6 January 2008 - Rev Dr Quek Suan Yew
REMAINING STEDFAST IN THE LORD ACCORDING TO HOLY SCRIPTURES
One of the easiest Bible verses to remember is 1 Corinthians 15:58 . It says, “Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.” It is easy to remember because of the deep teaching and the cadence of the translation in the KJV. Many of us probably have this verse as our life verse or used it before to encourage someone whose spirit was floundering.
But this is also one of the most difficult Bible verses to obey. This verse means that the Christian must not allow anything in his life to stop him from doing the work of God. He must not allow his family, his freedom, his health, his enemies, the persecutions, the abuses, lies, slanders, etc to discourage him from doing God’s work. This is a very tall order because we are very prone to self pity and self centeredness. If he is not noticed or recognized, he wants to give up and stop serving. How many have quit serving because of these reasons. Some feel hurt easily and their pride is pricked so they quit! Children’s tuition, extra curricular activities and their all important studies have caused many once-upon-a-time fervent zealots to quit serving. They are now embroiled in the cares of the world so deeply that they are blinded by them and like Lot, they do not have the moral courage to get out and turn back to the LORD, until it is too late. Persecutions and lies have discouraged and moved many pastors and pseudo-stalwarts of the faith to quit the ministry, and some even the faith. They were pressed and cornered by the enemies of the Word so much, that they have compromised and would rather capitulate and throw in the towel! What are your excuses for quitting or not serving?
As long as God’s children are serving the LORD in the preaching/sharing of the gospel and defending His holy and perfect Word, Satan will not rest until he sees them destroyed. His minions would work overtime to thwart God’s work, His ministers and ministries and people. The Far Eastern Bible College holds on to the doctrine of the ages that the God who inspired His Holy Word perfectly has also perfectly preserved all His inspired words throughout the ages. This simply means that we have God’s perfect Word in our hands today. We study it and believe it and defend it.
Those who believe that the Bible today has mistakes do not like to see FEBC succeed. They feel that in the spiritual perspective, FEBC will have to be stopped. Many schemes have been devised to bring about the demise of FEBC, most recently to prevent the FEBC night classes from functioning properly. FEBC, founded in 1962 by Rev Timothy Tow, has been using the main sanctuary for her night classes since an enrolment increase by the grace of God to more than 200. But the latest subterfuge has been to disallow the use of the sanctuary for the teaching of God’s perfect Word. They have stated that FEBC would be allowed to use the sanctuary IF she would sign an undertaking that she will teach that the Bible has mistakes and that God has not preserved all His words perfectly for us today. FEBC has to decide: to fear/obey God or man! Thank God that the present Board and Faculty of FEBC have decided unequivocally to obey God and to remain stedfast and unmoveable in her defense of God’s Holy and perfect Word. Praise God that He brought more than 270 students last Thursday night and most of them had to squeeze into the FEBC Hall which can sit only 200. Students had to “over-flow” into the dining area to study God’s Word. This little discomfort is a small price to pay for the defense of God’s holy and perfect Word. Will the enemies of the perfect God who gave us the perfect Bible cease their disturbances? Sadly the prognosis is that they will not. What other attempts to disrupt FEBC classes remain to be seen. One thing is certain: FEBC is God’s College, started by God’s anointed and faithful servant, Rev Timothy Tow 45 years ago. Therefore those who persecute FEBC are actually persecuting God. They will have God to deal with and God will surely deal with them. It is like kicking against the pricks. The harder they kick the deeper the wound for these persecutors. But God’s servants must remain faithful and true to Holy Scriptures no matter what, and always abound in God’s work! The Word of God in Hebrews 10:31 warns, “It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.”
What a sad day to see these spiritual children trying to destroy the work of their own spiritual father. But such are the signs of the last days. God’s children must remain stedfast and unmoveable no matter how the enemies of God might try their utmost to thwart God’s work. God’s people must always obey God’s Holy and perfect Word. Whatever they do and how they respond to the enemies’ incessant and devious attacks, must be according to Holy Scriptures. God’s people must not flinch and stoop to the unbiblical tactics of God’s enemies. If they do, they might have “won” in the eyes of man but they have already lost in the eyes of God. God’s people must remain true to God no matter what; they are to always abound in the work of the LORD.
Some might wish for FEBC to “die”! Imagine if FEBC is “dead”, and you wish to send your sons and daughters who are called of God to enter the full-time ministry - where could they be sent to be trained in the pre-millennial Reformed Covenant theology of our B-P tradition? Nowhere in the world! To my knowledge, FEBC is the last training bastion of the B-P Faith! If FEBC falls, the B-P faith as we know it may die with the present generation! Pray for God’s College, the FEBC, to remain stedfast and faithful and true to the LORD Jesus Christ till He returns.
Remaining stedfast and unmoveable and always abounding in the work of the LORD is one of the most difficult verses to obey but not impossible. If you have to do it alone, would you capitulate or would you stand firm?