Featured King James Onlyism and Missions

Just to clarify, the biographies and dissertations are about Rice, and the autobiography is Ruckman's.

 

So the Japanese are stronger people and more faith filled than English speaking people because they did not need a perfect Bible. Got it! Americans are weak in faith, so they need a perfect Bible. Got it!

And yes, there have been Japanese missionaries awesomely used of God. Americans don't know this not because it is false, but because they don't try to learn about Japan. I could list Nakada Juuji, my friend Tomioka, and others.

Other famous non-English speaking missionaries that were greatly used by God: Ulphilas, Patrick, Olopun (阿罗本), Rimitsu, Gutzlaff, Sung, Watchman Nee, and many, many others. I suggest you read a good book on the history of missions. Get your head out of the English-speaking world and think of God's plan for the whole world.

This is the problem with the KJVO view. It is stuck in the English speaking world. It doesn't realize that there are 2000 years of church history, and only a small portion of it is English speaking.

And your point is?

Yes, people do need the Bible to be saved. The KJV says so:
Romans 10:17, "So then faith [cometh] by hearing, and hearing by the word of God."
Hebrews 4:2, "For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it."

Yes, I've noticed that. But you can do better if you try.

 

I read about 10 pages of a serious book every night before bedtime. My current book is The Man from Odd, by Tom Wallace, a wonderful IFB pastor who was very kind to my wife and me on one furlough, then pastored our home church for a while. ("Odd" is the odd name of the little town he was born in.) His photo on the front shows a great big "Authorized KJV 1611" Bible, and in retirement they have been kind enough at the Sword of the Lord to give him an office and publish his book. The Sword is a KJVO organization nowadays, contrary to when my grandfather founded and led it. Anyway, I'm pretty sure Brother Wallace would call himself KJVO.

However, there is nothing about that in the book so far, and I'm mostly done. Instead, it tells about folks saved in the churches he pastored, his own efforts to win souls, wonderful miracles of people saved through his ministry, and--get this--over 50 countries he has preached the Gospel in! At one point he was the director of the board of BIMI, a large mission board.

So again my point. You can be a vocal and active defender of the KJV, or you can do your part to win the world to Christ and emphasize the Great Commission in your life. Matthew 6:24, "No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon."

 

Now consider the very strange "ministry" of Gail Riplinger. Her website says, "A.V. Publications, Corp. is devoted to giving glory to the word of God, which he has magnified above his name (Ps. 138:2) and to "the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ" (Titus 2:13). (AV Publications Shopping Cart)

That's a great illustration of my point. She wants to glorify the Bible, but the Bible never says to do that. It is God who has magnified His Word above His name (Psalm 128:2). We are not supposed to do that. To be zealous for the KJV means you are exalting the Bible, not the Giver of it.

Back to Riplinger. I could say a lot about her (and have), but my main point here is that because she writes so much defending the KJV (which needs no defense, since it is God's powerful Word; don't defend it, fight with it), she does almost nothing to obey the Great Commission.

Note that all of her books are about the KJV, and none about reaching the world for Christ (hopefully a complete list; I am not including DVDs, CDs, etc., but only books):

Blind Guides ($16.95)
Hazardous Materials ($24.95)
In Awe of Thy Word ($39.95)
New Age Bible Versions, 1993 ($14.95)
The Dictionary Inside the King James Bible ($11.97)
The Hidden History of the English Scriptures ($12.95)
The Language of the King James Bible ($19.95)
The Only Authorized Picture of Christ, with Gayle Russ ($19.95)
Which Bible Is God's Word? ($19.95)

Her website lists five tracts on the KJV issues, and YES! one Gospel tract, "Find Mayberry's Love, Joy, and Peace," based on the TV show, "Andy Griffith." I've not read it, so I don't know if it is a good presentation of the Gospel. But at least she does something. However, there is nothing about reaching the world for Christ on the whole website, unless you count her selling the "Spanish New Testament (1602 Purified)."

So, the point here again is not that Riplinger does nothing to obey the Great Commission, but that her full on defense of the KJV distracts from Great Commission fulfillment. You can either be strong on the Great Commission, or you can be strong on defending the KJV. You can't do both.

And again I'll say it: there is no command in the whole Bible to defend the Bible.

P. S. Don't know what she does with all that money from her books, but John R. Rice poured every bit of the profit from his 200 or more books into his ministry, saying, "Millions of dollars have passed through these hands, but praise God, none of it stuck!" My son is following his example, and sends all of the money from his books to missionaries. (He wrote the research commentaries for Logos on 1 & 2 Peter and Jude, and a couple of other books.)

 

I love it! Japanese students get six years of English in Jr. High & High School. Most of them don't speak it that well, the curriculum being mostly grammar. But the average Japanese does far better at English than the typical American at any other language!

As you know, I've traveled widely in the US on deputation and furloughs. The ignorance of most Americans about the outside world is appalling. I'm fully convinced that this ignorance is partly what fuels the KJVO movement.

Great idea! I participated.

 

@JD731

Here are some excellent missions histories for you (or anyone else) to educate yourself about the big wide world of Christians before the English language existed, and outside of the English speaking world after the English language developed:

Encountering the History of Missions, by John Mark Terry and Robert L. Gallagher. This is a very new book (2017). I'm reading it now as the probable textbook for a new course we are developing, "History of Missiology." So far it's really good.

History of Christianity in Asia, 2 vol., by Samuel Hugh Moffett. This is an incredible account. I learned so much about Syrian and Persian Christianity and the awesome missionaries they sent out in the early centuries. Hmm. Maybe the Peshitta is the true perfect preserved Word of God.

The Light in Dark Ages, by V. Raymond Edman. A true classic, hard to get ahold of nowadays. Edman was evangelical and evangelistic, president of Wheaton College when my parents were there in the 1940's.

A History of Christian Missions, by Stephen Neill. Excellent!

A Concise History of the Christian World Mission, rev., by J. Herbert Kane, a leading missiologist of the 20th century. An excellent work for the KJVO believer who wants to cautiously get started.

From Jerusalem to Irian Jaya, 2nd ed., by Ruth A. Tucker. This biographical history is a standard textbook for the history of missions nowadays. A fascinating read!

Also, a couple of reference books that discuss many historical missionaries, most of whom never heard of the KJV:

Who Was Who in Church History, rev., by Elgin S. Moyer. This is a fascinating book. I consult it over and over.

Evangelical Dictionary of World Missions, ed. by A. Scott Moreau. This is an incredible book, a must have for anyone interested in the history of missions.