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Dr. Shelton Smith - President and Editor
Sword and Editor
Misrepresented On Text Questions
 Unfortunately, the stand of the Sword
of the Lord and of this editor was called into question in
February, 2009 when a portion of our statement of faith was
posted on the Hammond (Indiana) First Baptist Church web
site.
Pastor Jack Schaap has taken the
position that: “The King James Bible issue is a good example
of what sidetracked many fundamental independent Baptists.”
(p. 84, Where Are We Going?)
“Because of the amount of ‘foolishness’
being bantered about on this subject by careless Bible
students, such as teaching that the King James Version is
inspired, we have ‘shot ourselves in the foot’ in the eyes
of many….” (p. 84, Where Are We Going?)
“For one to believe that God inspired
the King James Version of the Bible he would be espousing
Catholic or charismatic theology.” (p. 85, Where Are We
Going?)
Predictably, that has created a
considerable stir in fundamental Baptist circles.
In a sixteen-page document posted on
their web site on February 13, Pastor Schaap printed Article
One of the Sword Statement of Faith. In it we very clearly
state our position on the King James Text. Nonetheless he
asserts that we do not say what we said.
His defense of himself, therefore, cast
us in a light that totally misrepresented our very clearly
worded stance. I am not saying that it was malicious or
intentionally deceptive, but at the best it was carelessly
researched in a time of intensity. No call was made to me or
to the Sword to certify the conclusion they made.
As a consequence I am compelled to
correct the misrepresentation
HAMMOND, FIRST BAPTIST WEB SITE
IMPLIED A WRONG PRECEPTION OF SWORD AND EDITOR
Dealing with a controversy that has
been gaining traction for a year, Pastor Jack Schaap of
Hammond, Indiana’s First Baptist Church posted a defense of
his views on February 13, 2009, on their church web site.
We had hoped that over time the air
would clear and the issue would be clarified in such a way
that there would be no conflict. Unfortunately, that has not
been the case.
In the sixteen-page document on the
Hammond web site, they printed Article One of the Sword of
the Lord Statement of Faith (easily accessible to anyone on
swordofthelord.com). Our statement says: “The Holy
Scriptures: WE BELIEVE the Bible, the Scriptures of the Old
Testament and the New Testament, preserved for us in the
Masoretic text (Old Testament) Textus Receptus (New
Testament) and in the King James Bible, is verbally and
plenarily inspired of God. It is the inspired, inerrant,
infallible, and altogether authentic, accurate and
authoritative Word of God, therefore the supreme and final
authority in all things (II Tim. 3:16–17; II Peter 1:21;
Rev. 22:18–19).”
Our statement was published alongside
those of what they describe as sixteen other “well-known
Baptist institutions of today.” At the bottom of the page,
the Hammond web site said about the Sword and the others,
“Not one institution lists that the King James Bible is
inspired.”
I’ll not presume to speak for the
others listed, but you can judge for yourself what we did
and did not say in the Sword of the Lord Statement of Faith.
The pronoun “it” in the second sentence
obviously refers to the three names in the previous
sentence. That first sentence specifically names the King
James Bible!
So as painful as it is to do, I have no
choice but to weigh in on this and correct the wrong
perception created about us on the Hammond web site.
On Monday afternoon, February 16, 2009,
I phoned Brother Schaap. We talked for approximately ninety
minutes. I said to him, and I repeat it here, that I’m not
sure we accomplished anything other than the fact that we
talked about it. He simply does not believe that the King
James Bible is inspired! On that we disagree very much!
I pray for him and his ministry. I have
not sought a battle with him. I dislike grievances with any
of our brethren, but because I was grossly misrepresented on
their web site about our stand on the Bible, I could not
just let it pass.
I stand where I’ve stood on this for a
lot of years. This response is not a knee-jerk reaction.
When we are misrepresented on something so major and so
important as the Bible, it is imperative that we correct the
record and clarify our stand.
NO CATHOLIC OR CHARISMATIC
CONNECTION!
In his documents defending his position
on the KJB, Brother Schaap says, “We believe such teachings
can be dangerous and have their roots in Roman Catholic and
charismatic theology. We believe such teaching endorses both
the possibility and the probability of progressive
revelation or continued revelation, which teachings imply
that the Bible is an incomplete book and that God continues
to add to it. Such teaching we reject as patently false.”
(p. 9 of Hammond web site documentation)
Let me say kindly but firmly that such
a statement is careless to the point of being reckless. The
Catholics are not King James text users. Most of the
charismatics use the watered-down new versions and have long
since pretty well abandoned the King James Bible.
If Brother Schaap meant to imply that
the claim of an inspired King James Bible is somehow some
kind of extrabiblical revelation, then that is so ludicrous
as to be laughable. It is a nonsensical charge!
There is no Catholic or charismatic
connection on this. None!
IN CONCLUSION
Finally, let me say just a few things
to summarize and conclude:
1. I did not initiate this conflict,
but I cannot ignore it.
2. I want no ongoing battle with men
like Brother Schaap. I hope it can yet be resolved. I pray
to that end.
3. But let me also be clear that there
will be no hesitation on my part to defend and to declare
the Word of God.
4. Many of us have reacted, and we will
continue to react, to anything and anybody who lessens or
diminishes the Bible (in Hebrew, Greek or English).
5. The issues over the Bible are as big
as anything else we face; therefore, we must stand up to
make our position clear.
Dr. Shelton Smith |