Fard A. Bell
March 1, 2011
Throughout history, there has been one book that has withstood the test of time against all odds.
The Bible is the inspired Word of God and time and time again, God has put people in place to preserve
His Word and translate His Word so that all nations can receive the gospel from generation to
generation. It is His commitment to that cause that has brought us the King James translation of the
Bible. Ephesians 3:1-4 reads “For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for you Gentiles, if
indeed you have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which was given to me for you, how that
by revelation He made known to me the mystery (as I have briefly written already, by which, when you
read, you may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ).” God's commitment to our
understanding of His Word is unwavering. I appreciate what great lengths God has taken to deliver the
King James Bible to us in a language we can all understand.
The history of how the King James Bible was developed can be best summarized by “The
Foundations of Christian Doctrine, by Kevin J. Connor:
“The Bible has had a truly remarkable history. Over the last 3500 years it has not
only been the most loved but also the most hated book in existence. No book has
ever suffered the persistent opposition that the Bible has, Roman emperors issued
edicts ordering its annihilation. Untold thousands of Bibles have been burned and
countless Christians have been executed for possessing a copy of it. It has been
rejected, corrupted and challenged. Its infallibility and authority have been attacked
from every angle. However, through the centuries the Bible has survived all these
storms and triumphed over them to remain the most significant book in human
history. Gods miraculous preservation of His Word is another proof of its
inspiration.” (p 35)
I recognize the efforts that many have gone through to get something so precious, the most
valuable resource in the world, into our hands. I will never look at the Bible the same way knowing
what I know now about how it got to me in English form. People died to get this book to me. There are
so many who have bore the cross to deliver to us the infallible Word of God, in spite of constant violent
opposition. Three of these men are John Wycliff, Martin Luther, and William Tyndale.
When I first learned about John Wycliff, I was amazed at how God used him to help get the
gospel to the people it was being kept from. Wycliff was an English theologian who was an advocate
for translating the Bible into the common language of the people. He translated the Vulgate, the 4thcentury
Latin version of the Bible, into English in 1382 at a time when the Bible was not written in the
language of every day people. The Roman Catholic church did not want the Bible translated to English
and they had the translated Bibles banned and burned. John Wycliff was one of the first brave scholars
willing to go against the Roman Catholic church to further God's work. He was definitely a catalyst
toward the development of the King James Bible.
Another scholar that got my attention was Martin Luther. Luther was a German priest and a
theology professor who initiated the Protestant Reformation. At a time when the Roman Catholic
church was selling indulgences, an idea which expressed that God's pardon from certain sin could be
purchased with money, he spoke out against it in his “Ninety-Five Thesis” in 1517. He also was
responsible for translating the Bible into German, which made a major impact upon other scholars who
later helped in the development of the King James Bible. When Martin Luther refused to retract all of
his writings he was excommunicated by the pope and condemned as an outlaw by the emperor.
A third scholar who stood out to me was William Tyndale. Tyndale was one of those scholars
who was influenced by the work of Martin Luther. He moved to Germany to translate the Bible from
Hebrew and Greek to English at a time when he could not get permission to do so from England. This
was perfect timing because printing machines were now available which made wide its distribution
possible. He had to risk his own life by smuggling the translated Bible back into England in corn sacks
in order to deliver the Bibles to the masses who had no translation of their own to read. He felt like the
Word was for the people, not just royalty. In 1535, Tyndale was arrested by church authorities and
jailed for over a year. He was tried for heresy, strangled and burned at the stake in 1536.
God has always gone through great lengths to preserve His Word even to this day. He has made
us promises that He has never broken. He has promised to preserve His Words: “The Words of the
LORD are pure Words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times. Thou shalt keep them,
O LORD, thou shalt preserve them from this generation for ever.” (Psalms 12:6-7) He has commanded
us to neither add to, nor take away from His Words: “Now therefore hearken, O Israel, unto the statutes
and unto the judgments, which I teach you, for to do them, that ye may live, and go in and possess the
land which the LORD God of your fathers giveth you. Ye shall not add unto the Word which I
command you, neither shall ye diminish ought from it, that ye may keep the commandments of the
LORD your God which I command you.” (Deuteronomy 4:1-2) He has shown that He cares about each
and every one of His Words: “Every Word of God is pure: he is a shield unto them that put their trust in
him. Add thou not unto his Words, lest he reprove thee, and thou be found a liar.” (Proverbs 30:5-6)
He said His Words will never pass away: “Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my Words shall not
pass away.” (Mark 13:31) He said He would curse anyone who changed His Words: “For I testify unto
every man that heareth the Words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things,
God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book: And if any man shall take away from
the Words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of
the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.” (Revelation 22:18-19)
In summary, these men answered to God's divine call to make sure His Word has reached us. They
gave their lives to that call - Tyndale gave his life to that call literally. God used them to fulfill His work in the preservation of the Bible.
Reading about these three men makes me reflect on what gifts and resources I have been given to
continue Gods divine work both within me and through my life. No opposition in the world will stop
God from getting His Word to us. The Bible is indeed God's miraculous preservation.