Why should anyone take the time and effort to learn New Testament Greek?  There are dozens of widely accepted English translations for us to use, and a plethora of commentaries on every part of Scripture.  So why take time to learn Greek?

If we stop to think about it, the very number of translations indicates the answer to our question.  If we compare translations, we quickly understand the problem.  There are so many translations because there is no such thing as THE "correct" or "inspired" translation of any given passage.  One language cannot begin to render an exact and final translation into another language, because every word and idiom has an area of meaning and the area of meaning in one language only approximately represents the area of meaning in another language.

Learning New Testament Greek affords an opportunity never realized in any English translation.  Erasmus wrote in the Preface to his Greek Testament, "These holy pages will summon up the living image of His mind.  They will give you Christ Himself, talking, healing, dying, rising, the whole Christ in a Word.  They will give Him to you in an intimacy so close that He would be less visible to you if He stood before your eyes."  Many are discovering that the God who spoke through Erasmus' Greek New Testament still speaks to sensitive hearts today.  Reading the original text is no mere recital of past events.  Rather, it is a means to bring us in touch with the power of the text and applying its truths to our lives.

To the degree a translation of the Scriptures mirrors the original text, is the quantifiable reflection of the translation’s belief in verbal inspiration.  If a translation substitutes a noun for the original author’s verb, an “a” for a “the”, replaces a subjunctive with an indicative, a past tense for a present, and so forth, then at best, the work has been seriously compromised, and at worst, the importance of verbal inspiration has been denied to the reader.

True, verbal inspiration extends only to the original wording and sentence order of Scripture, thus excluding all translations ever made, no matter how widely accepted, revered, or good.  However, if a translation has as it philosophical basis not to add or omit anything from the original, then verbal inspiration for the most part is preserved.  To the measure it drifts from this matrix, is the measure verbal inspiration is lost.

Instead of translating, many translations “interpret” the author’s "real" intent, as if they knew better what should, ought, might have been written, rather than what they actually wrote.  They legitimize their alteration of the original word(s) on the premise that the reader is actually aided by such help!  When a translation succumbs to this subjective approach, no matter how slight, verbal inspiration diminishes proportionally, and it is as much disregarded as if it had no value.

A viable alternative to translations are literal translations.  Whereas literal translations of the Bible are on the increase, they will never enjoy popular reading, because of their necessary “wooden” renderings of the original wording and syntax.  However, it must be noted, their principal aim is not for ease of reading, but a fervent desire to reflect accurately the original.

However, in the final analysis, whether we choose to study God's Word from a translation, literal or not, the Scriptures were communicated in Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek; all else is translation.

A. T. Robertson, a distinguished Greek scholar, wrote in his Preface to the third edition of A Grammar of the Greek New Testament in the Light of Historical Research, “The Greek New Testament is the New Testament.  All else is translation.  Jesus speaks to us out of every page of the Greek.  To get these words of Jesus it is worthwhile to plow through any grammar and to keep on to the end.”

The study of the original languages may be viewed as the proper understanding of the biblical doctrine of inspiration.  If we do indeed believe that every word in the original autograph was inspired by God the Holy Spirit, then should we not be diligently studying His message to us in its original form?

Those who do not know the languages will come short of grappling with the original form of God's revelation.  His revelation came in and through the Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek languages.  It is our responsibility to receive that revelation, to understand it and effectively communicate it to others.  If we have no knowledge of the original languages, then we are halted from exploring the fullness of God's revelation and plumb its depths for ourselves.

Consider for a moment the alternative.  Those who do not know the original languages are forced to borrow their ideas from others.  They are slaves to the commentators and Bible teachers (who probably are not proficient in the original languages), and have no means to check their accuracy.  Worst of all, without thorough training in biblical Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek, they will never realize they may be passing on in the name of God their own ignorance, based upon an erroneous translation.

It has been said more than once, "It is not important to know the biblical languages to correctly interpret God's Word."  Of course, this possibly could carry weight if it was stated by someone who knows them, rather than from a posture of ignorance.

Martin Luther, in the year of 1524 wrote, 

"In the measure that we love the Gospel, let us place a strong emphasis on the languages.  For it was not without reason that God wrote the Scriptures in two [primary] languages, the Old Testament in Hebrew and the New Testament in Greek.  Those languages which God did not despise, but rather chose above all others for His Word, are the languages which we also should honor above all others.  It is a sin and a shame that we do not learn the languages of our Book."

And again, 

 "The languages are the sheath in which the sword of the Spirit is contained."

If by learning the original languages we are able to extract truth from God's Word that was previously indiscernible from a translation, then we shall succeed in our goal; not because of what was translated, but because of what has been revealed from God!

If the Bible is the Word of God, and the doctrine of biblical inspiration is what it is, then a thorough knowledge of biblical Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek is not a luxury, but indispensable.

It has been over thirty-seven years since I responded to the question why it is important to study New Testament Greek.  I began to understand that it was only out of a sense of personal devotion to Christ and a commitment to spiritual renewal in His Church that studying New Testament Greek made any sense.

Whatever knowledge of Greek one obtains will be of real value.  However, to complete this course, if it is to be more than superficial, entails three things: study, study and more study.  There is no other way.  The study of the language of the New Testament takes time and anything else is a delusion.  It is my recommendation that you spend a half an hour a day, five days a week.  My personal pursuit of both biblical Hebrew and Greek has been based on the time proven axiom, "Something is better than nothing".  Before long you will be able to read the Greek text for yourself, without the running interference of a translation.

It is my sincere prayer that you begin learning New Testament Greek.  Greek is within the reach of anyone who desires to learn.  The goal of this course is to glorify the One true God, Jesus Christ, to be effective communicators of His original Word and servants to His Body, the Church.