The Bible Stands, Will You?
Sermon by the Rev Dr Jeffrey Khoo at the True Life Sabbatical Jubilee Praise Service,
3 October 2010
In Jeremiah 6:16 we read, “Thus saith the LORD, Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls. But they said, We will not walk therein.”
What are the old paths? The old paths are the paths of the Lord which is described as “the good way”, the way to salvation, to righteousness, to heaven. “Walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls.” Where can we find such old paths? The good old ways are found in good old Book— the Holy Bible—which we have in our hands today.
The good old way is a strait and narrow way. Jesus said, “Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it” (Matt 7:13-14).
Throughout history, Satan and his agents have tried to corrupt this way, to widen or broaden it, to make it a highway to hell. The good old way is a very narrow way because it says that there is only one way to heaven— Jesus is the only way. Jesus says, “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” (John 14:6). “For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus” (1 Tim 2:5). “Neither is there salvationin any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved” (Acts 4:12).
Satan tried to broaden the way by attacking the Gospel of Jesus Christ. He used the liberals like Dan Brown and his bestselling book—The Da Vinci Code—to tell us that the Bible we have today is not the only Bible (66 books of Canonical Scripture), that there is another Bible—the Gnostic Bible that tells us of another Saviour also called Jesus but quite different from the one found in the traditional Bible, the old Bible. There is also another Gospel called the Gospel of Judas which gives us another Jesus quite different from the one we know. Then there are the manuscripts that come from Egypt which question the full deity of Christ, that cut away nearly 10,000 words from the good old Bible.
How do we know the Bible is true, and with so many new Bibles and versions popping up here, there and everywhere, how do we know which Bible is true? We know the truth because the truth is found in the old ways, in the old Book. Look for the good old Bible comprising just 66 books of the verbally and plenarily inspired (VPI) Scripture that speak of God’s love for us through the Lord Jesus Christ. Look for the same VPI Book that God has verbally and plenarily preserved (VPP), kept pure throughout the ages by His singular care and providence. Look for the inspired and preserved Book that has been faithfully received, read, used, multiplied and distributed all the time throughout time. Not the manuscripts buried in the sands of Egypt, nor the texts edited by the modernists, but those found in the hands of the faithful, well loved and well used, time- honoured and time-tested. It is the Bible for which many believers paid with their lives just to preach and print it. It is the Bible of the great Protestant Reformation which gave us the doctrine of Scripture alone—one Bible only, no other authority but this Bible only. It is the Reformation Bible that has the marks of divine inspiration and preservation.
The Bible you have in your hands—the King James Bible—is a Reformation Bible, a Bible that is based on the traditional Hebrew Masoretic Text and the Greek Textus Receptus. It is not by chance that the King James Bible has outstripped and outlasted all other English Bibles. Next year, 2011, will be the 400th anniversary of the King James Bible. The King James Bible and its underlying Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek Words is the Bible that has been most severely attacked since the day God gave it. But the remarkable thing is—it still stands. Why? It is because the God of providence had promised to preserve His inspired is the truth. “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.” (Ps 12:6-7). Dr Carl McIntire, the late founder of the Bible Presbyterian denomination in the United States, commented on this psalm, and he said, “Now come verse 6, ‘The words of the LORD are pure words,’ not one of them is mistaken, ‘as silver tried in the furnace of earth, purified seven times.’ All the dregs are out. Here is a marvelous affirmation and vindication that God’s Word is perfect Now, ‘The words of the
LORD are pure words.’ And then verse 7, how I love this: ‘Thou shalt keep them O LORD,’ that is, keep His words; ‘thou shalt preserve them from this generation forever.’ No matter what happens, one generation comes and another passes away, God is going to preserve His words from one generation to another. The words of God will be preserved throughout all the generations.”
Our late founding pastor—the Rev Dr Timothy Tow—believed likewise. Read his story in the True Life Sabbatical Jubilee Magazine, “In the Steps of Our Saviour.” Walk in the old path, which is the good way, the strait and narrow way that leads to life. Will you walk in the good old way? The unbelieving and disobedient Jews said, “We will not walk therein.” How about you? The Bible stands. The question is, will you?
7th Anniversary Thanksgiving Service, 3 October 2010 (Morning)
Greetings from Chiangmai
Dear Dr Khoo,
Firstly, we want to congratulate True Life B-P Church for its 7th Anniversary. May the Lord continue to prosper the church, bless the preaching of His Word to the edification of His people and the saving of souls, like our beloved Principal used to remind us in the class, quoting Scripture, “and this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a the witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come” (Matthew 24:14)! So sorry for being late in sending our greetings to your church on your joyous occasion as we are not so well informed over here of what is happening in Singapore.
Thank God also for the article that you wrote on your church 7th Anniversary weekly entitled “Whose Faith Follow” which is very encouraging and edifying. Yes, the battle for the Bible is still on today and we agree with you that we as Bible- Presbyterians must continue to proclaim and teach “the twin doctrines of Verbal Plenary Inspiration (2 Tim 3:16) and Verbal Plenary Preservation (Matt 5:18).” As Rev Dr Timothy Tow’s students, we have not forgotten the truth that he had imparted to us from the Holy Scriptures, clearly printed on your church weekly, “Holding forth the word of life” (Philippians 2:16). Though we may not be at the same place geographically, we are with True Life BPC and FEBC in the same spirit and mind, “for we can do nothing against the truth, but for the truth” (2 Corinthians 13:8).
Could you kindly send me a copy of your Sabbatical Jubilee magazine: “In the Steps of Our Saviour”? I want to know and be blessed by “the True Life story, the people whom God had used, what we as a church stand for, and how God can use us in the days ahead.” Thank you.
We are still praying for FEBC and True Life BPC.
“Buy the truth, and sell it not; also wisdom, and instruction, and understanding” (Proverb 23:23).
Peace be with you,
Robert & Dara Peh
Truth BP Church, Chiangmai
The Christian Home of Love http://www.christianhomeoflove.blogspot.com
True Life & FEBC Choirs at the Sabbatical Jubilee Praise Service, 3 October 2010 (Evening)
