Page 193 - Way of Life Encyclopedia of the Bible Christianity. Based on the King James Bible

DYNAMIC EQUIVALENCY

“For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of It is the perfect, pure Word of God by which the
the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto unsaved experience a supernatural new birth. The Good
these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that News Bible, the Living Bible, and other dynamic
are written in this book: And if any man shall take equivalent versions (to varying degrees) are corrupted,
away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God changed, weakened, perverted renderings of the
shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out Scriptures. They are not the incorruptible seed of God’s
of the holy city, and from the things which are written
in this book” (Re. 22:18,19). eternal Word, and should not therefore be used for
“Every word of God is pure: he is a shield unto them evangelistic purposes.
that put their trust in him. Add thou not unto his Some will doubtless argue that people are being
words, lest he reprove thee, and thou be found a saved through the common language versions. We will
liar” (Pr. 30:5-6). not necessarily deny this. God yearns for men to be
Our job in evangelism is to explain the Bible through saved, and, bless His name, He can save men even
preaching, personal witnessing, Gospel literature, etc.— through unfaithful Bible versions. This does not mean,
not to dilute the Scriptures so it reads like the morning though, that He thereby puts His stamp of approval
newspaper, a popular novel, or a children’s Bible story upon corruptions of the Bible.
book. It has been our observation that the converts won
The Ethiopian eunuch was reading from the through weak Bible versions and weak, compromising
Scriptures and could not understand what he read. It evangelistic ministries tend to be weak converts.
was Philip the evangelist’s job to explain the Scriptures Compromise tends to produce compromise. Corruption
to this man (Ac. 8:26-33). If Philip had believed the tends to produce corruption. This is why those won to
theories of dynamic equivalency he no doubt would Christ through new-evangelical ministries normally
have returned home after this experience and have remain happily affiliated with new-evangelicalism in
rewritten and simplified the book of Isaiah, the book spite of its grossly unscriptural principles.
from which the Ethiopian eunuch had been reading! Third, paraphrases produce confusion in the minds of
Was it not obvious that the sincere but unsaved those who read them. “For God is not the author of
Ethiopian had not been able to understand the Bible? confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the
Was it not obvious that many other men must be in the saints” (1 Co. 14:33). When a person reads a Common
same condition as this Ethiopian? Was it not obvious Language version, thinking it is a faithful translation of
that there are not enough evangelists to speak the Bible, he often becomes very confused at the
personally to every lost person and to explain the Bible difference between his paraphrase and an accurate Bible
for them? Well, then, we must reword the Bible and translation. We witnessed this when a young man from
change its difficult, antiquated words so that the non- Switzerland began attending our church meetings in
Christian can pick it up and “understand it without Nepal. He had lived a hippy kind of life, traveling here
difficulty.” Certainly this would please God. Such is the and there, finally making a profession of faith in Christ
thinking so commonly held among those who are in India. When we met him, he was using a Good News
promoting dynamic equivalency. Bible and was utterly confused and frustrated by the
My friends, I solemnly testify that Philip and the different meaning he detected from the King James
early Christian leaders would have had their hands cut Bible, the Luther’s German Bible, and the standard
off rather than to have tampered with God’s holy words. Nepali Bible which were being used in the services.
That Book is Holy! Consider what this means. Is it right “Why does my Bible say this and the other versions say
to inscribe “Holy Bible” on the cover of this book? Yes. something different?” he would ask. “But my Bible says
God’s name is holy and reverend, we are told in the something different,” he would argue when we were
Scriptures (Ps. 111:9). But wait, we also read this: “ … discussing doctrinal matters. This confusion was caused
thou hast magnified thy word above all thy name”! (Ps. by an unfaithful paraphrase and was a great hindrance
138:2) If God’s name is holy and reverend, and God has in the man’s spiritual life.
magnified His Word above all His name, then His Word Again, I want to repeat my firm conviction that the
is even holier and more reverend than His name. Bible Societies and other organizations have done a
Amazing, but true. Woe unto those who are tampering great, great evil in perpetrating their apostate dynamic
with this unspeakably Holy Book. equivalent versions. I would not for the world stand in
Second, men are born again through incorruptible the shoes of the men who have been involved in this
seed, and paraphrases result in corruption. wicked deed and to have to appear before God to give
“Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of an account for the untold confusion which has resulted
incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and from carelessness toward His eternal Word.
abideth for ever” (1 Pe. 1:23).

Way of Life Encyclopedia of the Bible & Christianity 193