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Evidence Bible NT — Ray Comfort › Front matter

Front matter

Material from the printed edition of The Evidence Bible that comes before the Bible text itself, reproduced here in Ray Comfort’s own words.

Preface How to Use This Book Endorsements Acknowledgments List of Sketches

Preface

I am sure you will love this “pocket” edition of The Evidence Bible. You can carry it with you wherever you go, to soak your soul in the Word of God at any time and also to have a handy reference whenever you share your faith with others. It is a good habit to have the people you speak with about your faith actually read verses that are in the Bible. So, instead of just mentioning a certain scripture, turn to it here, in your pocket-edition of The Evidence Bible and have the person read the verse out loud.

Then ask, “What do you think that means/” You can then explain further the meaning of the verse. In this way, you will make use of the eye gate, as well as the ear gate to make your witnessing so much more effective. I have often said that if you want to see the evangelism section in your local Christian book store, take your magnifying glass with you.

Someone once put my claim to the test. When he entered a Christian book store and asked for the “evangelism section,” the salesperson replied, “What’s evangelism?” Bill Bright, founder of Campus Crusade for Christ, stated that only 2 percent of today’s church is actively involved in evangelism. I believe one great reason for this is that the Body of Christ hasn’t been suitably equipped.

What soldier is going to run into the heat of battle, facing modern warfare armed only with a feather duster? However, a soldier who is thoroughly equipped with state-of-theart weapons and a bulletproof vest will find that his very weapons give him courage. The Evidence Bible will equip the most timid of Christ’s soldiers with the most powerful of weapons. As you read, you will learn how to trample underfoot grasshoppers that once seemed like daunting giants in the secular world.

No longer will themes such as evolution, atheism, modernism, skepticism, and secular intellectualism intimidate you. The wisdom of this world stands on weak and shifting sand. The Evidence Bible will show you that, as a Christian, you stand on intellectually solid and immovable rock. You will notice quotes from many wellknown secular people.

The apostle Paul, when he preached to the Athenians on Mars Hill, likewise cited secular Greek poets (Acts 17:28). Obviously, Paul wasn’t endorsing their sinful lifestyle, nor was he promoting their poetry. He was simply using their words, familiar to his listeners, as a springboard for the Gospel. While The Evidence Bible is in essence a study Bible, it is also an evangelistic tool.

If it is used merely to strengthen and encourage the faith of the Christian, it has missed its primary purpose. In 1999, I had the incredible experience of floating in the Dead Sea. It is true that it is impossible to sink into its waters due to its high salt content and rich mineral deposits. The contemporary Body of Christ has become like the Dead Sea.

The sea is “dead” because there is no outlet, and the Body of Christ (though rich in many ways) is evangelistically dead because it has stopped giving out what it has received. God forbid that The Evidence Bible should merely add more knowledge to the dead sea of contemporary Christianity. Make sure that you give out what you take in. Become familiar with its commentary and its quotes.

Take the Bible with you when you share your faith, and don’t hesitate to read portions to the unsaved. Much of the world doesn’t realize how many great men and women of history believed and loved the Word of God. They are ignorant of the Bible’s wealth of scientific and medical knowledge. Perhaps one simple quote from a famous person of the past may be enough to spark an interest in Holy Scripture.

Perhaps God may use your words to bring the message of eternal life to those who are sitting in the shadow of death. There is no higher calling. There may be concerns that in removing archaic words from the King James Version that we are somehow altering God’s Word. Let’s say I wanted to publish the Bible in a Chinese-speaking country.

Do I publish it in the King James English? No, they don’t speak that language. I have to translate it into Chinese. Obviously, the Bible should be translated in the language spoken by each country, otherwise it won’t make sense to them.

So, how will we translate then these particular words into Chinese: “concupiscence,” “decketh,” “enchew,” “feigned,”

“hawn,” “heretofore,” “howbeit,” “intreaty,”

“waxeth”? Do we keep the King James English for these words? No, common sense says that we use the equivalent Chinese word, so that the Chinese can understand what they mean. Will God’s wrath come upon us because we translated the words into Chinese so that they could be understood?

I don’t think so. I'm sure God rejoiced when the first English version gave light to those who the Catholic church kept in the dark, by having the Word of God in Latin. I'm sure “in principio creavit Deus caelum et terram” makes more sense to you when you read it as “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” Let’s now go forward to this day and age.

The King James English Bible was written for the English (another country) when they spoke another language (what we commonly call “King James” English). Believe it or not, Satan didn’t say “Yea, Hath God said/” (unless you think that Satan and Adam and Eve spoke English). The verse was originally written in Hebrew, but was translated into English by some kind folks so that the English in the 1700’s could understand the words.

We are doing exactly the same thing today. We are taking words that people don’t understand and giving the contemporary equivalent. We would never even think of dropping verses about the Blood of Christ, repentance, the deity of Christ, etc. Neither would we change the meaning of any verse, nor drop one jot nor tittle from God’s Word.

May God bless you for picking up this Bible, and may He use it to be a blessing to you and to this dying world.

How to Use This Book

• Meditate on evangelism verses: Shaded, italic verses help give you the motivation to seek the lost. 7 A thousand shall fall at your side, and ten thousand at your right hand; but it shall not come near you. • Memorize evangelistic verses: Bold verses are passages for you to use in witnessing and preaching. 10 The days of our years are threescore years and ten; and if by reason of strength they be fourscore years, yet is their strength labor and sorrow; for it is soon cut off, and we fly away. • Look for bold verse numbers indicating that the verse has a corresponding comment nearby.

13 Those that be planted in the house of the LORD shall flourish in the courts of our God. • Read “Questions & Objections” so you’ll be ready to give a defense as you encounter these in witnessing. • Follow cross-references to read more about a topic. • Refer to the Index to look up topics of interest. • Passages with bold verses and bold verse numbers are for you to use in witnessing and preaching, and these verses have a corresponding comment nearby. 12 So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom.

Endorsements

What others said about The Evidence Bible when it was first published:

“It is always refreshing to be made aware of the unceasing efforts of concerned Christian authorities to make God’s Word understood by today’s generation of believers and skeptics. The Evidence Bible is specially designed to reinforce the faith of our times by offering hard evidence and scientific proof for the thinking mind. A welcome addition to the literature of apologetics.”

— Dr. D. James Kennedy Coral Ridge Ministries

“ The Evidence Bible is jam-packed with vignettes tucked right in the text that will help you in witnessing to your friends and in answering their objections to the gospel. If you’re looking for a Bible with sneakers on that can run with you into life, The Evidence Bible is for you.”

— Dr. Woodrow Kroll, President Back to the Bible

“In some countries, handing a pastor a study Bible like The Evidence Bible with all its solid teaching is like sending the pastor to seminary training. I look forward to distributing many of these Bibles to pastors all over the world.”

— Mike Weygandt, Director of International Ministries The Voice of the Martyrs

“Clearly the Holy Spirit led you as you brought this wonderful document together. I could not be more impressed ... It is like having a loving, mature Christian elder standing by your shoulder as you read the Scriptures. It is exactly what is needed in our time.”

— James D. Stambaugh, Director Billy Graham Center Museum

“Ray Comfort’s teaching is right on.”

— Joni Eareckson Tada Joni & Friends

“I don’t know of an evangelist today who has a better grasp of how to communicate Christ to the totally secular mind of our day than Ray Comfort. He is fearless and genuine. The Evidence Bible is filled with practical and theological insights to help anyone effectively communicate the gospel of Christ to their lost friends.”

— David E. Clippard, Associate Executive Director Baptist General Convention of Oklahoma

“Any thinking person should demand evidence when it comes to the most important of all matters—eternity. If you are one of those, The Evidence Bible will bring your search to an end. It might even spur you on to talk about Christ with someone who’s looking for evidence.”

— Ron DiCianni

“I love The Evidence Bible. It should be a great help in drawing others to Christ.”

— Dr. Kent Hovind, Director Creation Science Evangelism

“Ray Comfort ... cuts to the core of a man’s spiritual dilemma. As we pray for revival and wonder what God’s waiting for, we need to seriously consider this message. To ignore it puts us in spiritual peril.”

— Terry Meeuwsen, Co-host The 700 Club

“ The Evidence Bible is full of the wisdom of great Christian men, including Billy Graham, John MacArthur, and Oswald Chambers, to help answer all the ‘why’ questions, whether from the new believer, someone who’s just beginning to seek the truth, or someone who has been in the faith for several years.”

— Ron Wheeler Cartoonworks

Acknowledgments

All the quality quotes and powerful arguments about creation, the folly of evolution, etc., may not convince a man of the truth; however, an encounter with the resurrected Savior will. Jesus is still stopping Sauls on the Road to Damascus. He still gives light to those who are in darkness. The indwelling Savior makes a man a new creature in Christ.

He gives him a new heart with new desires, making him love the things he once hated, and hate the things he once loved. When a man is born again he needs no more convincing. Knowing Jesus is an infallible proof: “To whom also he showed himself alive after his passion by many infallible proofs, being seen of them forty days” (Acts 1:3). I am grateful to my friend Don DiCianni for his help with this project and to my friend Richard Gunther for his fine cartoons, and to Alex Ruiz, Joe Potter, and Joel Hughs for their quality illustrations.

My gratitude also goes to my beloved wife, Sue; my sons, Daniel and Jacob; Rachel and Emeal Zwayne; Ron Meade; Sarah Comfort; Felicia Woodson; Pastor Garry Ansdell; and to my good friend Mark Spence for their help. My very special thanks to Lynn Copeland of the Genesis Group for her patience, her love of the truth, her concern for the lost, and for her wonderful editorial work. She made a sow’s ear into a silk purse. I am also indebted to Guy Morrell, the owner of Bridge-Logos Publishers.

There are not too many Christian men in positions of importance who remember the reason that the Church exists. When the idea of this publication was first conceived, he was told by a respected source to be careful because “evangelism Bibles don’t sell.” Guy’s response was, “That’s why we must do it.” He has a deep passion to see this world reached for Jesus Christ.

I count it an honor to work with him and his staff at Bridge-Logos. If you have any suggestions for future editions of The Evidence Bible, feel free to contact me: www.raycomfort.com.

List of Sketches

The printed edition includes short biographical sketches of the following people, illustrated by cartoonist Richard Gunther, at points throughout the text:

Open the Evidence Bible →