The Bible Line - January 9, 2018

In James 5:19, it is written "My brethren, if any among you strays from the truth and one turns him back...". This person would like to know what will happen if a fellow Christian doesn't help another brother or sister in Christ who is straying?  Will the one who doesn't help be punished by God for not helping?

Ray, Angier, NC - Please Comment on the following: I received the following information which gives a reason for some verses having been left out of the newer Bible translations e.g. - Acts 9:5 “it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks” not in NASB Acts 9:5. Also note that the phrase is in Acts 26:14 of the NASB. Question: "Why are the newer translations of the Bible missing verses?" Answer: If you compare the King James and New King James Versions with the newer translations (e.g. the New International Version, New American Standard, New Living Translation, etc.) why do these translations not have certain verses? Are the newer translations taking verses out of the Bible? I have heard it said that the NAS which you preach from takes the verses on hell & the verses on Christ’ blood out of the Bible? The common response that I hear is that the translators did not believe certain verses should have been in the Bible to begin with. Since the KJV was translated in A.D. 1611, many Biblical manuscripts have been discovered that are older and more accurate than the manuscripts the KJV was based on. When Bible scholars researched through these manuscripts, they discovered some differences. It seems that over the course of 1500 years, some words, phrases, and even sentences were added to the Bible (either intentionally or accidentally). The verses mentioned above are simply not found in the oldest and most reliable manuscripts. So, the newer translations remove these verses or place them in footnotes or in the margin because they do not truly belong in the Bible. It is important to remember, however, that the verses in question are of minor significance. None of them change in any way the crucial themes of the Bible, nor do they have any impact on the Bible’s doctrines—Jesus’ death, burial and resurrection, Christ as the only way of salvation, heaven and hell, sin and redemption, and the nature and character of God. These are preserved intact through the work of the Holy Spirit, who safeguards the Word of God for all generations.

A listener was raised a dispensational millenialist. Recently, however, they have been looking at other views. She has some questions including, whether the return to the Old Testament sacrifice is an insult to Jesus.

A question about Paul....was he actually converted on the road to Damascus?  Also, some dispute that Saul would have been sent so far away to Damascus to arrest Christian Jews.  Do you have a message that would explain this?

Marty M., Savannah, GA - What confession or confessions of faith would you use and why? Would you use the following and if not, why would you not want to use the Westminster Confession of Faith, the Larger Catechism and the 1689 London Baptist Confession of Faith? In other words which confessions of faith should we not use as a person who is not a Calvinist or Hyper Calvinist? Being more of what you call a Calminian.

Are most people that are raised in a cult "bubble" going to hell? And why doesn't God seem to do more to make the truth known so many aren't deceived?