- Preface

Preface

“All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: that the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.” 2Tim 3:16-17. The Scriptures is profitable not only to instruct and establish us in sound doctrine and to train us in a practical life of righteousness; they are also profitable for reproving our doctrinal deficiencies, inconsistencies and outright errors, and for correcting our conduct and character. Our doctrines and our practices must be conformed to the light of Scripture at all times, since the Scriptures are the only authority for all our doctrine and practice.

“Ye therefore, beloved, seeing ye know these things before, beware lest ye also, being led away with the error of the wicked, fall from your own steadfastness. But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and for ever. Amen.” 2Pet 3:17-18. A Christian life is necessarily a lifelong process of growing in the grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ from the day of his initial conversion to the gospel. It is a process of being progressively converted from errors to the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ. When God effectually calls an elect out of spiritual death unto eternal life, he is given the spirit of a sound mind so that he is enabled to understand, be persuaded by, and believe the word of truth. The mind must be constantly renewed and be conformed to the word of truth. Conformity to the truth is really an ongoing conversion to the truth. It is ceasing to be conformed to that which is erroneous, that which is inconsistent with Scripture, and which is inadequate and deficient to express the revealed truth. Even pastor Timothy was reminded of the necessity to conduct himself in such a way that his progress in the doctrinal knowledge might be evident to all: “Meditate upon these things; give thyself wholly to them; that thy profiting may appear to all.” 1Tim 4:15.

For example, it is inadequate and deficient to know and believe that a believer is legally justified by his faith. He needs to progress on to understand that a believer is justified by God, i.e. that God justified him while he was still ungodly, while he was still in a state of unbelief and in enmity against God. There needs to be growth in the knowledge of this aspect of justification. He needs to progress to distinguish the vast difference between the justification by God’s free grace and the justification by his faith, justification by the faith of Christ and justification by his faith in Christ. The two are vastly different. He needs to advance to know the great distinction between how faith justifies the believer and how God justifies the ungodly sinner in enmity against Him. He certainly needs to grow to know that it is only those whom God has justified (perfect tense) that shall live by faith, for the Scriptures declare, “the just shall live by faith,” (Hab 2:4, Ro 1:17, Ga 3:11, Heb 10:38.) And the justified one begins to live by faith in Christ at his initial conversion through the hearing of the gospel, and continues to live by faith in Jesus Christ.

Here is another example. Many sincere believers, even well known theologians, are very convinced that they obtained eternal life through their believing, and they are quick to point to the many passages whose sound seems to support their belief, but whose sense is entirely the opposite. There isn’t a statement in the whole of Scriptures where it is stated that eternal life is conditioned upon one’s believing, i.e., a conditional statement of offer for eternal life. There are repeated statements in the Scriptures that eternal life is the cause of a person’s believing, i.e., declarative statements of the actual possession of eternal life. However, it is easy to mistake the declarative statement of the present possession of eternal life as a conditional statement of future potentiality of eternal life through believing.

The Scriptures consistently declare that the believing person does so because he possesses eternal life, i.e., God has given him eternal life at effectual calling. Spiritual babes do sincerely think that it is their believing that secured for them eternal life. The Scriptures consistently declare, “whoever believes has eternal life.” This is a declarative statement that his believing is evidence of his possession of eternal life. It is like declaring, ‘whoever breathes has physical life.’ Christ’s own words in John 17:2 are conclusive, “And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.” It is the possession of eternal life that makes possible the knowing of the only true God and the Christ He has sent. It is the giving of righteousness that leads to faith (2Pet 1:1)!

Believers who hold such an inconsistent and deficient idea need to rightly divide the word of truth and make progress. The Scriptures declare thus about believers, “And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins” Eph 2:1. Spiritually dead sinners can’t possibly believe, which is a spiritual act. It is only those whom God the Father has made alive – born with life, which is spiritual and eternal – who have the capacity to believe. Spiritual activities are performed only by those who have spiritual and eternal life. O what great need for each of us to move on and cease holding to inconsistent and deficient notions. To do so, we need to heed the apostle Paul’s words, “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” 2Ti 2:15. We need to rightly divide the word of truth so that we do not end up believing and teaching the word of truth in an inconsistent and deficient manner. Conversion from errors to the gospel truth is a lifelong calling.

The ministry of the word is the means divinely appointed for the conversion of God’s regenerated children from ignorance and unbelief to belief in the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ, to instruct them in the truth, Matt 28:19-20. Disciples are made out of those whom God the Father has effectually called to life. The gospel – the good news of what God has done to save for Himself a people and give them the spiritual life to believe – is sheer foolishness to one who is without spiritual life but to those who are being saved it is indeed the power of God. The ministry of the word has been appointed for the spiritual good of God’s saints – those whom God has separated from sin and death unto righteousness and eternal life through His sovereign and gracious work of effectual calling, Eph 4:12-16.

The Scriptures abound with examples of true believers who still have doctrinal and practical errors to unlearn. All Scriptures is profitable for reproof and correction as well. The believers in the churches in Corinth and Galatia are good examples. The church in Pergamos was rebuked; it held to the ‘doctrine of Balaam’ and the ‘doctrine of the Nicolaitans’ that the Lord hated, Rev 2:14. The examples could be multiplied. No church or believers in the 21st century are exempted.

Apostle Paul exhorted, “Take heed to yourself and to the doctrine. Continue in them, for in doing this you will save both yourself and those who hear you” 1Tim 4:16. Failing to take heed to my conduct and my doctrine – i.e. holding them consistently and adequately – I as a pastor will fail to save both myself and those under my care. We shall certainly suffer the grave consequences of wrong doctrines, and if persisted in, shall make shipwreck of our faith. The Apostle Peter warned of the danger of not rightly dividing the word of truth thus, “As also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction” 2Pet 3:16. O what a warning to each one of us. The destruction spoken of here is the opposite of the salvation spoken of by apostle Paul in 1Tim 4:16. It has nothing to do with salvation from our eternal condemnation or destruction, for such eternal deliverance is by the pure grace of God in Christ alone.

In 1992-3 when efforts were being made to constitute Sungai Dua Church, the group of believers who eventually became charter members of SDC was briefly acquainted with the 1689 CoF through a series of 10 studies. The church was constituted in May 1, 1993 with the 1689 CoF as the doctrinal standard. I was ordained as the pastor in Nov.93. In 1999-2000 I took the church through the 1689 CoF in our Wednesday evening meetings. The Lord showed me many things during that time, which I had not seen before. At a Pastors’ Conference I heard a truthful but scathing statement 'that the CoF is only a historical relic in many churches.' Something good came out of that remark. I left with a determination that the church I pastor must know what the forefathers had understood and summarized in the 1689. In May 2001, the church did a series on the Order of Salvation, using John Murray’s book ‘Redemption Accomplished and Applied’ – the opus magnum of the ‘standard reformed position.’ I began to see many glaring discrepancies between the ‘standard reformed position’ and the teaching of Scriptures as summarized in the 1689 CoF. I began asking questions everywhere and seeking for answers. Much light has been gained from friends and ‘foes’ alike. In 2002, the SDC studied and scrutinized chapters 10-14 and 20 of the 1689 CoF again. In 2003 I began to alert some pastors of the churches concerning what is summarized in the 1689 CoF. If you are interested in the rest of the story, read on.

May each of us be given grace to take heed to ourselves and to the doctrine and make the needed progress. Even Apollos, a man eloquent and mighty in the Scriptures, can do with some help from a Christian couple to expound to him the way of God more perfectly, Acts 18:24-26. There may be some who think they have arrived and are in need of no further progress – doctrinally. I wish the Lord’s richest blessing upon all such brethren. Amen.