If the doctrines of Calvary Independent Baptist church could be likened to a range of mountains,
Then one of the tallest peaks in those alps would be “King James Bible.”
Our church was founded upon a King James Bible;
And that church’s sponsoring church used only the King James as well.
And it’s not because we’re “ignern’t, uned’cated Babtists” that we still use the old King James.
And we have made a deliberate and rational choice, not to switch to modern day translations.
Those Bibles, very simply don’t say, the same thing that the King James says.
For example, most modern versions such as the American Standard, the New International Version and the New English Version completely eliminate Acts 8:37.
Those professed Bibles don’t re-translate this verse so that Generation-X can understand it better.
They won’t even permit those poor people to read it.
That means that they aren’t just new versions of the Bible; they are out-and-out per-versions of the Bible.
The primary argument for the removal of this verse from the Bible is that one of the oldest copies of the Greek New Testament, the Alexandrian text, doesn’t contain it.
It apparently isn’t important that preachers who lived and died before the time of the Alexandrian text, quoted Acts 8:37.
Two of those men were Irenaeus and Cyprian, and we can still read their sermons today.
And it doesn’t matter that we know WHY this verse and others like it were removed from the Alexandrian text.
Alexandria was the home of a man named ORIGEN, who hated much of the Bible and who particularly despised the doctrine of the deity of Christ.
It is an historical fact that he edited copies of the Bible for himself and his church people.
The Alexandrian text is undoubtedly one of his edited copies.
And we aren’t surprised to find that a huge proportion of the other verses which are omitted from modern Bible versions have a direct connection to the doctrine of the deity of Christ.
People may laugh at churches like ours and call us “stupid,” but actually they are the people wearing the funny-looking hats, floppy shoes and big plastic noses.
When Philip finished teaching to the Ethiopian about Jesus, that man wanted to publically confess his allegiance to the Saviour.
“What doth hinder me to be baptized?”
Much to the amazement of those who would have cautioned delay and examination before baptism, Philip replied, “If your faith is Biblical, then there is nothing stopping us.”
And the man responded, “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.”
To take sissors and remove verse 37 leaves a hole in the context and chronology of the chapter.
Should Acts 8:37 be kept in our Bibles? Absolutely!
Should we know what it says and means? Absolutely!
And for the very reason that Origin did his best to remove it –
Acts 8:37 testifies to the glory and deity of the Lord Jesus Christ.
“And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth,
And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God.
And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS.
He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David:
And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end.”
And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.”
It was equivalent to Joshua or Hosheah in the Old Testament.
There is a verse in Hebrews 4 which has confused a lot of people over the years:
This was a reference to the Greek translation of the Old Testament, where Joshua is translated Jesus.
But it has always meant “Jehovah saves.”
In Joshua’s case, Jehovah, in one sense, saved Israel by bringing them into the Promised land and in giving them rest from their enemies round about.
But Joshua would never have claimed to be the Saviour.
Jesus Christ was given that name because he is the Saviour; He is Jehovah.
So it was Jesus who was born to Mary while visiting in the city of Bethlehem.
It was Mary, Joseph and Jesus who fled into Egypt to escape from the hand of murderous Herod.
It was Jesus who grew up in the carpenter’s shop in Nazareth.
It was Jesus who was the eldest brother of several children in Joseph’s family.
It was Jesus who the community couldn’t believe was the Messiah, because they had grown up together.
This Jesus was much like many other little boys, teenagers and young men in Galilee.
But He was without sin during all those years, yet his neighbors were probably not aware of that fact.
He was more spiritually-minded than any of the children his age, but they probably only thought that each of the kids in the neighborhood had their own quirks and traits.
At every opportunity he was about his Heavenly father’s business.
The scriptures say that Jesus had an aptitude for learning and spiritual growth.
He was probably far superior in wisdom and learning than any of the children his age.
It was this Jesus who “increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man.”
But as I say, this Jesus was more than the common little Jewish boy.
Remember what the angel said to Joseph:
He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David:
And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end.”
Somewhere along the line, one of my ancestors must have farmed an old field.
And that field might have been close to a family who lived on a hill or knoll.
And the Stewarts may once have been a family of managers.
The Littles were probably . . . .
And the Kjeldgaards, Byres and Asmundsons were . . . . I have no idea.
Quite often in the Bible people were identified through their fathers.
King David is often called the son of Jesse, and Saul was the son of Kish
Joab was the son of Zeruiah
The man who threw stones at David, is usually called Sheba the son of Bichri, to put some distance between him and the innocent men who were named Sheba.
And Joshua is quite often distinguished as Joshua, the son of Nun, to differentiate him from Jesus Christ.
“Christ” is not properly a proper name, but more precisely a title, meaning “the anointed one.”
Jesus is the anointed one.
The very first time that we find the word “anoint” in the Bible we can clearly see what it means:
It is to set him apart for some special purpose, and is therefore closely related to a Christian ordination.
Exodus 29:36 – “And thou shalt offer every day a bullock for a sin offering for atonement: and thou shalt cleanse the altar, when thou hast made an atonement for it, & thou shalt anoint it, to sanctify it.”
Reading on in the Bible there were not that many instances of anointings.
We read of Aaron and his relatives being anointed at their installation into the priest’s office.
Some of the offerings and sacrifices were anointed.
One or two of the prophets were anointed by their predecessors.
And some of the kings were also anointed.
He is the King of kings and Lord of lords.
And there is no true worship which doesn’t include the worship of Christ.
For the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son:
That all men should honour the Son, even as they honour the Father. He that honoureth not the Son honoureth not the Father which hath sent him.”
And Paul applies this verse to Jesus by saying:
Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated iniquity; therefore God, even thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows.”
When this African visitor called Jesus “the Christ” he was identifying Him as everything he needed Spiritually.
This is a summary of the articles of his faith respecting the person, offices, and grace of Christ
Jesus is the anointed of God, to be prophet, priest, and King;
He is Jesus, the only Saviour of lost sinners, in whom he trusted and depended alone for righteousness, life, and salvation.
We hear so many wonderful and Heavenly things that they lose their thrill and our hearts become hard.
This statement of verse 37, so hated by so many people in this world, is one of the most important ever uttered by any man.
But the fact of the matter, it is found over and over and over again in the Bible.
And because of that, we Christians of the 21st century can get to the point of skipping over it.
“When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am?
And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets.
And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.
And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven” – Matthew 16.
Turn to John 6: 65: – “And he said, Therefore said I unto you, that no man can come unto me, except it were given unto him of my Father.
Then said Jesus unto the twelve, Will ye also go away?
Then Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life.
And we believe and are sure that thou art that Christ, the Son of the living God.”
Later when Jesus heard that the Jews had cast the blind man, whom He had healed, out of the Temple,
He answered and said, Who is he, Lord, that I might believe on him?
And Jesus said unto him, Thou hast both seen him, and it is he that talketh with thee.
And he said, Lord, I believe. And he worshipped him.”
She saith unto him, Yea, Lord: I believe that thou art the Christ, the Son of God, which should come into the world.”
Everything that she believed and needed to believe about Jesus was expressed in this sentence.
But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.”
Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and he in God.
Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God: and every one that loveth him that begat loveth him also that is begotten of him.
He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself: he that believeth not God hath made him a liar; because he believeth not the record that God gave of his Son.
And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.
He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.
I know that to say these words is relatively easy, and that there are millions of people in Hell at this moment who have quoted them over and over again during their lives.
But if these words are truly understood and spoken with the heart as well as the lips, then it is an indication that the speaker is a new creature in Christ.
“Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.
“Wherefore I give you to understand, that no man speaking by the Spirit of God calleth Jesus accursed: and that no man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost.”
He was saying “I acknowledge, I believe, and I receive that Jesus is the Christ and is the Son of God.”
He was saying, “I believe and I receive Jesus, the Son of God, as my Saviour.”
He was saying “My hope is now built on nothing less that Jesus’ blood and righteousness.
He heard about the prophesies that were fulfilled in Jesus.
I’m sure that he learned how all the sacrifices were prophesies about Christ.
He probably heard how the Passover was an illustration of Jesus, the Lamb of God.
And when this man uttered his confession of the Lord, he knew exactly what every syllable meant.
As a believer in Christ and as a new creature in Christ, there was no reason to put off his baptism,
“And they went down both into the water, both Philip and the eunuch; and he baptized him,
And he went on his way rejoicing.”
And what doth hinder YOU to be baptized?
Is it your lack of understanding about the person and sacrifice of Christ?
Is it your lack of faith in Jesus Christ, the Son of God?
Is it your refusal to repent of your sins before this Saviour?
If you do believe as this man did, then you need to be baptized as a testimony to that fact.
Do you believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of the God, THE Saviour – YOUR Saviour?