Truth Shall Make You Free

What is Pride ?

2009-03-23T20:02:00.000-07:00

(adapted from sermon by Charles Spurgeon)

(This sermon was taken from The New Park Street Pulpit and was preached on Sunday evening, July 15, 1877)

Before destruction the heart of man is haughty, and before honor is humility ( Proverb 18:12)

Pride is a groundless thing. It stands on the sand. Worse than that, it puts its foot on the billows which yield beneath its tread. Worse still, it stands on bubbles, which soon must burst beneath its feet. Of all things pride has the worst foothold. It has no solid rock on earth whereon to place itself. We have reasons for almost everything, but we have no reason for pride.

Pride is a thing that should be unnatural to us, for we have nothing to be proud of. What is there in man of which he should glory? Our very creation is enough to humble us. What are we but creatures of today? Our frailty should be sufficient to lay us low, for we should be gone tomorrow. Our ignorance should tend to keep pride from our lips. What are we, but like the wild donkey’s colt which knows nothing? And our sins ought effectually to stop our mouths and lay us in the dust. Of all things in the world, pride toward God is that which has the very least excuse. It has neither stick nor stone whereon to build. Yet like the spider, it carries its own web in its bowels and can, of itself, spin that wherewith to catch its prey. It seems to stand upon itself for it has nothing beside whereon it can rest.

Pride is a brainless thing. It brings no profit with it. There is no wisdom in self-exaltation. Other vices have some excuse, for men seem to gain by them. Avarice, pleasure, lust, have some plea, but the man who is proud sells his soul cheaply. He opens wide the floodgates of his heart to let men see how deep is the flood within his soul. Then suddenly it flows out and all it gone—and all is nothing for one puff of empty wind, one word of sweet applause. The soul is gone and not a drop is left. In almost every other sin, we gather up the ashes when the fire is gone but here, what is left? The covetous man has his shining gold, but what has the proud man? He has less than he would have had without his pride and is no gainer whatever. Oh! Man, if you were as mighty as Gabriel and had all his holiness, still you should be an arrant fool to be proud, for pride would sink you from your angel station to the rank of devils, and bring you from the place where Lucifer, son of the morning, once dwelt, to take up your abode with hideous fiends in perdition.

Pride exalts its head and seeks to honor itself, but it is of all things most despised. It sought to plan crowns upon its brow, and so it has done. But its head was hot, and it put an ice crown there, and it melted all away. Poor pride has decked itself out finely sometimes. It has put on its most gaudy apparel and said to others, “How brilliant I appear!” But, ah! pride, like a harlequin, dressed in your bright colours, you are all the more fool for that. You are but a gazing stock for fools less foolish than yourself. You have no crown as you think you have, nothing solid and real, all is empty and vain. If you, O man, desire shame, be proud.

Pride is the maddest thing that can exist. It feeds upon its own vitals. It will take away its own life, that with its blood it may make a purple for its shoulders. It saps and undermines its own house that it may build its pinnacles a little higher, and then the whole structure tumbles down. Nothing proves men so mad as pride. For this they have given up rest, ease, and repose to find rank and power among men. For this they have dared to risk their hope of salvation—to leave the gentle yoke of Jesus, and go toiling wearily along the way of life—into the more of fell despair. Oh! Man, hate pride, flee from it, abhor it, let it not dwell with you. If you want to have a madman in your heart, embrace pride, for you shall never find one madder than he.

Pride is a protean thing. It changes it shape. It is all form in the world. You may find it in any fashion you may choose. You may see it in the beggar’s rags as well as in the rich man’s garment. It dwells with the rich and with the poor. The man without a shoe to his foot may be as proud as if he were riding in a chariot. Pride can be found in every rank of society—among all classes of men. Sometimes it is an Arminian and talks about the power of creature. Then it turns Calvinist and boasts of its fancied security—forgetful of the Maker who alone can keep our faith alive. Pride can profess any form of religion. It may be a Quaker and wear no collar to its coat. It may be a Churchman and worship God in splendid cathedrals. It may be a Dissenter and go to the common meeting house. It is one of the most Catholic things in the world. It attends all kinds of chapels and churches. Go where you will, you will see pride. It comes up with us to the house of God. It goes with us to our houses. It is found on the mart and the exchange, in the streets and everywhere.

Pride has ten thousand shapes. It is not always that stiff and starched gentleman that you picture. It is a vile, creeping, insinuating thing that will twist itself like a serpent into our heart. It will talk humility, and prate about being dust and ashes. I have known men talk about their corruption most marvelously, pretending to be all humility, while at the same time they were the proudest wretches that could be found this side the gulf of separation. Oh, my friends, you cannot tell how many shapes pride will assume. Look sharp about you and your will be deceived by it, and when you think you are entertaining angels, you will find you have been receiving devils unawares.

The seat of pride is the heart. The true throne of pride everywhere is the heart of man. If we desire by God’s grace to put down pride, the only way is to begin with the heart. We should not proceed to arrange our dress by adopting some special costume, or to quality our language by using an outlandish tongue. But let us seek of God that He would purify our hearts from pride, and then assuredly if pride is purged from the heart, our life also shall be humble. Make the tree good, and then the fruits shall be good. Make the fountain pure, the stream shall be sweet. Oh! That God might grant us all, by His grace, that our hearts my be kept with diligence, so that pride may never enter there lest we be haughty in our hearts and find that afterwards comes wrath.

The consequence of pride is destruction, a fact which we can prove by hundreds of instances in Scriptures and in history. We men have become proud, destruction has come upon them. Perhaps the most magnificent which has ever yet been built was the city of Babylonian, in which there walks one who, lifting up his mortal head on high as if he were more than mortal men, exclaims, “See ye this great Babylon that I have built?” Oh, pride marks the mighty builder of Babylon creeping on the earth. Like oxen he is devouring grass. His nails have grown like birds’ claws, his hair like eagles’ feathers, and his heart has gone from him. Pride did all that, that it might be fulfilled which God has written, “Before destruction the heart of men is haughty.”

Pride is most likely to meet with destruction because it is too tall to walk upright. It is most likely to tumble down, because it is always looking upward in its ambition, and never looks to its feet. There only needs to be a pitfall in the way, or even a stone, and down it goes. It is sure to tumble because it is never contented with being where it is. It is always seeking to be climbing, and boys that will climb must expect to fall. Pride is foolhardy, and will venture upon scaling any rock. Pride, when most successful, stands in slippery place. Who would choose to dwell on a pinnacle of the temple? That is where pride has built its house, and verily it seems but natural that pride should down if pride will up.

THE TRUTH ABOUT CHRISTMAS

2008-12-15T20:50:00.000-08:00

In the countries where 25 December is a public holiday, there is no reason bible-believing Christians should not use the opportunity to assemble to worship our God and Saviour Jesus Christ. However, there are good reasons why we should not call our gatherings “Christmas” and why we should also not celebrate this day as the world does. Without judging those who may celebrate Christmas according to their scruples in a way that they think honours our Lord, we prayerfully present these evidences, for the edification of believers sharing our common faith, once and for all delivered unto the saints.

The Date Sovereignly Withheld

The Bible gives no reference of the Church celebrating Christmas. There is actually complete silence on the actual date of our Lord’s earthly birth. From the Gospels to Acts, to the Epistles and Revelations, there is no reference of Jesus’ disciples and followers ever celebrating His birthday. What is revealed if anything is that this date could not have occurred in December. Caesar Augustus’ decree recorded in Lk 2:1-3, requiring the Roman world including women and children to go to be taxed at their own cities, would not have been performed in winter due to cold winter winds in that part of the world, as alluded to by Jesus in Matt 24:20, “Pray ye that your flight be not in the winter.” It is believed the shepherds who saw the heavenly host while watching their flocks by night in Lk 2:8, would not have been outside at winter, but would have moved into shelter by October at latest. Some calculating the order of priestly duties that fell on Zacharias, have estimated the birth of John the Baptist to be in March, which would yield September as a possible month of our Lord’s birth based on Lk1:36.

God is not a God of confusion (1Cor14:33). If it is His will that we celebrate Jesus’ birthday, He would surely reveal the date to us, but instead, this date is Sovereignly withheld.

In addition to Mary and Joseph, the shepherds who heard the angels sing praises to God on that day that Jesus entered into our world (Lk2:11-14, Heb1:6), and any others who may have been present, would have known the date of Jesus’ birth. Consider those also close to our Lord: - John, the Beloved, who took Mary as his own mother (Jn19:26-27); Peter, impetuous favourite and mentor to Mark; and Matthew Levi, former tax collector who understood the value of goods of all description. Add Luke, beloved physician, Paul’s travelling companion and meticulous historian who set out events chronologically in the gospel of Luke and the Book of Acts. None of these tell us the date! Was this not simple to do? The omission, whether these knew the date or not, clearly points to Divine withholding of its publication.

Throughout history, many who for various reasons have sought out Jesus’ real birth date, have done so in vain. If we think about it, doesn’t it require more effort to hide than to publish the date? We have for example the date of our Lord’s vicarious death on Calvary for our sins. And since Jesus Himself is the Living Word (Jn1:1), what does this silence in the Bible signify?

The Position of the Early Church and Puritans
The Early Church and the Puritans rejected celebrations of Jesus’ birth because of their deep reverence for Christ, the Son of God. According to Crippen[3], the Church Fathers “did not want this sacred occasion put on par with pagan carnivals” and Origen in the early 3rd Century, was recorded to have said that it was “sinful to keep Christ’s birthday as though He were a King Pharaoh”. According to Rev Hislop[2], Tertullian bitterly lamented the inconsistency of the disciples of Christ participating in these festivities. He quotes Tertullian’s De Idolatria, “By us, who are strangers to (Jewish) Sabbaths, and new moons, and festivals, once acceptable to God, the Saturnalia, the feast of January, the Brumalia, and Matronalia are now frequented; gifts are carried to and fro, new year’s day presents are made with din, and sports and banquets are celebrated with uproar; oh, how much more faithful are the heathen to their religion, who take special care to adopt no solemnity from the Christians.”

The following are some of the verses that should impart a reverence in our hearts for the Deity and Person of our Lord Jesus and help us to reject the vain and false celebrations of Christmas.

“But thou, Beth-lehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.” (Mic 5:2)

“For this Melchisedec, king of Salem, priest of the most high God, … without father, without mother, without descent, having neither beginning of days, nor end of life; but made like unto the son of God; abideth … continually.” (Heb 7:1&3)

“Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you, Who by him do believe in God, that raised him up from the dead, and gave him glory; that your faith and hope might be in God. (1Pet 1:20-21)

“I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, the first and the last.” (Rev 22:13)

Our joy shall be in our Lord and on the salvation that He has wrought in our hearts, and not on external things or on a day. Jesus is God’s Eternal Son, Alpha and Omega, First and the Last, the Great “I AM”, Forever Existing, the same Yesterday, Today and Forever, by and for Whom all things are made and without Whom was nothing made that was made. When the Pharisees challenged Him that He was not yet 50 years old, He Who is First before any was born replied, “before Abraham was, I AM” (Jn8:58). Simon Peter was particularly blessed to be the first to recognise Jesus’ Deity: “He fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, Depart from me; for I am a sinful man, O Lord” (Lk5:8) and “he answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God” (Matt16:16). And upon this rock (truth of His Deity), Jesus declared He will build His church (Matt16:17-18).

Through the centuries, the early believers and those later persecuted during the Dark Ages and the Puritans, all disapproved of Christmas. John Knox was recorded to have written to some Puritans in 16th Century England, jailed for refusing to observe the “holy days” of the Roman Catholic Church (RCC), which they considered as “tools of the devil”. According to Crippen[3], in Glasgow (after the reformation in Scotland), the Puritan Kirk Session on 26 December 1583 “put 5 persons to public penance for keeping the superstitious day called Yule” and in 1593, a law was passed that “keepers of this feast should be debarred from the privileges of the Church and punished by the magistrates.” Krythe[1] mentions that the pilgrim settlers in America (from the 1620 Mayflower voyage from Holland and England), passed a law in 1659 that “Whosoever shall be found observing any such day as Christmas and the like, … shall pay for each offense 5 shillings as a fine to the country.

Crippen[3] records that the Presbyterians in the Scottish highlands eventually compromised on Christmas under the influence of the large Roman Catholic population there. Elsewhere, it appears that the Anglicans and Lutherans coming directly out of the RCC, did not fully reform itself out of all its practices. Gradually, the vanguard was lowered so that today, the main-line denominations mostly enjoin in Christmas. Only a number of fundamental and independent churches today continue to abstain from this inappropriate practice based on the scriptures’ call us to come out (withdraw) from among them and be separate (2Cor 6:17, Rev 18:4). How about you dear reader? Should you not stand like the early Church and Puritans stood?

Christmas’ Pagan Heritage
We already have indications from the position of the Early Church and the Puritans that the origins of Christmas are pagan. Pagan idolatry began with the peoples of the earth uniting to build a tower at Babel [Babylon] (Gen12:9) and it shall end with the peoples of every religion uniting to form a great One World Religion or Church called “Mystery, Babylon the Great, The Mother of Harlots and Abominations of the Earth” (Rev 17:5).

If we search in most public libraries, we will find in ancient times December 25 closely related to high pagan feast days known as Saturnalia (feast to Saturn) and dies Natalis Solis Invicti, (birth/return of the Unconquered Sun). What is less obvious is that these feasts are both related to the worship of the Babylonian Messiah Ninus alias Nimrod. In the Babylonian Mysteries, by triangular reasoning, the Virgin Cybele who is Nimrod’s wife, is Ninus’ mother and wife at the same time so that Ninus and Nimrod are one. Today in the RCC, Mary is similarly and blasphemously worshipped as the “Mother of God”. During “Christmas”, Cybele, known also as Diana or Artemis of Ephesus in Acts19:35, is also worshipped (Matronalia).

In Acts7:42-43, Stephen as he was about to be martyred, revealed that God had turned away and given up the Jews to worship the host of heaven and the stars as the Babylonians did, and then recompensed them with captivity in Babylon. Comparing vse 43 with his direct quotation of Amos5:26, Remphan equals Chuin of Amos, the Assyrian equivalent for Saturn. We note that the importance of Saturn as the god of pagan worship is so great that the 7th day of the week in our Gregorian calendar is named Saturday (Satur = Saturn).

Idolatry is the worship of that which is not God; that which is created and is the creature rather than the Creator who is blessed forever (Rom1:23-25). In the Ten Commandments, God commanded, “Thou shalt not bow down thyself unto them, nor serve them: for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me.” (Deut5:9). The scriptures also teach that idolatry is spiritual adultery, rebellion, stubbornness and abomination against God. Hos4:12 declares that “My people ask counsel at their stocks, and their staff declareth unto them: for the spirit of whoredoms hath caused them to err, and they have gone a whoring from under their God.”

25 December by contrast in ancient times was the feast of Saturn. Saturnalia is not dead and a search on the Internet will reveal more than 4,600 websites, a sizeable number of which deals in astrology, the New Age movement, witchcraft and other abominations. Today’s Christmas continues to be replete with ancient pagan icons such as Yuletide (“Yule” being a Chaldee word for “infant” or “little child” depicting Ninus), Christmas trees (in Egypt, the tree was the palm-tree denoting the pagan messiah, Baal-Tamar, and in Rome, the fir, referring to him as Baal-Berith) Santa Claus (Saint Nicholas) and other idolatrous icons and practices.

Christ Mass: Chief Idolatrous Feast of Babylon-Rome
The practice of Christ Mass (Christmas) was adapted and introduced to the world by Pope Julius I in the 4th Century [9]. The evidence shows that the RCC also introduced the idolatrous worship of Mary on Christmas, based on the worship of the Virgin Cybele. According to the Babylonian Mysteries, 25 March was the annunciation of the Virgin Cybele, nine months before the birth of Ninus on 25 December. The RCC adopted this day, 25 March, to be celebrated as the day of “the annunciation of the angel Gabriel to Mary” in Lk1:26-38, although the scriptures again are silent as to this date.

The RCC calendar is also filled with saints’ days and feast days. 8 September for example is celebrated as Mary’s birthday. According to Francis Weiser[4], an RCC priest and author, each RCC “saints day is really a reflection and minor realisation of the Passion and Resurrection of Christ” and the Mass (comprising the Holy Communion) is the “supreme act of Sunday worship”. These feast days and saints days are part of a complex and ornate, inter-woven system of Roman-Babylonian idolatry (Rev 17), coupled with an idolatrous distortion of our Lord’s Supper wherein the wafer is turned into god and worshipped, and where all communicants at Mass must kneel before the priest. But this is the very distortion and idolatry that resulted in the 16th Century Protestant Reformation! The RCC errors culminate at its highest point at Christ Mass – the chief of High Masses celebrated on that chief pagan Saturnalia day of 25 December.

The second most important RCC Mass is the Easter Mass, based on the worship of the Chaldean goddess Eastre and related to Moon worship. Although Easter may be said to correspond with our Lord’s Passover and Resurrection, it in reality does not, as seen in the motives for Pope Gregory XII’s calendar reforms of 1582. The two great pagan feasts of the Babylonian Mysteries, related to Sun/Saturn and moon worship respectively are re-enacted in the guise of the birth of Jesus (Christ Mass) and His resurrection (Easter). A list of Bible verses prohibiting worship of planetary bodies is given in Appendix 1.

Our Lord is no longer a babe in the manger nor is He still on the cross, “for by one offering He hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified and is seated at the right hand of the Father in heaven, our High Priest interceding on our behalf.” (Heb 10:12-14, 21). We give in Appendix 4, a reproduction of 50 Christmas stamps, depicting how the world see Christmas – with Madonna and child. This Madonna is the very pagan queen of heaven, blasphemously called “Mother of God.” She is Diana/Artemis in the guise of “Mary” and not the real Mary of the bible, meek, lowly, a handmaid of the Lord, keeping and pondering spiritual truths in her heart. The real Mary would never allow herself to be worshipped, but is a believer in and worshipper of the Lord Jesus, numbered with the early church (Act 1:14).

Christian believers will not be able to change the world’s perceptions of Christmas by celebrating with them even on a sanitised basis without Santa Claus and Christmas trees. The scriptural way for effective witness is not to participate but to withdraw (2Cor6:17-18).

End-Times Ecumenicalism
We already saw that in the last days, the world’s religions shall unite to form a great One World Religion which Rev17:5 calls “Mystery, Babylon the Great, The Mother of Harlots and Abominations of the Earth.” Rev17:1&15 further tell that the great whore or Mother of Harlots will sit upon many waters, which represents peoples, multitudes, nations and languages. Rev17:2-4 describes her blasphemous character, her hold on political rulers, her wealth and extravagance and her extensive idolatry. She is also shown as sitting on a scarlet coloured beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns, who is none other than the anti-Christ beast whose number is 666 of Rev13:18.

The harlotry lies in the One World Church compromising and comprising of all religions, regardless of doctrine, dogma, beliefs and practice but having a commonality in rejecting the Supreme Deity and Person of our Only Saviour, Jesus Christ who is the only Mediator between God and man. The result is a form of godliness without the power thereof (2Tim3:5). The One World Church shall be an idolatrous System that will worship Satan and his anti-Christ (Rev13:4-5). It is called Babylon the Great for it embraces the entire Babylonian Mysteries, and worships Nimrod, its deified god-man, who is also the anti-Christ. From Gen10:8-11, we know that Nimrod is the founder of Babel and Asshur [Assyria] and from Mic5:6, that Assyria is called the land of Nimrod presumably because Nimrod is worshipped there. Nimrod whose name means, “we shall rebel”, also fits the description of the head that was wounded to death and then healed in Rev13:3, for in the Mysteries, he died a violent death but came back to life. Thus the beast of Rev17 is described as the beast that was, and is not, and yet is, for Nimrod was, and shall again be. The spirit of anti-Christ and the rebellious spirit of Nimrod are one.

The late Rev Hislop, a scholar well versed in ancient biblical languages, researching deeply into these Mysteries, discovered that Nimrod’s name, as head of the system named “Mystery”, was Saturn. Taking the Bible literally and his cue from the words, “Mystery, Babylon the Great,” Rev Hislop demonstrated that in Chaldee (the language of Babylon), Mystery signifies “Hidden system” and Saturn, spelt STÜR, means “Hidden god ”. To the initiated, the god was revealed; to all else he was a mystery. STÜR then is actually that anti-Christ or beast who had a number of a man equal to 666, indicated by the Apostle John in Rev 13:18. Chaldean letters are also numbers and STÜR comprises Semkath/60, Taw/400, Waw/6 and Resh/200, which totals 666 (see Appendix 3). Chaldee, of which the Hebrew language is derivative, (Abraham having come from Ur of the Chaldees), was not strange to the Apostle John, nor was the Babylonian mystery religion, which was widespread throughout the Roman Empire.

Not only 666 but it shall be the number of a man. Saturn, the hidden god of the Mysteries, was publicly known to all Rome, both uninitiated and initiated alike, as Janus or Eanus, the grand Mediator, the opener and the shutter, who had the key of the invisible world. Derived from the ancient Chaldee, E-anush simply means “the Man”! Thus the Babylonian anti-Christ beast of Rev13:18 will first make its appearance as a “man”. “The Man,” was applied to the Babylonian Messiah Ninus as identifying him with the promised seed of the Woman and intended to designate him as the “god-man.” (Does not the anti-Christ try to imitate Christ?) Now the Pope is Janus’ legitimate representative; founding his claim to universal homage on the possession of Janus’ keys of heaven, that empowers him, in defiance of every principle of Christianity, to open and shut the gates of glory, according to his mere sovereign will and pleasure. Do we know that January, the starting month of the Roman-Gregorian calendar is Janus’ month? Satan is called the “god of this world” (2Cor4:4) not for nothing.

With all the prophecies pertaining to the Second Coming of Christ practically fulfilled, including the restoration of the nation of Israel in 1948, we believe that this One World Church will be the result of the present day Ecumenical Movement, first formulated by the World Council of Churches also in 1948. The apostle Paul also tells us in 2Thess2:3, that the Second Coming of our Lord shall not take place until there first be a falling away of the churches which will also pave the way for the revelation of the son of perdition or anti-Christ. With the Ecumenical agenda reaching her final stages, this may soon happen on the world.

The Ecumenical Spirit of Christmas
Since every nation has its gods (2Kings17:29) and all pagan religions of the world originate from one root, they will meet again in the Babylon Mysteries. As such, it does not surprise that Christmas, which originated in Babylon, has become the world’s pre-eminent festival, popular in almost every country, even in decidedly un-Christian ones and respected by the Inter-faith movement and by Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, and others. There is also a growing program for people of all religions to share in the celebrations of Christmas.

Christmas by invoking sentimental but false feelings as the “birthday of Jesus” readily lends itself as the springboard for the culmination of the ecumenical movement that will result in the one World Church or Mother of Harlots of Rev17:5. These false feelings should not surprise because the spirit of 666 is the spirit of the beast on which the ecumenical Woman of Rev 17:5 sits. The universalists who say that everyone, regardless of religion, faith or life conduct, will eventually be saved, welcome this “spirit of Saturnalia-Christmas”, for they say on that day, the angels pronounced “On earth, peace, good will toward all people” (Lk2:10, 14) and thus all will be saved under the umbrella of the One World Church. In this, they miss the point of the evangel where Jesus said “but if it be not worthy, let your peace return to you. And whosoever shall not receive you or hear your words, when ye depart out of that house or city, shake off the dust of your feet. Verily I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrha in the day of judgement, than for that city.” (Matt10:13-15). Did not Jeremiah say of the false prophets, “They have healed also the hurt of the daughter of my people slightly, saying, Peace, peace; when there is no peace.” (Jer6:14, 8:11, 28:9).

Christmas 2000 has been chosen by “Evangelicals and Catholics Together” (ECT) as the date for “re-union” between Protestants and the “Mother Church”. On that day, the Ecumenical Movement will have a field day, calling religious devotees to unity as the best “2000-year birthday present” that the world can give to “Jesus”. It will be a grand affair as the world enters into the 3rd Millennium AD on 1 January 2001. Sentimental cords will be pulled and those celebrating Christmas will be moved by its appeal. But Jesus said we are to beware of false Christs (Matt 24:24). The formation of the one World Church will only bring the Judgement of plagues described in the Book of Revelations closer upon the world.

Christmas’ Worldliness
As far as the world is concerned, Christmas is not a season for sober preaching and reverential remembrance but for unrestrained passions and partying in character no different to Belshazzar’s Godless revelry recorded in Dan 5:1-4. Both professing believers and non-believers alike join to celebrate this “happy yearly event” with partying, glitter and glitz, even in countries like Japan where nominal Christians make up less than 0.1% of the population. This is accompanied by the highest levels of alcohol consumption, wantonness, abandon and waste in the year, reminiscent of Rome’s ancient feasts in honour of Diana. In the two shopping months surrounding Christmas, many departmental stores reap the equivalent of their sales profits for the remainder ten months of the year. This is also the season with the highest road fatalities and crime rates. Did not Peter forewarn us? “For the time past of our life may suffice us to have wrought the will of the Gentiles, when we walked in lasciviousness, lusts, excess of wine, revellings, banquetings, and abominable idolatries: Wherein they think it strange that ye run not with them to the same excess of riot, speaking evil of you.” (1Pet4:3-4).

Our Lord’s name is Jesus for “He shall save His people from their sins” (Matt 1:21). He came to bring blessings to the world but not through Christmas, for He has nothing to do with Belial (2 Cor 6:15). Biblical separation requires that we come out of the world and its worldly manners, lusts and pride as well as its unclean religious roots (2 Cor 6:17,18, 1Jn2:15-17). Do not Jesus’ words in Jn 15:18-19 touch a responsive chord? “If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you. If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you.” In stark contrast, the world loves Christmas. May we pray that the Lord will help us to understand the issues and examine our hearts.

CONCLUSION
We have reviewed the key reasons why bible-believing Christians ought to have no part in the RCC instituted celebrations with Babylonian origins called Christmas. In summary: -

• God did not ordain Christmas. As proof, Jesus’ real birth date was Sovereignly withheld.
• Reverence for the Person and Deity of Jesus Christ requires that we focus not on a day, which is but a shadow of things to come, nor on an event, but on the Substance, Christ Himself (Col 2:16-17).
• Christmas’ Pagan Heritage: From ancient times, 25 December was the Babylonian high feast Saturnalia and the Roman Natalis Solis Invicti, both related to the worship of Nimrod who is also known as Saturn or Janus (E-anush).
• Saturnalia is the feast to Satur, the 666 beast on which the Ecumenical one World Church of Rev 17:5 sitteth. Thus the spirit of Christmas shall be also the spirit of ecumenicalism.
• The Early Church and the Puritans’ opposition to believers celebrating Christmas.
• Christ Mass is the Chief Idolatrous Feast of the RCC.
• Christmas is associated with expansive display of worldliness that has nothing to do with believers, but is opposite to everything that Jesus taught about the world and not loving it.

May we conclude with thoughts and lessons from Jesus’ heart? When a woman in Lk11:27-28 lifted up her voice and said to Him, “Blessed is the womb that bare thee, and the paps which thou has sucked,” Jesus’ reply was “Yea rather, blessed are they that hear the word of God, and keep it.” (Compare also our Lord’s statements in Matt12:47-50, Lk10:38-42, Matt7:21). Our Lord’s foremost concern is the spiritual reality of our relation with God. To Nicodemus, Jesus said “Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. That which is born of flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven.” (Jn 3: 3, 6 & 13).

Truly, our Lord Jesus will not focus on His earthly birth. He taught that only one thing is needful (Lk 10:42). May the Holy Spirit help us to respond by focusing only on Him and live with eternity in view, in Christ’s timeless bosom! Let us live unto Christ, not Christmas.

BIBLIOGRAPHY
1. Maymie R Krythe, “All about Christmas” (Harper & Row, 1954)
2. Alexander Hislop, “The Two Babylons or The Papal Worship proved to be the Worship of Nimrod and His wife” (Loizeaux Brothers, 1916, reprint of 1959)
3. T G Crippen, “Christmas and Christmas Lore” (Gale Research Company, 1971)
4. Francis X Weiser, “Handbook of Christian Feasts” (Harcourt, Brace and Co., 1952)
5. Marguerite Ickis, “The Book of Religious Holidays and Celebrations” (Dodd, Mead & Co, 1966)
6. H W Parke, “Festivals of the Athenians” (Thames and Hudson, 1977)
7. Ruth W Gregory, “Anniversary and Holidays” (American Library Association, 1975)
8. “The Oxford History of Christianity” edited by John Mc Manners (Oxford University Press, 1993)

Articles from the Internet
9. “Winter Festivals From the Past and Present” (http://www.maui.net/~mcculc/xmas.htm)
10. Peter Meyer, “The Julian and the Gregorian Calendars.” (http://www.magnet.ch.serendipity/cal_stud/cal_art.htm)
11. “The Aramaic-Chaldean Language, Alphabet & Numeration.” (http://chaldean.net/people/language.html)

TRADITIONAL OBJECTIONS TO OUR POSITION

Despite the truths presented, there may be sincere brethren who disagree with our position. We will look at some of the traditional grounds for their position and give our response.

It matters not if the origins are pagan

The traditional position is that it matters not Christmas has pagan origins, so long as we celebrate Christmas in a “proper way” honouring to the Lord and not repeat the pagan practices. The biblical answer to this is 1Thess5:22, “Abstain (flee from, keep far from) from all appearance of evil.” Not only evil that we are to keep far from but its very appearance also.

Not the time but the event
The traditional position is that although 25 December is not the actual birthday of our Lord, it is not the time that matters but the event of our Lord’s First Advent. If we keep “pure” and abstain from celebrating Christmas, we minimise the first Coming of Christ and go to the extreme of ignoring and doing away with it completely. A supporting illustration is that if your child’s birthday falls on a week day, you may celebrate it on the weekend with kin and friends.

It is easy to prove the improper analogy of the illustration because whereas the child’s birthdate is known, our Lord’s birthdate is not. Secondly, everyone that celebrates a birthday clearly celebrates the time as well as the event. Worse still, this date is the feast of the 666. Thirdly, those who do not celebrate Christmas do not ignore Christ’s First Advent, for every time we proclaim the gospel, we proclaim the First Advent. Fourthly, the emphasis should be neither the time nor the event but the Person of Jesus for the substance is Christ (Col2:17). All scripture is God-breathed and profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness – we do not minimise any portion of God’s Word. Rather, those who emphasise the celebration of 25 December, mis-focus their affections on a special day or event rather than on our Eternal Lord. Christ redeemed us so that our faith and hope might be in God. We ought not to continue in a vain manner of living inherited by tradition from our forefathers (1Pet1:18-21). Finally, Jesus also taught that we should keep pure (Matt5:8).

Rom 14:5-12 gives a blank cheque for the celebration of Christmas
The traditional position is that Rom14:5-12 gives a blank cheque for regarding one day above another or everyday the same, so we should not judge others in the matter of Christmas. We do not judge in that wrong critical sense with an attitude of superiority. God however, never gives a blank cheque for doing evil; only for doing good.

The church at Rome originated early for in Acts2:10, Jews and proselytes from Rome were among the first 3,000 converts at Pentecost. The church was established with a good reputation (Rom1:8) before Paul had preached there (Rom1:15), and was made up of Jewish, proselyte and gentile converts. Rome being also the capital of the Empire, many nationalities resided there, and Paul had acquaintances and kinsmen there. His salutations in Rom16 to 26 persons; included Aquila and Priscilla, some other Jews and a good number of Greeks and his epistle implicitly assumed knowledge of the OT. The saints had legitimate scruples. The proselytes had difficulties stemming from their vows on conversion to Judaism. Jews had to abstain from unclean foods, which are everyday foods to their gentile brethren, such as shrimps, crabs, cuttlefish, fish without scales, pork and shellfish. They observed Jewish dates such as Pentecost and Passover and originally worshipped on the Sabbath (7th day) which was later changed to the Lord’s Day (1st day of the week). Some dealt with these by becoming vegetarians. On the other hand, the Greek converts, freed from their pagan observances most likely considered all days as alike. Paul, a Pharisee of Pharisees, raised in Tarsus a centre of Greek Hellenic life, and a freeborn Roman citizen, could empathise with each of them. He also knew that these saints were sincere and wrote Rom14 to ensure that their different practices and scruples would not hinder unity and like-mindedness in the church (Rom15:5-7).

As for celebrating pagan-originated feast days, Paul wrote to the Galatians, “Howbeit then, when ye knew not God, ye did service unto them which by nature are no gods. But now, after that ye have known God, … how turn ye again to the weak and beggarly elements, whereunto ye desire again to be in bondage. Ye observe days, and months, and times and years. I am afraid of you, lest I have bestowed upon you labour in vain.” (Gal4:8-11). Paul’s tone was clearly different and we have to take into account that Galatia was a region of extreme paganism. At Lystra and Derbe, cities of Lycaonia where Paul and Barnabas had fled to and preached, the people called Barnabas Jupiter and Paul Mercury and tried to offer sacrifices to them. The unbelieving Jews of Antioch and Iconium had sufficient influence to persuade the people at Lystra to stone Paul (Act14:6-19). To compound problems from their past, the Galatian believers were troubled by agitators who would force them to observe OT ceremonies and accept a doctrine of justification on the basis of personal merit and some were already quickly shaken in their faith (Gal1:6).

Christmas and Easter are Western cultures
The traditional position is that Christmas is part of Western culture that should be respected. Actually Christianity originated in the East in Israel while Christmas and Easter are Roman-Babylonian. Culture is the collective programming of our minds brought about by every facet in our background and lives, including religious influences. Within culture, there are pitfalls, and wherever the apostles went, “cultural” changes occurred. Thus Silas and Paul were beaten and jailed at Philippi, the people of Ephesus rioted and caught hold of Gaius and Aristarchus, Paul’s companions. When Abraham left Ur of Chaldee, he did not retain the feast days of the Babylonians. When Joshua led God’s people into Canaan, he did not retain the culture of the Canaanites. We respect the multi-culturalism of others, yet for ourselves, order our lives according to spiritual truths, not culture based on paganism or falsehood (Ex 23:7).

Being practical and choosing out the good points of Christmas for evangelising
The traditional view is that we can choose out the good points of Christmas for evangelising.

Jesus is the Way, the Truth and the Life, indivisible. A thousand words of a good sermon can be destroyed by one careless breadth or act not in accordance with the truth. In the spiritual realm, the ends do not justify the means. Good and truth are universal so that hymns of praise related to Christ’s First Advent that are edifying can be sung at any time of the year. It need not be at “Christmas”! Believers however should not celebrate as and with the world, draining resources, strength and energy in shopping, preparation of feasts, decorations and the like. Christmas activities do not honour our Lord. Can an evil tree (Christmas) bear good fruits just because we dress it up and prune away some of its pagan leaves? (Matt 7:18).

APPENDIX 1 VERSES PROHIBITING WORSHIP OF PLANETARY BODIES

De.4:19: And lest thou lift up thine eyes unto heaven, and when thou seest the sun, and the moon, and the stars, even all the host of heaven, shouldest be driven to worship them, and serve them, which the Lord thy God hath divided unto all nations under the whole heaven.

De.17:3: And hath gone and served other gods, and worshipped them, either the sun, or moon, or any of the host of heaven, which I have not commanded;

2K.23:5: And he put down the idolatrous priests, whom the kings of Judah had ordained to burn incense in the high places in the cities of Judah, and in the places round about Jerusalem; them also that burned incense unto Baal, to the sun, and to the moon, and to the planets, and to all the host of heaven.

Jb.31:26-27: If I beheld the sun when it shined, or the moon walking in brightness; And my heart had been secretly enticed …

Je.8:2: And they shall spread them before the sun, and the moon, and all the host of heaven, whom they have loved, and whom they have served, and after whom they have walked, and whom they have sought, and whom they have worshipped: they shall not be gathered, nor be buried; they shall be for dung upon the face of the earth.

Ga.4:10 Ye observe days, and months, and times, and years.
APPENDIX 2 THE GREGORIAN CALENDAR REFORM
(Largely summarised from Peter Meyer, “The Julian and the Gregorian Calendars”)

We have shown that the choice of 25 December in our Gregorian calendar and 6 January in the Julian calendar as recognised by the Eastern Orthodox Church, are dictated by the ancient pagan festivals. In the Julian calendar, (named after Julius Caesar), these festivals also coincided with the start of the Roman parliament year on 1 January, and thus the start was proclaimed on that day. The Julian calendar however exceeded the solar year by 11.2 minutes so that after every 128 years, the calendar is out of sync with the equinoxes and solstices by one day. This was troubling to the Christian Church (RCC) because it affected the determination of the date of Easter, which by the 16th century, was slipping into Summer.

Pope Paul III recruited several astronomers to come up with a solution, principally the Jesuit Christopher Clavius, who built upon earlier proposals by the astronomer-physician Luigo Lilio. When Pope Gregory XIII was elected, he decided in favour of Clavius, and on 24/2/1582, issued a papal bull, Inter Gravissimas, that established the Gregorian Calendar, which is currently in use in all Western and Westernised countries.

The Gregorian reform omitted 10 days from the calendar (decreeing that the day following 4/10/1582 would thenceforth be known as 15/10/1582) and modified the rules for leap years. It also established new rules for determining Easter (the old relied on the Jewish calendar).

It may be noted that there was no necessity for 10 days or even 12 days to have been omitted from the calendar, which after the leap year rule changes, would have been synchronised with the vernal equinoxes. Why then were 10 days omitted? The average length of the vernal equinox year has been 365.242 whereas the average Julian year was 365.25 years, with a difference per year of 0.008 days. Between Year 1 to 1582, the calendar drifted by 1581 x 0.008 = 12.6 days. However Pope Gregory took reference from the First Council of Nicea (Iznik, Turkey) held in 325 which set the method for determining Easter. From 325 to 1582, the calendar diverged by 1257 x 0.008 = 10.1 days, so 10 days were removed to restore the date to Easter to the same time at which it had occurred at the time of the Council of Nicea.

For Gregory, keeping harmony with the 2nd most important RCC holyday was more important than getting AD1 right, for the year of our Lord’s birth is misstated by 4 - 6 years. If we compare the Gregorian calendar with the calendar specified to the people of Israel in Exodus 12:2, God declared that the first day of the first month of the year starts in the Spring (the month in which on the 10th day the Pascal lamb was to be set aside to be killed on the 14th day). It is this Pascal date that anticipates exactly the death of our Lord as our Passover Lamb that marks the beginning month of God’s ordained year. The Gregorian Calendar ignores this and starts the year in the month honoring Janus who is also Saturn alias Nimrod.

APPENDIX 3 ARAMAIC-CHALDEAN (PROOF FOR HISLOP’S NUMERATION)
(Extracted and summarised from http://chaldean.net/people/language.html)

The Aramaic-Chaldean Language
The Aramaic-Chaldean language is used by both Assyrians and Babylonians. The written form of Aramaic is the classical Chaldean and is the same for all users of Aramaic. The spoken form has several dialects that have acquired words of non-Aramaic usage. The two most prominent vernacular forms are these: 1) The dialect of Telkaif and the adjacent villages around Ninevah, and 2) the dialect of the northern Mesopotamian mountains on the borders of Iran and Turkey; this dialect is commonly referred to as Assyrian.

Forms of the Alphabet
There are three forms of the Chaldean alphabet: The oldest form, consisting entirely of capitals, is Strangheli. All Chaldean manuscripts dating back to before the sixth century AD were written in this form. The second form started early in the 8th century. It has two branches: a) Eastern Syriac - also called "Nestorian" or "Oriental" (Today's Chaldean and Assyrian are of this group.) and b) Western Syriac, or "Occidental". The last form is called "Jacobite".

Today's Chaldean Language
The Chaldean Language is an offshoot of Aramaic, which is a member of the Semitic Family of languages. Chaldean, like its sister Semitic languages, is written from right to left. There are two forms of the Chaldean language: 1) the Classical, which is still in use in the liturgy of the Chaldean Church; 2) The spoken (vernacular), also called "sooreth". There are twenty-two letters in the Chaldean language, each producing a distinct sound. From right to left they read: Alap Beth Gamal Daleth He Waw Zain Heth Teth Yoth Kap Lameth Mim Noon Semkath Ey Pe Sadhe Qpe Resh Sheen Taw.

Numeration
There are no distinct numerals in the Chaldean language. The letters of the alphabet are used as numbers (like Latin and Greek). The first nine letters of the alphabet are used for the numerals 1 through 9. The second set of nine letters are used for the decades from 1 through 9. The final four letters are used to denote hundreds, from 1 through 4. If numbers beyond 400 are used, then one hundred through nine hundred are written by using the tenth through the 18th letter and placing a dash over each letter. Thousands, one through nine, use the first nine letters of the alphabet, with a "-" symbol underneath the letter.

Alphabet Letter Numeral Alphabet Letter Numeral
Alap A 1 Lameth L 30
Beth B 2 Mim M 40
Gamal G 3 Noon N 50
Daleth D 4 Semkath S (Se) 60
He He 5 Ey E 70
Waw W 6 Pe P 80
Zain Z 7 Sadhe Sad 90
Heth H 8 Qpe Q 100
Teth Te 9 Resh R 200
Yoth Y 10 Sheen Sh 300
Kap K 20 Taw T 400

The pronunciation for Saturn in English is “sætarn” with the “e” accent, (Oxford). In Chaldee, it is SATÜR without the “n”, and spelt STÜR, with the accented or Double U. Thus: -

S Semkath 60
T Taw 400
Ü Waw 6
R Resh 200
Total Numeral Value: 666

Bread of Life

2008-05-11T17:41:00.000-07:00

by John Tow

We come to faith

Not by our might,

We see the light

Yet not by sight.

For deep in sin

We have no way

To know what is

The Truth, I say,

'Tis only when

His word so dear

Is spread abroad

Its message clear

That only those

Above the noise

Will rise to hear

His loving voice

Revived at last,

At His behest,

We live again

In Him to rest.

How blessed are we

Saved by His grace

Raised evermore

To seek His face.

Chosen of God.

We will anew

Our lives for Him,

Faithful and true.

Children of His

Praise we the Lord

Who gave to us

His precious Word.

Lamp to our feet

Food for the soul

Help for the work

Joy for the whole.

Our Bread of Life

And nourishment,

How sweet and pure,

God's Testament

The Bible: The Book of Life

2008-02-22T21:52:00.000-08:00

By A. W. Tozer

THE BIBLE IS UNIQUE AMONG BOOKS, which means simply that no book has been produced just like it.

The Bible is not a book of history, though it contains much history, and all it does contain is authentic. It is not a book of science, though all its pronouncements upon the facts usually falling into the category of science are accurate and trustworthy. It is not a book of biography, though its biographical sketches are easily the most inspiring in the world. It is not a book of philosophy, though it is the sum of all that is deep and sound philosophy. It is not a book of astronomy, though its references to the sun and the stars rate among the loftiest sayings ever recorded. It is not a book of psychology, though its knowledge of the workings of the human mind astonishes the reader and lays bare his soul. It is not strictly a book of theology, though it is the source of all the true theology this fallen world will ever know.

What, then, is the Bible? It is the Book of Life. “The words that I speak unto you”, said our Lord, "they are spirit, and they are life.”

The Bible is a life-bringing and a life-giving book. It is not primarily concerned with any department of human thought for its own sake. If the Bible speaks about the rainbow, it is that we may be reminded of God's covenant of mercy with mankind. If it tells the story of Abraham, it does so that we may learn to know the place of faith in our relation to God. If it points us to the moon and the stars, it is that we may know how frail we are. If it talks about the birds, it is to teach us to trust our Heavenly Father without fear or doubting. It tells us about hell not to satisfy our morbid curiosity, but that we may steer our feet far from its terrors. It tells us about heaven that we may be prepared to enter there. It writes the history of human disgrace that we may learn the value of divine grace. It warns in order that it may turn our feet away from the paths that go down to the path of destruction. It rebukes in order that we may see our own faults and be delivered from them.

Volumes could be written in praise of the Holy Bible without using one word too many. President Woodrow Wilson once said that the Bible is a book of such importance that no one unacquainted with it can be said to be an educated man, and one who is familiar with it can be said to be uneducated. Sir Walter Scott, when he was dying, called for "the book”. A servant inquired which of his thousands of volumes he meant, and the great man replied, “The Bible, of course. For a dying man there can be no other book.” Even the skeptic, George Bernard Shaw, during the last years of his life, kept a Bible near him and never traveled without carrying a copy along with him.

We should all have several Bibles: a well-bound reference Bible for study and a large-print, plain-text Bible for devotional reading. That many at least. And if we can afford it (and we can if we will cut down somewhere else), we should have a good modern translation or two. There are dozens of them. Their chief value is to stimulate interest by affording a change of style and to throw sidelights upon the test of the familiar King James Version.

Money invested in Bibles is money well spent. Time spent in reading the Bible is not likely to be time wasted. The Bible is the supreme gift for friends and loved ones. Words spoken in favor of the Bible are good words and, if they should fall upon the right ears, might prove to be “apples of gold in pictures of silver”.

A Prayer of a pastor

2007-08-29T22:12:00.000-07:00

"Heavenly Father,

We come before you today, to ask your forgiveness and to seek your direction and guidance.

We know Your Word says,

"Woe to those who call evil good and good evil" But that is exactly what we have done. We have lost our spiritual equilibrium and reversed our values.

We have exploited the poor and called it the lottery.

We have rewarded laziness and called it welfare.

We have killed our unborn and called it choice.

We have shot abortionists and called it justifiable.

We have neglected to discipline our children and called it building self esteem.

We have abused power and called it politics.

We have coveted our neighbor's possessions and called it ambition.

We have polluted the air with profanity and pornography and called it freedom of speech and expression. We have ridiculed the time honored values of our forefathers and called it enlightenment

Search us, Oh, God, and know our hearts today; Cleanse us from every sin and set us free

In Jesus precious name we pray, Amen!"

-source unknown-

God's Truth

2007-08-18T11:50:00.000-07:00

By A W Tozer

GOD'S THE TRUTH IS A LOVELY SONG, BECOME SWEET BY LONG AND TENDER ASSOCIATION
Charles G. Finney believed that Bible teaching without moral application could be worse than no teaching at all, and could result in positive injury to the hearers. I used to feel that this might be an extreme position, but after years of observation I have come around to it, or to a view almost identical with it.
There is scarcely anything so dull and meaningless as Bible doctrine taught for its own sake. Truth divorced from life is not truth in its Biblical sense, but something else and something less. Theology is a set of facts concerning God, man and the world. These facts may be, and often are, set forth as values in themselves; and there lies the snare both for the teacher and for the hearer.
The Bible is among other things a book of revealed truth. That is, certain facts are revealed that could not be discovered by the most brilliant mind. These facts are of such a nature as to be past finding out. They were hidden behind a veil, and until certain men who spoke as they were moved by the Holy Ghost took away that veil, no mortal man could know them. This lifting of the veil of unknowing from undiscoverable things we call divine revelation.
The Bible, however, is more than a volume of hitherto unknown facts about God, man and the universe. It is a book of exhortation based upon those facts. By far the greater portion of the book is devoted to an urgent effort to persuade people to alter their ways and bring their lives into harmony with the will of God, as set forth in its pages.
No man is better for knowing that God in the beginning created the heavens and the earth. The devil knows that, and so did Ahab and Judas Iscariot. No man is better for knowing that God so loved the world of men that He gave His only begotten Son to die for their redemption. In hell there are millions that know that. Theological truth is useless until it is obeyed. The purpose behind all doctrine is to secure moral action.
What is generally overlooked is that truth as set forth in the Christian Scriptures is a moral thing; it is not addressed to the intellect only, but to the will also. It addresses itself to the total man, and its obligations cannot be discharged by grasping it mentally. Truth engages the citadel of the human heart and is not satisfied until it has conquered everything there. The will must come forth and surrender its sword. It must stand at attention to receive orders, and those orders it must joyfully obey. Short of this any knowledge of Christian truth is inadequate and unavailing.
Bible exposition without moral application raises no opposition. It is only when the hearer is made to understand that truth is in conflict with his heart that resistance sets in. As long as people can bear orthodox truth, divorced from life, they will attend and support churches and institutions without objection. The truth is a lovely song, become sweet by long and tender association; and since it asks nothing but a few dollars, and offers good music, pleasant friendships and a comfortable sense of well-being, it meets with no resistance from the faithful. Much that passes for New Testament Christianity is little more than objective truth sweetened with song and made palatable by religious entertainment.
Probably no other portion of the Scriptures can compare with the Pauline Epistles when it comes to making artificial saints. Peter warned that the unlearned and unstable would wrest Paul's writings to their own destruction, and we have only to visit the average Bible Conference and listen to a few lectures to know what he meant. The ominous thing is that the Pauline doctrines may be taught with complete faithfulness to the letter of the text without making the hearers one whit better. The teacher may, and often does, so teach the truth as to leave the hearers without a sense of moral obligation.
One reason for the divorce between truth and life may be the lack of the Spirit's illumination. Another surely is the teacher's unwillingness to get himself into trouble. Any man with fair pulpit gifts can get on with the average congregation if he just "feeds" them and lets them alone. Give them plenty of objective truth and never hint that they are wrong and should be set right, and they will be content.
On the other hand, the man who preaches truth and applies it to the lives of his hearers will feel the nails and the thorns. He will lead a hard life, but a glorious one. May God raise up many such prophets. The church needs them badly.

From the book 'Of God and Man,' published by the Christian
Publications, Inc., 25 South Tenth St., Harrisburg, PA. 17101.

The Fullness of the Spirit

2007-08-16T09:07:00.000-07:00

By Kenneth S. WUEST

THERE ARE four grammatical rules in the Greek language which lead us to four truths relative to this great subject. The words in Ephesians 5:18 are, "Be filled with the Spirit."

First, the verb is in the imperative mode. That is, it is imperative that we be filled with the Spirit, first, because God commands it, second, because the fullness of the spirit is the divine enablement in the life of a Christian which results in a Christ-like life. Failure to be filled with the Spirit is sin and results in failure to live a life honoring to God.

Second, the tense of the verb is present, and this tense in the imperative mode always represents action going on. We learn from this that the mechanics of a Spirit-filled life do not provide for a spasmodic filling, that is, the Christian is not filled only when doing service such as preaching or teaching. But the Christian living a normal life of moment by moment yieldedness to God, experiences a moment by moment fullness of the Spirit. No Christian can do with less and at the same time live a victorious life.

Third, the verb is in the plural number, which teaches us that this command is addressed, not only to the preacher and the deacon, and the teacher in the Sunday School, but to every Christian, to the business man, the laborer, the housewife. It is the responsibility of every Christian to be always filled with the Holy Spirit.

Fourth, the verb is in the passive voice. This grammatical classification represents the subject of the verb as inactive but being acted upon. This teaches us that the filling with the Spirit is not a work of man but of God. We cannot work ourselves up to that condition by any amount of tarrying, praying, or agonizing. A simple desire for that fullness and a trust in the Lord Jesus for that fullness will result in that fullness (John 7:37-39).

But what is meant by the fullness of the Holy Spirit? We find the answer in James 4:5, "Do ye think that the Scripture saith in vain, ‘The Spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth to envy’?" The word "lust" is an obsolete English word meaning "to earnestly desire." The translation reads, "The Spirit who has taken up his permanent abode in us constantly and earnestly desires to the point of envy."

Now, what does He desire even to the point of a divine envy? In Galatians 5:17 we read, "For the flesh has a strong desire to suppress the Spirit, and the Spirit has a strong desire to suppress the flesh, and these are firmly settled in an attitude of opposition to one another that you may not do the things which you constantly desire to do." The constant desire of the fallen nature is to sin. The Holy Spirit is the divine provision against sin in the life of a Christian. The evil nature wishes to use the faculties of the believer for sinful purposes. The Holy Spirit desires to use them for God's glory. The choice is with the Christian. He chooses which of the two will control his faculties. Thus the passage in James reads in paraphrase, "The Spirit who has taken up his final abode in us jealously desires the whole of us."

Yieldedness to and dependence upon the Holy Spirit results in the Spirit putting down the evil nature in defeat and producing in the believer a life pleasing to God. Thus, the fullness of the Spirit refers to His control over the believer. The translation of our text is, "Be ye being constantly filled with the Spirit."
♦ ♦ ♦
Source: Wuest’s Word Studies from the Greek New Testament, Three Volume Edition, 1973

To Know God

2007-07-30T23:36:00.000-07:00

To know God, we must also recognise that He is absolutely holy and just and righteous. Sin cannot come into the presence of God. No man, sinful as we are, can stand in the light of God’s holiness. Therefore He has declared, “Without holiness, no man can see the face of God”. “But what is sin?” you may ask, or “I have no sin,” you may say.

First of all, sin means “missing of the mark” or falling short of God’s standard and glory. When God made man, He made us in His image, that we should be holy, as He is holy. God did not set an arbitrary standard for what constitutes holiness; He Himself is the standard! Sin also means “transgression of the law” which includes all acts of disobedience to Divine law. Not to obey the first commandment is sin. Not to obey the second commandment, “Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself” (Leviticus 19:18, Matthew 19:19, James 2:8) is sin. Not to obey the commandment, “Honour thy father and thy mother” is sin. Which of us is there who has not sinned and come short of the glory of God? No, not one! (Romans 3:23).

But what of all our good deeds then? God’s Word tells us that all our good works are as filthy rags and by the deeds of the law, no flesh shall be justified in His sight. For God does not judge outwardly by appearance, even as men judge each other, but He tries our innermost hearts and weighs our motives and judges the thoughts and intents of our minds. None shall stand before Him. Out of our hearts, proceed a flow of sin and iniquity: evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness and blasphemies, which defile us. For this reason, we cannot save ourselves. Any religion that teaches us that we can or must do good deeds or penance in order to cleanse away our sins and save ourselves, fail to understand God’s holiness and the basis of His judgement. No one shall be able to pretend or hide our true hearts before the Great Judge.

If that is the case, what shall we do to get saved? How shall we stand right with God? If we could live holily on our own abilities and could stand right with God on our own righteousness, God would not have had to send a Saviour to interpose on our behalf and save us from our sins. But ever since our first forefather Adam chose to sin, sin entered the world, and we all like him have continued to sin. But what our good deeds cannot do and trying to keep the law cannot do, God did! Sending His Son to be born of a woman, to take on human flesh, to die on the cross on our behalf and to rise again on the third day, God both paid the penalty of sin and justified the sinner. “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16).

Sir/madam, this is why I have taken the liberty to quote from the Bible, which is God’s Word to the world, which alone tells us the only way of salvation. Yes, there is one God and only one way of salvation and only one mediator between God and men, which is the man Christ Jesus (1Timothy 2:5). When He was on the earth, this Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me” (John 14:6). Today, He sits at the right hand of God the Father in heaven, ever living to make intercession for those whose hearts have got right with God.

A living relationship with God

If today, you have heard God speaking to you, do not harden your heart but take the first step to respond to Him. Begin to search after Him and start praying that He will help you to find repentance toward God and faith in Jesus as Lord and Saviour. Pray that He will forgive your sins and save, change and transform you and send His Holy Spirit to live in your heart and fill you. As you seek after Him in repentance, He will bless you and own you as His own. You will begin to enter into a relationship with Him, as between a child and his father. And even as you start to know Him in an experiential and personal way, you will stand in an approved relationship with Him, justified by the blood of His Son Jesus. You will know that you are His because God knows you as His own (2Timothy 2:19).

It is our prayer that God will bless you with mercies and grace and that you may find peace and the true knowledge of God through Jesus Christ His Son.

Does God Know You?

2007-07-30T23:33:00.000-07:00

This may seem a strange question, but Sir/Madam, when I saw you, the burden on my heart was whether you stood in an approved relationship with God our Maker, with whom we all have to do. One day, we will all have to stand before the Judge and give an account of our lives on this earth. Some of us may then say, “Lord, Lord, we have done many good deeds, and even miracles, and also preached and prophesied in your name”. But will He answer in response that He recognises and own us? Or will He sadly say, “I never knew you, depart from me, you workers of iniquity”?

To have a two-way personal relationship with God means we have to know God in a personal experiential way and He in turn would know and own us as His blood-bought children. Please let me elaborate.

To know God, we must recognise that God is not a lifeless and dumb idol but is the
True and Living God Who loves and cares for us
Idols, images and icons may have eyes, but they cannot see; mouths, but they cannot speak; and hands but they cannot move. God made us and we have eyes and can see. Can God not see? We have mouths and can speak; can God not speak to our hearts? We have hands and can move. Is God’s hand so short that He cannot save us? Hence in the Ten Commandments, God says, “I am the Lord thy God. Thou shalt have no other gods before me. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.” (Exodus 20:2-6). This first commandment is also summed up as “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.” (Deuteronomy 6:5, Mark 12:30).

If you have been worshipping idols or had been superstitious or have a low view of Almighty God, may God grant that you repent quickly and turn back towards Him for forgiveness and healing. May you recognise the True and Living God, Who from heaven has clearly revealed His eternal power and Godhead to all men, even through the creation of the world. When you consider the stars and moon, and all that God has created, may you realise you have no excuse to say, “I did not know God.”

Repent and Believe

2007-07-26T17:03:00.002-07:00

The gospel calls for repentance1 towards God and faith2 in our Lord Jesus Christ. Only this complete response to the good news of God’s redeeming grace and love in sending His only begotten Son to die for us will result in a changed heart and life, that the Bible calls the “new birth3”. Anything less, is to be short-changed, leaving us still as old creatures in the bondage of sin and its regular practice, from which Jesus came to free4 us.

If you have not exercised repentance towards God and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, being baptised and a church member or even being a deacon or pastor does not mean anything. You still need to be converted, to have a changed heart and transformation, a release from sin into fullness of life5, and the filling and flowing with joy of the Holy Spirit, even as rivers of living waters from your innermost being6. This does not refer to a subsequent experience after salvation, but to salvation itself. Jesus made this clear in His sayings, “I tell you, Nay: but except ye repent, ye shall likewise perish” and “he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.”

Given their eternal importance, let us look at what these terms, “repentance towards God” and “faith in our Lord Jesus Christ” mean.

Repentance towards God

2007-07-26T17:03:00.001-07:00

Repentance is not “penance” as some think. The “doing of penance” by the drudgery of repeated prayers or the self-infliction of wounds by carrying the kavadi, running through fire or other means, is a futile human attempt to atone for one’s own sins on the basis of one’s own merits. Just as Cain’s offering from the ground was accursed, all our good deeds are as filthy rags in the sight of God. Since the time of Adam, mankind is a fallen race and our natural hearts are deceitful above all things and desperately wicked. God who searches the heart and tries our thoughts, motives and intentions, gives to every man according to our ways (Jer17:9-10). Will He not see in our “penance” our deceitfulness in still loving our sins and intending soon afterwards to repeat the same? In contrast, our Lord Jesus once and for all made an end of sin in His finished work on the cross (Heb10:11-14). The call to repentance is the call to turn away from sin with finality.

In the New Testament, the term repent is made of two Greek words, “to change afterwards” and “to perceive, as from the mind as the seat of moral reflection.” Hence to repent is to change one’s mind or purpose with reference to sin. The term “towards God” completes the picture. Repentance is turning away from sin and turning towards God. This is well illustrated in the parable of the prodigal son who came to his senses and returned to his father saying “Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in they sight, and am no more worthy to be called thy son” (Luke15:21). Similarly, David’s psalm of repentance towards God, “I acknowledge my transgressions and my sin is ever before me. Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight” (Psalm51:3-4).

Rom2:4-5 tells us that “the goodness of God leads us to repentance, but men’s hardness and impenitent hearts resist the love of God, choosing rather to treasure and store up unto ourselves wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgement of God. May this not be for you, dear reader, but may your heart melt in gratitude when you consider the great love of God in providing all you need and furnishing you with talents and strength and showing you mercies and kindness in sparing you in accidents and illnesses. Often, it is because we have no gratitude that we are not repentant. 2Cor7:10 adds that “godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation, not to be repented of, but the sorrow of the world worketh death”. Remorse and self-pity for the evil consequences of our own sins is not repentance. A godly grief and pain of what our rebellion means to the heart of God is what will produce genuine turning away from sin leading to salvation and deliverance.

Finally, the fruits of repentance must accompany repentance. John the Baptist, forerunner of Jesus, preached the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins, saying, “The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.” To those who came, John said, “Bring forth therefore fruits worthy of repentance” and “the axe is laid unto the root of the trees: every tree therefore which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down and cast into the fire” (Luke3:3-9).

Faith in our Lord Jesus Christ

2007-07-26T17:02:00.001-07:00

Faith is not a mere intellectual assent or a passing knowledge of something. Knowing some facts about Jesus does not mean that you know Jesus in a vital, personal, experiential way that places you in an approved relationship to Him7. The New Testament Greek noun rendered “faith” and its verb form rendered “believe” means primarily a firm persuasion, a conviction based upon hearing (Rom10:17).

Romans10:10 also tells us that “with the heart man believeth unto righteousness”. The heart represents man’s entire personality including his mind, emotion and will. To believe with the heart is to believe fully, resting all in the Lord and accounting Him absolutely worthy to be trusted. Abraham believed in God and it was accounted to him for righteousness and he became the father of all who will walk in his example of faith8, in a life of complete dependence on God.

Today, there are many who think they are Christians who sadly have not or do not believe that Jesus is the Christ, the one unique and only Promised Messiah (1John5:4) or that He came in human flesh (1John4:2-3) and died for our sins on the cross and was buried, and rose again on the third day (1Cor15:3-4).

Genuine faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour must include 1) a firm conviction producing a full acknowledgement of Him as to His claims and His teachings, 2) a personal surrender to follow Him and obey His commandments and 3) a changed life and conduct inspired by such surrender9. Only then would a man deny himself and take up his cross and follow Jesus. Yes, we must all look back to Calvary’s cross where Jesus in love died for all “my sins” and there realise the viciousness of sin and our own condemned, lost and helpless estate deserving of hell. Then, we would realise that if there were no other sinner in the world, the Lamb of God would still have died for “me”. O what marvellous grace that God my Creator would die for such a worm as I!

What a hatred for sin faith would instil in the heart of a true believer? And what comfort of joy to know that Jesus has ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of the Father, ever interceding for us! This will spur us on to live an abundant life, filled with fruit, joy and genuine holiness, with our values transformed towards the things of God above.

We know that there may be friends in churches today, who have not heard this message of repentance and faith or have not experienced its reality. May the Lord speak to you and help you. Unless you have truly repented and believed and experienced the new birth, your religious life, no matter how active or demanding, if you would be honest in the sight of God, is really a tiresome losing struggle against sin and dryness of bones. For if you have not truly believed in Jesus and Him alone, how shall rivers of living water flow in your belly?

If God is speaking to you in His mercy, may you not harden your heart? Take a first step in response to Him, for He will draw near to those who draw near to Him. Examine your relationship with Jesus Christ and earnestly pray that God will help you to find genuine repentance and faith. He stands willing to forgive and to change and transform you and bless you with the presence of His Holy Spirit10 to help you live worthily of Him.

1 Matt3:2, 4:17, Mark1:15, Luke13:3-5, 24:47, Act2:38, 3:19, Rom2:4, 2Cor7:10
2 John3:15 – 18, 7:38, 9:35-38, Act16:31, 20:21
3 John3:3, 2Cor5:17
4 John8:34-36, Rom6:18, 22
5 John10:10
6 John7:38
7 Matt7:22-23, John10:27-29, 2Tim2:19
8 Rom4:11-12, 21-22, Gal3:6-7
9 Matt28:20, 16:24-26, Mark8:34-38, John14:21-24, Eph4:22-24, Col3:7-10, 1Jn3:24
10 Act5:32

Weakness, Perseverance and Posterity

2007-07-24T15:53:00.001-07:00

Abraham was ordinary except for his faith. He was not perfect but it is too easy to over-estimate his weaknesses if we do not consider the context in which he daily faced trials. Abraham was called to be a sojourner in a land, whose wickedness was so great that God had decreed to destroy its inhabitants and to give the land to his descendants half a millennium later when the sins of the Amorites were complete. Moreover, he was told to walk all over the land to claim every part by faith for his descendants. From city to city where they travelled, he requested Sarah to say that she was his sister, lest the people there were godless enough to kill him for her, for she had exceptional beauty. Once, under Pharaoh in Egypt where they sought refuge during a famine, and again under Abimelech in Gerar of the Philistines, this tactic proved a useful preventive. Both Pharaoh and Abimelech in turn took Sarah and when chastised by God, pointed at Abraham in turn who was only being wise as a serpent and innocent as a dove.

Abraham’s faith knew no anti-climax or turning back. When very old, after God had blessed him with all things, he forgot not God’s Covenant extending to his Seed and sent his eldest servant to Haran to take a wife for Isaac, seeing that the Canaanites were under God’s judgement. One cannot read this account without being touched by God’s goodness in leading this faithful servant straight to Rebecca and completely answering his prayer outside Nahor’s city, even as he was still praying! Abraham lived to see Jacob born. Isaac and Jacob in their turn took Abraham’s God as their God. Jacob’s descendants sojourned in Egypt until God raised Moses to lead them out, accompanied with mighty acts of wonders, “for God remembered His holy promises and Abraham his servant.” 14 generations from Abraham, God raised up King David, a man after God’s heart! 28 generations later, Jesus Christ was born.

It is written that Abraham had two sons, one by a bondmaid and the other by a free-woman. Human weakness made Abram yield to Sarai’s insistence to have Hagar bear them a child. In their days, powerful men and kings were allowed to have more than one wife, and this was not considered adultery so long as the wives were not another man’s , but it is not so today with progressive revelation of God’s perfect will for one man to have one wife. As a result, Ishmael was born, who became the father of 12 princes and Arab states that till today are still enemies of the descendants of Isaac, the child of promise. After Sarah’s death, Abraham married Keturah, whose descendants and those of his concubines were also sent to the East, adding to the Arab nations. This would be difficult to understand except that God’s promise that Abraham would be the father of many nations was to have physical fulfilment. But as for the multitude of children by the free-woman, we all are who follow in Abraham’s footsteps and put our faith and trust in Jesus Christ, the Lord of Glory!
Is Our Faith Right?
Dear friends, are we sojourners in the steps of faith in which Abraham walked, leaving behind Ur’s worldliness, idolatry and ecumenical compromise to be separate and holy unto the Lord? Biblical faith is not visions and positive visualising commonly found in today’s religious circles, that do not result in godly living but only stimulate base senses and serve no spiritual value . Rather faith is simple and sincere and starts with a grateful, seeking heart that will respond in obedience to God’s revealed truth and will. And that is all there is to it, as Abraham’s life and faith shows!

Today the gospel of Jesus Christ is the power of God unto salvation to every believer, for therein the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith. If we in faith obey Jesus’ commands, we too shall be accounted His friends. Trials and tribulations that may come shall only serve to perfect our faith for we shall have sanctified the Lord God in our hearts as our blessed hope ! O may we yearn to enter into that experience of fellowship that Abraham found with God!

Friend of God

2007-07-24T15:52:00.001-07:00

When Isaac was a lad, God put Abraham’s faith to its severest possible test. He was to journey to the land of Moriah and offer up Isaac, “thine only son, whom thou lovest” as a burnt offering on one of the mountains that God will show him. The Bible kept silent what happened that night, when perhaps the darkness accentuated the twinkle of the stars, reminding Abraham of God’s promise of numberless descendants through Isaac. What secret solace had he when his soul was pierced as when the Lord of Glory cried on the cross, “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? Why art thou so far from helping me, and from the words of my roaring?” But Abraham “rose up early in the morning, saddled his ass, took two of his young men and Isaac his son and clave the wood for the burnt offering and rose up and went into the place which God had told him”. On the third day, he lifted up his eye and saw the place afar off, and left behind the two servants and proceeded with only Isaac. His faith resolutely marched on, in the victorious blessedness of holding all for the Giver! And throughout the 3 days journey, he must have tasted what it was like for the Father to agonize until Jesus rose from the grave! If he showed nothing to Isaac, inside cried, “Trouble is near; there is none to help. Many bulls have compassed me: strong bulls of Bashan have beset me round.” But heart and mind struggling blended into God’s will – this sacrifice is to bless all mankind!

Isaac asked, “My father: Behold the fire and the wood: but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?” And Abraham answered, “My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering”. We know that later, when Abraham was about to slay Isaac, God, satisfied with Abraham’s complete devotional obedience, intervened from heaven and provided in Isaac’s place a ram caught in the thicket by his horns. Thus Abraham called the place of sacrifice, Jehovah-Jireh (“the Lord will provide” or “in the mount of the Lord it shall be seen”). Are we constantly looking to God as our Provider?

Abraham’s motive in offering Isaac contrasted sharply with that of the pagan Canaanites who offered up their children to idols, or of wicked King Manasseh who made his son pass through fire, bringing down God’s judgement! He did not callously exchange his child’s welfare in superstitious fear and selfish greed without hope, but in faith “accounted that God was able to raise Isaac up, even from the dead, from whence also he received him in a figure.” And later, as he worshipfully placed the ram on the altar, he foreshadowed the day when his Promised Seed, Jesus Christ, God’s Son would die on the cross for lost humanity. God was well pleased. “The angel of the Lord called unto Abraham out of heaven the second time and said, By myself have I sworn, saith the Lord, for because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son: that in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore… and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice.”

God’s testing of Abraham was amazingly humbling – to think that Almighty God could in such great condescension allow a man to experience His deepest emotion point at history’s most crucial hour when Jesus Christ was offered in love as our Passover Lamb! And Abraham’s passing the test with his faith soaring to eagle’s height was incredible too! In this, he uniquely entered into and shared God’s heart like no other could. There is no mistaking the common points. Jerusalem, the city of David, outside whose gates Jesus was crucified, was in the land of Moriah. Solomon’s Temple, holiest place of the Jews, where annual blood offerings were made for the nation prefiguring the blood of the Lamb of God, is built on the very Mount Moriah where Isaac was offered! Abraham also shared 3 days of agony during his journey, resolving to sacrifice his only begotten son! And finally, God’s Son dying on Calvary’s cross was his promised Seed, Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham! Thus fittingly and comprehensively, Abraham is God’s friend.

Hope Against Hope

2007-07-24T15:50:00.000-07:00

In Canaan, God blessed Abram and Lot adding to their servants and flocks until their combined substance became too great for them to dwell together so that they had to separate. Lot chose to journey east towards Sodom, after which God promised Abram and his seed all the land that he could see, north, south, east and westward forever. More years and events passed which included the invasion by King Chedorlamoer of Elam with his allies, of Sodom, Gomorrah and their allies, wherein all including Lot and his possessions were taken as spoils. Abram had then armed his 318 trained servants and with the help of 3 friends, pursued after and defeated 4 powerful kings and brought back all the captives and goods. After this `breathtaking feat, he declined the king of Sodom’s offer to keep the goods. Mechizedek, king of Salem and high priest of God then blessed Abram and received tithes from him. Abram’s extraordinary courage and valour were energised by pure, unfeigned faith for truly he belonged to the Most High God who had delivered his enemies into his hand! In later years, his brave intercession for Sodom and Gomorrah, though insufficient to stay God’s judgement of brimstone and fire called for by heinous sins, won reprieve for Lot and his daughters.

Abram’s wait for his promised son was to be a long one in the patience of faith. To encourage him, God visited in a vision, “Fear not Abram: I am thy shield and thy exceeding great reward”. He was getting old but Sarai’s passing years mattered more and each year as she got older, his faith had to increase! Rom4:18-22 describes it thus: “Who against hope believed in hope, that he might become the father of many nations, according to that which was spoken, So shall thy seed be. And not being weak in faith, he considered not his own body now dead, when he was about an hundred years old, neither the deadness of Sarah’s womb: He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God; And being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform. And therefore it was imputed to him for righteousness.” Abram therefore obtained righteousness through faith before Isaac was born! But Sarai could not wait and brought to Abram her maid, Hagar, resulting in the birth of Ishmael. God blessed this child nevertheless because he was Abram’s child, though not the promised child that was to be through Sarai.

Abram’s faith was not misplaced or self-seeking. He did not insist on his way but was willing to have Eliezer his steward or Ishmael made his heir, if this was God’s will. But 13 seemingly long years after Ishmael’s birth, God finally visited, re-affirmed that Abram would be father of many nations, gave him circumcision as a seal of his righteousness and changed their names to Abraham and Sarah (father and mother of nations). The following year, Sarai at 90 bore a child, called Isaac because she laughed and he brought laughter into their lives, and Abraham saw the first fruit of God’s marvellous promises.

If our faith is weak and needs to be increased, may we learn from Abraham and look to the living and true God alone! He created the universe and is able to do exceedingly abundantly beyond what we dare think or ask! Abraham’s faith was childlike, as from a servant’s heart marked by patience even in unanswered prayer. The secret to more faith then is servant-hood and Abram’s long wait was timed in God’s wisdom to perfect him.

ABRAHAM’S FAITH

2007-07-24T15:48:00.000-07:00

We live in times of faithlessness and contradiction. On one hand, we see religion thriving and growing as never before, and on the other hand, are perplexed by the lack of godliness and the presence of aimlessness, evil, immorality, crime and violence even in the churches. These signs poignantly point to the fact that we are living in the last days of mankind’s sojourn on this earth, very close to Jesus Christ’s Second Coming for Judgement, which the Bible prophesises shall be similar to the days of Noah, and of Sodom and Gomorrah. There will be wars and rumours of wars, famines, pestilences and earthquakes in various places, increase in knowledge and travel, and men will have a form of godliness but deny the power thereof, so that Jesus said, “When the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?” .

For this reason, we ought to look at the life and example of Abraham who stands in history as the man whose faith brought untold blessings to all nations, counted to him for righteousness, and reckoned him the father of all that believe and the friend of God. In doing so, we safeguard ourselves in case our profession turns out false, for it is those who also walk in the steps of that faith of our father Abraham that are his true children !
Believer and Sojourner
Terah and his sons, Haran, Nahor and Abram, lived some 4,000 years ago in prosperous but moon-worshipping and idolatrous Ur of Chaldee in the Mesopotamian valley. Terah was a man of faith and very old when God moved on his heart to leave Ur and bring his family into Canaan. He had his first son Haran at 70, and was over 130 and 140 years old respectively when Abram and Sarai were born. Nahor married Milcah, Haran’s daughter while Abram married Sarai, his half-sister.

Abram inherited his father’s faith and gratefully acknowledged the Almighty Creator of the Universe and Giver of all things good. He would have been grieved by the foolish idolatry of those who vainly exchanged God’s incorruptible glory for images of men, birds, four-footed animals and creeping things in the darkness of their imaginations. Haran died before his father, after which, the family departed from Ur, forsaking all its security and comforts. Probably because of Terah’s age, they did not quite reach Canaan but settled more than midway to there in the land of Haran, in northern Mesopotamia.

After Terah died, God called Abram to leave his inheritance at Haran and continue on into Canaan, giving him a 7-fold promise to make of him a great nation, bless him, make his name great, make him a blessing, bless those that bless him and curse those that curse him: and assuredly bless all the families of the earth in him. Abram at 75, departed in obedience, taking Sarai and their possessions and his nephew Lot, Haran’s son, and proceeded with God’s leading into a land previously unknown to them. A sojourner for the rest of his life, he sought only God’s approval and looked not for a city made with hands but for a heavenly.

Abram’s faith was not mere mental credence but obedience from the heart; his faith wrought with his works and by works, was made perfect! And as he obeyed, God blessed with more truths and drew him nearer to Himself, from faith to faith! Physically and emotionally, he was ordinary with fears and weaknesses and his faith cost him! They said a final goodbye to Nahor and Milcah who chose to stay on at Haran. We know that he did not forget his brother and in old age after Sarah’s death, sent by faith for a bride for Isaac from among Nahor’s descendants. And God had promised that everywhere he set foot on shall be his descendants’ (and so it was in the conquest by Joshua 470 years later), thus they journeyed from city to city to claim all Canaan by faith, facing trials and dangers `and famine in the process. But his enduring confidence in God saw them through !

Verbal Plenary Preservation, "new doctrine" ?

2007-07-12T18:00:00.000-07:00

The Perfect KJV (KJV-Onlyism, KJV Onlyism, or KJVO) heresy is an abandonment of the Historic Reformed Faith and the Westminster Confession of Faith and comes in two forms: –

Ruckmanism, which holds to an inspired 1611 translation (“double inspiration”) resulting in a perfect English Bible. Where there is a discrepancy between the English and its underlying Hebrew Masoretic or Greek TR texts, the English is to be taken as more correct!?

Verbal Plenary Preservation, also known as KJV-VPP or VPP-KJV, which holds to an inspired perfect textual criticism or recognition in 1611 which restored the Hebrew and Greek text of the KJV to be jot and tittle identical to the Divine Original Autographs!?

Ruckmanism and KJV-VPP are estranged twin sons of Benjamin Wilkinson, a leading Seventh Day Adventist who wrote “Our AV Vindicated” in 1930. Wherever it has gone, in whatever circles, Perfect KJV Onlyism has wrecked havoc and caused discord among brethren.

Far Eastern Bible College (FEBC) has sadly not only adopted, but now champions this false Charismatic post-canonical inspiration doctrine. FEBC cannot prove KJV-VPP – they cannot even convincingly and consistently identify the Hebrew-Greek underlying texts – but they call all who do not hold their views, “Neo-Fundamentalists”, “Neo-Evangelicals” or lacking in saving faith. Here the KJV-VPP heresy is exposed and refuted with clear evidential facts and sound biblical exegesis! It is our humble, earnest prayer that the Lord would be pleased to deliver His people from this divisive “doctrine”, in the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

A Statement on the theory of Verbal Plenary Preservation (VPP)

2007-07-10T19:28:00.000-07:00

"We, the undersigned Bible-Presbyterian ministers, wholeheartedly believe and affirm that the inspired Word of God has absolutely no error in the Original Autographs. However, we reject the theory of Verbal Plenary Preservation propounded by some, who dogmatically claim that the Greek and Hebrew copies immediately underlying the King James Version are an exact replica of the Original Autographs. The insistent promotion of this theory has resulted in schism among brethren."

This statement has been signed by:

Rev Philip Heng, Galilee Bible-Presbyterian Church

Rev Ong Hock Khee, Galilee Bible-Presbyterian Church

Tan Eng Boo, Grace Bible-Presbyterian Church

Charles Seet, Life Bible-Presbyterian Church

Colin Wong, Life Bible-Presbyterian Church

Anthony Tan, Narareth Bible-Presbyterian Church

Yap Beng Shin, Olivet Bible-Presbyterian Church

Tan Choon Seng, Shalom Bible-Presbyterian Church

Eric Kwan, Zion Bible-Presbyterian Church

Eddy Lim, Zion Bible-Presbyterian Church

Truth Shalt Set You Free

2007-07-05T19:09:00.000-07:00

This is promise that Bible has given to everyone. It is only Truth, nothing but Truth will be able to set you free. Jesus said "Seek, thy shalt find it, ask, thy shalt be given." Seek the Truth, while it is purely personal duty, God has provided graciously to everyone who has sincere heart and sound mind. It is our pray that you shalf find truth and truth shalt set you free.