THE CORRUPT FRUIT OF MODERN BIBLE VERSIONS

Matthew 12:33, “Either make the tree good, and his fruit good; or else make the tree corrupt, and his fruit corrupt: for the tree is known by his fruit.” Luke 6:43, “For a good tree bringeth not forth corrupt fruit; neither doth a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.”

NOTE: The following points are not mine: they are taken from Gail Riplinger’s book, “Which Bible Is God’s Word?” (2007 edition, pp. 124-126).

1. We are not seeing personal spiritual growth. Acts 20:32 talks about “the word of his grace, which is able to build you up.” Christians are not being built up.
2. We do not see a clean, separated church. John 15:3 says, “Ye are clean through the word.” Carnality abounds.
3. We see confusion in terms of doctrine. New versions are not easier to understand; they are much easier to misunderstand doctrinally. John 17:17 says, “thy word is truth.” Many do not know what the truth is anymore in so many churches. There is so much confusion and contradiction.
4. We see a church without its offensive weapon. Ephesians 6:17 talks about “the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.” We can have on the rest of the armor of God, and the devil can walk up to us and knock us flat on our backs, unless we have the “whole armour” (Eph. 6:11), which includes the sword, our offensive weapon. With the sword we can “resist the devil, and he will flee from you” (James 4:7), just as Jesus did when Satan tempted him in Luke 4. Jesus said, “It is written.”
5. We see little real spiritual fruit. In John 6:63 Jesus says, “the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit.” They are not ordinary words. The “fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering…” (Gal. 5:22). Many Christians do not have love, they do not have joy inside, and they do not have peace in their hearts because they are starving for the true spirit of God, if they are not imbibing the true word of God daily. Our flesh cannot give us peace, but the words of God can give us those things.
6. We see Christians wondering why prayer is not answered. In John 15:7 Jesus says, “If… my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will.” Many people are praying amiss, since the word does not abide in them and guide them to pray according to God’s will.
7. We see many Christians who are anxious and comfortless. Psychological counseling moved into the church along with the new versions, because new versions strip the word of God of its comforting power. First Thessalonians 4:18 says, “Comfort one another with these words.” Even the Comforter himself is omitted and replaced by the Jehovah’s Witness term, the Helper (NKJV, John 14:16). The omission in the NIV of Jesus’ promise to “heal the brokenhearted” in Luke 4:18 is just one of scores of such omissions and unsettling word changes.
8. We can also see that the church will not be prepared for the judgment seat of Christ. John 12:48 says, “The word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day.” Without guidance from the true word of God, some Christians may miss rewards God would like to give them.