Finally, Skilton appealed to B.B. Warfield to conclude the matter,
“’. . .if we compare the present state of the New Testament text,’ wrote Warfield, ‘with that of any other ancient writing, we must declare it to be marvelously correct. Such has been the care with which the New Testament has been copied, — a care which has doubtless grown out of true reverence for its holy words, — such has been the providence of God in preserving for His Church in each and every age a competently exact text of the Scriptures, that not only is the New Testament unrivalled among ancient writings in the purity of its text as actually transmitted and kept in use, but also in the abundance of testimony which has come down to us for castigating its comparatively infrequent blemishes.’”6
Why is textual criticism important?
When we approach this subject, ministers can err in one of two directions. First, we can get into such specificity that we run the risk of undermining the confidence God’s people should have in the English translations of Scripture. Or, second, we can gloss over important textual variants and confuse believers as to what to do with them when they come across them in the marginalia of their copies of Scripture. How then does a minister address the more complicated textual variants when preaching through a book of the Bible?
Recently, I have been preaching through the gospel of John. It is well attested by textual scholars that John 7:58–8:11 (i.e., the account of the woman caught in adultery) is highly questionable as to its textual viability in the fourth gospel. There is little manuscript support to conclude that John wrote it. This does not in any way whatsoever undermine the veracity of the Johannine authorship of the fourth gospel.
However, we must have the intellectual integrity to recognize that this passage was almost certainly added to what John wrote. It may have been Lukan in nature. There are scholars who have argued for Lukan authorship based on the language and content of the passage.7 Others believe that it was added by a scribe and should have no place in the canon. Of this much we can be sure, the text adds nothing to and detracts nothing from the truth about the character and ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ. Whether a minister decides to preach it or not, makes very little difference.
If one decided to preach on Jesus and the woman caught in adultery, he might wish to give a very brief introduction to the fact that there is uncertainty about its place in the canon of Scripture. If one decided not to preach on this particular textual variant, he might give a more detailed explanation of why he chose to gloss over it in his exposition.
