MISERY: ADDICTION AND ANTIDOTE

If your goal is to be thoroughly unhappy, here are 10 surefire habits that will keep you there. But if you don’t want to be, God’s Word offers a way out of this self-made misery.

1. Make yourself the centre of the universe. Talk constantly about your own life, your opinions, and your accomplishments. Use “I,” “me,” and “my” as often as possible. Antidote: “Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves.” (Phil 2:3).
2. Obsess over what others think of you. Let your mood rise or fall based on people’s opinions and approval. Antidote: “The fear of man bringeth a snare: but whoso putteth his trust in the LORD shall be safe.” (Prov 29:25).
3. Assume you deserve constant appreciation. Feel entitled to thanks, praise, and recognition at all times. Antidote: “And whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant.” (Matt 20:27).
4. Feed feelings of suspicion, jealousy, and envy. Compare yourself with others and dwell on what they have that you don’t. Antidote: “Charity envieth not…” (1 Cor 13:4).
5. Take every slight personally and hold grudges. Be easily offended, and never forget a criticism or an unjust comment. Antidote: “Great peace have they which love thy law: and nothing shall offend them.” (Ps 119:165)
6. Put your trust in yourself alone. Rely only on your own judgement, strength, and wisdom—after all, who else can you count on? Antidote: “Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.” (Prov 3:5).
7. Demand to be treated as someone special. Expect others to go out of their way for you, because you deserve it. Antidote: “For whosoever exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.” (Luke 14:11).
8. Insist that your opinions are always right. Refuse to listen to others. If they disagree with you, assume they’re wrong. Antidote: “If any man think that he knoweth any thing, he knoweth nothing yet as he ought to know.” (1 Cor 8:2).
9. Avoid responsibility whenever possible. Shirk your duties. Let someone else do the hard work. Antidote: “Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might…” (Eccl 9:10).
10. Live only for yourself. Keep your time, energy, and resources to yourself. Let others fend for themselves. Antidote: “Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others.” (Phil 2:4).

All the above habits boil down to one fundamental problem: the sin of PRIDE (Prov 29:23). True joy does not come from selfishness, but from Christlikeness (Gal 2:20). Misery thrives in a heart turned inward, while joy springs up where humility, service, and trust in the Lord take root. JK

AN APPEAL TO GOD
TO WORK

Rev Dr Haposan Siregar

Pastor of Grace BPC in Medan, and Moderator of the BP Synod of Indonesia

“It is time for thee, LORD, to work: for they have made void thy law.” (Ps 119:126).

As true Christians, we must uphold the claims of God’s Word to govern and direct our lives. The Word of God is a storehouse of excellent knowledge to guide and counsel us in all matters of life and conduct. Every believer must cultivate a personal relationship with God through reading, meditating on, believing, and practising His Word. The Lord Jesus Christ said in John 13:17, “If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them.”

Yet, the psalmist laments in his day, “They have made void thy law.” The Indonesian Bible renders it: “Mereka telah merombak Taurat-Mu”—meaning “they have corrupted your law.” The Hebrew phrase heferu Toratekha literally means “they have broken your law.” This rejection of God’s truth was not unique to the psalmist’s time—it remains a troubling reality today.

Making Void the Bible

Are there such people today who make void the Bible? Yes, there are. There are liberals, modernists, Charismatics, ecumenists, Roman Catholics, and neo-evangelicals who in various ways undermine the authority of Scripture. How do they do so? Some neglect the Bible. Certain church leaders tell their members that since the Bible is hard to understand, it is not necessary to study it—just believe in God and do good works. The Bible is then left to gather dust on shelves.

Some misuse the Bible for personal gain. Consider this true story from East Java: A woman pastor was once asked to pray for a sick boy. She replied, “I’m coming!” and arrived soon after. Upon meeting the boy’s father, she asked, “Will you promise to give God 5, 10, or 15 million rupiah if your son is healed? Choose one.” Under pressure and with no real choice, the father responded, “I will give 5 million.” After she prayed, the boy was reportedly healed. She then demanded, “Give me the 5 million now, as you promised.” The father replied, “I only have 4 million.” She took it and warned, “When I return, don’t forget to pay the remaining one million—or your son’s condition may worsen.” This woman shamelessly twisted God’s Word for personal profit.

Others make void the Word by failing to understand and practise it correctly. I encountered such a group in Medan. They called themselves “special people,” claiming to be sinlessly perfect in Christ. While that sounds good on the surface, their version of “sinless perfection” was concerning. I asked them to explain, and they said believers must prove their sinlessness by applying strict prohibitions: “do not do this,” “do not do that.” I asked, “Do you truly live a sinless life this way?” They replied, “Yes, that’s why we are God’s special people!”

I then responded: “If you are honest before God and your conscience, you will know you are not sinless but sinners saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ. Otherwise, your claim becomes pride. I believe in sinless perfection—but theologically correct. We are perfect in Christ from God’s perspective because we were bought with a price—the precious blood of Christ (1 Cor 6:20). He has forgiven all our sins: past, present, and future (cf. 1 Pet 2:9–10). But from a human perspective, we are still sinners saved by grace. We must be renewed day by day and be constantly sanctified by meditating on the Word of God and be transformed by it. Therefore, when we sin, we must confess our sins, and He is faithful to forgive us (1 John 1:9). As long as we dwell in this earthly tabernacle, we will not be sinless. But one day in heaven, we shall be like Jesus.

There are also those who cast doubt on the Bible. Liberals, for example, deny the miracles of Christ. They say Jesus never walked on water, never fed the 5,000 with five loaves and two fishes, and never raised Lazarus from the dead.

Others deny the perfection of Scripture by claiming that only the autographs (original manuscripts) were perfect, and that these are now lost. But what does the Bible itself say? The Bible teaches not only the inspiration but also the preservation of Scripture (2 Tim 3:16, Matt 5:18). We believe that the Bible is both inspired and preserved—verbally in every word and plenarily as a whole—kept pure in all ages, without error in any matter.

Upholding the Bible

As stated by Far Eastern Bible College (FEBC), Verbal Plenary Preservation (VPP) means: “The whole of Scripture with all its words—even to the jot and tittle—is perfectly preserved by God without any loss of the original words, prophecies, promises, commandments, doctrines, and truths, not only in the words of salvation, but also in the words of history, geography, and science. Every book, every chapter, every verse, every word, every syllable, every letter is infallibly preserved by the Lord Himself to the last iota.”

I thank the Lord for this testimony from FEBC. Two years ago, I visited FEBC my alma mater to meet with Dr Jeffrey Khoo. He graciously invited me to preach during the college’s chapel hour on 2 January 2023. Before returning to Medan via Batam, I requested copies of the constitutions of True Life Bible-Presbyterian Church and Calvary Pandan Bible-Presbyterian Church. Later, I tasked my fellow pastors in Batam with drafting a constitution based on those documents. We agreed to hold a synod meeting of Gereja Alkitab Presbyterian Protestan Indonesia (GAPPI) in Medan from 13 to 15 March 2023. During the synod, the draft constitution was discussed, but its signing was postponed due to a lack of doctrinal clarity.

The synod reconvened in Batam from 7 to 9 March 2025 to review the draft constitution. During that session, I shared these words: “I began GAPPI in the spirit of FEBC. I am a product of FEBC under the late principal, Rev Dr Timothy Tow. FEBC remains unchanged to this day. Therefore, as chairman of GAPPI, I want our constitution to reflect what FEBC believes.” Praise the Lord, everyone present at the meeting was in full agreement and signed the doctrinal statement.

Dear brothers and sisters of True Life, it is good to believe that the Bible is inspired, inerrant, and infallible. But in this digital age, we must go further—we must declare our beliefs clearly through written documents. Praise the Lord, we have done so in GAPPI.

Now, there is an appeal to God: “It is time for thee, LORD, to work!” The psalmist saw the law of God being made void and appealed to the Lord for action. So must we. When we witness wrongdoing and false interpretations of Scripture, we must bring these matters before God. The appeal is to God to work—to act in grace and mercy, to open eyes, and to turn hearts from darkness to His marvellous light.

God responds in many ways: He may overthrow adversaries, as He did with Pharaoh. Despite giving him chance after chance to repent, Pharaoh’s heart grew harder, until he and his army were drowned in the Red Sea. He may raise up godly men—like Moses, Joshua, David, Daniel, John the Baptist, the Apostles, the Reformers, Dr John Sung, and Rev Timothy Tow. Let us pray that God will raise up more such men today who will stand firmly on the Lord’s side. [Sermon preached at True Life BPC on 18 May 2025.]