At LFT we trust in God’s Word as our ultimate authority. We believe that The Holy Spirit will reveal truth to us as we study the Bible (I Cor. 2:10). In today’s culture, many do not seem to believe this. They have made man, not God’s Word their authority. You may wonder, “How has this happened?” Excellent question. For many, the Bible is seen merely as reference material or a set of “best practices” instead of viewing God’s Word as the absolute authority. Sometimes good messages are taught from the Bible without any real submission to the authority of the Scriptures themselves. At LFT the Bible, not the pastors or teachers, is the gold standard of truth in all matters of doctrine and practice. Our job is to study it and live it, not to tear it apart with human logic and doubting criticism. The Bible is to change us (Rom 12:2, John 17:17, I Thes. 2:12-13), we are not to change it (Rev. 22:18-19, I Cor. 1:19-2:5). Feel free to bring whatever Bible translation or paraphrase you want to LFT, and do not worry about what anyone else is reading (No “Bible Version Police” please), but in order to prevent confusion and to maintain a firm stance on the historical “faith position” in God’s Word, we will teach from the incomparable King James Version in English.
- LFT members use the KJV (English) or Reina Valera (Spanish) translations for all teaching ministries. These are Textus Receptus based Scripture. We are happy to answer any questions you have about our position on the Bible version we use, but we do not believe it is profitable to argue or dispute this issue with anyone.
- You may not agree with our position (and that is certainly your choice) but that does not mean you are not welcome at our church; nor will we prohibit you from using whatever version of the Bible you choose. However, all teaching at Living Faith Tampa will be from the King James Version.