In this video, I critique Johnny Greene’s public teaching in which he distorts the book of Romans by adding to the Word of God in order to hold condemnation over the heads of justified saints. Additionally, I answer some of the public comments made by his daughter Katlin in which she dismisses the importance of an accurate translation of Scripture, labeling as false teachers those such as myself who spend our time “arguing over words,” as though discovering the exact words God spoke were somehow a liability.

I don’t blame Kaitlin for defending her father. I know these individuals personally and I will say that I have never seen a better father/daughter relationship than that enjoyed by Kaitlin and Johnny. Johnny is an excellent father and husband, and Kaitlin is a sweet soul and a beautiful person inside and out. However, whenever those who set themselves up as teachers of others dismiss the study of the God’s divine vocabulary as unnecessary and even “twisted,” and even go so far as distorting Paul’s gospel by adding law and condemnation to it, then such activity must be called out, and not uncertainly.

Contrary to the insistence of Johnny and Kaitlin, it DOES matter which version of Scripture one uses. Major doctrines rise and fall on the weight of single words—witness “aion” and “gehenna.” Make a mistake here, and one can easily veer off into the teaching of eternal torment. Is this the only teaching where the proper translation of words is important? Far from it. The manner in which Christ has dealt with sin in our lives is laid out in excruciating detail in the book of Romans. If one uses a version that merely paraphrases Romans (Kaitlin), or, worse, inserts one’s own words INTO Romans (Johnny), then the glorious teaching of justification by faith disappears into the ether, replaced by condemnation and “a certain fearful waiting for judgment” (Hebrews 10:26-27).

Is this what we want? I think not.