29 April 2025
Ken F. Miller
Why this book and ministry?
The Holy Spirit has been working in my heart and life for over 30 years in developing my book Understanding the Doctrine of Christ according to Hebrews 5:12-14 & Hebrews 6:1-20 (due out in August 2025), as well as, developing a ministry for teaching the Word of God (Bible) by developing a “Big Picture” of what God is saying in His Word instead of “cherry picking” what we want for our version of the scripture to be. This “cherry picking” has become so common and out of control that there are now hundreds if not thousands of religious denominations worldwide. This problem does not stop here we have extended it to writing our own version of the Bible.
Here is an article by Samuel Farag I found on the Internet (Note, I have highlighted parts for emphasis.)
5 Bible Translations You Should Avoid
by Samuel Farag, Aug 24, 2019
DIFFERENT KINDS OF TRANSLATIONS
Did you know there are over 450 translations of the Bible in the English language alone? Although most of these translations are not in wide use today, some are commonly used and unfortunately many fail to accurately and faithfully preserve the Word of God.
The following translations listed below should be avoided altogether, as utilizing them can lead to grave theological errors, the teaching of a radically different gospel, and a counterfeit Jesus.
An overwhelming number of these translations suffer from the strong bias of an unfaithful group of translators. They attempt to validate their erroneous theological claims by editing the Bible as they see fit.
Other translations have just one translator, thereby single-handedly taking on a role that is meant for a diverse team of renowned biblical translators of various denominations. Some simply cut out sections of the Bible altogether or add ideas that were never in the original manuscripts.
Bible translations are usually broken down into three major categories: Word-for-word or Formal Equivalence, Thought-for-Thought or Dynamic Equivalence, and Paraphrase.
Word-for-word is a more literal translation of the original language used and puts more of the onus on the reader to discover the intended meaning of the author.
Thought-for-thought presents the intended meaning of the author, which the original audience would have understood during the time the writing was originally created. Therefore, readers put a great deal more faith in the translators, as they are trusting their interpretation.
Paraphrase is often written by a single author who “translates” the Bible in their own words, sometimes not even using the original biblical languages as a foundation.
Bible translations will vary between these three categories and it is important to know which translation falls into which category, along with other attributes that will make the translation either a faithful representation of the original, infallible, and inerrant Word of God or a misleading book posing as a Bible.
TRANSLATIONS TO AVOID USING FOR ANY PERSONAL BIBLE STUDY
When studying the Word of God, one needs an authentic representation of the original autographs (the original manuscript of each of the 66 books of the Bible) while avoiding sources that would distort the original message from God. The following is a list of “Bible” translations that should be avoided for any real and faithful personal Bible study (in a separate article we will look at a list of Bible translations that are encouraged for use).
1) The Message (MSG) – This translation is a paraphrase by Eugene Peterson. It is specifically targeted toward U.S. English speakers with its use of American contemporary slang. The Message’s technique in translating the original text is so casual in its approach that NavPress, publisher of The Message, says, “It’s not meant to replace your current version of choice. Rather, it is designed as a reading Bible that can give you a fresh perspective on a familiar phrase or passage.”
Even the publisher of The Message realizes this paraphrase cannot replace a faithful Bible translation, and I would argue further that it has the potential to ultimately mislead. Peterson’s lax handling of the Word of God results in stifled messages that are far less impactful than the original God-breathed directive. This mistreatment of Scripture can be seen in his misuse of passages such as 1 Corinthians 6:9-10.
Translation Comparison – 1 Corinthians 6:9-10
The Message (MSG): Don’t you realize that this is not the way to live? Unjust people who don’t care about God will not be joining in his kingdom. Those who use and abuse each other, use and abuse sex, use and abuse the earth and everything in it, don’t qualify as citizens in God’s kingdom.
English Standard Version (ESV): Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.
2) The Passion Translation (TPT) – This is another paraphrase translation like The Message. The Passion is the work of sole translator, Brian Simmons, whose work has been heavily critiqued by the scholarly world.
One such critic is biblical scholar and translator, Andrew G. Shead, who said in his article, Burning Scripture with Passion: A Review of The Psalms (The Passion Translation), that Simmons abandons “all interest in textual accuracy, playing fast and loose with the original languages, and inserting so much new material into the text that it is at least 50% longer than the original.
“The result is a strongly sectarian translation that no longer counts as Scripture; by masquerading as a Bible it threatens to bind entire churches in thrall to a false god.” The Passion Translation is even promoted by churches that share Simmons’ own theology (for example removing rebuking and correcting from 2 Timothy 4:2).
One of those churches is the enormously popular Bethel Church (for a deeper look at Bethel’s unorthodox heretical practices and their use of The Passion Translation, see my article, Bethel’s False Gospel).
Translation Comparison – 2 Timothy 4:2
The Passion Translation (TPT): proclaim the Word of God and stand upon it no matter what! Rise to the occasion and preach when it is convenient and when it is not. Preach in the full expression of the Holy Spirit—with wisdom and patience as you instruct and teach the people.
English Standard Version (ESV): preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching.
3) The Living Bible (TLB) – First published in 1971, The Living Bible is another paraphrase translation by sole translator, Kenneth Taylor. However, Taylor does not follow the typical biblical translation process of using the original language manuscripts to create his translation. He instead uses the 1901 American Standard Version as his foundation.
Taylor’s lack of understanding of Hebrew and Greek and absent use of the original manuscripts has led to disingenuous passages and verses such as his translation of John 12:15. A word-for-word translation like the ESV translates this as “Fear not, daughter of Zion; behold, your king is coming, sitting on a donkey’s colt!”
The Living Bible translates this as, “Don’t be afraid of your King, people of Israel, for he will come to you meekly, sitting on a donkey’s colt!” Taylor’s use of “don’t be afraid” is evidence that he does not realize that the common Hebrew expression of “fear not” means to “have confidence.”
Taylor also inserts his own ideas into the passage, adding that Jesus will “come to you meekly” which is certainly not part of the original Greek manuscript. Taylor’s bias also leads to omitting text in key passages that do not fit his Arminian worldview, such as his deceptive repackaging of Acts 4:27-28, Acts 13:48, and Romans 8:28-29. (To get more detail on The Living Bible, see Michael Marlowe’s detailed review here on bible-researcher.com).
Translation Comparison – Acts 13:48
The Living Bible (TLB): When the Gentiles heard this, they were very glad and rejoiced in Paul’s message; and as many as wanted eternal life, believed.
English Standard Version (ESV): And when the Gentiles heard this, they began rejoicing and glorifying the word of the Lord, and as many as were appointed to eternal life believed.
4) Good News Translation (GNT) – Also known as the Good News Bible (GNB), the GNT was created by the American Bible Society as a translation that would be simple enough for anyone to easily pick up and understand, including individuals learning the English language and children. The simplicity of the English used in this translation has made it a popular choice for evangelists; it was even used at Billy Graham crusades. However, despite this attractive feature, it is not a translation that should be used for the seriousness of Bible study, as the simplistic use of English in the Good News Translation has come at a price. Many dangerous theological errors are found throughout the GNT, including distortions of the divinity of Christ, removing references to Jesus’ blood, misrepresentations of Jesus’ virgin birth, removing references to hell, salvation being distorted, etc. The cost of theological confusion is too great a price to pay to rely on this version of the Bible as a source of truth.
Translation Comparison – Matthew 16:16-18
Good News Translation (GNT): Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”
“Good for you, Simon son of John!” answered Jesus. “For this truth did not come to you from any human being, but it was given to you directly by my Father in heaven. And so I tell you, Peter: you are a rock, and on this rock foundation I will build my church, and not even death will ever be able to overcome it.
English Standard Version (ESV): Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
5) Contemporary English Version (CEV) – This translation is another work by the American Bible Society, commonly referred to as the Bible for Today’s Family. The CEV uses an even more simplified version of English than the GNT. Again, the attempt to make a translation that is simple for anyone comes at the cost of containing misleading text, such as claiming the Holy Spirit actually replaces Jesus (John 14:26) and gender-neutralizing Paul’s instructions for a pastor (1 Timothy 3:1-5). The translators of the CEV prove their exegetical incompetence with confusing and illogical translations of verses, such as their handling of Acts 9:22. To see additional comparisons other than what is listed below, visit Bible Gateway, where you can view parallel translations of this translation (and any of the other poor translations featured in this article) with the ESV (or any other reliable translation) side by side.
Translation Comparison – 1 Timothy 3:1-5
Contemporary English Version (CEV): It is true that anyone who desires to be a church official wants to be something worthwhile. That’s why officials must have a good reputation and be faithful in marriage. They must be self-controlled, sensible, well-behaved, friendly to strangers, and able to teach. They must not be heavy drinkers or troublemakers. Instead, they must be kind and gentle and not love money. Church officials must be in control of their own families, and they must see that their children are obedient and always respectful. If they don’t know how to control their own families, how can they look after God’s people?
English Standard Version (ESV): The saying is trustworthy: If anyone aspires to the office of overseer, he desires a noble task. Therefore, an overseer must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, sober-minded, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, not a drunkard, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money. He must manage his own household well, with all dignity keeping his children submissive, for if someone does not know how to manage his own household, how will he care for God’s church?
(Dis)Honorable Mention: Two translations that most Christians know to avoid but should still be mentioned are the New World Translation (NWT), which was commissioned by the Jehovah’s Witness cult and the Reader’s Digest Bible, which cuts out about 55% of the Old Testament and another 25% of the New Testament (including Revelation 22:19, which says, “ if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book”).
Instead of using any of these misleading translations, we would do much better to quote the Word of God faithfully, which is perfect and God-breathed, instead of rewording God’s message to include our biases and personal opinions and beliefs.
It’s always better to refer to Scripture than to quote any pastor, preacher, biblical scholar, theological professor, etc., no matter where they are in their walk with Christ. Only the Bible is authoritative and “profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness”, as made clear in 2 Timothy 3:16.
I hope this list has been helpful and will steer you in the right direction as to which Bible translations are profitable for training you up in righteousness. Look for Part 2 of this article, where we will review the top 5 Bible translations to use.
I have a book by Jim Wallis (REDISCOVERING VALUES, On Wall Street, Main Street, and Your Street, a Moral Compass for the New Economy, 2010) he wrote about the economic crisis of 2008-2009. While not a book specifically on Christianity, he does use Christian ethics and philosophy in explaining his wisdom in the financial world, which can be applied to our study very easily. All the points he makes will be used in our study.
“When you start with the wrong question, no matter how good an answer you get, it won’t matter much.
“We need to find where we made our wrong turns and how we got off track; then we need face the truth of what brought on this crisis—even if that truth is uncomfortable and, especially, if some of those answers can be found in the mirror…
“To get out of a destructive cycle, to stop spinning in circles, and to break bad habits, we need a change, a different direction, new habits. When we clear the space of something old, we finally have room for something new. If we clear out the weeds, we can let the new flowers grow.
“The crisis is deep and wide, and to get out, change needs to come from families, communities, and our whole society. These kinds of changes are never quick or easy solutions but, rather, long-term shifts that we must choose and rechoose every day.”
“When you start with the wrong question, no matter how good an answer you get, it won’t matter much…” Think about this statement for a couple of minutes then look at what modern day man has done to God’s Word! Salvation (Eternal Life) is granted by God, ONLY ON HIS TERMS! Modern day man does not want it (Salvation) on God’s terms but on our terms, so what did we do? Cherry Picked His Word and picked out what we want so we could have our own denomination to go to heaven on. Here is what Jesus himself said about that (note that even in the time of the early church they had this denominational problem).
Matthew 15:7-9 (KJV)
- Ye hypocrites, well did Esaias prophesy of you, saying,
- This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me.
- But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.
I was guided, trained, urged, and brought up in the Southern Baptist Denomination to become a pastor. After High School Graduation I had plans to enroll into Seminary but ended up getting married instead. As God would have it, my first wife, being a Disciple of Christ in the Church of Christ, showed me the difference between Denominational and Scriptural Doctrines which led me to becoming a Disciple of Christ and from 1970-1977 I went to Seminary and preached throughout South Alabama.
In 1977 tragedy struck my life when my employer was caught in some illegal business actions and since I had firsthand knowledge of it, I was given a choice to go to prison or into the military. For the next 14 years I was in the military and got out in 1990. From 1977-1990 I got away from the Church but could not escape the Holy Spirit. (This was God’s way of chastising and molding me into being the Christian I am today.)
In 1990 I married Virginia (Ginny) Galloway of Sumter, S.C., on 19 October 2025 we will celebrate 35 years together. I knew I had to get back into church and get my life straight with God. I praise God that He put Ginny in my life because He had plans for her life as well. (I say this a lot as a joke but in many aspects, it is the truth. “He got tired of dealing with me, so He turned me over to Ginny to take over!”).
Instead of going back to the Christian Church (a major mistake on my part) we went to the Baptist Denomination and for 33 years I tried my best to please God but failed miserably. Throughout these years I taught Biblical training classes, Sunday School classes, leader of the brotherhood, sang in the choir and was considered for becoming a Deacon. Ginny worked with the children’s department and led the Children’s Worship Service. After hearing for 33 years, “No Ken, you cannot teach this or that because it is not Baptist Doctrine”, I broke ties with the Baptist in 2023 and we have been worshipping God at Cross Bridge Christian Church, Sumter, S.C. ever since.
The Birth of a Ministry
I did keep all my electronic files and hard copies of all my classes for over 50 years and compiled them into my book, Understanding the Doctrine of Christ according to Hebrews 5:12-14 & Hebrews 6:1-20.
I have purposely and deliberately used as much of the Scripture as I could in explaining and defining certain thoughts and actions of the Apostles in presentation of God’s Word. I have also done the best I could to leave out my opinion as this would have taken away from what God intended to say in His Doctrine.
As I said in the book:
I have created an up-front, concise lesson plan that mirrors scripture, THIS IS NOT an interpretation of scripture, and I want to remind the reader that no study guide is a good substitute for studying the Bible, chewing over the word with a fellow Christian, and praying to God for discernment. There are no substitutes for a relationship with Jesus Christ; only one Testament exists. Should you (and you will) find yourself disagreeing with something in this study the first place to go is Jesus, in prayer, asking for understanding and guidance from the Holy Spirit. The sole purpose of this study is to (1) remove the disillusion of what current-day man wants the Bible to mean and (2) be as a guide to teach the Doctrine of Christ as God originally intended it according to scripture which will automatically guide us into “being perfect in Christ”.
The book is intended to be a “Big Picture” of what God expects us to do in Laying a Foundation for:
Perfection in Christ by Building a Strong Christian Character that will Over Come Indoctrination.
If we let the Holy Spirit do His job and we do our part, we can accomplish these things starting our journey into Spiritual Maturity. The biggest and hardest question that we will answer is “Will I accept the “Doctrine of Christ” to be the primary focus of my new Christian Character?”
What you see/hear/touch/taste/and smell (our 5 senses)
Goes into our mind, which demands a thought;
Every thought demands an action;
Every repeated action creates a habit;
Every habit builds our character;
God will judge every character.
Ken Miller
Hebrews 4:12-13 (KJV)
12 For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
2 Timothy 3:16-17 (KJV)
- All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:
17 That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good
works.
NOTE: Look at these verses from this point of view, since God cannot Lie and being Perfect then it is only logical to conclude that no verse contradicts any other verse also note that every verse in the Bible supports each other in one way or another and finally, God does what He says.
Matthew 15:7-9 (KJV)
- Ye hypocrites, well did Esaias prophesy of you, saying,
- This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me.
- But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.
Matthew 7:21-23 (KJV)
- Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.
- Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?
23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart
from me, ye that work iniquity.
Revelation 22:18-19 (KJV)
- 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.
Any questions or comments please leave them in the comment section.