“Holding Forth the Word of Life”
Sermon by the Rev Dr Jeffrey Khoo at the 7th Anniversary Thanksgiving of
True Life BPC, 3 October 2010
We are True Life because of the Word of Life. The theme verse of True Life Bible-Presbyterian Church is Philippians 2:16, “Holding forth the word of life; that I may rejoice in the day of Christ, that I have not run in vain, neither laboured in vain.” That is the reason for our existence—to hold forth the Word of Life. In fact, when we sought to register the church, we submitted the name “Word of Life Bible- Presbyterian Church” as our first choice. “True Life” was our second choice. Since there was already a “Word of Life” church from another denomination, the Registrar of Societies told us to take the name “True Life”.
What does “holding forth” mean? In the Greek text, the word epecho literally means to hold upon or to hang on. It has the idea of holding on to something very tightly, like hanging on to dear life. So what is this thing so precious that we must hold on to, to protect from being damaged or destroyed? It is the Word of Life, the Holy Scriptures. If we do not want to waste our Christian life away here on earth, if we are to serve the Lord meaningfully, we must first and foremost uphold God’s forever infallible and inerrant Word, 100% perfect without any mistake.
There are many unbelievers today who attack the Bible. One example is Dan Brown who attacked Christ and His Word through his book, The Da Vinci Code, saying that the Bible is spurious and false, and that Jesus Christ is not God and Saviour. The National Council of Churches petitioned the authorities to have the book and movie banned but to no avail. Anyway, it does not matter. True believers will not be shaken in their faith for they know their Saviour and they know the Truth. Our faith is not so weak that we will go berserk each time our faith is attacked or ridiculed. We will teach the truth and defend the faith without compromise, and we know that God Himself will judge the reprobates in due time. We also know that God is “longsuffering…, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance” (2 Pet 3:9).
As God’s children, we understand why unbelievers attack God’s Word. It is because they are blind to the truth, blinded by pride. However, what is troubling nowadays is that we have professing Christians talking like unbelievers, saying that it is intellectually dishonest to believe the Bible is 100% perfect without any mistake. They say it is foolish to believe that the Bible is presently infallible and inerrant. Now, note that when the Apostle Paul told the Philippians to hold forth the Word of Life, it was not some intangible, non-existent Word. It was a presently existing infallible and inerrant Word. It is only from the Word of God that we can know the Way, the Truth, and the Life. “Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God” (Rom 10:17). The Word of God is the Word that gives life.
So, we as True Lifers affirm that the Word of God is not only perfect in the past, it is also perfect today. God not only inspired His Word perfectly, He also preserved His Word perfectly. We believe that we have the very same Holy Scriptures that the Apostle Paul had, that the saints had in the first century. But this is derided as “foolish faith” by some who insist that there is just no such thing as a 100% perfect Bible today. I once asked a pastor how he would answer a young believer if he were to be asked this question, “Pastor, are there any mistakes in the Bible?” His reply was, “I would tell him that there are no mistakes in the Bible that should cause him any worry.” What a faith shattering answer! Jesus warned, “And whosoever shall offend one of these little ones that believe in me, it is better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and he were cast into the sea” (Mark 9:42).
Those who write off a 100% perfect Bible without any mistake as “foolish faith” should be reminded that “the foolishness of God is wiser than men” (1 Cor 1:25). “Let God be true, but every man a liar” (Rom 3:4). The Bible says it, that settles it and it is our duty to believe it. God makes no mistakes, and His Word is also without mistakes. God not only inspired His Word but also preserved it to the last iota. Psalm 12:6-7 makes it very clear who does the work of preservation and why the words of God are perfectly pure. “The words of the LORD are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times. Thou shalt keep them, O LORD, thou shalt preserve them from this generation for ever.” I believe my Saviour who said, “For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled” (Matt 5:18), “Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away” (Matt 24:35), the scripture cannot be broken” (John 10:35). We reject the forked tongue hissing of the snake, “Yea, hath God said?” Let us believe only the Lord Jesus Christ who said, “It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God” (Matt 4:4). If I want to know the truth about God’s Word, I go to the primary source, to the Author Himself, to God Himself who speaks truthfully through His forever infallible and inerrant Word.
Why do we hold on or hang on to the Word of Life? It is because without it we are lost. Without it we have no life. No Bible, no Gospel. No Gospel, no life. We cannot live without it. It is in the Bible that we hear the voice of God. Dean Burgon said, “The Bible is none other than the voice of Him that sitteth upon the throne …”. Jesus said, “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me” (John 10:27).
It is not by chance that the King James Bible (KJB) has stood the test of time. Next year will be the 400th anniversary of the KJB. God has placed His stamp of approval on this grand old version of the English Bible. It continues to be well loved by those who love the Lord and His Word. To commemorate our 7th anniversary, we have a specially- made olive wood Bible for all worshippers. It is the KJB published by the Trinitarian Bible Society (TBS). We support the good work of the TBS which promotes and defends the KJB. The olive wood is from the Holy Land, from Bethlehem made by our Palestinian brethren at Baraka Bible-Presbyterian Church. Olive trees are known for their longevity, and can live for thousands of years. Olive wood is very hardy and beautiful. The longevity, hardiness and beauty of olive wood are the very characteristics of the KJB—long-lasting, time-tested, faithful and beautiful! May you treasure this Bible and use it often. Dr D A Waite, President of the Dean Burgon Society, is absolutely right to say that the KJB has a fourfold superiority over other versions of the Bible. It is superior in its Texts, Translators, Technique and Theology.
There is much to say about the goodness of the KJB. However, there are those who say the KJB is no good, that it is hard to understand, outdated in its English, and no longer useful. But David Marshall who was a Jew and Singapore’s first chief minister said that the KJB was his English textbook. Marshall said he read the KJB many, many times, and it “influenced both my passion for human justice and my feel for the English language” (read Marshall of Singapore by Dr Kevin Tan, Institute of Southeast Asian Studies). You want to learn good English, learn it from the KJB.
God gave us only one Bible, the one He inspired and preserved. But there are so many “Bibles” today, so many versions, and they are all different and not the same. This has brought confusion. Which Bible? Albert Einstein rightly observed, “A man with one watch knows what time it is, a man with two watches is never sure.” Similarly, a Christian with one Bible knows what the Truth is, a Christian with two Bibles is never sure. Let us be sure of God’s Truth by returning to the good old Bible, the Bible of the great Protestant Reformation, which we have in our hands today! That is why we are True Life!
Sabbatical Jubilee Thanksgiving and Praise Services
Praise the Lord for the blessed Sabbatical Jubilee Lord’s Day services in the morning and in the evening, October 3, 2010. We thank the Lord for our many guests and friends from sister Bible- Presbyterian churches who graced our Thanksgiving and Praise Services with their presence and gifts.
The evening Praise Service at Calvary Pandan was attended by about 700 people. What a holy night of sacred music! The Church and Youth Choirs, and the Far Eastern Bible College students, sang a repertoire of psalms and hymns and spiritual songs exulting God’s Attributes (“Canon of Praise”, “Ye Su De Bao Xue”, “My Hope Is in the Lord”), God’s Word (“Be Thou My Vision”, “Thy Word Is Like a Garden, Lord”, “The Bible Stands”), and God’s Church (“Onward Christian Soldiers”, “The Lord Himself Has Built a Church”, “The Church Victorious”), with a consecration solo by Deborah Mae. The choir was ably conducted by Sister Zuyi and Brother Ming Kuang. Brother Bee Heng is to be commended for his diligence in coordinating the whole choir effort. Elder J T Joseph solemnly led the congregation into the right spirit of worship, and Mrs Joseph was excellent as narrator. Mrs Susanne Sim was impeccable on the piano and organ, and Mrs Janice Lai on the Clavinova.
The message “The Bible Stands, Will You?” was delivered by Dr Jeffrey Khoo. There is no doubt that many if not all went home that night with great joy and gladness for God’s wonderful work, and greatly encouraged and edified by God’s Word. The whole service started at sunset 6 pm, and ended at 7.45 pm with Dr S H Tow, Senior Pastor of Calvary Pandan, pronouncing the benediction. The celebrations continued over dinner at the newly air-conditioned fellowship hall. We are very grateful to the pastors, session and members (PA crew, ushers, and other helpers) of Calvary Pandan for their kind hospitality and assistance. May the Lord bless them richly for the love they have shown to us.
The offerings collected that night will go to the support of the Baraka Education Centre, a ministry of Baraka Bible- Presbyterian Church (pastored by Rev George Awad and his son Rev Danny Awad) in Bethlehem, Palestine. We will present this gift to them when we visit them at FEBC’s year-end pilgrimage to the Holy Land, November 29-December 11, 2010.
Five hundred copies of the Sabbatical Jubilee Magazine, 188 colour pages, chronicling the story of True Life BPC from its inception in 2003 were given out at the Praise Service. If you still do not have the Magazine, please make sure you get your copy at the reception table. The magazine can also be picked up from FEBC Bookroom and Tabernacle Books.
We thank our photographers, Dr Chan Kay Heem and Mrs Catherine Tan, for capturing all the images for posterity. Video and photos of our Sabbatical Jubilee Thanksgiving celebrations will be made available soon.
7th Anniversary Thanksgiving Service of True Life BPC, 3 October 2010
