The New International Version (NIV) is very easy to read and comprehend. Perhaps this is the reason it is given to so many children for their Bible study. Should we allow our children to use the NIV? Is it a reliable translation of God’s word? Since we know that all scripture is given by the inspiration of God and is our source of authority for everything we do in the name of Christ, these are serious questions. This article will examine the accuracy of the NIV with a view toward any Calvinistic influence by the translators.
A study of the New International Version should start with Calvinism. John Calvin was a Frenchman of the 1500’s. He was instrumental in the shaping of Protestant theology and a key figure in the Reformation movement. Most of the current members of Protestant denominations take for granted the Calvinistic doctrines of total depravity and predestination. To the Calvinist, total depravity means “on their own human beings can never achieve a true religious life based on the knowledge of God” (1); they must have grace (given by the Holy Spirit) to learn the truth about human depravity. All man’s actions are tainted with evil which he inherited from the original sin of Adam and Eve. (2) This explains the practice of infant baptism since, to the Calvinist, all babies are born as sinners.
Calvinists also believe in unconditional predestination and election. This means that God chooses who will be saved and who will be condemned, unconditionally. The saved are directly touched by the Holy Spirit, which they call “irresistible grace”, and of course anyone who has been chosen by God can never fall from grace. The person who receives this faith is saved without any further acts of obedience. Calvinists call this “faith only”. Would you be surprised if I told you the New International Version of the bible is translated so that the Calvinistic proof passages support their doctrine? Let’s examine some passages from the NIV.
- For when we were in the flesh, the motions of sins, which were by the law, did work in our members to bring forth fruit unto death. KJV
- For when we were in the flesh, the sinful passions, which were through the law, wrought in our members to bring forth fruit unto death. ASV
- For when we were controlled by the sinful nature, the sinful passions aroused by the law were at work in our bodies, so that we bore fruit for death. NIV
You can see that the NIV translators have changed “in the flesh” to being “controlled by the sinful nature“. The Greek word sarx has been changed to sinful nature and now we are being controlled by it. Read verse 18 of Romans 7:
- I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. NIV
The same change is made in Romans 7:25. In Romans 8: 3, 5, 7, 8, 9, 12, 13, Galatians 5:13,16,17,19,24 and Galatians 6:8 the same change is made from flesh to sinful nature. Does it matter? Is flesh and sinful nature the same thing? “Calvinism teaches that one is born a sinner. ‘Nature’ has to do with one’s birth; ‘sinful’ means full of sin. Therefore the conclusion, according to the NIV, is that one is born full of sin.” (3) The flesh is our physical existence. When we are “in the flesh” we are not concerned with what is spiritual which is where God’s word operates; in the spiritual realm. When we are “in the flesh”, we are concerned with meeting fleshly desires which will lead to sin if not checked by a spirit educated by the word. In the same likeness, the NIV translators made some changes to Romans 8:6-7:
- For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. KJV
- The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace, because the sinful mind is hostile to God. It does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. NIV
You see that the change has been made from a carnal mind to sinful man and sinful mind. I charge that these changes are not innocent but change the essence of the passage to support the Calvinistic doctrine of total depravity. Does the Bible teach that man has a sinful nature? We are created in the image of God. If we have a sinful nature, was it inherited from God? Of course not: sin comes from the free will of man, not from a nature created for him by God. If you have a NIV bible, mark Psalm 51:5 where the translators make David a sinner from birth, sinful from the time his mother conceived him. Examine this passage in a honest translation and make your own judgment about the NIV.
- For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written. The just shall live by faith. KJV
- For therein is revealed a righteousness of God from faith unto faith: as it is written, But the righteous shall live by faith. ASV
- For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith.” NIV
and Romans 10:10:
- For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. KJV
- For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. NIV.
We see in these passages “righteousness that is by faith” is boldly added and belief toward (unto) righteousness and salvation is changed into outright “justified” and “saved”. These are not honest translations but rather “more than a word-for-word translation” from the “eclectic” Greek text used in translating the New Testament as we are told in the preface of the New International Version (See paragraphs 7 and 12 of the preface).
