Why I Preach from the Received Text: An Anthology of Essays by Reformed Ministers

Edited by Jeffrey T. Riddle and Christian M. McShaffrey

Though used by the church for centuries, the traditional text of the Bible and translations based upon it are presently being jettisoned in favor of an unstable and constantly evolving modern critical text resulting in an undermining of the authority of God’s Word. In light of this, Why I Preach from the Received Text seeks to stimulate, revive, confirm, and defend intelligent and effective usage of the traditional text of the Word of God.

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Endorsements

“I recommend this book as I believe it takes seriously the vital warnings which God gives us all at the close of the Book of Revelation, in chapter 22 verses 18 and 19. Here, we are told by God that we must not add to the Bible nor must we subtract from it. If we do either the one or the other God will punish us severely. The Bible, the whole Bible and nothing but the Bible is God’s inspired revelation to mankind. This we should believe and by this rule should we live. It is in this way that we shall honour and glorify God. Only in this way shall we be living as God requires us all to live.”

Maurice Roberts, Retired Editor, The Banner of Truth Magazine

“Has God providentially preserved His Holy Word? The answer in this book is a resounding “Yes!” and is convincingly explained and defended in many essays by pastor-scholars who hold to the Traditional Text of Scripture. This book is the clarion call for the church to return to the text that has sustained Christianity and preserved truth for centuries – the Traditional, or Ecclesiastical text. This book is also a warning that by using an impoverished translation of Scripture, weak preaching and bad theology will result. A must-read for every pastor committed to truth.”

Dr. James E. Bearss, Professor, Seminario Reformado Latinoamericano, President, On Target Ministry

The “house of the Lord” (Psalm 27:4) has always been the best place to do theology. More valuable than a seminary’s clinical evaluation of Scriptural texts, this anthology contains multiple compelling cases for the superiority of the Received Text set in a doxological context. With confessional pre-commitments firmly in place, within these pages the reader will appreciate how historic, orthodox Protestant theology and apologetics is properly formulated. This volume reinforces the argument for the superiority of the Received Text and challenges the interlocular to reconsider the pusillanimous expressions of the historical critical method. Written to both edify and inform, I heartily recommend it.

Dr. Peter Van Kleeck, Sr., Pastor, Providence Baptist Church (Manassas, Virginia), Former Director, Institute for Biblical and Textual Studies (Grand Rapids, Michigan)

Editors

Jeffrey T. Riddle (B.A. Wake Forest University; M.Div. Southern Baptist Theological Seminary; Ph.D. Union Presbyterian Seminary) hosts the podcast Word Magazine and is the Pastor of Christ Reformed Baptist Church in Louisa, Virginia. He resides in North Garden, Virginia, with his wife Llewellyn and the younger of their five children.

Christian M. McShaffrey (Undergraduate studies University of St. Francis; Dipl. Worsham College of Mortuary Science; M.Div. Mid-America Reformed Seminary) serves as the Stated Clerk of the Presbytery of Wisconsin and Minnesota of the Orthodox Presbyterian Church and is the Pastor of Five Solas Church in Reedsburg, Wisconsin, where he resides with his wife and the younger of their six children.

Contributors

Archibald A. Allison (B.A. Hillsdale College; M.Div. Theological College of the Canadian Reformed Churches and Bethel OPC) serves as Secretary of the Committee on Christian Education of the Orthodox Presbyterian Church, Secretary of the Board of Trustees of Great Commission Publications, Stated Clerk of the Presbytery of the Dakotas, and the Pastor of Emmaus OPC in Fort Collins, Colorado, where he resides with his wife and five children.

Jonathan D. Arnold (studied at the London Reformed Baptist Seminary; LLB Hons. Open University, Milton Keynes) is the General Secretary of the Trinitarian Bible Society and is Pastor of Westminster Baptist Church in London, England, where he resides with his wife.

Doug Barger (B.A. International Business College; Dipl. Business Management Ivy Tech University, student at London Reformed Baptist Seminary) is founder of Particular Baptist Heritage Books and serves as Pastor of Christ Reformed Baptist Church in New Castle, Indiana, where he resides with his wife and three children.

Gavin Beers (Dipl. Free Church Seminary) is the Pastor of Corner-stone Presbyterian Church, North American Presbytery of the Free Church (Continuing) in Burlington, North Carolina, where he resides with his wife and six children.

Poul de Gier (B.Sc. The King’s University of Edmonton) is an Elder and main teacher/preacher at Grace Fellowship Church in Ponoka, Alberta, Canada, where he resides on a dairy farm with his wife and four children.

Tanner Dikin (Undergraduate studies, Boyce College) hosts the Sixth Church Podcast and is the Pastor of Open Door Baptist Church in Mayfield, Kentucky. He resides in Symsonia, Kentucky.

William O. Einwechter (B.A. Washington Bible College; Th.M. Capital Bible Seminary) is a teaching elder at Immanuel Free Reformed Church in Stevens, Pennsylvania. He is the author of “English Bible Translations: By What Standard?” He and his wife Linda are the parents of ten children.

Brent Evans (B.S. University of Connecticut; M.Div. Reformed Theological Seminary) is the Pastor of Reformation Presbyterian Church, Free Church of Scotland (Continuing) in Snellville, Georgia, and resides in the area with his wife and three children.

Philip Gardiner (B.Sc. University of Ulster; Dipl. Whitefield College of the Bible, Northern Ireland) is Pastor of Perth Free Presbyterian Church in Western Australia, where he lives with his wife and their two daughters.

Dane Johannsson (undergraduate studies Moody Bible Institute, and ongoing study with Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary) planted Agros Reformed Baptist Church in Mesa, Arizona and currently serves as pastoral intern at Reformation Orthodox Presbyterian Church in Apache Junction, Arizona. He and his wife have three children.

Howie W. Owen Jones (B.A. Trinity Western University; M.B.A. Royal Roads University) is a small business owner and Deacon at Surrey Reformed Baptist Church in British Columbia, Canada, where he resides with his wife and the youngest of their four children.

Trevor Kirkland (B.A. Hons., Dip.Th.) is Assistant Editor of The Witness, Board Member of the Trinitarian Bible Society (Canada and Australia), lecturer in Church History and Principles, and Pastor of the Ballyclare & Doagh Free Church (Continuing), where he resides with his wife. He has four children and three grandchildren.

Brett Mahlen (B.A. Colorado State University; M.Div. Westminster Theological Seminary; S.T.M. Trinity School for Ministry; D.Min. Reformed Presbyterian Theological Seminary) teaches at Divine Hope Reformed Bible Seminary and is associate Pastor of Covenant Orthodox Presbyterian Church in Orland Park, Illinois, where he resides with his wife and daughter.

Robert McCurley (B.Div., Th.M. Greenville Presbyterian Theological Seminary) is an editor of The Master’s Trumpet, overseeing director of Grange Press, and serves as Pastor of Greenville Presbyterian Church, Free Church of Scotland (Continuing) in Greenville, South Carolina, where he resides with his wife and five children.

Christian M. McShaffrey (Undergraduate studies University of St. Francis; Dipl. Worsham College of Mortuary Science; M.Div. Mid-America Reformed Seminary) serves as the Stated Clerk of the Presbytery of Wisconsin and Minnesota of the Orthodox Presbyterian Church and is the Pastor of Five Solas Church in Reedsburg, Wisconsin, where he resides with his wife and six children.

D. Scott Meadows (B.S.E.E. West Virginia Institute of Technology; M.A. Atlantic Baptist Bible College), author, editor, conference speaker, and Pastor of Calvary Baptist Church of Exeter, New Hampshire, where he resides with his wife.

Pooyan Mehrshahi (B.Sc. Computer Science, Dipl. Pastoral Theology Whitefield College of the Bible, Northern Ireland) is chairman of Parsa Trust (an Iranian Reformed ministry), leading the Persian Bible translation project with the Trinitarian Bible Society, a lecturer and trustee at Salisbury Reformed Seminary, and Pastor of Providence Baptist Chapel, Cheltenham, UK, where he resides with his wife Becky and four children.

Mark L.R. Mullins (B.A. in Economics, University of Durham; Diploma in Law, University of Westminster) practices as a criminal barrister in London and is the minister of Strangers Rest Evangelical Church, a Reformed Church in Shadwell, East London. Mark is also a trustee of Christian Watch and on the Council of the Protestant Alliance.

Christopher Myers (B.S. James Madison University; M.Div. Liberty Theological Seminary) is the Pastor of Phoenix Reformed Presbyterian Church (Reformed Presbyterian Church of North America) and resides in Glendale, Arizona, with his wife and four children.

Jeffrey T. Riddle (B.A. Wake Forest University; M.Div. Southern Baptist Theological Seminary; Ph.D. Union Presbyterian Seminary) hosts the podcast Word Magazine and is the Pastor of Christ Reformed Baptist Church in Louisa, Virginia. He resides in North Garden, Virginia, with his wife Llewellyn and the younger of his five children.

Christopher Sheffield (B.B.S. Moody Bible Institute) has served as Pastor of Grace Reformed Baptist Church of Rocky Mount, North Carolina since 2013. He also serves on the Board of Directors for Covenant Baptist Theological Seminary in Owensboro, Kentucky. He and his wife Cynthia have been married since 2003 and have six children.

John Thackway (Dipl. Bible Training Institute, Glasgow Scotland) is minister of Emmanuel Church, Salisbury, UK, editor of the Bible League Quarterly, Vice-Chairman of the General Committee of the Trinitarian Bible Society, trustee and lecturer at the Salisbury Reformed Seminary. He is married to Margaret, and they have four children and seven grandchildren.

Robert Truelove is Pastor of Christ Reformed Church in Lawrenceville, Georgia. He and his wife Patricia have four children.

J.D. “Doc” Watson (D.R.E. Florida Institute of Biblical Studies; Th.D. Golden State School of Theology) has authored sixteen books, edits the bi-monthly publication Truth on Tough Texts, serves on the board of the Institute for Biblical Textual Studies, and is the Pastor of Grace Bible Church in Meeker, Colorado, where he resides with his wife.

Joshua White (B.S. Liberty University; M.C.M. Wayland Baptist University) is the editor of The Sovereign Grace Messenger website, a board member of the Church Assistance Committee with the Sovereign Grace Baptist Fellowship, and Pastor of Reformed Baptist Church of Elizabethtown, Kentucky, where he resides with his wife of twenty years and their four children.


Contents

Editorial Introduction (Jeffrey T. Riddle & Christian M. McShaffrey)
1. Infallible Truth, Not Probability (Arichibald Allison)
2. Is There Such a Thing as an Authentic Text? (Jonathan D. Arnold)
3. God’s Word as Creation (Doug Barger)
4. From Atheism to the Authorized Version (Gavin Beers)
5. The Text of the Church (Poul de Gier)
6. Promise and Faith (Tanner Dikin)
7. John Owen’s Defense of the Received Text (William O. Einwechter)
8. Preaching in the Name of the Amen (Brent C. Evans)
9. Should We Use Those Proof Texts? (Philip Gardner)
10. The Reformed Christian’s Text (Dane Johannsson)
11. Perspectives from the Pew (Howie W. Owen Jones)
12. Why I Read and Preach from the TR and AV (Trevor Kirkland)
13. Hank, James, and Me: My Journey to the Received Text (Brett Mahlen)
14. Scripture Identified Scripture (Robert McCurley)
15. From Certainty, to Doubt, and Back Again (Christian M. McShaffrey)
16. Why? It’s the Word of God! (D. Scott Meadows)
17. The Christian Bible Can Be Trusted (Pooyan Mehrshahi)
18. My Journey to the Received Text (Mark L. R. Mullins)
19. The Invincible Word (Christopher Myers)
20. Train Up a Child (Jeffrey T. Riddle)
21. God’s Honor, Christ’s Glory, and the Church’s Good (Christopher Sheffield)
22. The Absurdity of Modern Textual Criticism (John Thackway)
23. The Received Text is the Canonical Text (Robert Truelove)
24. The Approach, Attack, and Animosity of Modern Textual Criticism (J. D. “Doc” Watson)
25. Why Advocate for the Received Text? (Joshua White)
Appendix: Steps Toward Change in Your Church (Jeffrey T. Riddle & Christian M. McShaffrey)
A Select Annotated Bibliography

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