Several items must be considered before translating the Bible: the study of the original languages, the study of the ancient manuscripts, and the study of translation. Since numerous manuscripts of the Bible are available, archeologists determine which manuscripts are authentic and the most accurate. The study of translation is concerned with the best way to translate the text. In order to translate the Bible, one needs to know the original languages of the Bible, one needs to consult various manuscripts and understand the manuscripts of the Bible, and one needs to know how to translate the Bible, because there are many special terms in the Bible. In around 1870 Bible scholars from both England and the United States felt that there was a need to revise the King James Version, so they proceeded with a revision. However, after the revision, the British and the American scholars had some disputes over a few points. For example, the American scholars were in favor of using the title Jehovah, but the British scholars did not agree. They wanted to translate Jehovah as “the Lord.” Therefore, the British scholars published the Revised Standard Version, and the American scholars published the American Standard Version. The text in both versions is almost identical.
Recently, the American scholars felt that the English in the American Standard Version was not current. They therefore revised it and made it more suitable for readers of modern English. This was not a new translation; it was only a revision. In this revision they changed new man in Ephesians 4:24 to new nature. This rendering [206] is very misleading. This explanation concerning the translation and revision of the Bible shows that it is not simple to understand the Bible. The translators of the Chinese Union Version translated the spirit of your mind as “will power.” This makes it very difficult for people to understand the meaning of the original text.
We must understand the spirit of your mind. When our regenerated spirit, indwelt by the Lord, is strengthened, it will spread into our mind and control, occupy, and saturate our mind. Thus, it will become the spirit of our mind. It is in this spirit that we put off the old man, our former manner of living, and put on the new man, the church life. It is also in this spirit that we are renewed.
THREE CRUCIAL ITEMS
I hope that you will not only grow in life and know the truth but also learn to apply the truth and speak it to others. This requires that we exercise our spirit, our heart, and our mind. It is not enough to have a strong spirit or a heart to love the Lord. We must have a sober mind so that we are able to speak clearly. Then we will be able to help others. This is the purpose of this training. The goal of this training is for us to be useful. In order to be useful persons, we must pay attention to these three items: growing in life, knowing the truth, and speaking the truth to others. We must learn how to speak the truth.
SCHOOLS BEING FOR THE LORD’S USE
The saints who are studying or teaching in schools are in an environment that is useful to the Lord. No other environment is better. It does not matter whether you are a teacher, a professor, a teaching assistant, or a student. The school is the best environment for the Lord. From one perspective a school may seem small in scope, but even a small school can have several thousand students. The oldest students typically are no more than twenty-five or twenty-six years old, and they are not yet set and settled. They may still be deciding which job to take. Once a person begins to work, he becomes set and settled. Whether he goes into business or another field, he will quickly become set and settled. At such a time it will be more difficult to speak to him about the Lord. The best time to speak to him concerning the Lord is while he is still a student, because students are not set or settled. Students who have not chosen a profession are [207] easy to reach with the gospel. Hence, if we desire to be used by the Lord, we should grasp the opportunity to preach the gospel in the schools.
Furthermore, the future of the church lies in the young ones. It is not easy for a couple who are in their sixties and who are set and settled to receive the truth concerning the Lord Jesus. Even after speaking to them for six months, they still may not be clear. Suppose they are clear and are saved; it will not be easy for them to go out and preach the gospel. This does not mean that we should not preach the gospel to older people. The Lord is not a respecter of persons. He will save older people and younger people. Nevertheless, our burden should be the young ones.
From the testimonies it seems that a good number of Taiwanese young people have been gained by the Lord. This is very encouraging. Hence, we should first do a thorough work in the schools to gain the young ones. Then our next generation will be Christians. It is very easy for young people to receive the gospel. Sometimes we need to speak for only half an hour, and a young person will become clear and receive the gospel. Once he receives salvation, there will be a desire and an impetus in him to tell his friends or his parents. The young people should know that their parents listen to them. After they are saved, the young people must tell their families. Initially, their parents may not be pleased, but if the young people will continue to speak, their parents will believe. Some parents say that the knowledge their children receive in high school or college is of a new era and should be right. Therefore, they will follow their children because they love their children, and they identify with what their children do. Hence, as soon as the students are saved, their parents can be saved without much effort.
The Taiwanese have a very strong practice of idol worship. If we preach the gospel to them without first saving their children, they will most likely chase us away. Young people today are very clear in their mind, making it easy to preach the gospel to them. After they believe, they will preach the gospel to their parents. This will be the easiest route for the gospel. A young Taiwanese brother testified that when he first believed in the Lord, he dared not go home during the New Year holidays, because his parents wanted to beat him. Instead, he went to the meeting hall. Recently his younger brother was saved, and his parents are ready to be saved. [208]
The young people should not only pray for their parents; they should go home to “compel” their parents, telling them how good it is to believe in Jesus. In this new age, parents will follow their children. As a parent, I know that children are capable of compelling their parents. The more the children compel, the better they become at it. However, it is not so effective for parents to compel their children. I hope that this word will encourage the young people.
SPREADING THE GOSPEL THROUGHOUT TAIWAN
Our heart is for the Lord Jesus and His church. Therefore, we truly hope that the Taiwanese people will get saved. The way to reach this goal lies in the schools. The government in Taiwan stresses education. The basic education has been increased to nine years. We must preach the gospel to the young ones during their nine years of education so that they hear the gospel. This is our responsibility. Everyone is required to finish junior high school; therefore, we must aggressively preach the gospel to the students in junior high school. After their salvation, the junior-high-school students will become gospel seeds when they enter high school. They will be gospel seeds in college also. The co-workers need to open their eyes and see that to labor in the schools will reap double the results with half the effort.