Why the ESV for preaching?

Several people have asked me why I’ve moved from the NIV to the ESV in my preaching. After all, I’ve used the NIV for over 15 years. I cannot give a better answer than Mark Driscoll. He writes:

Why is the English Standard Version best for preaching?

There are two sets of reasons—theological reasons and practical/pastoral reasons—that have led the elders to decide that the ESV is the best translation for our preaching ministry and why we prefer the ESV to other translations. The theological reasons are listed below.

The ESV upholds the truth that Scripture is the very words of God, not just the thoughts of God.
This point is inextricably connected to the doctrine of verbal plenary inspiration, which means that God the Holy Spirit inspired not just the thoughts of Scripture but the very words and details. Moreover, the Bible repeatedly declares that the very words of God are important, not just the thoughts they convey (e.g., Exodus 19:6; Deuteronomy 32:46–47; Proverbs 30:5–6; Matthew 4:4; Luke 21:33; John 6:63; 17:8; 1 Thessalonians 2:13; Revelation 21:5; 22:18–19).

The ESV upholds that what is said must be known before what is meant can be determined.
Only after knowing what Scripture says can we understand what it means. Practically, this means that Bible translations are separate from and must precede Bible commentaries. A word-for-word translation along the lines of the ESV enables this to occur by seeking, as much as possible, to not insert interpretive commentary into the translated text of Scripture; rather, it lets the text breathe as a living word and speak for itself. The general problem with thought-for-thought translations and paraphrases is that their English interpreters include commentary that is not part of the original text and thereby commingle Bible and Bible commentary. For the average reader, this is problematic because they do not know which parts of their Bible are from the original text and which parts have been added by commentators who were trying to convey their interpretation of its meaning.

The ESV upholds the truth that words carry meaning.
Some scholars will argue that thought-for-thought and paraphrase translations do not change the meaning of Scripture but just the words of Scripture in an effort to clarify the meaning of Scripture. But this reasoning is fallacious because meaning is carried in words. When we change the words of Scripture we are changing the meaning of Scripture. For this reason, when we handle other important documents we do not take the liberty to change their words (for example, an attorney is not free to change the words of a signed contract).

The ESV maintains the theological nomenclature of Scripture.
One of the more popular arguments for thought-for-thought translations and paraphrases is that people do not understand the theological nomenclature that Scripture uses to express doctrinal concepts. The reasoning follows that words like “justification” and “propitiation,” which the original text of Scripture used, should be replaced with more modern vernacular that people can understand.

The question begs to be answered: why should we stop with only some theological words that the average person does not understand? The sad truth is that we live in a culture that has very little biblical knowledge and many if not most of the central words that Scripture uses are not understood by the average person. For example, in a place like Seattle, where there are more dogs than Christians, the average person probably has little if any biblical understanding of what is meant by basic words such as “God,” “sin,” and “Jesus.”

I was once writing an article for a non-Christian newspaper and in my column I said that God had convicted me of something in my life. The editor responded that I would need to explain what conviction meant because they were not familiar with the word and assumed my readers would not know what I was talking about. Why? Because outside of Christianity even something as simple as conviction is not understood.

Words open up worlds of new truths. Therefore, if people do not know the words of Scripture we should not give them new words that close off new truths. Rather, we should give them the old words of the original text, literally translated into English, so that a new world of truth can be opened to them. Because we love people, we should strive to explain the words that they do not understand so that they can fully appreciate what God is saying to them through Scripture.

The ESV upholds the complementarian nature of gender in Scripture.
Unbeknownst to the average Bible-reading Christian, there is a great debate raging in academic circles about the language of gender and how it relates to biblical translation.

It must be pointed out that, in its more insidious forms, the push for gender-neutral language is in fact a push against Scripture. For example, Scripture states that God made us “male and female” (for example, Genesis 1:27). Consequently, in God’s created order, there is both equality between men and women (because both are His image-bearers) and distinction (because men and women have differing roles). This position is called complementarianism and teaches that men and women, though equal, are also different in some ways and therefore function best together in a complementary way, like a right hand and left hand (1 Corinthians 11:3; Ephesians 5:22–33; Colossians 3:18–19; 1 Timothy 2:8–3:13). But those with a feminist or homosexual agenda are seeking to eradicate the created distinction between males and females so as to validate new alternative lifestyles that are not acceptable according to Scripture. Translations such as the New Revised Standard accommodate this by wrongly translating “male and female” in Genesis 1:27 as the androgynous “humankind.” The New Living Bible translates it as the genderless “people.” The reason all of this matters to Bible translation is two-fold.

First, there is pressure from some theological teams to change the masculine language that Scripture uses in favor of more feministic and/or gender-neutral language that is not the language of the original text. Translations that use gender-neutral language include the TNIV, NLT,, NCV, NRSV, GNB, and CEV.

Second, even more insidious is the effort of some to feminize God. Theologically speaking, God does not have a gender because God is not a man (Numbers 23:19). In using the word “He,” the Bible is not saying that God is merely a man, but rather that God is a unique person that does not have a biological gender but does reveal Himself with terms such as “Father” when speaking about Himself. For example, Jesus said “Our Father” when he gave us our model of how to pray. Therefore, referring to God as Father is not an antiquated oppression from a patriarchal culture, but an echo of the prayer life of Jesus.

The ESV upholds the truth that while Scripture is meant for all people, it cannot be communicated in such a way that all people receive it.
Scripture teaches us that God loves the whole world and that we should seek to reach as many people as possible. Subsequently, the desire to make the Bible understandable so that more people can learn about Jesus is something that every Christian should wholeheartedly agree to.

However, we must remember that we cannot change the words of Scripture because God has called us to not only communicate widely, but also communicate truthfully. We must accept that not all Scripture is easy to understand for many reasons. First of all, we are sinners, which means that sometimes we suppress the truth because we disagree with Scripture and are unwilling to repent. The problem is a hard heart and not just a difficult translation (Romans 1:28). Second, God’s thoughts are much higher than our own (Isaiah 55:9). Third, God has secrets that He has not revealed to us (Deuteronomy 29:29). Fourth, we sometimes see the truth dimly and know it in part (1 Corinthians 13:12).

Furthermore, even the greatest of communicators were known to be hard to understand when they spoke God’s truth. For example, some of Jesus’ teaching was declared to be a “hard saying” by His hearers (John 6:60). Jesus also taught in parables, knowing that His teaching would not be readily understood by all his hearers, but only those with “ears to hear” (Mark 4:10–23). Speaking of Paul’s writings, around which controversy continues to swirl today, Peter said, “And count the patience of our Lord as salvation, just as our beloved brother Paul also wrote to you according to the wisdom given him, as he does in all his letters when he speaks in them of these matters. There are some things in them that are hard to understand, which the ignorant and unstable twist to their own destruction, as they do the other Scriptures” (2 Peter 3:15–16, emphasis added).

We should make every effort to have the Bible translated in words that as many people as possible can understand. But we must also be careful not to cross a line where we change God’s words in hopes that more people will accept them. Apart from the ministry of the Holy Spirit working in us, there is no way we can gladly receive the truth. Even with the Holy Spirit, some parts of Scripture remain for us “hard to understand,” as they were even for Peter, who was trained by Jesus and penned Scripture.

What is the place of other translations?

In the history of Mars Hill Church we have never divided over the issue of Bible translations. We have always maintained that various translations have various strengths and weaknesses and that the student of Scripture benefits from enjoying multiple translations. Furthermore, we have always praised God for every good English translation and trust God the Holy Spirit to use them to transform our lives.

Therefore, we would not discourage our people from enjoying multiple good English translations of Scripture. However, we would encourage them to use the English Standard Version or another good word-for-word translation as their primary study tool while also using other translations as secondary resources for their studies.

Lastly, while purchasing a study Bible can be quite expensive, it is imperative that every serious student of the Bible invest some money purchasing at least one nice Bible with some helps (footnotes, cross-references, etc.) and room for their notes. When buying a Bible, the general rule is that the more money you spend, the better the quality of paper, binding, and leather you will receive. If you are planning to read your primary Bible a lot, fill it with notes, and keep it for a long time, you will want to invest in a good Bible so that it lasts

.

(I first met Mark Driscoll – pastor of Mars Hill Church in Seattle – when I participated in four different training meetings for “high capacity church-planting churches.” The meetings were sponsored by Leadership Network, and a real help to my ministry. Driscoll is fast becoming one of the most articulate and influencial pastors in the country.)