BIBLE DOCTRINE I
LECTURE 8
BIBLIOLOGY: PRESERVATION I
[Much of the following is taken from ‘The Preservation of the Bible’ by Robert Sargeant]
Many Christians make the statement, “I believe in the divine, verbal, plenary, and inerrant inspiration of the
original Scriptures”— a true statement to be sure....but...we don’t have the original Scriptures in our
possession, and never will!
So, making such a statement without qualification can be rather convenient. Believing in the inspiration of the
originals “lets one off the hook” so to speak —giving license to anyone wishing to “correct” the Bible when it
suits their purpose. How often do we hear or read statements like:
“That’s what the Bible says...but...in the original Greek it really means ...”
“A better translation would be ...”
“This verse is not found in the most ancient manuscripts...” Such pronouncements are not coming only
from the modernist and neo-orthodox camps. They are issuing continually from the pulpits and writings
of conservative and fundamentalists — including fundamental Baptists!
There are some critical questions being raised here. For example:
1. Is the Bible intended for every man—or just for the scholars? Should we who are not
scholars have to rely upon the scholars for a full knowledge and interpretation of God’s Word?
2. Do we need to know Hebrew and Greek to fully understand the Bible? If so, why are they
difficult languages to master? Why would God reveal Himself to man, then veil Himself
in such languages? Is God out to make life (and salvation) difficult?
3. If some verses in the Bible are questionable in their translation, can we really be sure of any?
Furthermore, if we correct, criticize, or question just ONE verse of the Bible, what are we in
effect saying to baby Christians?
4. Does the average (four years of Bible College) Baptist preacher have the scholastic ability to
“correct” the Bible on the basis of the Hebrew or Greek text?
Key Bible passages that support Bible Preservation
The doctrine of inspiration is meaningless without the parallel doctrine of the divine preservation
of the Scriptures. Without it, we could never be 100% sure we actually have God’s inspired
Word.
The preservation of the scriptures is just as much a doctrine as that of divine inspiration. Both
are taught in the Bible and are evidenced by internal and external proofs. The doctrine of
preservation is based upon the following scriptures:
Ps 12:6-7 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.
The extent of preservation: the very words, every word.
The Agent of preservation: Thou, the Lord.
The period of preservation: forever.
Ps 33:11 The counsel of the Lord standeth for ever, the thoughts of his heart to all generations.
This states that the truths of the Bible will be available for all generations….as do these next two verses:
Ps 100:5 For the Lord is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations.
Ps 105:8 He hath remembered his covenant for ever, the word which he commanded to a thousand generations.
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Ps 111:7-8 The works of his hands are verity and judgment; all his commandments are sure. They stand fast for
ever and ever, and are done in truth and uprightness.
Isa 40:8 The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever.
God’s Word will be with us in Heaven for eternity; it hasn’t gone away; it wasn’t lost.
Isa 59:21 As for me, this is my covenant with them, saith the Lord; My spirit that is upon thee, and my words
which I have put in thy mouth, shall not depart out of thy mouth, nor out of the mouth of thy seed, nor out of the
mouth of thy seed's seed, saith the Lord, from henceforth and for ever.
How, pray tell, would the word of God not depart out of thy seed’s seed’s mouths for generations to come if the
word of God was lost, burned up, tainted, hidden, etc., centuries ago?!
1 Peter 1:23 Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth
and abideth for ever.
The most amazing and important teaching of the Bible is that of salvation, being born again; this verse teaches
that the word of God liveth and abideth for ever. Surely, the truth about salvation will be preserved by God.
But, equally as sure, the Devil will be trying to alter, change, or remove this teaching. It would take Almighty
God protecting and preserving this most important truth in His Word. If He can (and did) that, then He surely
would (and did) be able to preserve all the other (important) teachings.
Eccl 3:14 I know that, whatsoever God doeth, it shall be for ever: nothing can be put to it, nor any thing taken
from it: and God doeth it, that men should fear before him.
Whatever God does is for good; forever; eternal. He is not limited by mankind nor time. His Word can easily
by for ever. It isn’t based on man’s efforts to keep it going generation after generation; nay, nay, nay… it is all
based upon God…what He has already done…His Word is not going to have anything take away from it nor add
to it.
Matt 28:19-20 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son,
and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am
with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.
God expects His churches to be teaching the truths of Scripture unto the end of the world, Amen! Remember,
Jesus Christ is with you, with us, and with the preservation of His Word!
John 12:47-48 And if any man hear my words, and believe not, I judge him not: for I came not to judge the
world, but to save the world. He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words, hath one that judgeth him: the
word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day.
We are truly going to be judged by the Word of God when at the Judgment Seat of Christ, or at the Great White
Throne Judgment. How can we rightly be expected to know and follow His law, His commands, His
ordinances, His teachings, if we don’t have them exactly as He gave them to mankind millennia ago?! It would
be absurd! Can you picture God saying “You have not kept all of My commandments.” We might be able to
retort: “I would have kept them if I had access to them…some of them were not copied right and I could only
follow that which I had access to.”
Rev 20:11-12 And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven
fled away; and there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and
the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of
those things which were written in the books, according to their works.
The Holy Word of God, in its entirety, in its perfect, pure form, will be present at the Great White Throne
Judgment. If God has the books in Heaven, He most surely could (and does) have them here on Earth for us to
read, learn, know, and obey!
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2 Tim 3:15-17 And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto
salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for
doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect,
throughly furnished unto all good works.
Timothy Had The Scriptures, the Word of God. The verse does not say he had a
“reliable facsimile.” In his day, the (Old Testament) scriptures were anywhere from between
1,500 and 450 years old — and were copies of copies of copies of copies, etc.
The copies Timothy had access to are called “Scripture” and are said to be “inspired.” This is an astounding
passage on both the inspiration of and the preservation of the Holy Scriptures. They are both done by Almighty
God.
The Nature of Preservation
Preservation is a logical doctrine.
Why would God give us the Bible, taking meticulous care with the very words of scripture, then allow their loss
or distortion to occur over time? Would not God, Who through the miracle of inspiration gave us His very
words in written form, also be able to keep them through a miracle such as preservation?
The doctrine of inspiration teaches that God was directly involved with even the very words; verbal inspiration.
The doctrine of preservation would need to deal with the very words also, in order for it to be consistent with
scripture (see above verses). But, many seem to have a hard time reasoning this out. If there were copies after
copies made of the originals (which most agree were inerrant) then it is very probable that a copiest made and
error here or there; and there were many copiests over the centuries, and thus, probably, many, many errors.
Logically, the Bible that we have today has many errors in it simply due to copiest mistakes. It would take a
miracle for there not to be any errors in it after all those copies. And, that’s exactly what it comes down to… a
miracle! At this point we must move from logic and reasoning to faith and simply trusting that God is more than
able to preserve His Word perfectly, without error; and that He indeed wanted to do this, and did do this. The
same faith that one has for divine inspiration is needed for divine preservation. What good is divine inspiration
without divine preservation?!
History bears witness to the providential preservation of the Bible in two areas: Its physical perpetuity and its
textual purity.
The perpetuity of the Bible as a book:
On numerous occasions Satan has attempted to eradicate the Word of God from the face of the earth.
Hellish decrees by wicked men have seen the Bible banned, burnt, and banished, and then battered by scornful
critics. For example;
1. In 302 A.D. the Roman emperor Diocletian issued an edict which decreed the burning of all Bibles.
2. During the “Dark Ages,” the “Devil’s Millennium” (500-1500 A.D.), the ‘Church’ of Rome forbade
the use of Bibles by the laity. The first decree against the Bible came from Pope Nicholas I in 860 A.D.,
and in 1198 A.D. Pope Innocent III issued a decree that all who read the Bible should be put to death.
3. In 1415 A.D., 31 years after his death, the remains of John Wycliffe were exhumed, judged, burnt, then
scattered in the River Swift for the crime of translating the Latin Vulgate into English. William Tyndale
was strangled then burnt at the stake in 1536 A.D. for translating the Bible into English.
4. During the reign of “bloody” Queen Mary in England (1553-1558 A.D.), Bibles were used as fuel
to burn Protestants at the stake.
5.The French infidel Voltaire (d.1778) once boasted that Christianity (i.e. would be a dead religion within
100 years of his day. He wrote many volumes against ‘Christianity’ and the Bible. Within 50 years of his
death his own printing works was being used by the Geneva Bible Society for the printing of Bibles!
Ninety-two volumes of Voltaire’s works once sold at an auction for just a few dollars — at the
same auction, one ancient Bible manuscript sold for over $500,000.
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