3 February 2008 - Rev Dr Quek Suan Yew
REMEMBER THE SWORD AND THE TROWEL!
Nehemiah 4:17 , “They which builded on the wall, and they that bare burdens, with those that laded, every one with one of his hands wrought in the work, and with the other hand held a weapon.”
Spurgeon called his church paper “the Sword and the Trowel.” This apt title summarizes the complete and twin ministry of every believer and biblically healthy and God-honouring church. Spurgeon got his title from an incident in the Book of Nehemiah. Israel had returned from 70 years of captivity in Babylon. The walls of Jerusalem were broken and the city was in ruins. Before they could rebuild the city they needed to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem. The enemies of Israel tried their utmost to stop them. Nehemiah 4:7-8 testifies, “But it came to pass, that when Sanballat, and Tobiah, and the Arabians, and the Ammonites, and the Ashdodites, heard that the walls of Jerusalem were made up, and that the breaches began to be stopped, then they were very wroth, And conspired all of them together to come and to fight against Jerusalem, and to hinder it.”
The will of God was crystal clear . . . they must rebuild the walls of Jerusalem at any cost even in the face of their determined enemies. To build the walls of Jerusalem, it was demanded of them to defend the wall, as it was being built, and the people who were building the wall. Anything less would result in failure and deaths because the enemies of God’s people meant business! There were no half measures. The solution was simple and very spiritual. It was a good mix of the doctrine of God’s sovereignty and human responsibility. They knew that the wall would be built for their Almighty God had commanded it. God would bring the wicked counsel and plots of Israel’s enemies to nought. Nehemiah 4:15 , “And it came to pass, when our enemies heard that it was known unto us, and God had brought their counsel to nought, that we returned all of us to the wall, every one unto his work.”
But the returnees of Israel also realized that they were the ones appointed by God to accomplish this enormous task of building the walls of Jerusalem even in the face of their enemies. It was faith in action! How did they do it? The Bible explains, “And it came to pass from that time forth, that the half of my servants wrought in the work, and the other half of them held both the spears, the shields, and the bows, and the habergeons; and the rulers were behind all the house of Judah. They which builded on the wall, and they that bare burdens, with those that laded, every one with one of his hands wrought in the work, and with the other hand held a weapon. For the builders, every one had his sword girded by his side, and so builded. And he that sounded the trumpet was by me (Nehemiah 4:16-18 ).” The work was divided into two groups. One group stood on guard with weapons in their hands to protect those who were rebuilding the wall. Those rebuilding the wall had their weapons ready at all times.
This account of the rebuilding of the wall of Jerusalem gave birth to the title of Spurgeon’s church paper “The Sword and the Trowel”. This also demonstrates to us as Christians the importance of both preaching the gospel and teaching and defending the Word of God at the same time.
I had received an email from a young person who wrote that we should just preach the gospel and not talk or defend the doctrine of VPP. I replied to the young man exactly what is written here, of course not in so many words. I said to him that if we do not defend the Bible, there will be no gospel to preach. Would you believe in the gospel of Jesus Christ that comes from a Bible with mistakes?
Dear readers, if we do not defend the veracity and purity of the perfect Word of God as many seminaries and Bible Colleges and churches in the past have failed to do, Calvary Pandan will very soon go the way of compromise and die a slow death by the biblical cyanide of “the Bible with mistakes albeit very few”! Mix the slightest dosage of doctrinal error into the perfect Bible and the Bible will cease to be perfect immediately and all our doctrines will begin to crumble. The boiling frog story states that a frog can be boiled alive if the water is heated slowly — it is said that if a frog is placed in boiling water, it will jump out, but if it is placed in cold water that is slowly heated, it will never jump out. This aptly describes Christians who allow a little leaven into the lump!
Dear Reader, defending the perfect Word of God is not the sole responsibility of the Session and pastors. It is the God-ordained duty of every Christian. If we do not defend the perfect Word of God it is as good as not defending God’s integrity and His perfect Character and Name! If we keep silent, then we would fail the Lord Jesus Christ who died for us as well as our children who depend on us! Do not leave behind a legacy of a Bible with mistakes for our sons and daughters as the eternal destiny of their souls depends on it.
The Sword and Trowel has always been the way of obedience and service in the face of God’s enemies. By all means preach the gospel of salvation and teach the whole counsel of God BUT do not do it at the expense of not earnestly contending for the Faith once delivered unto the saints! REMEMBER THE SWORD AND THE TROWEL! AMEN.