Wherein I suffer trouble, as an evildoer, even unto bonds, but the Word of God is not bound. 2 Timothy 2:9
You and I owe far more to William Tyndale that we often realize. As we read our KJV Bibles, we are often amazed at its dignified and lofty language, and the magnificent and quotable phrases with which it is filled, very little of which exists in the modern-language versions. We owe this great literary and spiritual blessing to William Tyndale. When the KJV translators compiled their great work, and published it first in 1611, they leaned heavily on the work of William Tyndale; a high percentage of the words contained in the KJV were originally penned by Tyndale in the years between 1520 and his death in 1536. Outraged at the Catholic preference for the pope’s decrees to the Scriptures, Tyndale declared, ‘If God spare me, I will make it come to pass that the boy following the plow in England will know more of the Word of God than the prelate in Rome. Escaping persecution in England, he crossed the channel, and secretly he made copies of the Word of God, the first person to make use of the recently invented printing press to print Bibles in English. These Bibles were smuggled into England in bails of cloth, in sacks of flour, in every container and way that Tyndale and his supporters could find. When the authorities traced down their source, they seized Tyndale, strangled him to death, and burned his body. But he lighted a fire in England that never went out, a fire that burns vigorously, glorious today. Thanks to Tyndale, many a lad who follows the plow knows more of the Word of God today than Rome’s braying jackass Francis. Because the Word of God is not bound.
The apostle Paul, used by the Holy Spirit to write much of our New Testament, was bound. As he wrote today’s text, he did so with a hand that was heavy with Roman manacles. Although bound like a common criminal, this great servant of God was part of the process used by God to unleash His Word and send it forth into the world and into hands that would treasure and follow it. Nero could not know that his imprisonment of Paul was all part of God’s great and eternal purposes. Throughout the next few decades, Christian leaders with godly discernment took Paul’s letters, along with the completed works of the Gospel writers and other works recognized as inspired, and assembled them into the New Testament. During the centuries, the Scriptures survived and thrived, even as martyrs fell in its defense. Heaven’s ranks are swelling with the numbers of those who were used mightily by God to prove that His word is not bound, even through His servants might be. Enemies of the Word of God continue their assaults today, failing in their purpose to do more than heap to themselves condemnation for persecuting God’s people. Proof that the Word of God is not bound is found in the simple statistic that more Bibles have been printed that all other books put together in the history of the world. And now, in electronic form, it is virtually unlimited and unrestricted in its distribution.
An example of such modern-day persecution in the western world is that of the Equality Commission of Northern Ireland in its case against the Ashers Baking Company. Daniel and Amy McArthur, owners of Ashers, refused to bake a cake decorated with a promotion of the perversion of homosexual marriage. They based their stand on the Word of God. That case continues to make its way through the courts. Another extreme case of persecution today, in a different part of the world, is that of the brutal repression of Christians in North Korea. Executions are swiftly carried out for anyone found with a Bible or any portion of the Bible. And yet, the Scriptures abound in that land, hidden and shared by the many thousands of Christians who are there.
Never fear that men will destroy the Word of God. They cannot. Nor can they restrict its flow to those would read it. God wants mankind to have His Word. And to this end, He has decreed that it be not bound. -Jim MacIntosh