Unfortunately, in 2020, if you say you only get your doctrine from the King James Bible, you are likely to get some odd looks and even a few laughs.
This is because the word of God has been under attack ever since the beginning of creation, when the serpent made Eve question what God had said. We even see where the Apostle Paul said "For we are not as many, which corrupt the word of God," showing that it was under attack just a few years after Jesus's resurrection. Defending God's word is a continual battle that will never stop, so we must be aware of the corruption around us and keep people from being deceived by it. In addition to this post, you can find more content on this subject on one of our featured posts Why King James Only?
The biggest reason why I say modern English versions of the Bible are so corrupt is because they preach another gospel that adds works. If there were only small, meaningless differences between the King James and the modern versions, it wouldn't be as big a deal to me, but when it is obvious that people's souls are at stake, something needs to be done.
The modern versions being compared to the 1769 King James in this post are the NIV, NKJV, NLT, ESV, and NASB.
The first verse we will go over is 1 Corinthians 1:18, specifically when dealing with assurance of salvation.
(True Christanity) 1 Corinthians 1:18 King James Version (KJV): "For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God."
(Corrupted) 1 Corinthians 1:18 New International Version (NIV): "For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God."
(Corrupted) 1 Corinthians 1:18 New King James Version (NKJV): "For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God."
(Corrupted) 1 Corinthians 1:18 New Living Translation (NLT): "The message of the cross is foolish to those who are headed for destruction! But we who are being saved know it is the very power of God."
(Corrupted) 1 Corinthians 1:18 English Standard Version (ESV): "For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God."
(Corrupted) 1 Corinthians 1:18 New American Standard Bible (NASB): "For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God."
All of the modern versions make salvation seem like a process, giving false prophets opportunities to insert their false doctrine into these passages, when in reality, salvation is an instantaneous event that happens the moment one believes on Jesus Christ alone. In contrast to when the King James makes it clear that the people have already been saved, giving them full assurance of salvation, this "being saved" phrase is both dangerous and damnable because a person can be fooled into thinking that part of their salvation or evidence thereof is a gradual improvement in behavior or repenting of sin. Neither of those are required for or are evidence of salvation. This is further explained in Easy Believism is True and Debunking Lordship Salvation (False Repentance).
Additionally, there are obvious mistakes in the modern versions that could easily be brought up by an unbeliever who wants to prove that the Bible is not God's word.
In Mark 1:2-3, there is a discrepancy between the King James and the modern versions, where the modern versions fail to quote the correct old testament prophet.
(True Christianity) Mark 1:2-3 King James Version (KJV): "2 As it is written in the prophets, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee. 3 The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight."
In this passage, Mark is quoting both Isaiah and Malachi respectively. The quote "Behold, I send my messenger before they face, which shall prepare the way before thee" is from Malachi 3:1.
(True Christianity) Malachi 3:1 King James Version (KJV): "Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, he shall come, saith the LORD of hosts."
Mark's quote from Isaiah 40:3 follows the quote from Malachi, saying "The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight."
(True Christianity) Isaiah 40:3 King James Version (KJV): "The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God."
The problem with the modern versions of the Bible is that they only mention Isaiah as the prophet being quoted. This means that sometime in the past 2000 years, somebody knew that Isaiah was one of the prophets being quoted, and tried to be smart by putting his name in there. Then, somebody dug up the manuscript, translated an English Bible version from it, and sold it without checking for doctrinal errors. What makes it even worse is that the first quote is from Malachi and the second is from Isaiah, showing an obvious error in the text.
(Corrupted) Mark 1:2-3 New International Version (NIV): "2 as it is written in Isaiah the prophet: "I will send my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way"— 3 "a voice of one calling in the wilderness, 'Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.'""
(Corrupted) Mark 1:2-3 New Living Translation (NLT): "just as the prophet Isaiah had written: "Look, I am sending my messenger ahead of you, and he will prepare your way. 3 He is a voice shouting in the wilderness, 'Prepare the way for the Lord’s coming! Clear the road for him!'""
(Corrupted) Mark 1:2-3 English Standard Version (ESV): "As it is written in Isaiah the prophet, "Behold, I send my messenger before your face, who will prepare your way, 3 the voice of one crying in the wilderness: 'Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight,'""
(Corrupted) Mark 1:2-3 New American Standard Bible (NASB): "2 As it is written in Isaiah the prophet: "Behold, I send My messenger ahead of You, Who will prepare Your way; 3 The voice of one crying in the wilderness, 'Make ready the way of the Lord, Make His paths straight.'""
The fact that these Bibles make it to market is a sure testimony of the lack of scholarship used in printing English Bibles these days. It shows that the primary focus is not to make available logically correct, let alone doctrinally accurate, translations. It is instead just to make money off of gullible religious people who themselves don't really care about what their religion teaches. A simple, but not mundane, error like this could cause an unsaved professing Christian to fall away permanently because, as Christians, part of our religion is believing that every word in the Bible is inspired by God and is without error. If it is proven to a person that the Bible version that they have been reading has errors in it, they may lose faith without doing any further research on their own.
While these are only two examples of the many corruptions in the modern English versions, it should be eye opening to see how people have chipped away at the foundations of our faith ever since Christ's resurrection. This will continue to happen until the Antichrist comes, so we must be strong and vigilant to push it off for as long as possible.