If the Holy Spirit directs all believers to the same truth, why is there so much division in Christianity? Why are there so many who interpret the Bible in dramatically different ways? When we have a disagreement, why can’t we listen to what the Holy Spirit tells us because He only speaks the truth!!! Jesus taught only ONE SET OF TRUTHS to his apostles who were then instructed to pass on those same beliefs to the entire world. “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, TEACHING THEM TO OBSERVE ALL THINGS THAT I HAVE COMMANDED YOU; and lo, I AM WITH YOU always, even to the end of the age.” (Matt. 28:19-20)
In the early 1500’s, Martin Luther encountered a dilemma when he created a NEW VIEW of how one can become a member of God’s Family. Since Luther chose to reject the authority of the church, he needed a way to validate his new belief and give it credibility. So he created another new concept that was never formally accepted in Christianity. Luther’s solution to validate his position of rejecting the church’s authority is called SOLA SCRIPTURA or THE BIBLE ALONE is the SOLE SOURCE OF AUTHORITY in a Christian’s life.
The problem with this is it gave opportunity for the devil to cause confusion, “…if our gospel is veiled (unclear), it is veiled to those who are perishing, whose minds THE GOD OF THIS AGE HAS BLINDED, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them.” (2 Corin. 4:3-4) One of the reasons we see different versions of the Bible is because of the number of manuscripts available. There are over 5,800 Greek New Testament manuscripts known to date, along with over 10,000 Hebrew Old Testament manuscripts. There is one thing we can be very sure of “…GOD IS NOT THE AUTHOR OF CONFUSION BUT OF PEACE…” (1 Corin. 14:33) When I became a Christian I read the King James Version, the textual base for the King James Bible is the Textus Receptus. I received a very good spiritual foundation and learned to “lean on” God for my spiritual formation. Just one point for example “Confess your 1FAULTS one to another…” (Jam. 5:16 KJV)1paraptōma: a stumbling aside “…confess your 2SINS to each other and pray for each other…” (Jam. 5:16 NIV) 2hamartia: to miss the mark, to sin. You see, man does not ever have the authority to forgive sins, that is something only God can do!
One more very important point, “…as it is written, “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard,” nor has it entered into the heart of man, “the things which God has prepared for those who love Him.” But GOD HAS REVEALED THEM TO US BY HIS SPIRIT; for the Spirit searches all things, yea, the deep things of God.” (1 Corin. 2:9-10)
-Bill Stockham