Every once in awhile the ministry of The Voice of the Martyrs comes under criticism by people who hear about the ministry.  Recently we came across a blogger that criticized Bibles Unbound for sending only New Testaments, and not whole Bibles. VOM’s Todd Nettleton posted a response to this blogger, who wrote that she wouldn’t support a program “that divides the Scriptures in half.” I thought that his response was worth re-posting here.

THANK YOU for praying for persecuted Christians. Our brothers and sisters in restricted nations want our prayers more than anything else, and I appreciate your commitment to lift them up before the Throne!

I would like to answer a couple of misconceptions that I think you have about Bibles Unbound (www.BiblesUnbound.com) based on the criticism of the program that you’ve posted here.

The biggest reason to send a New Testament instead of a whole Bible is SIZE. Remember, these are being mailed by Bibles Unbound participants into RESTRICTED nations…places where the mail gets searched, confiscated or simply stolen on a regular basis. Our goal is to send an envelope rather than a package, to make it as innocuous looking as possible in order for it to run right through the mail sorting machine while drawing as little attention as possible. A Bible would require a larger envelope or even a package, which would draw far more attention from authorities that do NOT want the Word of God to come into their country. We believe that by mailing New Testaments the way we have chosen we have a far higher success rate of them actually being delivered into the restricted nation. I can’t go into a lot of detail, but Bibles Unbound was developed in close consultation with Christians inside each of these nations, and we tested different options before deciding that a New Testament in an envelope was the most effective way.

Another misconception is that these New Testaments are all being mailed to believers. In fact, VOM is working with believers in each nation to collect the names and addresses of non-believers and put God’s Word into the hands of these who would not otherwise have it, and probably would not choose to go out and get one (with all the risks that would involve) on their own. Our brothers and sisters inside these nations can then do the follow-up work of answering questions and witnessing to these non believers. They can also, in many cases, provide an entire Bible for those who are interested or who come to faith in Christ.

I challenge your statement that “Without the Old Testament, the New Testament has…no meaning, and no basis whatsoever.” Thousands of people have come into a personal relationship with Christ before they read the Old Testament. The Holy Spirit can use the New Testament to touch the hearts of nonbelievers. VOM has launched balloons into North Korea that are printed with only one Gospel; in that country some have prayed for decades for a copy of the Scriptures, and having one Gospel is to them like having a bar of pure gold would be to an American.

This is not to say that VOM does not value the entire canon of Scriptures. In fact, part of VOM’s statement of faith is that, “The Voice of the Martyrs believes the Bible to be the inspired, authoritative Word of God Who is eternally existent in three persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.” We would love to deliver whole Bibles in every restricted nation; where that is not possible we are trying to get in as much as we can.

Bibles Unbound participants are asked to pray for those to whom they are mailing New Testaments. We pray that the Holy Spirit will work on their hearts, that He will prepare them to receive His Word, and will use that Word to open their eyes to His truth.

I hope that this gives you a little more insight into Bibles Unbound and why VOM chose to mail New Testaments instead of whole Bibles. I would be happy to send you a Bibles Unbound information pack, which includes a sample of one of the New Testaments that we send.

Thank you again for your prayers for persecuted Christians! Pray with us that Bibles Unbound will be effective in reaching people in restricted nations for Christ.

Todd Nettleton

We would love to hear your thoughts on this matter, and of course we want to encourage you to become a member of Bibles Unbound and bless others with the eternal word of God.

Comments

[staticbrain.com]

To the woman who said "Without the Old Testament, the New Testament has…no meaning, and no basis whatsoever," I would like to point out a pertinent scripture from the old testament that says God's word will accomplish what it was meant to accomplish.

It doesn't say that if you only send part of the words that they will be null and void, baseless and meaningless. It clearly says that his words "shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it."

Isa 55:11 So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.

That means that if someone only hears part or reads part it doesn't matter. The words that they get will accomplish what God meant them to accomplish.

There is no list of conditions that you have to get them all first before you can benefit from any of them.

[Colleene]

I just want to say tha I think the Bibles Unbound ministry is awesome and I am so thankful to be able to be involved in spreading the Gospel of Christ to unbelievers in a foreign land. I am thankful for the opportunity to team up with my brothers and sisters in Christ all over the world and help to get the Word of God into the hands of people who would not otherwise ever read it. I praise God for this ministry and for my brother here who told me about it and helped me to get involved. I pray that God will send the Holy Spirit before the Bibles we send that those who read them may be enlightened to understand the Scriptures and be given saving faith in Christ.