I wanted to share with you something that crossed my desk this past week.

Consider this set of statistics that talks about how people come to know the Lord.

1. Crusades 0.5% 5/1000

2. Visitors to Church 4% 40/1000

3. Church Programs 5% 50/1000

4. Special needs satisfied 5% 50/1000

5. Sunday School 5% 50/1000

6. Pastor/church staff 6% 60/1000

7. Friends/relatives 74.5% 745/1000

These statistics point out that we all need to be actively sharing our faith with family and friends as that is how ¾ of the people come to the Lord. How many people have you introduced to the Lord?

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    As a Pastor and a Seminary student one of the most common questions I am asked is what Bible version is most accurate? Or which version should I use? This is a good question because it is important that we feel comfortable with both the accuracy and with the style of language used in our personal Bible. The question of what translation to use is a complicated one to answer, so I will do my best to address it in this short article. First off, all biblical translations are taken from ancient Greek and Hebrew manuscripts, The different versions mark differences in the way that people translate the text. All versions fall on a continuum of three different types of translation: Formal Equivalence, Functional Equivalence, and Free.

Functional Equivalence (Thought for Thought) – This type of translation includes versions like the NIV, NLT, NRSV, CEV, GNB and ESV. The premise for this type of translation is to take an idea and translate that idea as opposed to the exact words. It is not that the word translations are inaccurate, just that they may change the word order and the precise language to better fit the idea the author is trying to portray. The accuracy of the idea or the thought is the main goal, individual words are not. This type of translation is by far the most popular because it is easy to read and also is extremely accurate in terms of the message the author is trying to get across.

Free – Free is exactly what the name suggests, a very free translation that follows no distinct rules. These translations are often very easy to read and usually contain the main idea that the author is trying to get across but io translate from. The only thing is, in the last almost 400 years we have discovered many older and more reliable manuscripts of the Old and New Testament. There are not many changes, but if one is interested in accuracy than it is time to switch to a different version (NASB).

    So, after all that babble, what is my suggestion? I choose to always use at least two bibles when I am studying the word. I choose the NASB version for my formal equivalence or literal bible, this way I can do accurate word studies. But most often I am reading from the ESV, which is somewhere in-between Formal and Functional Equivalence, and is also very easy to read. So that is my suggestion, get an ESV or NIV and also a NASB to complement it for accuracy.

Hugs,

~Pastor Nick

Mark 11:24

"Now is our chance to choose the right side. God is holding back to give us that chance. It won't last forever. We must take it or leave it."

-- C.S. Lewis from Mere Christianity