JRM Sison Chapter - November 15, 2009

Water… According to wikipedia, water covers 71% of the Earth's surface. Though there is plenty of water around us, not all water is fit for human consumption. During the early years when there was less technology, water can be drank directly from a well, river, water falls, etc. But as the world started to mature and technology began to increase, potable drinking water became adulterated; pure drinking water was added with impurities, making water unsafe for human consumption.

Who would have thought that water will be sold? Like air, water is free. But as the years go by, drinking water became another man’s business venture. It is sold by the bottle. People are getting use to buying bottled water instead of drinking direct from a kitchen faucet or a dug-out well (‘poso’). Why? It is no longer safe to drink tap water. Tap water carries bacteria that cause humans to be sick with amoebiasis or E.Histolytica. About 10 percent of the world's population is infected with E.Histolytica. It is the third most common cause of death (after Schistosomiasis and Malaria) from parasitic infections. About 90 percent of infections are asymptomatic (do not produce any symptoms) and the remaining 10 percent produces a spectrum varying from dysentery to amoebic liver abscess. It is caused by a protozoa, Entamoeba Histolytica. It is commonly spread by water contaminated by faeces or from food served by contaminated hands. Thus, the need of drinking water was in demand. Bottled water was sold and it is one of the most saleable items in the market today. But how is bottled water made? Bottled water is actually tap water but underwent processes of purification, removing the unwanted bacteria that can transmit possible diseases (like the one described above). Therefore, bottled water is purified tap water or simply ‘purified water’.

Living Water

If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water… But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life (John 4:10, 14)… If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water (John 7:37-38). Note that the above verses described Jesus as the Living Water. The Living Water is paralleled with the gift of God and everlasting life. John 3:15 states, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” From this verse, we can conclude that what Jesus is implying about the Living Water is to believe in Him. This is what Jesus is trying to tell His disciples. It is not enough to received Jesus Christ but there must be an equivalent action involved. Jesus even told His disciples, “Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven (Matt 7:21).” It is quite clear that true Christians are doers not talkers. In another verse we can read Jesus saying, “And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say? (Luke 6:41)” Paul even cited in Colossians 2:6-7, “As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him: Rooted and built up in him, and stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving.” In another passage, Paul had written, “If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit (Gal 5:25).”

The disciples had done well so far. But take note that as the years had gone by, the Living Water (that was once fit for spiritual consumption) had been adulterated. The Apostle Paul had warned us clearly about this in Colossians 2:8, “Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.” The Living Water, that was easily drank by early Christians, made great revivals, and won a lot of souls for Christ Jesus, has now been unfit for spiritual consumption. Like drinking water that was contaminated by a protozoa (a microscopic parasite - notice how small it is), the Living Water has also been contaminated by DOUBT (small lies that replaces truth with falsehood). It is no longer fit to drink; else you have a disease that can kill your spiritual growth. This disease is what we call Bible Per-Versions.

Perverted Word of God: New Bible Versions

“But I’ve been saved by an NIV Bible”, you might say. Others are saved by versions like NKJV, NLT, NASV, ESV, NCV, NET, GWT, RSV, WEB, NRSV, Good News Bible, Amplified Bible, etc. True that the basic doctrine of ACCEPTING Jesus Christ as God and Saviour is present on all versions, but what is troubling is the minute-detail that makes Christian growth go stagnant; and the power of the Holy Spirit to lie dormant. Let’s take a look at this example: there are businesses that offer down-to-earth promotions and advertisements just to win people’s money. One example will be beauty products; they give some testimonies from other people about how effective their products are; but they didn’t tell you about the hazards that accompany it. They just want your money and don’t care about your welfare. The same thing with the Bible Per-versions; they offer good things, like better translation, a better reading, faster way of understanding and making better outlines, etc., yet they fail to bring the Truth out from their per-versions. These per-versions just want you to be spiritually weak by not knowing the Truth.

James 5:16 is one example; my KJV Bible states, “Confess your faults one to another…” Other versions are:
NIV - confess your sins to each other
NASU, NASB. ESV, NET, RSV - confess your sins to one another
NLT, THE MESSAGE, NCV - Confess your sins to each other
CJB - openly acknowledge your sins to one another
NKJV - Confess your trespasses to one another
GOD'S WORD - admit your sins to each other,
This made Christianity no better than Roman Catholics that have confession booths in their churches. Instead of confessing one’s faults, you confess your sins! To whom should sins be confessed? Be the judge yourself!

KJV has Acts 8:37 that states, “And Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.” NIV, NLT, ESB, RSV and other versions DELETED this precious verse.

There are many more examples but it is suffice to say that if there is an error in a book, you know that it is flawed. Paul said it best in Gal 5:9 that “A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump.”

Fouled Water

Ezekiel 34:19 pointed out that some shepherds give their flocks fouled water to drink and fouled food to eat. Note that it was the shepherds’ feet that fouled it up. How so? Feet symbolize evangelism, ministry, or Christian’s walk of life. So how could these foul the word of God? One perfect example will be Origen, the father of allegory; he taught that the Bible is filled with allegory (hidden messages) that needs to be brought out; this was the start that preachers began to teach what they think the Bible is telling rather than what the Spirit is leading. There is one teaching regarding allegory that the trees in the Garden of Eden were women and the tree of knowledge of good and evil was Eve!

Another way that the Bible has been fouled up was the teaching about Gap Theory! It denied the 6 days creation and claimed that it was a 6 days RE-creation! And this is taught by honest and sincere man of God who had been tricked with Satan’s fouled words of God.

Another is the confusion about the Godhead or the Tri-unity of God; 1 Timothy 3:16 KJV described Jesus as God manifested in the flesh while the per-versions declared that He appeared in a body! Man appeared in a body! If you believe that then what was so special about the birth of Christ? John 3:16 KJV states that Jesus is the only begotten Son of God while the per-versions said that Jesus is the one and only Son of God, making Jesus as man’s equal! John 1:12 and 1 John 3:1-2 describe Christians as sons of God; there is a big contradiction! Truly that the per-versions have fouled up God’s Truth.

What Shall We Do?

We need to test the spirit. 1 John 4:1 states, “Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.” Paul wrote in 1 Thess 5:21, “Prove all things; hold fast that which is good.” If you believe that the Bible you are holding right now is God’s perfect word then PROVE it! Don’t just go around the corner and grumble all you want! If you are a child of God then read Gal 6:1, “Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted.” If you believe that this writing is wrong and faulty then by all means restore it in the spirit of meekness. I challenge you, right now! If you love, or EVER loved, Jesus Christ then you must love God’s Word. And if you love God’s Word then it must be the perfect Word of God. If you do not believe that there is a perfect English Bible then your faith is with the world. If you believe that the perfect Word of God is scattered in the many per-versions that are available today, that His perfect Word is found in some verses of one per-version and other verses in another per-version then your faith is scattered. But if you believe that you have a perfect English Bible then read it, love it and defend it. I believe that the King James Bible (KJV or AV1611) is the inerrant and infallible perfect Word of God. And I will defend it as if my life depended on it! What about you?