BIBLICAL COOPERATION (II)

Neither For Nor Against

Principle #3: Do not cooperate with those who take a neutral or compromising position in matters of faith and practice, who refuse to take a declared position on issues that affect the fundamentals of the faith and who do not practise biblical separation.

“No servant can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.” (Luke 16:13). There are those who say they love God but at the same time love money. It is mutually contradictory to want to be godly and at the same time worldly. There is a Chinese proverb, “Don’t try to stand in two boats simultaneously, especially in matters of love.” No lady would take kindly to a double-dealing suitor. Neither does God. God detests anyone who plays both sides, a double-agent. That was why the Pharisees derided Jesus when He denounced them for their double-dealing ways, “And he said unto them, Ye are they which justify yourselves before men; but God knoweth your hearts: for that which is highly esteemed among men is abomination in the sight of God.” (Luke 16:15).

The Apostles of Jesus Christ warned against a worldly spirit. John for instance counselled, “Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.” (1 John 2:15–17). James admonished, “Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.” (Jas 4:4). If “friendship with the world is enmity with God”, how can there be cooperation between the godly and the worldly?

Our Lord is against the neither-for-nor-against attitude. To the church of Laodicea, He said, “I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.” (Rev 3:15–16). There are those who refuse to take sides in any and every situation—they want to please everybody and be favoured by all. Such an attitude is to be abhorred. Paul showed he was no man-pleaser or fence-sitter, “For do I now persuade men, or God? or do I seek to please men? for if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ.” (Gal 1:10). We must always take the side of the good, the right, the true, and shun the bad, the wrong, and the false. We must speak with a straight tongue and not a forked tongue. Jesus said, “But let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay: for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil.” (Matt 5:37). The prophet Isaiah said, “Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!” (Isa 5:20). “He that justifieth the wicked, and he that condemneth the just, even they both are abomination to the LORD.” (Prov 17:15).

When we want to do God’s work God’s way, we can expect opposition and persecution. Jesus said, “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. Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they have kept my saying, they will keep yours also. But all these things will they do unto you for my name’s sake, because they know not him that sent me.” (John 15:18–21). Did they not call Jesus a devil (Matt 10:25, John 8:48, 10:20), a deceiver (Matt 27:63, John 7:12), a heretic (Acts 24:5, 14)?

We must always seek the approval of God, not man. When told to be silent and not teach the truth, “Peter and the other apostles answered and said, We ought to obey God rather than men.” (Acts 5:29). For the Christian, it should be either-or, not both-and. It is either God or not; one cannot be both black and white at the same time. To be true to God, we cannot cooperate with those who are neither here nor there, fence-sitters, or two-faced double agents.

Bishop JC Ryle rightly warned against the sin of neutrality and compromise, “We all naturally love an easy Christianity. We dislike collisions and separation. We like, if possible, to keep in with both sides. We fear extremes. We dread being righteous overmuch. We are anxious not to go too far. Such thoughts as these are full of peril to the soul. Once allowed to get the upper hand, they may do us immense harm. Nothing is so offensive to Christ as lukewarmness in religion. To be utterly dead and ignorant, is to be an object of pity as well as blame. But to know the truth and yet ‘halt between two opinions,’ is one of the chief of sins.”

Conclusion

We should cooperate with other believers in furthering God’s kingdom but we must do so with the right ones. How to know who are the right ones? We have the above biblical principles (with all the necessary qualifications) for our guide. Above all we need to cooperate with God and make sure He is with us and for us. And if God is for us, who can be against us? No one! (Rom 8:31). JK

ON LGBTQ+ MATTERS

Our church received an email on September 2 with subject heading: “Queries on True Life BPC’s position on LGBTQ+”:

Dear Sir/Madam,

I am a Christian living in Singapore. I am writing to find out more about True Life BPC’s position on LGBTQ+ matters.

First, what is True Life BPC’s position on same-sex relationships? What advice would you give to True Life BPC members who experience same-sex attraction?

Second, what is True Life BPC’s position on the transgender community? What advice would you give to True Life BPC members who experience gender dysphoria? What is True Life BPC’s policy on referring to trans people by their preferred pronouns?

Third, what is True Life BPC’s position on conversion therapy?

Lastly, are there any restrictions on how LGBTQ+ people/people with differing opinions on the LGBTQ+ community can participate in your church?

Please address the queries on the trans community, as well as those on same-sex attraction.

Thank you. I look forward to your reply. May God bless you and your church.

Yours faithfully,
[Name withheld for confidentiality]

Let me answer the questions:

1. Our position on same-sex relationships is according to what the Bible says—homosexuality is a very destructive sin and a sin God utterly hates (Gen 18:20, 19:4–9, Lev 18:22, 20:13).
2. Our position on the transgender community is according to what the Bible says—God created human beings to be either male or female with their respective characteristics and functions (Gen 1:27). It is thus unnatural and perverse for a man to want to be a woman and a woman to want to be a man (Deut 22:5, 1 Cor 11:14). A he is a he and a she is a she. There should be no confusion in gender distinction.
3. “Conversion therapy” is pure and simple—evangelism. Only Jesus saves. Only a sincere belief in the Lord Jesus Christ can deliver sinners (including LGBTQ+ people) from divine judgement and punishment (John 3:16, Rom 1:16). This includes those who claim to be “Christian” but have same-sex attraction or gender dysphoria. Such “Christians” ought to reexamine their faith to make sure it is true faith and not false faith, for a fake faith (thinking you are a Christian when you are actually not) is self-deceptive and self-destructive. A true believer will not desire to be LGBTQ+, and will submit to what the Bible says about it (1 Cor 6:9–11).
4. LGBTQ+ people are welcome to attend church and hear the preaching of God’s Word, but they will not be allowed to participate actively in church or be part of the church. They are not welcome to church if their intention is to disturb the church or promote their lifestyle (Rom 1:26–27, 2 Cor 6:4–7:1). JK

PRAISE THE LORD

Jesus my Lord and Saviour has on many occasions reminded me He cares for me in any circumstance I may be in.

Just recently His care and love for me was mightily shown in another new personal experience, which I would like to share with all my friends worshipping Him in this assembly.

A few weeks ago, I went for a routine medical check. Though I often had panting spells over the past few years, it never occurred to me that I might need a heart-health check.

After the routine check, I was advised to have an ECHO test in National Heart Centre (NHCS). Thinking that this was just another routine visit, I was surprised when advised to go for a CT scan to determine if my panting spells were more serious than they seemed.

I suddenly started to be anxious when it was confirmed I had three blocked arteries, one of which was 100% blocked and another was more than 90%! Through what appeared to be just a routine check up, my Jesus’ love for me alerted me to make a very timely act to have this dangerous heart condition taken care of.

PRAISE THE LORD for this very timely discovery.

The NHCS cardiologist first informed me that the arteries could be treated with stents. However, I was later advised to have a bypass instead of the proposed stents, as with this bypass, stenting the other two blockages could be avoided. But this was a choice I would have to make myself he said.

On hearing this need for bypass, a wave of intense fear gripped me. The very thought froze me emotionally. I have a very low threshold for pain, and I thought of extended recuperation time needed. It just made me cry out to Jesus to let me know what I should do.

The Lord prompted me to seek for a second opinion for my peace, confidence and assurance. The Lord also led me to consult another specialist who is a family friend. She saw the CD taken at the NHCS and in a very confident and assuring voice said she was able to do the stents even for the 100% blocked artery. From that moment I felt peace and knew that this must be our good Lord Jesus’ choice for me, for He surely will take care of me and He knows my fear most.

PRAISE THE LORD again for this second opinion, giving me the peace and assurance I so much needed then.

On August 21, her work to stent my most blocked artery took her more than three hours, and thank the Lord she did the necessary successfully though with a couple of very anxious and tough decisions she had to make professionally at moments.

PRAISE THE LORD for his care and His healing grace on this doctor’s hands to do the best job for me.

His faithful care and love were once again showered on me in this miraculous situation. To Jesus the Healer’s glory. I hope and pray that all my friends here will experience His same love and care with simple faith in His faithfulness.

In His grace
Beverly