His Way Will Not Be Carrying the NEW 2011 NIV

We are saddened to announce that His Way Christian Bookstore can not in good faith support or condone this mis-translation of Scripture. Zondervan and its translation team have pressed the Word of God to the point of the absurd in some places, and  in others the changes are so bad they alter the meaning of the text itself. Below, we have highlighted some of the most noticeable portions of  change, but these are only a drop in the bucket.


 Romans 6:19 NIV (1984 version)

"I put this in human terms because you are weak in your natural selves. Just as you used to offer the parts of your body in slavery to impurity and to ever-increasing wickedness, so now offer them in slavery to righteousness leading to holiness."

 Romans 6:19 NIV (2011 version)

"I am using an example from everyday life because of your human limitations. Just as you used to offer yourselves as slaves to impurity and to ever-increasing wickedness, so now offer yourselves as slaves to righteousness leading to holiness."


Judges 13:5 NIV (1984 version)

"...you will conceive and give birth to a son. No razor may be used on his head, because the boy is to be a Nazirite, set apart to God from birth, and he will begin the deliverance of Israel from the hands of the Philistines."

Judges 13:5 NIV (2011 version)

"You will become pregnant and have a son whose head is never to be touched by a razor because the boy is to be a Nazirite, dedicated to God from the womb. He will take the lead in delivering Israel from the hands of the Philistines."

Matthew 19:12 NIV (1984 version)

"For some are eunuchs because they were born that way; others were made that way by men; and others have renounced marriage because of the kingdom of heaven. The one who can accept this should accept it."

Matthew 19:12 NIV (2011 version)

"For there are eunuchs who were born that way, and there are eunuchs who have been made eunuchs by others--and there are those who choose to live like eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. The one who can accept this should accept it."

Job 33:26 NIV (1984 version)

"He prays to God and finds favor with him, he sees God's face and shouts for joy; he is restored by God to his righteous state."

Job 33:26 NIV (2011 verion)

"Then that person can pray to God and find favor with him, they will see God's face and shout for joy; he will restore them to full well-being."


Because of the changes, both to the text in general and the gender changes in places, His Way can not continue to sell this version of the Bible. We will be beefing up our stock of ESV, NKJV, NLTs, Amplified, HCSV, and Message to fill in the gap the NIV will leave on our shelves.

For those who would like the full list of changes found in the 2011  please go here.  Robert Slowley has done an amazing job showing  point by point where the changes can be found. He also urges people, as do we, to go to Bible Gateway and compare the changes for themselves. John Dyer also has an amazing comparison page and you can find that, here.

Please do not hesitate to ask any His Way associate for more details on this issue, we are happy to answer any further questions you have.

Lord of Lords

"Thus says the Lord,`the Redeemer of Israel and his Holy One, to one deeply despised, abhorred by the nation, the servant of rulers: “Kings shall see and arise; princes, and they shall prostrate themselves; because of the Lord, who is faithful, the Holy One of Israel, who has chosen you.”

Isaiah 49:7 ESV



"I know men, and I tell you that Jesus Christ is not a man. Superficial minds see a resemblance between Christ and the founders of empires, and the gods of other religions. That resemblance does not exist. There is between Christianity and whatever other religion the distance of infinity.”

-Napoleon

"And the LORD God said to the serpent, Because you have done this, you are cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; on your belly shall you go, and dust shall you eat all the days of your life:  And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed; it shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel."

Genesis 3:14-15

This promise comes just after the fall of man, and predicts the coming of the "seed of the woman" implying the virgin birth.  The virgin born child would be a male who would trample the serpent under his feet.  John, in Revelation, lets us know that the serpent is Satan, and Matthew informs us that the boy is Jesus.  When Jesus was crucified the serpent bruised "his heel."  However, when Jesus rose he bruised [crushed] the serpents offspring of death.

Promises of Rescue, Promises of our Messiah

 Zechariah  6:9-13 ESV

And the word of the LORD came to me: "Take from the exiles Heldai, Tobijah, and Jedaiah, who have arrived from Babylon, and go the same day to the house of Josiah, the son of Zephaniah. Take from them silver and gold, and make a crown, and set it on the head of Joshua, the son of Jehozadak, the high priest.
And say to him, 'Thus says the LORD of hosts, "Behold, the man whose name is the Branch: for he shall branch out from his place, and he shall build the temple of the LORD. It is he who shall build the temple of the LORD and shall bear royal honor, and shall sit and rule on his throne. And there shall be a priest on his throne, and the counsel of peace shall be between them both."'

Joshua doesn't mean "Branch" it means "God Saves" so what is the Lord saying in this passage written 500 years before Jesus was born? Well, take a look at this:

The Lord told Zechariah that as he set the crowns on the head of Joshua the high priest, he should speak the words: "Behold the man whose name is THE BRANCH." The man that Zechariah was bidding us to notice was Joshua himself. He said that the name of this Joshua who lived more than five hundred years before Christ was THE BRANCH. The prophet's declaration can be understood in various ways, but only one way agrees with the facts. The actual name of this Joshua was not THE BRANCH. And he was not the Christ who would also bear that name, for the Joshua in Zechariah's day has never ruled the world and the Old Testament never predicts that he will yet rule the world. The right interpretation of the words concerning this Joshua requires us replace THE BRANCH with something equivalent. We must treat the oracle like an expression in algebra or logic. THE BRANCH equals "a name of Christ." Therefore, after making the appropriate substitution, we discover that what the oracle is truly saying is this: "Behold the man whose name is a name of Christ."

In fact, the name of Joshua the high priest anticipated the very human name that the parents of Christ would bestow upon Him. "Joshua" is an English transliteration of the Hebrew Yeshua, exactly the same name that is spelled Iasous in Greek. From the Greek Iasous has come the English name "Jesus." In other words, the names "Joshua" and "Jesus" are identical in Hebrew. Thus, English translations of the Bible unnecessarily mystify Zechariah's prophecy. The high priest with a name of Christ was none other than a man called Jesus. Only a man determined at all costs to deny the supernatural character of the Bible would shrink from the obvious conclusion that Christ would also be called Jesus.  Stanley Edgar Richard via his website "The Moorings"

Five Hundred Years Later:

Matthew 1:18-25
 
Now the birth of Jesus Christ  took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed  to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly. But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, "Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins." All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: "Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel" (which means, God with us). When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him: he took his wife, but knew her not until she had given birth to a son. And he called his name Jesus.

Psalm 22

^{Known as the Messianic Psalm, this divinely inspired poem was written by David 1,000 years before Jesus was born in Bethlehem, and nearly 200 years before crucifixion was invented as a way to execute someone. As we stand on the beginning of Holy Week, take time to marvel at how our Rescuer continually announced that He was coming for those of us caught in darkness.} 

<sup>Psalm 22 ESV

1</sup>My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
   Why are you so far from saving me, from the words of my groaning?
²O my God, I cry by day, but you do not answer,
   and by night, but I find no rest.
 ³Yet you are holy,
    enthroned on the praises of Israel.
⁴In you our fathers trusted;
   they trusted, and you delivered them.
⁵To you they cried and were rescued;
   in you they trusted and were not put to shame.
 ⁶But I am a worm and not a man,
    scorned by mankind and despised by the people.
⁷All who see me mock me;
   they make mouths at me; they wag their heads;
⁸ "He trusts in the LORD; let him deliver him;
   let him rescue him, for he delights in him!"
 ⁹Yet you are he who took me from the womb;
   you made me trust you at my mother’s breasts.
¹⁰On you was I cast from my birth,
   and from my mother’s womb you have been my God.
¹¹Be not far from me,
   for trouble is near,
   and there is none to help.
 ¹²Many bulls encompass me;
    strong bulls of Bashan surround me;
¹³they open wide their mouths at me,
   like a ravening and roaring lion.
 ¹⁴I am poured out like water,
   and all my bones are out of joint;
my heart is like wax;
   it is melted within my breast;
¹⁵my strength is dried up like a potsherd,
   and my tongue sticks to my jaws;
   you lay me in the dust of death.
 ¹⁶For dogs encompass me;
   a company of evildoers encircles me;
they have pierced my hands and feet—
¹⁷I can count all my bones—they stare and gloat over me;
¹⁸ they divide my garments among them,
   and for my clothing they cast lots.
 ¹⁹But you, O LORD, do not be far off!
   O you my help, come quickly to my aid!
²⁰Deliver my soul from the sword,
   my precious life from the power of the dog!
 ²¹Save me from the mouth of the lion!
You have rescued me from the horns of the wild oxen!
 ²² I will tell of your name to my brothers;
   in the midst of the congregation I will praise you:
²³You who fear the LORD, praise him!
   All you offspring of Jacob, glorify him,
   and stand in awe of him, all you offspring of Israel!
²⁴For he has not despised or abhorred
   the affliction of the afflicted,
and he has not hidden his face from him,
   but has heard, when he cried to him.
 ²⁵From you comes my praise in the great congregation;
   my vows I will perform before those who fear him.
²⁶The afflicted shall eat and be satisfied;
   those who seek him shall praise the LORD!
   May your hearts live forever!
 ²⁷All the ends of the earth shall remember
   and turn to the LORD,
and all the families of the nations
   shall worship before you.
²⁸For kingship belongs to the LORD,
   and he rules over the nations.
 ²⁹All the prosperous of the earth eat and worship;
   before him shall bow all who go down to the dust,
   even the one who could not keep himself alive.
³⁰Posterity shall serve him;
   it shall be told of the Lord to the coming generation;
³¹they shall come and proclaim his righteousness to a people yet unborn,
   that he has done it.

Response to Rob Bell's "Love Wins"

Several of our customers have asked "Why aren't you carrying Rob Bell's new book, Love Wins" and this post is for those who have asked, and also for those who might be wondering what the hoop-la is all about.

We aren't carrying Rob Bell's book Love Wins because it is not Scriptural. This isn't a decision that was made off the cuff, it was one that was made after deep thought and research as well as listening to the Holy Spirit. Now, when I say we aren't carrying the book let me be very clear: We are not  ordering the book for the store to put on the shelves, and we are not taking special orders for the book. His Way Christian Bookstore is not supporting Rob Bell. You can not get this book from us.


Why? What's so wrong with what he's said in there?  For the answer, we go to noted author, Randy Alcorn. He has a very concise review of the book  as well as links to other sources and pastors speaking out about it, which we have placed below.

I read it several weeks ago. It contains some good and accurate things here and there, but unfortunately its central message is in explicit contradiction to Scripture and historic Christianity.

Oddly, Bell insists that he’s not a universalist, yet his book indicates that he believes exactly what universalism does—that every human being will ultimately be saved, and that none will experience Hell. To teach this and yet claim you’re not a universalist (just because you disagree with some things that some universalists think) is like saying that though you cheer for the Red Sox you’re not a Red Sox fan, or though you own a dog, you are not a dog-owner. I mean, come on, go ahead and qualify the brand of universalist you are, but don’t deny you’re a universalist when your core belief is the core belief of universalism. The very fact that Bell can make such a statement and get away with it is indicative of the sort of cloudy thinking that has taken hold.

I recommended before Kevin DeYoung’s excellent detailed critique of Love Wins. I want to add my recommendation of Dan Franklin’s new and outstanding 35-minute podcast concerning Love Wins. Dan is a clear-thinking, biblically-based pastor at my home church. (He is also a fine husband to my daughter Karina and a loving father to my grandsons Matt and Jack, but that’s not why I’m recommending this audio commentary!) Dan does a weekly podcast called Groupthink Rescue, and Love Wins is his subject this week. He’s also written a more detailed critique, but I found his podcast particularly clear, thoughtful and easy to listen to. If you’re going to invest just a half hour on this issue, I can’t think of a better way to do it. You can also listen to or download from iTunes, and subscribe to his podcast, which has other equally good episodes.

I posted earlier a link to the chapter on Hell from my book If God is Good. Someone who read Bell’s book and then my chapter said to me that oddly, it appeared to them as if I had made an attempt at refuting every major point of Bell’s book. Obviously that wasn’t the case, since I wrote it two years before Bell’s book came out. But when I read Love Wins, at times I saw why this reader thought that. I suppose Rob Bell has successfully set forth all the modern presumptions that people bring to this issue, and that keep them from trusting the biblical teaching about Hell that has been part of historic Christianity. In addressing those presumptions, without knowing it, I was anticipating Bell’s book. This also shows that, as Bell admits, he’s not saying much that’s new. Unfortunately, he is reaching a huge audience, and his book sales have been further fueled by the controversy. But I would rather have more books sell and more people equipped to refute his teachings, then avoid the controversy—some things warrant controversy, and this is one of them, since the gospel itself is on the line—and not just before the watching world, but inside churches.

What most breaks my heart is that, when it comes down to it, Bell is actually saying “Jesus was wrong.” Now, of course, he would never actually say that in those words. Nor does he consciously believe it. But because (as I show in both Heaven and If God is Good) Jesus is absolutely emphatic on the reality and nature and eternality of Hell, it is impossible to disbelieve in Hell, and to believe in universal salvation, and actually believe what Jesus said.

Why? Because Jesus referred to Hell as a real place and described it in graphic terms (see Matthew 10:28; 13:40–42; Mark 9:43–48). He spoke of a fire that burns but doesn’t consume, an undying worm that eats away at the damned, and a lonely and foreboding darkness.

Christ says the unsaved “will be thrown outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth” (Matthew 8:12). Jesus taught that an unbridgeable chasm separates the wicked in Hell from the righteous in Paradise. The wicked suffer terribly, remain conscious, retain their desires and memories, long for relief, cannot find comfort, cannot leave their torment, and have no hope (see Luke 16:19–31).

Our Savior could not have painted a bleaker picture of Hell.

C. S. Lewis said, “I have met no people who fully disbelieved in Hell and also had a living and life-giving belief in Heaven.”[1] The biblical teaching on both destinations stands or falls together. If the one is real, so is the other; if the one is a myth, so is the other. The best reason for believing in Hell is that Jesus said it exists.

Some will say, “Okay, maybe Hell exists, but no one will go there, or if they do it will only be temporary; surely Hell is not eternal.” But Jesus said, “Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life” (Matthew 25:46). Here in the same sentence, Christ uses the word “eternal”(aionos) to describe the duration of both Heaven and Hell. Thus, according to our Lord, if some will consciously experience Heaven forever, then some must consciously experience Hell forever.

The best reason for believing Hell not only exists, but will be inhabited by people and is eternal, is that Jesus said so in the clearest possible language.

It isn’t just what Jesus said about Hell that matters. It’s the fact that it was He who said it.

“There seems to be a kind of conspiracy,” wrote Dorothy Sayers, “to forget, or to conceal, where the doctrine of Hell comes from. The doctrine of Hell is not ‘mediaeval priestcraft’ for frightening people into giving money to the church: it is Christ’s deliberate judgment on sin.... We cannot repudiate Hell without altogether repudiating Christ.”[2]

Why do I believe in an eternal Hell? Because Jesus clearly and repeatedly affirmed its existence. As Sayers suggested, you cannot dismiss Hell without dismissing Jesus.

Atheist Bertrand Russell wrote, “There is one very serious defect to my mind in Christ’s moral character, and that is that He believed in Hell. I do not myself feel that any person who is really profoundly humane can believe in everlasting punishment.”[3]

Shall we believe Jesus or Bertrand Russell? For me, it is not a difficult choice.

C. S. Lewis said of Hell, “There is no doctrine which I would more willingly remove from Christianity than this, if it lay in my power. But it has the full support of Scripture and, specially, of Our Lord’s own words; it has always been held by Christendom; and it has the support of reason.”[4]

We cannot make Hell go away simply because the thought of it makes us uncomfortable. If I were as holy as God, if I knew a fraction of what He knows, I would realize Hell is just and right. We should weep over Hell, but not deny it.

Rob Bell is a pastor, and has a lot of influence on other pastors, and not only in emergent churches. And that is perhaps the greatest tragedy in this. Titus 1:9 says this of the church leader: “He must hold firm to the trustworthy word as taught, so that he may be able to give instruction in sound doctrine and also to rebuke those who contradict it.” It is every pastor’s job to correct doctrinal error, particularly in the central issues of the faith. When a pastor actually promotes doctrinal error, this is particularly serious. And it puts a heavy responsibility on other pastors, who understandably don’t want to appear to be critical, to correct and refute doctrinal heresy.

It grieves me how many people are reading Rob Bell’s book and books such as The Shack (where universalism is not explicit but clearly flirted with) and other writings contradicted by Scripture, whose pastors don’t consider it their job to enter into controversy. We have elevated tolerance over sound doctrine, and appearing to be nice, over being truthful. As Jesus was, we should be full of grace and truth, not choose one over the other.

We dare not act as though love demands we be quiet about the truth. In fact, Scripture calls upon us to speak the truth in love (Ephesians 4:15). I would encourage all pastors to address this issue. Consider going to your pastor and asking him to preach about the biblical doctrine of Hell in light of all the fuzzy thinking on this issue that is out there, and has been galvanized through Bell’s book. (Fifteen years apart, I spent hours in dialogue, citing passage after passage, to two different highly influential former pastors, each of whose books have sold millions of copies to evangelical Christians. Both of these men gradually became universalists, and they believe most of what Bell is now teaching; perhaps one of them influenced him, I don’t know.)

It is not loving to be silent when people are told the lie that they need not turn to Christ in this lifetime to be saved from their sins. If people believe that there is no Hell, or that they cannot end up in Hell, or that Hell is not their default and fully deserved destination, then it virtually guarantees they will end up in the Hell that Rob Bell doesn’t believe in.

In the final day no one will stand before me in judgment. No one will stand before Rob Bell in judgment. We will all stand before Jesus in judgment. And it is His view of Hell, not mine or Rob Bell’s, that will be proven, forever, to be true.

If Rob Bell is right and there isn’t an eternal Hell, or no one will end up there, then Jesus made a terrible mistake. And if we cannot trust Jesus in His teaching about Hell, why should we trust anything He said, including His offer of salvation?

We may pride ourselves in thinking we are too loving to believe in Hell. But in saying this, we blaspheme, for we claim to be more loving than Jesus—more loving than the One who with outrageous love took upon himself the full penalty for our sin.

Who are we to think we are better than Jesus?

Or that when it comes to Hell, or anything else, we know better than He does?

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[1] C. S. Lewis, Letters to Malcolm (Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2002), 76.

[2] Dorothy Sayers, Introductory Papers on Dante (London: Methuen, 1954), 44.

[3] Bertrand Russell, Why I Am Not a Christian (New York: Simon & Schuster, 1957), 17.

[4] C. S. Lewis, The Problem of Pain (New York: Macmillan, 1962), 118.