Many of our children are going overseas for studies, leaving behind home, parental guidance and church life. Others leave home for months and years because of overseas postings. Finding a biblically sound church for worship is very important for growth in the LORD. If a Christian is overseas and cannot find a sound church to attend, then the next best thing is to go on-line and tune in to our Calvary Pandan Church’s website to listen to the messages and to have at least some form of worship in the home. But bear in mind that there is no substitute for worshipping in a church.
The criteria in finding a biblically sound church are very important. If a Christian attends a church that is unsound and imbibes different doctrines, he or she will find it hard to return to Calvary Pandan for worship. Children with different doctrines will find it hard to stay and worship in Pandan with their families. Families may be split because of this. The worse case scenario is that these children may imbibe wrong doctrines and become wayward in their faith. This would not only split the family but will bring untold heartaches as they now go in different spiritual directions. It is therefore imperative that the Christian overseas finds a biblically sound church for the duration of his or her stay away from home. Just because the church bears the same name does not necessarily mean that the church is sound. There are many different kinds of B-P churches today, after the dissolution of the B-P Synod.
The doctrines of the church must be sound – The written document of the church defines the doctrinal beliefs of the church. Compare them with the Calvary Pandan Church Constitution. This is quite easy to do. If a church has no Constitution, do not stay in that church. Most likely her doctrinal positions flip and flop as the situation changes. That church is like ship without a rudder.
If the doctrinal position is nebulous or very unclear, and open to a very broad interpretation, then you’d also be wise to leave that church. For example, a church’s statement on the doctrine of Trinity can be as unclear as this, “The unity of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit in the Triune Godhead.” A unitarian who rejects the doctrine of Trinity would have no problem accepting this statement. This is possibly a very inclusive church where all kinds of professing Christians will be allowed to join. The more narrow and biblical the doctrinal statements, the better it is. The truths of God are always very narrow!
Know the doctrines of Pandan Church well so that you will know the differences as to the teachings of the church that you attend. Some of the differences may not be pertinent to one’s salvation but are very important for unity and understanding of the Bible. Did you know that the difference in the interpretation of the Bible between an A-millenniallist (i.e. one who believes in no 1,000 year reign of Christ on earth) and a Pre-millenniallist (i.e. one who believes in a 1,000 year reign of Christ on earth) covers over 4,500 verses of the Bible? This comes to about a different interpretation from the book of Acts to the book of Revelation. Imagine the chaos it can cause if someone becomes a Sunday School teacher or a Fellowship Group leader or a Bible study leader in Pandan after his return and has imbibed such a doctrine as A-millennialism? Bible students would be confused. Arguments between students and teachers would ensue. The disunity caused would most likely result in some people leaving the church. Calvary Pandan is a Presbyterian church which means that she is reformed or covenantal in her understanding of the workings of God in the church and the salvation of His people. Baptists are dispensational in their understanding of God’s workings in the church, salvation and church government.
The doctrines of the church must be practised – There are some churches which do not do what they write. It is only good on paper. Such churches will fool many because they have sound doctrines on paper but not in practice. One of the best ways to find out is to talk to the pastor or elders and ask specific questions on doctrines. For example, if they say that they practise biblical separation, ask them if they would work with a Roman Catholic priest or Charismatic pastor. Another way to find out if the churches practise what they preach is to examine the church notice boards. You will be able to find out about, say, their missionaries if any, the para-church groups they support, the different denominations they fellowship with or the kinds of seminars or crusades they participate in. You can also check their website for their links and see what organizations or churches they are affiliated to. If they have in their Constitution that the Bible is without error and then preach that the Bible has errors, then withdraw from such a church. If the church believes in the doctrine that God has verbally and plenarily inspired His Word, she must also believe and teach that God has verbally and plenarily preserved His Word as well. Without the verbal and plenary preserved Word, there is no verbal plenary inspiration. For it is impossible that a Bible with mistakes can teach us that there was once upon a time a Bible with no mistakes. Pandan Church has always believed that the perfectly inspired and preserved Bible in the original languages of Hebrew and Greek are the texts underlying the King James Bible. This is our basis for choosing the KJV for the English speaking brethren and the CUV for the Mandarin speaking brethren. These are the two versions closest to the perfectly preserved Hebrew and Greek texts. Without the perfectly preserved texts identified for us, it means that all Bibles have mistakes and that there is no basis for selecting the best version in any language! Because of the doctrine of verbal plenary preservation, we have the doctrine of verbal plenary inspiration and hence a fundamentally sound choice of any version of the Bible in any language.
The church you attend if it is English speaking must use the KJV and the pastor must not say that the KJV has mistakes.
The practices of the Church – The practices of the church would include the activities of the church. For example, a church that supports the Alpha course is not a good church. Alpha is pro-Roman Catholic in its emphasis. If it is involved with para-church groups like the Navigators, Campus Crusade for Christ or Youth For Christ, then it is part of the ecumenical movement either directly or indirectly. These para-church groups are part of the World Council of Churches.
The worship of the church – Is the worship of God every Lord’s Day frivolous or God honoring? This determines their overall concept of God. Frivolous worship includes the use of loud music, synthesizers and bands and drums and the worshippers dancing and jumping around would reflect a frivolous God. This is not how God reveals Himself in the Bible. He is an awesome God and all true worshippers who come to Him must worship Him in spirit (from the heart) and in truth (according to the Bible). Hymns rather than choruses should be sung. Hymns have deep and right theology. Many of the choruses are sentimental in their approach to God. Such sentimentalism is foreign to the teaching of the Bible where God is approached always with fear and reverence.
The leaders in the church – The leaders of the church must be exemplary in their conduct. They must be men of biblical principles, integrity and courage. Their yea is yea and nay, nay. Beware of leaders with forked tongues and eyes that wink. They will look out for the rich and influential and flatter them and try to get into their good books. They will show partiality in their treatment of these people. This is a hypocritical and carnal church. Leave immediately.