RED, THE COLOUR OF SALVATION

Red to the Chinese means happiness, prosperity, health, wealth, and good fortune. It is the colour of life, but of the physical and material life on earth. To us who are Christians, the colour red is also very meaningful, only richer and deeper, for it is not about the physical and material but eternal and spiritual. We are thankful to God for providing for our physical needs day by day and year after year, but what we truly desire and long for is the fulness of eternal life in the very presence of Christ our Saviour when we get to heaven or when He returns.

The Bible is full of the colour red, not the red words in the gospels as found in some Bibles, but the blood of Jesus Christ that cleanses us from all sin. 1 Peter 1:18–19 tells us, “Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.”

When we think of the blood of Christ, we should not think only of His death, but also of His life. Jesus saved us by living for us. The blood of Christ points to His life. In Leviticus 17:11, we are told that “the life of the flesh is in the blood … to make an atonement for your souls.” Christ lived on this earth for 33½ years, and throughout His life—from the time of His virgin birth till the time of His sacrificial death by crucifixion—He was working for our redemption.

God requires a man to be holy if he wants to live forever in heaven. Man must keep the Ten Commandments perfectly if he wants to see God (Matt 5:8). Jesus told the rich young ruler, “if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments” (Matt 19:17). Man must be holy as God is holy (1 Pet 1:16). But man is full of sin. No one is pure and guiltless. “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” (Rom 3:23). Not only is man born in sin, he has also broken all the commandments of God. Every single human being stands condemned before a thrice holy God and deserves only judgement and condemnation in hell. Man cannot be saved at all by his own good works. Isaiah 64:6 says, “But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.”

Man needs a Saviour, and God has provided such a Saviour in His only begotten Son—Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ who is not only perfect God but also perfect Man has to earn the righteousness that we need to enter into heaven. So when Jesus was on earth, He kept the Ten Commandments perfectly for us. The Lord Himself said, “Think not that I am come to destroy the law … I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil” (Matt 5:17). Galatians 4:4 tells us that the Lord Jesus Christ was “made under the law, to redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons” (Gal 4:4–5). The Lord Jesus Christ clothes us with His garment of righteousness so that we might become the children of God.

But this was not all that the Lord had to do to save us from our sins. The Lord Jesus Christ must not only live for us, He must also die for us. His blood points not only to His life but also to His death. Death is sin’s penalty (Rom 6:23). As the perfect Lamb of God, Jesus must bear our sins on the cross, shedding His precious blood. For “without shedding of blood is no remission” (Heb 9:22). Truly, the Lord Jesus Christ is “the Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world” (John 1:29).

Jesus saved us by His life, and by His death, and by His life again when He rose from the dead. He died, was buried and on the third day rose again from the grave according to the Scriptures (1 Pet 1:21, 1 Cor 15:3–4). “Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.” (John 1:29). The Lamb of God is auspicious.

God has a hong bao (red packet) for you, and it contains a most precious and infinite gift—the gift of eternal life through Jesus Christ His Son. Have your sins been forgiven? Do you have eternal life? Is Jesus Christ your Saviour? Jesus is telling you, “I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?” (John 11:25–26). “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house” (Acts 16:31). This is true prosperity!

Do not delay, believe on the Lord Jesus and be saved today!

FAR EASTERN BIBLE COLLEGE

FEBC marches on into the New Year with a Day of Prayer in the sanctuary of Life BPC at 9A Gilstead Road, 2 January 2024, 8.30 am. The Principal opened the service by reading the Scriptures—Isaiah 43:10–11–12, “Ye are my witnesses, saith the LORD, and my servant whom I have chosen: that ye may know and believe me, and understand that I am he: before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me. I, even I, am the LORD; and beside me there is no saviour.” This was followed by the singing of the hymn “Our Great Saviour” and the opening prayer.

The Lord’s messenger was FEBC alumnus James Tan who is a missionary to Kenya with his wife Shermaine (an FEBC alumna). Both are teaching at the Bible College of East Africa (BCEA) in Nairobi. Missionary James preached from Isaiah 6:1–8 on the glory and holiness of God. He enjoined all to be humble before God and our fellow brethren so that we might be useful for Him and be a blessing to others. He reminded all of Calvin’s three rules of theology which are (1) Humility, (2) Humility, and (3) Humility.

The Faculty then gave a word of greetings and encouragement to the students old and new. The new students were given the opportunity to share their respective testimonies of salvation and call to ministry. The service concluded with a period of prayer. Registration for courses and appointment of student leaders were conducted after lunch. The Board of Directors met that day as well. It was a blessed opening day.

The lecturers/tutors (and courses) for the January to April 2024 semester are: Rev Dr Jeffrey Khoo (Life of Christ II, Systematic Theology II), Rev Dr Quek Suan Yew (Old Testament History II, Homiletics), Rev Dr Prabhudas Koshy (Romans), Rev Dr Koa Keng Woo (Bible Geography II, Cults IV), Rev Stephen Khoo (2 Samuel), Rev Tan Kian Sing (Ephesians), Rev Clement Chew (Hebrew Elementary II, Acts of the Apostles), Rev Dr Jose Lagapa (Acts of the Apostates), Rev Samuel Joseph (Westminster Standards I, Greek Exegesis II), Rev Zhu Jianwei (Westminster Standards II [Chinese]), Miss Carol Lee (Theological Research & Writing, Adult Christian Education), Pr Cornelius Koshy (Greek Elementary II), Pr Joshua Yong (Contemporary Theology IV, Greek Reading II), Mrs Cheng May Lynn (Beginner Pianoforte), Mrs Patricia Joseph (English Intensive II), and Mr Aw Beng Teck (English Intermediate II/English Advanced II [combined]).

Thirteen Basic Theology for Everyone courses are offered to the public on campus and online this semester—12 are livestreamed (Old Testament History II, Life of Christ II, Westminster Standards II, Contemporary Theology IV, Cults IV, 2 Samuel, Acts of the Apostles, Romans, Ephesians, Acts of the Apostates, Adult Christian Education, Westminster Standards II [Chinese]), and one is video-screened (Systematic Theology II: Anthropology).

Total enrolment this semester is 534: 34 fulltime residential students and 500 part-time/online students from 15 countries: Australia, Cambodia, China, Congo, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Sierra Leone, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand, USA.

This semester, we have four new students: Charlyn Mampo Julian (Philippines), Joshua Vilas Bansode (India), Khai Sian Thang (Myanmar), Suan Za Kim Laai (Myanmar).

Do pray the Lord to continue to use FEBC as a spiritual SAFTI—for the training of His servants to be good soldiers of Jesus Christ (2 Tim 2:3).

Brazen Altar of the Tabernacle
Timna Park, Israel