God’s wonderful grace that makes this possible but first let’s consider the plight of those who follow Smith’s BkM.
Would God be justified if he chose only to hold Mormons accountable to the BkM they hold to so tightly even though they have the Bible and refuse to believe it? How would the faithful Mormon fare on Judgment day if that were the case? Let’s consider the dilemma Mormons face if God were to merely hold them accountable to the book they have placed their faith in.
The BkM perspective about judgment day and the human responsibility to keep God’s commandments comes clearly into focus in the following verses:
“And even unto the great and last day, when all people, and all kindreds, and all nations and tongues shall stand before God, to be judged of their works, whether they be good or whether they be evil---
If they be good, to the resurrection of everlasting life; and if they be evil, to the resurrection of
Damnation; . . .” 229
“ . . . and shall be brought to stand before the bar of God, to be judged of him according to their works whether they be good or whether they be evil---
If they be good, to the resurrection of endless life and happiness; and if they be evil, to the resurrection of endless damnation, being delivered up to the devil, . . .” 230
An inquisitive reader might ask a few questions here such as, What percentage of a person’s works must be good? Everybody does some good and some bad in their lifetime, don’t they? How good must a person be to receive the ‘resurrection of endless life and happiness’? How evil must a person be to be delivered up to the devil? What happens to all those who are just mediocre good? Do they spend eternity with their heads in heaven and their feet in hell?
“For behold, except ye shall keep the commandments of God ye shall all likewise perish; . . .” 231
“ . . . for verily I say unto you, that except ye shall keep my commandments, which I have commanded you at this time, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.” 232 (The alleged words of Jesus.)
Does this mean that humans must keep the commandments perfectly? What happens if a person accidentally breaks a commandment? If that happened, then he or she has not kept the commandments right? How many commandments must be kept? All of them? Must all of the commandments be kept for the entire lifetime? Is perfection required? It would appear that ‘except I keep the commandments perfectly all of my life, I shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven’!
“ . . . and the fulfilling the commandments bringeth remission of sins; . . .”233
If I fulfill the commandments, what sin is there to be remitted? If I don’t fulfill the commandments perfectly, is there no remission of sins?
“Have ye walked, keeping yourselves blameless before God?” 234
Can any human other than Jesus claim to have walked blameless before God? The Bible tells us in Romans 3:23 that we have all sinned. Sinners cannot be blameless, or they wouldn’t be sinners, and they who are blameless aren’t sinners are they?
“Yea, come unto Christ, and be perfected in him, and deny yourselves of all ungodliness; and if ye shall deny yourselves of all ungodliness, and love God with all your might, mind and strength, then is his grace sufficient for you, . . .” 235
If people must keep all of the commandments and deny themselves of all ungodliness before God’s grace becomes sufficient, then what good is grace? Grace would be completely unreachable!
The impossibility of justification before God on judgment day through the teachings of the BkM should be as clear to the reader as the setting of the sun. Who among men can keep every commandment of God perfectly? This author has heard somewhere that it has been calculated that there are about six hundred and thirteen separate pieces to God’s Holy Law in the Bible. Could anybody remember them all even if they have read them all?
How does one deny ‘all’ ungodliness when sin dwells within our mortal bodies? The Apostle Paul, in the Bible book of Romans, speaks of the battle between the sinful body of man and his repentant spirit. He spoke of the struggle this way:
“For we know that the law is spiritual: but I am carnal, sold under sin.
For that which I do I allow not: for what I would, that do I not; but what I hate, that do I.
If then I do that which I would not, I consent unto the law that it is good.
Now then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.
For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not.
For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do.
Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.
I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me.
For I delight in the law of God after the inward man:
But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.
O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?
I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin.” 236
If the Apostle Paul, possibly the greatest Apostle of all, struggled with his sinful flesh and occasionally did that which he did not want to do, then who among men could possibly deny all ungodliness and keep all of the commandments? Jesus alone has the right to boast of sinlessness!
As a sinless person Jesus set the example for humanity. God expects men to follow him and his teachings found in the pages of the Holy Bible. Jesus set the example of righteousness and by that standard all men will be judged:
“Because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead.” 237
“For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse: for it is written, Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them.” 238
Humans are surrounded by hundreds of pieces of God’s law on every side like sailors fallen overboard thousands of miles from land. Not every wave has to drown us, only the last one would be necessary to do the job. Any one law broken makes the person unrighteous and brings condemnation upon every sinner. The greatest commandment in the law condemns every person:
“Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
This is the first and great commandment.” 239
“As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one:”
Righteousness means perfect sinlessness just like Jesus was. There are no righteous people on earth!
Some people believe that God will compare their good works against their bad works to determine their righteousness and consequent eternal state. The truth is that God will compare every deed, good or bad, against ‘all’ of his holy laws. There will be no special credit for obeying God’s laws. Humans are commanded to do ‘all’ good deeds; therefore good deeds do not add credits to a person’s account. Neither do good deeds cancel bad deeds. The bad deeds, sin, will bring condemnation upon each guilty soul because those are the times when people failed to obey ‘all’ of God’s commandments. We are commanded to do ‘all’ good deeds. It is because of our failure to do ‘all’ good deeds that there will be a judgment day!
God’s laws cannot make men righteous, yet God did not give his laws as mere suggestions. God intends for men to read his Holy Word and discover how they should be living. With that information they are expected to pattern their lives according to ‘all’ of his commandments rather than following their own personal desires. On judgment day he will use his holy laws as the standard to determine the guilt of every sinner. For those who choose to stand before God presenting him with their good deeds in life, condemnation will be upon every person who neglected to obey his laws perfectly, regardless of the Bible version chosen. Keeping the commandments is not the answer to eternal life even though God expects men to keep them anyway!
God has commanded mankind to obey ‘all’ of his laws, but God has also provided forgiveness of sins through Jesus. God’s law shows humans their need of a Savior; God’s grace provided the Savior men need! Jesus the Savior offers the means to be forgiven for sins. He is a gift by God’s grace, not something people can earn or deserve by doing some good deeds. Chapter twenty-seven will discuss that grace.
Joseph Smith proved himself to be a false prophet when he directed men to save themselves by attempting to keep God’s laws rather than trusting Jesus to save them. He directed men to excel in their own righteousness rather than seek mercy through Jesus. Self-righteousness is the wrong direction to eternal life. Jesus said it this way:
“For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.” 240
Many people will misunderstand this verse because they do not realize how hard the scribes and Pharisees worked to be righteous. They attempted to divide God’s law so clearly that hand washing became a sin if not done before eating.
241
They had rules about how far a person might walk on the Sabbath before it became unlawful work. They attempted to nit pick the law into a multitude of tiny commandments so they could determine if they were righteous or not. Let it suffice to say that righteousness was a goal they missed, and so will everybody else who trusts in their own righteousness. It may not be totally impossible to be righteous, but it is impossible for anybody who has already sinned. Jesus was righteous; he was sinless! All other humans are sinners, some more, some less, but all are sinners!
Joseph Smith is not the only person to send men in the wrong direction. Many people attempt to justify themselves before God by considering how well they have obeyed God’s laws while not realizing that God calls for perfect obedience if a person will stand before him
in their own righteousness. On judgment day it will not matter how well a person obeyed if they intend to present their personal righteousness to God. If they have not obeyed every command and denied all ungodliness, their deeds will be found to be less than righteous.
On judgment day the question will not be which translation of the Bible did a person read? It may be, Did the reader obey what they had? It is easy to call Jesus Lord, but it is much harder to live life obeying his commandments. If God only holds each person accountable for the Bible version they choose to read, it is enough for the law to accomplish its task. In the Bible, Galatians 3:10 states:
“Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them.” Authorized King James Version
“Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do everything written in the Book of the Law.”
New International Version 242
“Cursed be every one who does not abide by all things written in the book of the law, and do them.” Revised Standard Version 243
“Cursed is everyone who does not hold to all things that are written in the book of the Law, to perform them.”CATHOLIC FAMILY EDITION OF THE HOLY BIBLE 244
How is the verse worded in the version this reader has chosen?
Although God still holds men accountable to all of his laws, there is no hope of eternal bliss with God through obedience to them. Jesus set the standard for true righteousness, and men can only attempt to emulate him. If Jesus was righteous, then men are less than righteous, for no man can claim sinlessness as Jesus did. There is no hope of justification through God’s laws by our righteousnesses
(our good deeds). God’s Word declares that all of our good deeds, our righteousness
es
, are like filthy rags:
“But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.” 245
#223 John 4:23-24, KJV BIBLE
#224 James 1:22, KJV BIBLE
#225 Luke 6:46, KJV BIBLE
#226 Galatians 3:10, KJV BIBLE
#227 I Peter 1:15-16, KJV BIBLE
#228 I Peter 2:21-22, KJV BIBLE
#229 III Nephi 26:4-5, BkM
#230 Mosiah 16:10-11, BkM
#231 II Nephi 30:1, BkM
#232 II Nephi 30:1, BkM
#233 Moroni 8:25, BkM
#234 Alma 5:27, BkM
#235 Moroni 10:32, BkM
#236 Romans 7:14-25, KJV BIBLE
#237 Acts 17:31, KJV BIBLE
#238 Galatians 3:10, KJV BIBLE
#239 Matthew 22:37-38, KJV BIBLE
#240 Matthew 5:20, KJV BIBLE
#241 Mark 7:1-7, KJV BIBLE
#242
THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION, 1984, International Bible Society, Zondervan Publishing House, Grand Rapids, Michigan, p. 1034
#243
THE BIBLE CONTAINING THE OLD AND NEW TESTAMENTS, REVISED STANDARD VERSION, 1971, American Bible Society, New York, p. 1013
#244
CATHOLIC FAMILY EDITION OF THE HOLY BIBLE, 1956, JOHN J. CRAWLEY & CO., INC., New York, p. 234
#245 Isaiah 64:6, KJV BIBLE
