The Doctrine of the Preservation of the Word of God

by Rev. José Luis Torres

The Word of God, the Bible, is the target of attack of Satan and his infernal hosts. Since the day when man first trod the earthly soil until today, Satan has perpetrated a reckless attack against the Word of God in a thousand and one clever ways. He has attacked from within and from without; throwing darts of doubt at the heart of the unstable, and corrupting the mind of the naive in liberal and modernist seminaries and pseudo intellectual institutions.

From without, he has used materialism, humanism, existentialism, atheism; by people who never claimed to be religious, like Roman emperors at the beginning of the Christian era; and like Voltaire, Marx, Lenin, Engels, Bertrand Russell, in more recent times. The Bible was also attacked by religious people and institutions, like the Catholic Church, who in God's name, put out the life of thousands of innocent people for the sole sin of wanting to set their eyes on the pages of a copy of the Bible in the common language, and not the authorized Latin Vulgate, which was only read and understood by the elite clergy. All of this, against a clear command of our Lord Jesus Christ to search the Scriptures (John 5:39).

Praise the Lord! His Word has endued the most vicious attacks, and stood the most furious trials. Its contents is still proven to be the only book capable of transforming (not just reforming) the human being; and continues to bringing the human heart under conviction, and to be the source of hope to those burdened by the trials and tribulations of life. The Bible continues to have power.

Do we have the Word of God today? Is there a divine revelation in a written form today? Does this revelation reaches out to all nations, in all ages, or is it limited in a discriminatory way to a nation, in one language, in one age? How can we be sure that the most beloved book that Spanish believers hold in their hand, known as the Reina-Valera Bible, is truly the Word of God?

The answer to all these, and other related questions, can be swiftly dismissed with only one answer: With a resounding Yes! And the reason for such a statement is simply because of the doctrine of the Preservation of the Word of God.

What this doctrine teaches, and how it extends to the Reina-Valera Bible is the aim of the present article.

What does the Bible say about itself? What would its extent be, and how far would its influence reach? What basis do we have to claim that the Reina-Valera, in its "Antigua Version de 1909" (1909 old version), or the "Revisión de 1960" (1960 revision), is the Word of God for the Spanish speaking world in 1994? We can know so because of the character of the Bible itself, the character of God, the character of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the character of those who receive and those who reject the Reina-Valera. Let's analyze each one of these points.

I. We know we have the Bible, the Word of God, because of the Character of the Bible itself.

God assures us that His Word is established, immovable in heaven for ever. In Psalm 119:89 we read: For ever, O Lord, thy word is settled in heaven. The word "settled", comes from the Hebrew verb natseb which means to affirm, to sharpen, to establish. The idea is that the Word of God has been established in heaven, and therefore, cannot be removed, torn down, or be contaminated. The following verses to verse 89 confirm why the Word of God is well established in heaven:

1. Because of God's faithfulness (v. 90). Thy faithfulness is unto all generations: thou hast

established the earth, and it abideth.

2. Because it is one of God's commands (v.91). They continue this day according to thine ordinances: for all are thy servants.

3. Because God quickens man with it (vv. 92,93). Unless thy law had been my delight, I should then have perished in mine affliction. I will never forget thy precepts: for with them thou hast quickened me.

4. Because God saves those who seek His commandments (vv. 94,95). I am thine, save me; for I have sought thy precepts. The wicked have waited for me to destroy me; but I will consider thy testimonies.

5. Because God promise indestructibility on His Word (v. 96). I have seen an end of all perfection: but thy commandment is exceeding broad.

II. We know we have the Bible, because of God's character.

The attributes of God describe who God is and what kind of character He has. The Word of God in Spanish remains because of the attributes of God:

1. The omniscience of God. God authored the Bible, and He guided the translators to transmit His message. Every word used by the translators convey the same message than the originals. In contrast, the enemies of the Reina-Valera, ignore the meaning of the words in Spanish. For instance, in Romans 6:23, they want the Spanish Bible to say: el salario del pecado es muerte (the salary -wages- of sin is death), attempting to make it sound more like the English version; but ignoring that the word paga ("reward" in English, instead of salario) doctrinally fits better the context and the overall teaching of the Bible.

2. The justice of God. Or else, how could God judge such a numerous Spanish people in the Great White Throne of Judgment, if they were never able to know His statutes?

3. The love of God. Because He would not let the same people, for over 400 years, (being Spanish the third most spoken language in the world, with over 500 million people speaking it), without having access to the uncontaminated Word of God; since the Reina-Valera was first translated until today, if He really only gave His Word to one people, in one language, for the same length of time.

4. The truth of God. For God has said (in Spanish also): Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away (Matthew 24:35). If the Word of God remains perfect only in English today, and since He promised that His promises were for all people and nations: For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call (Acts 2:39); and since there have been, obviously, several periods of time in history where there has not been a Bible in English; then God is not true, but a liar. But, since God is true, and His Word has always been, in more than one language at a time; then the Bible exists today, not only in Hebrew, Greek and English, but in Spanish also, in its uncorrupted Reina-Valera version. Let God be true, but every man a liar! (Rom 3:4).

5. The omnipotence of God, otherwise, He would not be able to preserve His Word in more than language at a time.

6. The wisdom of God, for God is not so ignorant, as the attackers of the Reina-Valera would have us believe, to expect that non English speaking people would understand the English Bible.

7. The mercy of God, otherwise, how could Mrs. Elba Aguilera de Torres (my mother) realize she was a sinner, and understand that only Jesus could save her, when she first attended a Christian service at Primera Iglesia Bautista (the First Baptist Church) in Mexico city, and be lead to receive Him as her personal Savior, thus leaving the Catholic

Church?; and how a couple of years later the youngest of her sons, at the age of nine, brought under conviction for his sin by the Holy Spirit, was moved too to be saved; and then later, at the age of seventeen, feel the call of God to preach the same book with which he was saved; and for the last three years, devote his time to proclaim and to defend the truths contained in this book, by means of the present publication?

8. And, just like these "poor Spanish speaking people," millions and millions of people in the whole world, and in all centuries of this Christian era, have been saved through the same preserved Word in Spanish, because of the mercy and grace of God!

9. The inmutability of God, because if He promised something (to give us His Word), but later He changed His mind, then He is unstable. Rather, For I am the Lord, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed. (Malachi 3:6).

10. The sovereignty of God, because He decided since past eternity, to establish His Word, and to preserve it, through all generations; and therefore, has no need for a fly, or a flea, or any other insignificant creature, including men (whether Hispanic or Anglo-American), to decide for Him, when He would give us "poor Spanish speaking people" His Word, or how it should read in such and such a verse, or even from what texts it should be translated into Spanish!

11. The eternity of God, for His Word would have to transcend all barriers of time, and reach all generations.

12. The immensity of God, for His Word would transcend all boundaries of space, for the benefit of all peoples.

13. The holiness of God, for His Word could not be called Santa Biblia (Holy Bible), if He let it be contaminated and corrupted.

14. The faithfulness of God, for God is faithful to himself (2 Tim 2:13), to His Word (Heb 11:11), and His people (1 Cor 1:9); and that people includes the Hispanics saved by the grace of Christ.

15. The Self-Existence of God, for God is Jehovah, Yehwah, the I AM, and Jesus is the I AM, God's Word incarnate, that abides for ever (Hebrews 13:8); and if the I AM has ever ceased to be some time, He would not be God. But, since He is God, the I AM, He can be the I AM, in more than one language, and to more than one people at a time.

16. The omnipresence of God, for God could not be in the midst of a people who praise Him, and follow the statutes of a polluted book; a book presenting a distorted message. Nevertheless, He abides in the midst of His Spanish people (Mat 18:20) who gathers together in His name, and raises its praises to Him (Ps 22:3).

17. Of course, these are not the only attributes of God, but this brief list barely shows that the preservation of God's Word lies unquestionably on His character. Is God, or is He not, God?

III. We know we have the Bible, because of Christ's character.

The same attributes of God are of Christ also, for He is the eternal God. However, when Jesus was on earth, the following promises came out of His own lips:

1. Jesus' words will not pass away. In Matthew 24:35; Mark 13:31; and in Luke 21:33, Jesus states: Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away. Three times in the New Testament are the same words recorded, so that from the mouth of three witnesses this promise is established (Dt 19:15). Is Jesus a liar? If you are one of those presumptuous Anglo-Americans (for not all Anglo-Americans are presumptuous), who discriminate other nationalities, you would say: "Yeah, but Jesus said that meaning my King James Bible" O yeah?, How, then, I found out about this promise? How did I learn it? Certainly not from the King James Bible, but from my Reina-Valera Bible!

2. Jesus' words will judge those who reject them. If you cannot receive Jesus' words in

Spanish, as they are recorded in the Reina-Valera, then listen to what awaits you, according to John 12:48: 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. (By the way the verses quoted in here are from the King James, so that the English reader will understand them, but those same words are in the Spanish Bible).

3. Jesus had respect for the Word of God. He said: Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled (Mat 5:17,18). Many things of the law (the Word of God) have not yet been fulfilled; therefore, His word must have been in more than one language, during all these centuries, for the law to be fulfilled. I find hard to believe that God would have to wait for a group of presumptuous "gringos", to come along and give us, Hispanic people, the Word of God till the latter times. Jesus believed the Bible and had respect for it, is it stupidity on the Spanish people's part to do likewise today?

The Bible itself tells us, besides the already quoted passages, the following:

Psalm 119:160 Thy word is true from the beginning: and every one of thy righteous judgments endureth for ever.

Isaiah 40:8 The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever.

Psalm 19:7 The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple.

1 Peter 1:24,25 For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass, The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away: But the word of the Lord endureth for ever. And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you.

The Bible is worthy of trust. I am a man, I am fallible, but the Word of God is not. Do not believe me! Believe what the Bible says! I do not know how anybody can say that the Reina-Valera is not the preserved uncontaminated Word of God, in light of these passages.

IV. We know we have the Bible, because of the character of those who reject and those who receive the Reina-Valera.

The Word of God is the firing furnace that trials the words of men. "Let God be true, and every man a liar." Let's allow the Bible prove the character of those who defend it and believe in it; and of those who attack it, criticized it, do not believe in it, and do not put it into practice.

The book of James prescribes the best way to know if a person is really saved or not, if he really is a Christian or not:

1. First of all, in James 1:22 we are admonished to be doers of the Word, and not hearers only. If you examine the private life of those who attack the Bible (in any language), and those who defend it, you will find that their fruits will testify for them. Those who believe in the Reina-Valera Bible, preach it, live it, have delight in having their personal devotions from it, and win souls with it. Just ask those who attack the Bible if they do the same; and I do not mean with the Reina-Valera, but with any Bible. The fastest growing churches in California are Spanish churches that use the Reina-Valera. The fastest growing Baptist churches in the Spanish speaking world, are churches using the Reina-Valera. Many a person, willingly ignore because they are so blinded with the greatness of their nationality, their language, and their country of the churches in Central and South America with thousands; Yes!, thousands of members (and growing).in El Salvador, in Nicaragua,, in Mexico, in Costa Rica, etc., etc., souls are being saved, and churches are being built with the Reina-Valera Bible. Why would God want to use a corrupt Bible?

2. Secondly, James 1:26 says that: If any man among you seem to be religious, and bridleth not his tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, this man's religion is vain. He who has the audacity to say that Casiodoro de Reina and Cipriano de Valera were Catholic monks, and that they translated their Bible from the Latin Vulgate, are people who bridle not their tongue, and are being deceived by their own heart. To say without giving all the facts that those men were Catholic monks, without saying that the San Isidoro Convent, near Seville, Spain, was a haven of New Testament believers, and a refuge for the translators of the Bible; and that because of that, the Spanish Inquisition closed it down, causing a martyr's death on many of them, including Julianillo de Hernández, the famous little (in stature, yet big in God's eyes) Bible and New Testament clandestine distributor, but that providentially, Casiodoro de Reina was able to escape, along with his translation partner, Cipriano de Valera; is to be a liar and not to bridle his tongue. Not to say that Casiodoro de Reina and Cipriano de Valera were monks, just as Erasmus, Luther, Melancthon, and many other Anabaptist heroes were in the XVI century, before they were saved, is not to bridle his tongue and to lie against the truth. To say that the Reina-Valera translators utilized the Vulgate, and not to say that every Bible translator in the XVI and XVII centuries did, including the Anglican King James Bible translators, since the original 1611 KJV had the Apocrypha in it, just like the Catholic Vulgate; and even, not to say that Erasmus himself, to edit his Textus Receptus, (the base text of the KJV, as well as the RV), translated into Greek from the Vulgate, those passages in the New Testament for which he could not find a Greek MS, is to lie and not to bridle his tongue.

3. Thirdly, James 2:14,17 states: What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him? Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone. Works, works, works! Works is the evidence of faith. The so called faith, of someone having no works, is no faith at all; and therefore, it cannot save him. I find hard to call someone "brother" who, knowingly or out of ignorance (ignorance is no excuse - Lev 5:17), shows a dead faith in attacking, without mercy, a Bible, just because it does not conform to other version in his language, as he thinks it should. Once again, the fruit (and the lack of it of those rejecting the Reina-Valera), the saved souls of those believing the Reina-Valera, are the firing test of credibility in the Reina-Valera as the Word of God.

These Anglo-Americans, frequently referred to in this present edition of APOLOGIA, have given themselves to the never ending task of comparing several versions of the Bible, in also never ending number of verses (usually, those that fit their purpose). They do not quote authorities, nor scholars, nor the sources of History; they just have the audacity to propose themselves as the final authority, wishing perhaps to be the Tyndales, the Enzinas of our time. (This same group of men invited me to work for them with that very promise; namely: to be the Enzinas of our time).

We can debate, quote sources, compare texts, shout, kick, name call, offend and be offended, accuse, and say all we want; but the fact remains: Is God, or is he not, able to preserve His Word? Say He is not to my mother, who went to heaven in 1984 for putting her faith in the person of Christ, who was preached to her from a Reina-Valera. Say He is not to that illiterate lady, who with tears running down her cheeks, came forward last Sunday in my church, in response to the invitation to be saved, as a result of my preaching from the Reina-Valera. Say He is not to my son Barak, who is barely two years of age, whom I tell he has to behave, because God says in His Word (the Reina-Valera Bible), that God does not like disobedience. Say He is not to those Chiapas Mexican Indian believers in Southern Mexico, who right now are suffering persecution from the Catholic people, instigated by the Catholic priest. Indians who have even died for believing a Gospel that was preached to them from a

Reina-Valera Bible. Say He is not to Jesus, when in the Great White Throne of Judgment, or in the BEMA seat of Christ, you will have to explain why you had the audacity to say that the Reina-Valera was not reliable, was corrupt, and polluted, and was the work of Catholic monks from the Latin Vulgate. May God have mercy on your soul!

The same passages utilized by the Reina-Valera haters, to justify their audacity, their irreverence, and lack of respect towards the Word of God, by changing the words God lead Spirit filled men to write in Spanish, are the same passages that condemn them for tampering with the Most Holy Word of God:

1. Deuteronomy 4:2 Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall ye diminish aught from it, that ye may keep the commandments of the Lord your God which I command you.

2. Proverbs 30:5,6 Every word of God is pure: he is a shield unto them that put their trust in him. Add thou not unto his words, lest he reprove thee, and thou be found a liar.

3. Revelation 22:18,19 For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book: And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.

This is a threefold witness against those who put in or take out of the Word of God. What an audacity! What a sentence!

Blessed be Jehovah, our God, who has loved us so much, that He has given us the joy of knowing His Son Jesus Christ through His Word; the uncontaminated, unfolding, preserved Reina -Valera version of the Bible!