Important Sermon for American Pastors! What an important Sermon!
Too many self described 'defenders of orthodoxy' on this side of the pond ignore the importance of the Authorized Version. I find my 2 local 'reformed' pastors are more likely to reconcile their sermons to the Westminster Confession or Heidleberg Catechism than the received Word of God. They shamelessly offer the NIV( a local OPC Church), the NKJV (a local RCUS Church) to their congregations with little concern to this issue. Not only to they dismiss the use of the AV in the production of their catechisms, but they shamelessly decry other Christians as violating the truth while decorating their sanctuaries with Yule Trees.
Great Sermon! What a fantastic sermon! Rev. Silversides has presented us with an aplologetic argument,not only for the Authorized Version, but for scripture as a whole. I had never heard many of the points he brings up, and they are presented in such a way that I found them irrefutable. Though I have found that the ESV "suits me" I will never go back to it again. Thank you Pastor for this fine defense of God's Word.
Great Sermon! Having heard this address and with a view to the point that J I Packer is the General Editor of the ESV one would expect a glowing recommendation by the 'puritan scholar'!
Possibly, he has a reason for seeking to revise and update the RSV? Providentially after hearing the above I read J I Packer also recently revised and updated his book 'Rediscovering Holiness' with praise for mother teresa, which is hardly the expectation from a Christian writer never mind any 'puritan' scholar.
http://strengthenedbygrace.wordpress.com/2009/12/03/j-i-packer-continued-disappointment/
According to the F-K [Flesch-Kincaid] formula 74.3% of the books [in the KJV] are on or below the sixth grade level, and 94% are on or below the seventh grade level! . . . And the FRE [Flesch Reading Ease] rated 97% of the KJV books as Fairly Easy or Easy! These were all first place statistics!"
(D.A. Waite Jr, The Comparative Readability of the Authorized Version, p. 80)
A search on the web will reveal that the AV is actually easier to read than the ESV, but of course some would rather have any version but the AV. Please note what Rev Thackway mentions about why many have abandoned the NIV which was supposed to be the Superior replacement for the AV...if of course you believed the publishers blurb.
Summary: ESV is RSV 2.0 Behind all the marketing and glowing orthodox statements, and all the endorsements of modern "celebrity christianity"--yes, even among the most orthodox, "reformed", and "true church" experts, and even the Puritan scholar J.I. Packer--the speaker discloses that only 10 percent of the text of ESV is different than the RSV! Essentially the ESV is a revision of RSV to appear more "conservative" than NIV and more current than NKJV.
A criticism can be made of the speaker referring to "God's providence" in translations, for God works by "means", and it is "our responsibility" not to just "believe" in what we have, but to seek to preserve the word by all means possible, instead of fatalistically accepting "what is given us" by others. For this the Roman church does too. "Examine everything" we are commanded.
Scripture MUST be updated to the "vulgar" present language (for common understanding to successive generations), but only without compromise. For neither is the KJV infallible. The subjective arguments of the speaker leans heavily on sentimentalism and Elizabethan-ism.
Excellent Sermon! Thank you, Rev. Silversides! In this sermon, there were a number of compelling reasons given for maintaining the use of the Authorized Version which I had neither considered, nor ever heard before. I am pretty settled in my position concerning the issue; that is, "I believe we have God's Word in the Authorized Version," but it is always good to have that conviction strengthened by sound arguments and principles which cannot be refuted without damaging the faith of the Saints and calling into question the very inspiration and providential preservation of the Word of God.
If some are on the fence, I recommend that they listen to this sermon before they fall on the wrong side. Certainly God can pick them up and put them on the right side, but it seldom happens without loss. Such as a loved one who in not picked up, but left behind... And in that case, there is generally always some division and contention between the two sides, which used to walk together upon the narrow fence.
A vital message God bless you for standing for the truth of His Word. The textual issue is of no small importance in the matter of pure Bible translations. There is so much confusion and mis-information abroad, even in evangelical circles. The work of societies like the T.B.S. is vital!
Essential Consideration! We believe this is the crux of the whole matter in considering Bible versions. Which TEXT has God preserved? Which ENGLISH BIBLE is the faithful rendering of God's Word? It cannot be that God Almighty allowed us to go for many years (even centuries) without a FAITHFUL COPY OF HIS HOLY WORD! And that faithful copy we have in the AV "King James" Bible. Before you become too deeply infected with "modern version mania," please take the time to hear this great message.
Great Sermon! It is a blessing to hear messages like this. This is the kind of preaching I have grown up with for the past 35 years. Thank you Pastor Silversides for your stand on the True Word of God. Listen to this sermon that was preached by my pastor back in 1975. We have several sermons here on Sermon Audio. http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?sermonid=480619271
Get real! Why do we need such negative preaching, surely we are living in the 21st century and we need to communicate the Gospel in a translation that people understand?
KJV is only a translation after all and is far from perfect!
Awesome This is a blessing and answered prayer. Many have lost who is the real author and originator of the Bible because they are groping in darkness and I mean evangelicals. This sermon brings you back to the power of Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.
Great Sermon! I was delighted to find this sermon. I have good memories of the late Rev. Hawkins from my holidays in Suffolk. Looking forward to hear more of his!
Isa 66:2 The text for this sermon is Isa 66:2: "For all those things hath mine hand made, and all those things have been, saith the LORD: but to this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at my word." The speaker indicates chapter 62 at the beginning.