When I had to do research as a kid, I just hoped that the school library had something on my topic or could get it for me on loan in several weeks. Today with the internet, the problem is access to too much information … yet we tend to be lazy and take the top three searches on Google! A person may be confused today by all the Bible translations out there, but we have greater access to better research than ever before in history!
I. Luke 1:1-4. Starting with Luke, we can see that careful investigation has always been a part of good Bible study. Before the printing press in 1455 a.d., the problem was not enough access to God’s Word. But, once Erasmus translated the Latin Vulgate that had reigned supreme for over ten centuries into Greek in 1516 that was mass produced and read by the common man, the Reformation was sparked, and a host of early English translations came about leading to the King James Version (KJV).
II. 1 John 5:6-8 and notes. Contrary to popular belief, the KJV did not “fall from heaven in 1611.” It’s called the Authorized Version because King James, not God, commissioned its translation. Borrowing its phrases and words heavily from Tyndale’s earlier work, the language of the KJV was updated in 1769 to how we know it today. The KJV does have the distinction of reigning supreme for over 300 years and settled the New World and fueled the Restoration, but there are struggles with it as with any translation (see “Easter” for pascha in Acts 12:4). With access to thousands of ancient manuscripts, the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls, and the rise of research in the 1900s and now the advent of the internet, many translations and study tools are available that are often based on better study.
III. Acts 17:11. So, are you noble-minded like the Bereans who examined the Scriptures daily to see if what Paul was preaching was true? Do you, like Luke, carefully investigate everything to have an accurate account of what is truth for eternity?
Or, is your salvation based on your top three Google searches?