Luke 9:23-26 (NASB) And He was saying to them all, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me. “For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake, he is the one who will save it. “For what is a man profited if he gains the whole world, and loses or forfeits himself? “For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when He comes in His glory, and the glory of the Father and of the holy angels.
Who has crucified their own flesh daily? Who truly follows Christ? What does it mean to follow Christ? We all want to save our lives. None of us want to die. To crucify yourself you must take up your cross and follow Jesus all the way to Golgotha. When you rise in the morning, see the sinful desires of your selfish flesh. See how they would entice you to do things to appease them? Wage a violent war against the natural man who is tied to you. He is dead already if you are saved, but his corpse is always before you. We fight what he used to revel in. Put those desires to death. Crucify your worldly desires and have them supplanted by the new affections of the regenerated heart. As this occurs, you’ll praise God for the loss of your old life and the gift of your new one in Jesus. To do His loving will, to carry it out in the world that is perishing, to show grace where it is not merited, to have mercy on those in need, to give to them the words of life, the gospel message of Christ Jesus, the Lord, Master, and Author of our faith, granted to us along with repentance while we were yet sinners, enemies of God, under the condemnation of sin, freed by His grace and imputed righteousness. Proclaim salvation from sins in Him to all the world. What good is earthly pleasure on this temporal plain when such a thing as an ageless age exists, where time is not marked? Our lives are short compared to such an existence. What is discomfort or tribulation here, even much of it, compared to eternity with God? Be bold in preaching His word and the gospel of His redemptive work on the cross. Be bold in the preaching of His resurrection from the dead.
In the first part of every chapter Rutherford adds fictional dialogue to the historical narrative of Joshua 6:1-20. I can’t begin to tell you how much I dislike this when people do it. It seems so presumptive. Many people won’t have a problem with this. It is just a personal preference with me. I understand for movies and other media it is common. I just personally don’t appreciate it. You really have to be careful that you don’t change the meaning of the word of God in so doing. It isn’t a risk I think is advisable. There are even some commentaries and study Bibles that have made a mess of the Bible and their authors are usually trained theologians.
I appreciate the concept in the first chapter to take the focus off of our problems and to seek after God’s greatness instead, but he takes it to a different place on page eleven. Rutherford writes, “God can and will make the walls fall down in your personal Jericho, and the first step in accomplishing this feat hinges upon your ability to grasp His greatness” I think he is contradicting Himself a bit here and sounding like a prosperity preacher. So I have to, “grasp His greatness” before God will make walls fall down? Throughout the book there looks like there is a lot of conditional statements. Granted there are some conditional statements in the Bible, but we have to remember that God is sovereign and will accomplish His will.
Rutherford says much that I can agree with on the trinity, omniscience, and omnipresence, of God. He also encourages us to read the Bible daily. Then on page 23 he has to scare me again with this kind of lingo, “This truth leads you to trust not only in His knowledge and wisdom but also in the strategy He has already prescribed for your victory. How awesome that we serve an omniscient God who is willing to share His knowledge with us so that we can conquer the impossible obstacles in our lives.” Now if he is talking about God conquering sin in our lives by the gospel than that would be great, but it doesn’t seem like that is what he means. There is a theme throughout the book that looks like Rutherford is saying that God will conquer every trial we have, oh and sin to. I don’t want to be unfair. He does attempt to make a distinction between the false prosperity gospel and the true gospel. He just comes off as a little of both in his terminology.
On page 42, in chapter two Rutherford makes a good point about God’s promises. When he says something is going to be, it is a certainty and we can and should act on it as a reality yet to be realized. He ties this in with Gods sovereign purposes for us as individuals. Throughout the Bible we can see where God has used people for certain purposes of His and we have purposes. God will use us as He has planned. Subsequently he starts laying out the notion of trusting in God’s plan for your life and how that will look. I agree with him here, when we believe something we behave as if it is true. If we trust God and His word we will behave accordingly.
He teaches tithing as in 10% and something Christians are supposed to do. This is not a true doctrine for Christians. According to the New Covenant we are to prayerfully consider how much to give and then do so with a joyful heart. Some people might be convinced to give 70%. Would you tell them that their obligation is only 10%? I don’t think so. Some people are very poor and are in debt. It would be irresponsible to tell them, “God wants His 10%”. The author missuses a few idioms. One that should have been caught by the editor was, “Shark invested waters” instead of, “shark infested waters.” He quotes Joyce Meyer, Rick Warren. He misapplies and incorrectly exegetes the story of Gideon to imply that it is better to have 300 committed men than thousands of self-serving ones. The text is obviously about God cutting the numbers down so that He gets the glory for winning the battle and not the army. The book isn’t very deep at all. Representative of most of the Christian books out there, a mile wide and an inch deep, like a puddle in a parking lot. He doesn’t endorse works righteousness. He tries to teach obedience to God relationally and God will bless you. I honestly don’t think he is trying to teach you to obey to get a blessing, although it would be very easy to take what he is saying that way. Read with caution; eat the meat throw out the bones. He keeps talking about victory, but over what? He takes until the end of the book to get around to it. I am still not sure of what I just read. Maybe instead of this read, “Crazy Love” by Francis Chan or, “The Holiness of God” by R. C. Sproul.
I received this book for free, and am not obligated to give it a positive review.
If you’d like to purchase this book here is a link on Amazon
Have you ever heard anyone say, “I got saved and baptized when I was a kid, but then I walked away from my faith, and now that I’m an adult, I have come back?” Then, they get baptized again and share their testimony. After a few months of being, “back” they walk away again/backslide. A while later they decide they need to recommit their life to Christ, so they come back to Church and get baptized again. I don’t know how many times, in the Nazarene Church I attended, I heard someone say this, but it was a lot. I didn’t know how to understand this then. I didn’t have the Biblical knowledge to know this was wrong. I knew it was wrong intuitively, but couldn’t build a case Biblically.
I struggled with this myself. Was I really saved that time when I was 19? If so, why am I still fighting these temptations to sin in my life? The Nazarene Church taught, “Entire Sanctification” back then. It was a doctrine that said it was possible for a person to mature spiritually, in this life, to the point where they no longer sinned. I got so frustrated with my constant failings. I cried out to God and told Him, “I can’t do it! I can’t stop sinning! If You want me to stop you are going to have to stop me!” So then came about a 10 year period where I gave up fighting the sins that were too hard to stop on my own. Sure I gave the outward appearance of being a Christian when I was at Church, but at work I still acted like a child. I used profanity all of the time, I told dirty jokes, I engaged in low humor, I entertained hateful thoughts against others because of their political beliefs, and I liked what I saw on television, except I would still cringe when a show used blasphemy. I knew I was doing wrong. I knew from what the Bible said, I was doing these things because my heart desired to do them. I also knew in my head that I didn’t want to keep doing them.
The Church also taught that you could become apostate or lose your salvation if you continued to sin after being saved. This was the doctrine of, “Apostasy.” I remember asking the Pastor about what it said in Hebrews 6, about not being able to be saved after losing your salvation by continuing in willful sin. He explained that was correct. I asked him how anyone can stay saved if that was true. Another person quoted the passage about forgiving 70 times 7. They were trying to tell me if I repent, Christ will keep forgiving me, but if I didn’t repent, and then died, that I would go to hell. All of this didn’t jive with what I was reading in the Bible. It seemed as if people were just cherry-picking passages out of the Bible to justify the way they wanted to live.
The denomination had its own definition of sin. I couldn’t justify it with what I had been reading in the Bible. I knew I was a sinner. I knew I kept committing sins. I felt powerless to be holy like the Church said I must be. My best efforts kept failing. That is why I gave up. The Church said sin was a willful transgression of a known law of God. I asked, “What if I fell into traffic, looked up to see a truck coming, cussed, and then was killed before I could repent?” I was told that was just a mistake, not a sin. So I asked, “What if, I blasphemed instead of cussed, in the same scenario?” I was told I might go to Hell. I was having a difficult time understanding being saved if it was always precariously perched on the narrow ledge of my flawed capacity.
I went down the roads of, “Easy Believism” and “Cheap Grace.” I rejected the doctrines of, “Entire Sanctification and Apostasy.” While I was confused and erring I still knew and was strongly convicted that this was not right either. There is something I am missing. I was going through a very difficult time in my life. I didn’t trust God with my money, I didn’t trust God with my marriage, and I proved I didn’t trust God by my actions.
A good friend suggested I read the book, “Crazy Love” written by this, Chinese American Pastor from California, with a shaved head. I was not at all anticipating the affect it would have on me or my life. Francis Chan’s book was a kick in my guts. It wasn’t a cruel kick, but rather one that was used by God. He got my attention and exposed how I was lukewarm. I was going to be told, “depart, I never knew you.” It was also about the same time this new radio program was playing on the local A.M. station. This funny, yet serious man named, “Todd Friel” with, “Wretched Radio” kept chipping away at what I had been told by the Church, with truth from the Bible. He was presenting a Reformed view of soteriology. (salvation) It was rocking my world. I was also listening to a local theologian on the same station. His name was Matt Slick. At first I was like, “What’s with this clown’s name? Is he a used car salesman or what?” So I was curious. I went to his website, “CARM.ORG” I read many of his articles and listened to his program and Todd Friel’s program intently and found myself nodding in agreement with them. I got on the internet and watched video after video from Matt Chandler, David Platt, Paul Washer, John Macarthur, R.C. Sproul, Leonard Ravenhill, Martyn Lloyd Jones, and so on. It was like I had this table with a billion puzzle pieces on it, and I only had a couple of corners figured out with some clouds, and these two men were helping me put the pieces together faster than I had ever done before. One day after most of the pieces were put together it was like someone nudged the table and the remaining ones fell into place. It was one of those epiphany moments you have in life.
I don’t want to forget to mention the affect that, “Witness Wednesday” on, “Wretched Radio” had on me. I heard Ray Comfort and Todd Friel presenting the real gospel message to people on the streets and on college campuses. I finally heard the gospel after 15 or so years of believing I was a real Christian. Instead of hearing, “You’ve got a Jesus shaped hole in your heart. Won’t you let Jesus in? God is a gentleman and won’t come in unless you ask Him. He is waiting at the door of your heart, won’t you let Him in?” I was in a state of shock. It was so simple. Why hadn’t anyone preached this to me before?!? Why? Why? Why?! I was so angry with the Church, my friends, and most of all me. How could I not get it? Faith and repentance! Du!
What I had known to be the Christian faith was off by just a scant amount, it seemed Christian, but it was out of phase. Through all of these influences in the middle of my suffering, I heard about real saving faith and repentance that are granted by God. Faith I couldn’t force myself to have in 15 years of trying. Repentance I couldn’t force myself to do, and the effects of these two things. I found myself running headlong into a study of Reformed Theology, the Reformers, the Puritans, and God’s sovereignty. My wife would ask me if we could talk about something other than religion. My co-workers were probably wondering what was going on with me. I would talk about my faith with everyone I met and share the gospel with them. I started evangelizing wherever I went. I actually read my Bible from cover to cover with a reading plan from R.C. Sproul’s Ligonier. I consumed scripture like I had never done before. The word of God became alive to me. Doctrine after doctrine fell into place in a harmony I had never before experienced in all of my piece-meal Bible reading.
I’d be remiss, if I didn’t tell you about the great help Dr. R. C. Sproul’s book, “The Holiness of God” was to me. He corrected the low view of God, the high view of man’s abilities, and the marginal view of sin that I had. It fixed in my head how holy God is, how helpless man is, and how offensive sin is. With this knowledge firmly ensconced in my mind, I could finally put the false teachings behind me.
You see, people don’t get saved and then lose their salvation. They don’t get resaved over and over again. You get saved ONCE! If your life isn’t characterized by growth in knowledge of personal sin and in holiness you aren’t saved. It never happened. Do you read your Bible regularly? Do you hate sin in your life, the sin you used to make room for? Do you love to go to Church and be with God’s people and worship Him together with them? Do you trust Jesus alone for your salvation and righteousness? Do you love to do good works, not out of a sense of duty or obligation, but rather do… YOU… LOVE… to do the good things God has prepared for you to do before creation?
A saved person is a new person. They are a different person. They have a different nature. They are born again. They died to themselves and were resurrected with Christ a new person. I never got this in all those years. I suspected there was more to this religion, but I couldn’t grasp it. I couldn’t comprehend it… yet! Then God worked a double miracle in my life of regeneration, and justification. I trust Him to complete the sanctification that He has started in me. I desire to be conformed to His word and will instead of shrinking from it. I love Jesus! I hope you will to. Watch the video to get the gospel presented to you.
What we have here is a King James Version study Bible from Holman covered in genuine cowhide black leather.
The leather is soft and flexible with a nice grain to it. The entire Bible flexes and bends very easily without being too floppy.
The inside cover is lined.
It has a sewn binding which enables it to lie flat when opened fresh out of the box without requiring to be broken in. It will also last much longer with this kind of binding making this Bible an excellent long term Study Bible.
It comes with two ribbon markers. One is black the other is silver. The ribbons are good quality, not those flimsy thin things you find in cheaper Bibles.
The utilization of full color features is eye catching and will invite the reader to explore many side studies, however due to the full color features the pages do stick together right out of the box and require some working in. Be careful not to tear any pages while you are separating them. Included are a one and three year reading plan to keep you on track.
The books have introductions, time-lines, and outlines.
The headings, chapter and verse numbers are in blue.
The words of Christ are in red. The print is in a two column format with references in the center column. The font is crisp black 9 point font, with high contrast against the white paper behind it.
The page edges and spine are gild in silver.
This a well crafted Bible made here in America, that will give you many years of service backed up by a lifetime warranty.
If you are in the market for a study Bible you have many options these days. You can opt for a signature one like a, “Macarthur Study Bible” or you can choose one with numerous contributors like the, “ESV Study Bible.” Why would you choose the Holman KJV Study Bible? I know my KJV only friends won’t want this Bible because it lacks the Authorized Version stamp of approval because it has a copyright. I know my hipster friends won’t want it because it isn’t gender inclusive enough for them. I know my peers won’t buy it because, “The KJV is too hard to understand…” To all of them I say, “You don’t know what you are missing.” Listen I love the NASB, KJV, ESV, NKJV, and HCSB translations.
I’m not so misinformed or deceived that I’ll write off a Bible translation just because of some laymen’s haphazard critique. I read and study for myself and accept Biblical counsel from men who are more learned and mature. Over the years I’ve come to appreciate the history behind translations like the KJV and the Geneva Bible. This particular Bible has so many articles, notes, maps, pictures, and helps that it would be ridiculous to write it off just because it is KJV. Matter of fact most people that have a problem with KJV have not even really tried to read one.
I think after you look at some of the pictures, and realize how well constructed this Bible is and see many of the wonderful features it includes it might generate some new interest in this venerable old version.
Here are a list of features that I might have left out;
Full-color page designs
Full-color maps, charts, and reconstructions
Extensive book introductions and commentary notes
40-page concordance
Essays on practical and theological issues
Feature-length articles on the origin and transmission of the Bible
41 photos
62 timelines
59 maps
20 articles and essays
16 illustrations and reconstructions
15 charts
A helpful glossary of 17th century expressions relative to the KJV’s signature phrasing
Self-pronouncing text
Two-column text setting
Center-column cross references
The words of Jesus in red
One- and three-year Bible reading plans
Presentation page
Family Registry
Two ribbon markers
Silver page edges
9-point text size
9.50″ x 7.00″ x 2.25″
Product Information
Format: Cowhide Leather
Number of Pages: 2304
Vendor: Holman Bible Publishers
Publication Date: 2013
Dimensions: 9.50 X 7.00 X 2.00 (inches)
ISBN: 1433603780
ISBN-13: 9781433603785
First I’d like to start out by saying that study Bibles in general have some benefits and some drawbacks. One of the great advantages is that you have a set of commentaries with your Bible to be carried with you wherever you go. One of the obvious drawbacks is that all those notes and features add to the bulk of the Bible making it heavier and bigger. The size and weight isn’t the major drawback. Most people expect that when they are shopping for a study Bible. The major drawback of course comes into play when you ask, “Who wrote my commentary?” For instance if your theology is very liberal and intolerably inaccurate then you would absolutely hate the, “MacArthur Study Bible.” You would probably love a study Bible caters to your liberal theology. The downfall of having a study Bible with just one mans commentary is that you just get his point of view, and if he is a false teacher you get more false teachings. The benefit is if he is a good teacher, you get very focused and direct answers to difficult passages.
When you have a study Bible where hundreds of theologians were utilized for the commentaries, you end up with what could be a mixed bag of theologies. Unless, that study Bible is put out by an organization or denomination with set doctrine, then they would make an attempt to have the commentaries conform with their doctrines.
Well what if the denomination has a split opinion about some doctrines, like oh, I don’t know… perhaps the Southern Baptist Convention? You guessed it, you’ll have some Reformed doctrines and some Arminian doctrines espoused. I’m not knocking the SBC, after all I’m a member. I’m not knocking this study Bible either. So far I quite enjoy it. I think it is kind of a, “Jack of all trades, master of none” study Bible. I don’t mean to imply a lack of direction or focus on the part of the publishers. I think that this study Bible will fit a very large cross section of evangelical Protestantism. This can frustrate some or be refreshing to others. Like I said just a bit ago, I am enjoying it. I myself am in the Reformed camp when it comes to soteriology, but I am not the type of person who cries heretic when I see an Arminian walking down the street. With that all out of the way, we’ll start by taking a look at the construction of this Bible.
The most important physical feature of this Bible is the sewn binding. I verified with Holman that in fact, this does have a sewn binding. You can see here how the binding bends in the spine wherever it is opened. A sewn binding bends and the Bible can open flat because the pages don’t have to bend around a fixed glued point. The pages are also set up in journals and stacked before they are sewn to binding straps (tape)
With this method of binding comes some added expense to the consumer, but in my opinion it is well worth it for durability and usability. The pages don’t fall out of the front or back of the Bible as easily with a sewn binding.
The leather they use here is supple with a good grain.
It just drapes over your hand.
Here you can see it rolled up on itself.
I don’t usually treat Bibles like this, but I wanted you to get an idea of how well bound this one is. Most large study Bibles will fall apart if you do this with them. Because of the sewn binding and the quality cover this Bible is going to last a long time. It has a lifetime warranty from Holman.
The inside cover does not appear to be lined at first glance, but upon closer inspection you can see that it is lined with some very flexible material that doesn’t crease like the normal vinyl and card paper you typically see. I like that feature a lot. It makes the outer cover that much more enjoyable.
The Bible has two ribbon markers. One is kind of a gold color and the other is black. They used good heavy ribbons instead of the thin cheap ones that fold up and crease.
Another part of the binding process I truly appreciate is the first page being glued in further up and away from the gutter, keeping it more securely locked into the cover.
As you can see the pages are edge gild. The spine is gild as well.
If you are like me you may be curious as to what exactly makes those pages so shiny. I always thought it was gold leaf. I e-mailed Holman and they referred me to their expert. He told me that it is actually a gold colored foil made from colored aluminum particles. The page edges get sanded and then the foil is rolled on. The heat that is generated by the sanding process makes the inks that are printed on the pages sticky. So that is why the pages stick together. Here is a link to a video that they sent me showing how the machine works;
When I received the Bible it was packaged in a retail box. It got banged around a bit during shipping and one of the corners of the cover was a bit bent.
This Bible is a double column format with center column references. It is a black text edition. The font looks to be a 9 pt. font. It is printed clearly with good contrast. The ghosting is minimal even though the pages are very thin. This Bible is made here in the U.S.
I think the blue headings and chapter numbers are a nice touch. The reference chapter and verse numbers are also in blue. It seems to make them easier to locate for me. You can also see there is a colored band separating the text from the study notes at the bottom of the page. The inside of this band is utilized for more references. It is all quite readable and there is a plethora of information.
In the picture above you can see one of the word study boxes in the lower left of the page.
In the picture above you can see one of the colored maps that is spread throughout this Bible in addition to the typical maps at the back.
These closeup pictures should give you an idea of how clearly the text is printed.
The page margins are pretty good sized as you can see in the picture below. They look to be about 9/16ths of an inch.
I can’t get over how many full colored features this Bible has. It is chocked full of stuff. This could be distracting if you are just wanting to read, but if you are studying it could add a number of side studies to your use.
I know that there are people out there like me who like to see as much as they can before they plunk a chunk of change down on a purchase so I’ve included a photo gallery at the bottom of this review so you can see the features for yourself. There are book introductions, outlines, topical concordance, presentation pages, records pages, lined not pages, one and three year reading plans, word studies, essays, and on and on and on. This isn’t a cheap Bible. It is a good value for all of the features and the quality binding. You are getting what you paid for here. I hope you enjoyed the review.
Here is a link to this Bibles page on Christianbook.com where it can be purchased.
This list of features comes from the Christianbook.com page for this Bible. I noticed that some of the features listed there were different from the ones listed on the Holman site. I think the Christianbook.com list might be more up to date.
Top-quality black cowhide binding
Online access to the HCSB Study Bible and Bible study resources
408 word studies
More than 100 photographs
59 timelines
59 maps
24 articles on practical and theological issues
Feature-length article on how to reaed and study the Bible
16 illustrations/reconstructions
15 charts
Four-color presentation pages
Two-column text setting
Center column references
One-year Bible reading plan
Topical subheads
Black letter text
Gold page edges
Lined pages for personal notes
Presentation page
Two ribbon markers
9.75″ x 7.00″ x 2.00″
The following information is from Holmans site.
Format: Cowhide Leather
Number of Pages: 2304
Vendor: Holman Bible Publishers
Publication Date: 2010
Dimensions: 9.75 X 7.25 X 2.00 (inches)
ISBN: 1586404571
ISBN-13: 9781586404574
Availability: In Stock
References: Center Column
Text Layout: Double Column
Text Color: Black Letter
The primary function of the Pastor is to faithfully exposit the word of God to the body, in obedience, love, and truth. Doing this glorifies God and serves the body. Many Pastors today are overburdened and inundated with projects and outreach. They have been told by many pragmatic men that the way to grow the church is to do, do, do. This isn’t the model of the gospel and it isn’t the model of growing true converts. Certainly it will work to add goats to your pews. Yes, the number of people attending will go up. Yes, there might be some that get converted listening to you preach the gospel on Sunday. These are not your primary duties that you have been commended to do. You sir, have been entrusted with the Holy Word of God and His elect beloved! Do not stray from your commission. All of the techniques that the world employs are not to be in your toolbox. You have the blessing and obligation to plumb the depths of God’s word and return to the flock with a bountiful harvest of truth. When you preach from the pulpit don’t think of it as a chance to evangelize a few lost sinners visiting the church, but view it instead as a time of ministry to God’s elect. He knows what they need to grow and to do the work He has for them. He has a plan to provide for them, and that plan involves you. God wants to use you to educate His people. He wants to use you to help in their sanctification. He wants to use you to equip them Biblically so that they can do the work of evangelism and outreach. By laboring on behalf of the Lord’s gospel you equip and impassion the flock to evangelize the lost, feed and clothe the poor, visit those in prison, and provide for the orphans and widows. It is easy to mix up your personal walk as an individual Christian and your commission as a Preacher of God’s word. There are things that you will do as an individual for God, and there are things that you will do as a Preacher. The first comes from being a born again believer and the other is a Holy Vocation. God in His sovereignty will grow or shrink a congregation. It won’t be based on your efforts. You are called to be faithful, to live by faith, to do what has been ordained by faith.
***Update 09/12/14*** I heard back from the publisher and they confirmed that this particular print of this Bible was not a sewn binding however the ones made after it in the same year do have a sewn binding.
*** Update 08/21/13*** Ok, I have to add some info here. You can still read my original review below, but as I’ve been using this Bible I have been able to see some things I originally missed. The first thing is that the paper is much better than I expressed in my original post below. It is pretty smooth in texture and the ink is sharply printed on it offering good contrast and limited ghosting. The second thing is that the cover is much softer leather than perhaps I explained. If it wasn’t on card paper and lined inside with vinyl it would be floppy. It is also pretty thick leather. I doubt it will be easily hurt. Last, I’d like to note that Holman as of yet has not responded to my questions about the binding. I can observe that the maps in the back and the presentation pages in the front are sewn into the Bible, but that doesn’t mean the Bible itself has a sewn binding. I still can’t see any dimples on the inside that would indicate stitching and the binding doesn’t bend like a sewn binding. I’m going to wait a bit longer before I damage the Bible to find out if it is in fact sewn. I really hope it is sewn. Even if it isn’t, this is a great Bible. I love the size and weight. It is a good all around thinline reference Bible. If it turns out to be a sewn binding, I would compare it to the $35 Lockman Foundation NASB.
The Holman Ultrathin NKJV Reference Bible almost got it perfect. My only gripe is that it is a glued binding. The advertisement on Christianbook.com says it is a sewn binding http://www.christianbook.com/nkjv-ultrathin-reference-brown-genuine-cowhide/9781433615030/pd/615030?event=ESRCG and reviews on other sites have also said it is a sewn binding, but I don’t believe it is. I took a close look at it and it looks and lays like a glued binding. Here is what a sewn binding looks like when it is opened up
Notice how it bends where it is opened. The pages don’t have to bend from a central glued point in a sewn binding. This is what the Holman looked like.
I would hate to have to cut such a nice Bible up to see if it is truly sewn or not so I think I will first e-mail Holman and ask them. If they say it is sewn, I’ll probably have to cut this Bible up to see. They might be paying for it to be sewn in Korea, but who knows if it is getting done. Perhaps there is a mix up over at Christianbook.com?
Having that said let’s take a look at what makes it a good buy. First off, I like the New King James Version (NKJV) it is a good translation. It is easy to read and it is accurate. It has been around for quite a while now and I am pretty familiar with it. My favorite is the NASB, but the NKJV comes in fourth for me. NASB, ESV, KJV, and NKJV. I don’t think I’d bother with any other translations. Too many agenda driven ones out there now.
The Bible came in a cardboard box, cushioned with paper. The Bible was inside a retail box that would be good to store the Bible in as it is pretty sturdy.
The Bible itself was wrapped inside two sleeves of thick, brown, paper. This was to protect the cowhide cover.
The Bible measures about nine inches by six inches by an inch.
The spine of the Bible has raised hubs on the back that appear to just be decorative. Just because there are hubs doesn’t mean it is a sewn binding. I do like the look and feel of it.
There is one brown ribbon marker and the page edges are gold colored as well as the spine. I don’t know if it is real gold leaf or not. For the price I’m guessing it isn’t.
The font is 8 point. It is clearly printed and easy to read. The words of Christ are in red. The Bible is printed in Korea.
The Bible is printed in a double column format with center column references. There are also book introductions.
There is a sixty six page concordance and eight color maps. The paper that the maps are on aren’t as glossy as some and might hold up better because of it.
Over the years, I have run into people on the fringe of the Christian world. These people have said they can see demons. I’ve also heard them say that they can talk to the demons. They explain how they can see a person and they see the demons in them. Then they begin to name the demons, for instance, “Oh that lady has the demon of Jezebel in her!” or “Look at him! He has the demon alcohol.” I’ve asked these individuals if they are being figurative. I’ve asked them if they just mean that the person is a whore, or an alcoholic. They usually respond by telling me that those are real demons and they have to be bound, gagged, and have their eyes blinded. They tell me that they have to command them in Jesus name to go where He wills them to go. When asked where they get a crazy idea like that, they say, “Well it’s in the Bible! Duh!”
Now I’ve been reading and studying the Bible for a while now. I have to say, that I don’t think they are correct about how this is done. First, what happens to an unsaved person when a demon leaves them? Well, it comes back with seven other demons to find the place neat, tidy, and ready for tenants. There is no indwelling of the Holy Spirit. The person is still a slave to sin. Consequently they are worse off than they were before. We are also told in the Bible to not go looking for the supernatural unless that supernatural we are looking for is God. So running around looking for demons and then calling every personality disorder, sin, or characteristic a demon of this or that is ludicrous. It would be laughable if it weren’t so damaging. Stay away from spiritist, mediums, witchcraft, sorcery, familiars, and so on. How simple is that? Just focus on Jesus and His word.
Are you Jesus? Are you one of the Apostles? Then you don’t have the authority or ability to run around casting out demons. You’re more like the sons of Sceva than you are a son of God if that is what you’re about. Jesus gave us a mission, it is to preach the gospel and make disciples. If you run across a person who is demonically possessed the best most loving thing you could do for them is to preach the gospel of Jesus to them. If they are elect and respond to the gospel with repentance and faith, then the indwelling of the Holy Spirit will take care of the demon problem. Where the Holy Spirit makes His home He won’t share with a demon. Let God do the exercising of demons and you focus on the job you were given.
Don’t get me wrong, there are times where we will come into contact with people who may be demonically possessed. In those times we need to be wise or we could do more damage than good. Let’s imagine you are successful in casting out the demon in Jesus name. Then what? That poor wretch is just going to get possessed again by the original demon and seven more that are worse than the first one. How is that loving and helpful? I implore you, stop running around pretending you are ministering to people. You are just hurting them.
If you are a disciple of one of these deliverance preachers or if you are one of them please reconsider what you have been taught, believe, and practice. You have been deceived by a movement that is grounded in bad hermeneutics that have brought forth false doctrines. Repent and practice a real ministry that is Biblical. I don’t care what your experiences have been. They are not proof of anything especially since they are not Biblical. We must go with what the Bible says and not what our feelings or experiences might errantly lead us to.
“Wow, this is something special!” was my first reaction when unboxing the NASB Side-Column Reference Wide Margin. It was delivered in a cardboard box packed with paper. Inside, I found the Bible in its retail packaging. The retail box it is packaged in should be saved to store this very supple Bible. I opened up the box to find a black fabric envelope containing the Bible. It had kind of a velour feel to it, but without the elasticity. It is probably a polyester frocked woven material. (I e-mailed Lockman Foundation to find out)
I was surprised when I opened it and took the Bible out of it. The leather was so soft to the touch.
I thought, “For a Chinese bound Bible this is a really great cover.” Then I thought, “For a Chinese bound Bible? For any Bible this is an outstanding cover.”
The texture of the cover begs for the Bible to picked up and read. The inside cover is calfskin as well. It smelled the way a leather Bible should smell. Some value Bibles smell like paint, adhesives, or just have a chemical smell to them. The page edges are gold gilt. The spine is gold hot stamped.
There are two ribbon markers to help you keep your place in both the Old and New Testaments.
I found myself taking care and treating this Bible with respect due to the quality cover and its flexibility. The smyth-sewn binding seemed different than the European smyth-sewn bindings in how the cover is connected to the Bible,(again I e-mailed Lockman Foundation to find out) but it was loose enough so that the Bible lay flat, and the pages were not puckered or wrinkled in the gutter. ***Update 7/4/15 since the time I wrote this review I learned more about Bible binding. This Bible is edge lined as opposed to being case bound. That is what I didn’t know about the binding when I thought that the smyth sewn spine was different than other Bibles I’d looked at.***
They were all trimmed with no dog-eared pages. I can’t say that of the more costly Bibles I have. So even though this Bible is made in China, I wouldn’t hesitate in suggesting it to someone looking for a premium Bible without paying $250.00 for an R.L. Allan or a Schuyler. The paper and the page gilding might not be up to the level of a $250.00 Bible, but then again they are superior to the Bibles in its price range and market niche. The transparency of the pages is a little too transparent so there is ghosting. It isn’t any more than Bibles in it’s same category, but it isn’t as good as say an ESV with line matching.
The photo above is of a page held away from the other pages and taken with light behind the page. The page trim size is six and a half inches wide by nine and a quarter inches long. It is about one and a half inches thick.
The pages are laid out in a single column, verse by verse format.
I realize that many people find this hinders the continuity while reading, but I count it as a positive. It helps me to find a verse in a hurry. I don’t have to read through a paragraph looking for the verse. I have some paragraph format Bibles and I am biased towards the verse format. It is a black text only edition. If you’re one of the folks who like the words of Christ in red you are out of luck. Fortunately I don’t mind either way so in that regard I’m easy to please. There are 95,000 cross-references on the outside edges of the text. The cross-references are so helpful when following a word or theme through the Bible. Generous room for note-taking is available in the one inch margins. This edition replaces a previous edition that had half inch margins.
Even though the Bible is full size, its weight doesn’t seem as noticeable while reading. I believe this is due to the flexibility of the Bible’s binding, and the eleven point font. When I lay it on my lap while sitting in my recliner I can easily read the text. I don’t have to hold it up to my eyes, or fight with a cover that keeps flipping through the pages like a Bible with a bonded leather cover.
The concordance in the back is a useful feature.
I don’t know if you are like me, but every once in a while I get curious to see where else a specific word is used by God in His progressive revelation. I want to see what He has said about it in other places, at other times, to other people. The concordance gives you a quick way to do a simple word study. Just remember to apply good hermeneutics in an exegetical exposition of God’s word kids! Just a note about the New American Standard Bible in comparison to many of the other versions today with a few exceptions, the NASB copyright is owned by Lockman Foundation. They do this to maintain the text so that it isn’t corrupted by people looking to make a buck. As of late the big Bible publishers have been bought by people more concerned with money rather than the purity of the word. Zondervan and Thomas Nelson are owned by Harper Collins. The debacle that was the TNIV was a direct result of trying to make the Bible more gender neutral. This was to make the word of God seem less offensive to women in my opinion. Well, needless to say when you start twisting the Bible around some people take note. The SBC and the Lutherans weren’t fooled when Zondervan dropped the, “T” from the TNIV and stopped printing the NIV to exclusively print their very bad translation. Thomas Nelson didn’t fare much better. They have always been the home of the NKJV or New King James Version, but hey! Why not make a completely evil version called the, “Voice?” I along with many other people still can’t get over people actually embracing this mess. So it makes me exceedingly joyful to find Lockman Foundation being loyal to God and working to keep the NASB from being perverted. I also appreciate Crossway for doing the same with the ESV and public domain for the Authorized KJV. God keeps His word from being lost. When I hear back from Lockman I will add the information That I had e-mailed them about.
ISBN: 1581351607 ISBN-13: 9781581351606 This Bible was provided free of charge by Lockman Foundation for the purpose of a product review. I am not obligated to give a positive review.
I was looking for a nice compact Bible to carry with me at work. Most of the Bibles I found were not of good enough quality. They would not withstand daily use and carry. I wanted one that had a smyth-sewn binding and was covered in genuine leather. While scouring the usual online retail sites I kept finding the same low priced compact Bibles. Don’t get me wrong, for the price a person could afford to replace them when they fall apart, but there are other problems with inexpensive value Bibles. The paper is usually not Bible paper, the font is not printed sharply and clearly, the Bible is put together in China or Korea where the workmanship isn’t as conscientious, The Bibles are stiff and by the time you brake them in they are falling apart, the bonded leather cracks and swells, the bindings come unglued and pages start falling out, and so on. If you are like I am you’d rather spend a few extra dollars and get a Bible that will become an old friend, or something you’ll be able to hand down to loved ones when you pass. Something that you would have used so often that it takes on your scent and the wear and tear you cause remind your loved ones of your love for God’s word. Maybe it will inspire them to open it up and read it as well.
So with all of that in mind I did a search for, “compact smyth-sewn Bible” and found out about a Bible publisher called, “Trinitarian Bible Society.” We’ll refer to them as, “TBS” for the rest of the review. I tried to visit their web page, but to my surprise it was closed for business due to it being Sunday. This was a pleasant surprise and caused me to become even more curious about them. I did some research and found this little gem.
It is the TBS PS31UTZ/BK Royal Ruby Text Bible
in black genuine calfskin leather
with a zipper,
thumb indexes,
gold gild page edges,
spine,
and Holy Bible on the front cover,
metrical Psalms,
two ribbon markers,
presentation page,
dictionary of King James era words,
reading plan,
Bible paper, set by jongbloed and printed in Belarus,
and in the Authorized King James Version.
I’d like to take a bit of time here to tell you a little about TBS. They are a ministry based in England. They use the money they make off of the sales to provide Bibles to those who can not afford them. They only print the Authorized King James Version, so if you want a different version you might try Cambridge. I sent them an e-mail and asked for a review copy. They sent one gratis with no strings attached.
I really like the size of the Bible.
It’s cover is a bit stiff as it is glued to card paper and then lined with vinyl. The grain of the leather is pretty defined so that makes it easy to hold on to.
The zipper is sewn to the semi-yap cover. It does a good job of protecting the pages.
The Bible feels like it is going to break in nicely. It looks like it is put together well. It fits in my hand easily and it is light weight enough to hold for long stretches of time. The Bible having a zipper makes this Bible able to survive my B.D.U. pants pockets. I don’t have to worry about it opening up and having the pages get wrinkled, bent, or mutilated. The genuine calfskin is pretty tough so it is protected from getting scratched of torn. The font is a bit on the small side at 6.5 point, but it is a compact Bible.
If you have descent vision it shouldn’t be a problem. Mine is about 20/25 and I can read it fine. I didn’t notice any production errors or defects. The Bible came packaged in a cardboard box packed in foam packing shells.
The Bible itself was in a cardboard sleeve, neatly wrapped in clear plastic.
One might save the cardboard slip case for storage purposes. Unlike the card paper sleeves that many value Bibles come in this case can provide a service to the owner rather than being thrown away.
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