HOW MUCH DID YOUR BIBLE COST?

by Chuck Kaliszewski

 

      On any given Sunday we ministers stand before different size congregations preparing to deliver the Word of God. The tools left to us by the King of Kings are: The Holy Spirit and the Bible. Some ask their members to hold up their Bibles and make a profession of faith concerning its contents. Sometimes I ask, “How much did your Bible cost?”

      My first Bible was given to me by the hosting church after a confession of faith in the Lord. It was a copy of the Good News For Modern Man in paperback. My next Bible was the “Cadillac” of the Bible bookstore. It’s cost was one week’s pay. Two very different prices for the same Scripture. The real cost lies somewhere else.

      Let’s start our appraisal in Northwestern Scotland, the Island of Iona in 563. There a Bible School was founded in which much of the evangelism during the next 700 years could be traced back to this school and its descendants of an underground movement called, “The Culdees.” The desire to understand the Word of God was then passed to men like John Wycliffe who translated the Bible from the Latin to English by hand. This process took ten months to scribe one copy of the Word of God.

      The Holy Spirit moved on the hearts of His people to hunger for more of God’s Word. John Colet, in his services, began to read from the Greek text and translated into English. Within a short time revival was launched in England. Erasmus fled to Basel, Switzerland in 1514 to prepare a Greek text translated into Latin where some 25,000 copies were printed. This work was the primary source for Martin Luther’s German and William Tyndale’s English translations.

      William Tyndale, a scholar proficient in eight languages, formed “The White Horse Society” in 1517 at Cambridge, England. Of the 25 charter members of truth seekers, all but Miles Coverdale were martyred. Included in these martyrdoms were five men and two women who were burned at the stake for teaching the Lord’s Prayer to their children in English.

      Tyndale was called before the bishop of Bristol where he was charged to discontinue preaching in English. Refusing, Tyndale landed in Cologne, Germany where he started his life’s work of translating the Bible into English. Bounty hunters were hired by the king of England and the church to track down this heretic. Tyndale’s life was that of a nomad traveling from city to city working on his translation for nine years

      In 1533, Henry Phillips was hired by church officials to capture Tyndale. Phillips found and gained Tyndale’s confidence, even being allowed to view the forbidden manuscripts. Phillips devised a plan to lure Tyndale down an isolated alley. Waiting there were chosen soldiers who captured the elusive translator. William Tyndale spent the last 500 days of this life in prison.

      On October 6, 1536 William Tyndale was led out to the public square chained to a large beam. There he was given a final opportunity to recant. Refusing to do so, he was given a moment to pray. Then he cried out, “Lord, open the king of England’s eyes.” The executioner put a rope around his neck and hand strangled this man of faith. Immediately his body was publicly burned.

      The Lord answered William Tyndale’s prayer. In 1537 John Rogers published the first English Bible (The Great Bible) with a license granted by Henry VIII. The Word of the Lord flourished and revival prospered in the years following.

            I pray that I never will consider the Bible as just another Christian adornment to be brought along with me to attend church. With these thoughts in mind we can repeat our original question: How much did your Bible cost?       (ckalisze@sprynet.com)