Textual criticism – Grace Evangelical Society

Did Jesus Say, “He Who Believes in Me Has Everlasting Life,” or “He Who Believes Has Everlasting Life”?

June 23, 2025 by Bob Wilkin in Blog - Believe, John 6:47, New Testament Scholars, Textual criticism

There are over 5,800 Greek manuscripts of the NT. Most of the time, the manuscripts are identical except for spelling variations. However, occasionally there are passages where different manuscripts have variants–different readings of the same text. John 6:47 is one such text. There are two variants of John 6:47: He who believes in Me has

Challenging the Status Quo (Romans 16:25-27)

January 28, 2025 by Ken Yates in Blog - Church, Rom 16:24-27, Romans, Textual criticism

After the death of the apostles, grace teachings fell into disfavor. The vast majority of teachers proclaimed that eternal salvation could be lost if the believer did not do enough good works. This lasted until the Reformation. After the Reformation, many more taught the necessity of good works from another angle. They said that if

August 30, 2023

Doesn’t Luke 24:47 Speak of Repentance for Forgiveness of Sins?

1 John 1:9, Acts 10:48, Confession, Critical Text Position, Forgiveness, Luke 24:47, Majority Text Position, Repentance, Textual criticism

Welcome to Grace in Focus radio. Today, Bob Wilkin and Ken Yates are answering a question about a particular understanding of Luke 24:47. Was the original reading “for the forgiveness of sins” or “and the forgiveness of sins”? What is the relation between repentance and forgiveness? Please listen to this episode!

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March 25, 2021

Is It Possible to Recreate The Original Text of Scripture Such That it Could Be Equal to the Original Autographs?

Bible Translations, Textual criticism

On today's episode of Grace in Focus radio, we will be answering some of our listeners' questions. Bob and Shawn will be discussing a question related to textual criticism. Is it possible to have a perfect translation of the Bible today? Meaning, could we gather all the manuscripts, and create an exact replica of the original copies of scripture? Bob will give us some insights to this issue by looking at other examples of the books of antiquity. He will also discuss the manuscripts we have in our possession today, and some of the obstacles we face when compiling them as a unit. He will also discuss different methods by scholars for reading these manuscripts. These and many more issues will be unpacked on the show today.

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October 30, 2020

Should Revelation 22:19 read “Tree of Life” or “Book of Life”? and What is the Meaning of “Inherit the Kingdom”?

1 Cor 6:9-11, Gal 5:19-21, Inheriting Kingdom, Majority Text, Rev 22:19, Textual criticism, Textus Receptus

And why do some versions say "Tree of Life" and others "Book of Life"? Bob and Shawn discuss the different manuscripts used for different translations. Plus, what does it mean to "inherit the kingdom", especially as found in 1 Cor 6:9-11? How much of our life is controlled by the vices listed to keep us from inheriting the kingdom?

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Romans 8:1 May Not Mean What You Think It Means, Part 2

November 14, 2018 by Bob Wilkin in Blog - Romans 8:1 Longer Reading, Romans 8:1-13, Textual criticism

Romans 8:1 is widely misunderstood for two reasons: first, katakrima, the word typically translated as condemnation, does not mean that. We discussed that in Part 1 of this blog. Second, the people being described as having no katakrima are not all who believe in Christ for everlasting life, but a particular type of believer. That

Is John 7:53–8:11 Inspired Scripture?

October 5, 2018 by Bob Wilkin in Blog - John 7:53–8:11, Textual criticism, the woman caught in adultery

In the June 2018 edition of JETS (“The Pericope of the Woman Caught in Adultery: An Inspired Text Inserted into an Inspired Text?” pp. 321-37), Scott Kaczorowski makes an amazing suggestion about John 7:53–8:11. Many have suggested that it is not part of John’s Gospel, but that it does represent an actual historical incident. Metzger’s

Who Took John 5:4 Out of My Bible?

July 4, 2018 by Bob Wilkin in Blog - Bible study, John 5:4, Majority Text, Textual criticism

“For an angel went down at a certain time into the pool and stirred up the water; then whoever stepped in first, after the stirring of the water, was made well from whatever disease he had” (John 5:4). A friend sent me Dr. Michael Heiser’s LogosTalk article “Who Took John 5:4 Out of My Bible?”