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We have no shortage of “evangelical” pastors and preachers who preach biblical and helpful messages. But in modern times, an erroneous trend is increasingly found among such preachers. The error is not that they outrightly teach false doctrines, but rather, they do not preach truth explicitly so as to uncover the widespread sinful and worldly habits in their congregations or the apostasy and compromise in the modern Christian world.

A great number of preachers of our times prefer to leave the errors and evils among their flocks untouched in their preaching. Though they preach that repentance is a necessity, they will not rebuke immodesty, carnality or materialism in their congregations. They are only concerned about giving cosmetic beauty to their preaching. Their preaching seldom goes beyond surface; it hardly touches the “raw nerve” of the people’s conscience.

Why Don’t Preachers Expose Error?

Popularity

Whenever a preacher stands up and preaches, he does so with the hope that his voice will be heard and that his message will be received in full by the congregants. Herein lies the danger. When people’s opinion becomes predominant in the mind of the preacher, he seeks to cater to their pleasure rather than preach the will of God in its entirety, which is expected of him. The ultimate duty of every preacher is not to please the crowd, but to please God. The preacher who is a man-pleaser is an entertainer – not a servant of the Lord, nor a faithful minister of His Word.

Another problem of a preacher who is preoccupied with the acceptance of the people, is that he will be constantly under an irresistible pressure not to apply the truth of God’s Word in a way that would unsettle the “comfort” of the errant ones. A popularity-conscious preacher will be silent even when he is aware of the unrestrained sinful ways of his congregants. Such a man cherishes the comfortable relationship that he enjoys with the congregants, rather than the holiness and glory of God. He feels more at ease with the abominable ways of the men and women of his congregation than with the discomfort resulting from the bold rebuke of their immodest, carnal and materialistic ways. So, he develops a style of preaching which appears to be biblical but without full, appropriate and necessary application of God’s Word to the lives of his hearers.

Pragmatism

Pragmatism is the mindset and principle of those who pursue fame and recognition. It is the notion that meaning or worth is determined by practical consequences. Where pragmatism reigns, only visibly productive ideas and practices are pursued. All else, even biblical principles, are considered secondary. Pragmatism pushes aside holiness, faithfulness and the fear of God from their primacy in preaching, and replaces them with bigger crowds, human appeasement, more money, more glamour, etc.

Insofar as preachers and their preaching, ministry and life are concerned, the present pragmatism of modern Christianity is at odds with Scripture. It is leading preachers away from being admonishers of sin and false doctrines to being their accommodators. The pragmatist’s road to popularity is too often paved with deception and lined with vagueness. The “signposts” on such a highway to acceptance are always indistinct. Pragmatic pastors are leading their flocks into puddles of sin and the devil’s pastures. This has become an acceptable way of life for those on the way to the top of the ladder of success in the business of entertainment.

The world thinks little of using improper manoeuvres to gain its goals. A vast number of people have obviously determined that morality is no longer a needed asset in the social, political and spiritual fields. Immodesty and immoral lives are quietly overlooked. Smooth-sounding professionalism of pastoral preaching largely turns a blind eye to apostasy and compromise. More and more preachers and churches are toning down and paring down their messages. Once in a while, these will be hinted at, but not dealt with in a plain manner.

None of these should surprise us. The Spirit of God has already cautioned us in His Word: “Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; and they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables” (2 Timothy 4:2-4).

Personal Pleasure and Gain

To offend listeners means loss of income and influence. So, the pragmatic ideology of modern preachers has filled many church pulpits with “dumb dogs”, who refuse to “bark” and alert men of the spiritual calamities that encircle them. Pragmatism has produced a breed of “greedy dogs” who rather remain silent for their own gain, even at the expense of the souls placed under their charge.

This reality of unfaithful, pragmatic modern preachers reminds us of Paul’s words, “If any man teach otherwise, and consent not to wholesome words, even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to the doctrine which is according to godliness; he is proud, knowing nothing, but doting about questions and strifes of words, whereof cometh envy, strife, railings, evil surmisings, perverse disputings of men of corrupt minds, and destitute of the truth, supposing that gain is godliness: from such withdraw thyself” (1 Timothy 6:3-5).

The Lord also spoke of such pastors in Isaiah 56 – “His watchmen are blind: they are all ignorant, they are all dumb dogs, they cannot bark; sleeping, lying down, loving to slumber. Yea, they are greedy dogs which can never have enough, and they are shepherds that cannot understand: they all look to their own way, every one for his gain, from his quarter. Come ye, say they, I will fetch wine, and we will fill ourselves with strong drink; and to morrow shall be as this day, and much more abundant” (vv. 10-12).
As Isaiah said, one of the reasons for the silence of many pastors in the face of increasing sinfulness in their congregations is their own love for sinful pleasures, such as wine drinking, immorality and worldliness.

Exposing Error: Is It Worthwhile?

Exposing error is a very unpopular task. Objection is often raised even by some who are sound in the faith - regarding the exposure of error as being entirely negative and of no real edification. But from every Scriptural standpoint, it is most worthwhile. Proverbs 24:25 affirms, “But to them that rebuke him shall be delight, and a good blessing shall come upon them.” A wise pastor will rebuke the sins of his congregation, and a wise congregation will gladly receive it with submission and obedience for their own blessing.

When a godly pastor or elder or a brother or a sister points out your errors, you ought to be thankful rather than resentful. Psalm 141:5 says, “Let the righteous smite me; it shall be a kindness: and let him reprove me; it shall be an excellent oil, which shall not break my head: for yet my prayer also shall be in their calamities.” You should not go against the loving act of the one who rebukes you. Neither should you smear his or her good intention with false accusations nor with your own false self-exaltation. Scripture says such angry responses belong to the scornful and the foolish ones. “Reprove not a scorner, lest he hate thee: rebuke a wise man, and he will love thee” (Proverbs 9:8).

God’s Word says, “Open rebuke is better than secret love” (Proverbs 27:5). And the next verse reiterates, “Faithful are the wounds of a friend”. It is the duty of every loving pastor to rebuke and correct his flock, even if it causes some form of emotional hurt to the offender. If rebuke is necessitated by sin or a doctrinal error, then godly love demands the intense rebuke of it. Unfortunately, today, rebuke is a much neglected duty of love. (I do not advocate harsh treatment of an errant brother [cf. Galatians 6:1-2], though I fully agree that a church should take biblical disciplinary actions against unrepentant men and women in its congregation [cf. Matthew 18:15-20].)

At this juncture, I would like to bring to my readers’ attention the words of a famous godly preacher of yesteryear, H. A. Ironside (1876–1951): “Error is like leaven of which we read, ‘A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump.’ Truth mixed with error is equivalent to all error, except that it is more innocent looking and, therefore, more dangerous. God hates such a mixture! Any error, or any truth-and-error mixture, calls for definite exposure and repudiation. To condone such is to be unfaithful to God and His Word and treacherous to imperiled souls for whom Christ died.”

I end this article with the advice of the apostle Paul to all preachers: “Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine” (2 Timothy 4:2). In a similar vein, he advised Titus concerning some malicious men who had infiltrated the church, “whose mouths must be stopped, who subvert whole houses, teaching things which they ought not, for filthy lucre’s sake. One of themselves, even a prophet of their own, said, The Cretians are alway liars, evil beasts, slow bellies. This witness is true. Wherefore rebuke them sharply, that they may be sound in the faith” (Titus 1:11-13).

Sermon Text: Psalm 2
Speaker: Pastor Prabhudas Koshy
Date: 6th March 2022

Sermon Text: Psalm 1
Speaker: Pastor Prabhudas Koshy
Date: 27th February 2022

Colossians 3:2—“Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.”

Those who are risen with Christ have not only a new spiritual pursuit (cf. Colossians 3:1), but also a new passion, which the apostle Paul describes in the text stated above.

The verb “set your affection” (phroneo) means “direct your mind to something”. A Christian’s thoughts should be directed to Christ and the things associated with where He now dwells. That is our ultimate destination; hence it must be our preoccupation while we live on this earth. We are to be heavenly-minded (“on things above”) because, as Paul says in Philippians 3:20, “For our conversation (or citizenship) is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ”.

What are your great interests? The great object of our contemplation should be the celestial city that Jesus is preparing for us. Readiness for that final home must be our greatest passion on earth.

While we are exhorted to be heavenly-minded, we are also cautioned not to be earthly-minded – “not on things on the earth”. Our affections should not be placed on wealth and health, houses and lands, honour and pleasure, etc. Neither should our passions be the worldly fashions and corrupting entertainments of this world. Worldly lusts must be denied. The deeds of the flesh, which are sinful, must be mortified. No provision should be made for the encroachment of worldly allurements.

While Christ and heaven draw us upwards, the world and its charms draw us downwards. Let us not yield to the pull of earthly things, but earnestly pursue heavenly things. Let us not love things that are earthly and perishing, but those that are heavenly and everlasting. The apostle John admonishes us in 1 John 2:15-16, “Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.”

Christians must always be conscious and deliberate to prefer and pursue heavenly and eternal matters above earthly and carnal matters. Unless our affections are set on the heavenly matters, we will never seek after them in a proper manner. Let Christ and heavenly things be our greatest concern, passion and pursuit. Let us be desirous of everything that fixes us to heaven and its eternal glory.

Updates from Gethsemane B-P Church, Cebu

Greetings to all of you!

I praise and thank the Lord for His grace and mercy upon us. After the restoration of the basic utilities to the church premises (which had been damaged by the typhoon last month here), I am encouraged to see a good number of brethren coming for the physical “in-person” worship services.

The other Sunday, we have 4 brethren who transferred their membership to our church here in Cebu. They were supposed to be with those whom we received through baptism (2 brethren) and transfer of membership (3 brethren) on Dec. 19 in 2021, but weren’t able to make it (due to the typhoon aftermath).
Last Sunday, we also had good church attendance, including children. Praise God!

Lastly, the repair works of the damaged houses of our affected brethren are ongoing. I am sending some of the photos of the repair works, as well as those of the recent gatherings of brethren during our worship and other meetings.

Thank you very much for your prayers and support, Pastor. The Lord is good!

Respectfully,
Rev. Reggor

A blessing for more than three decades – that’s my sincere testimony about our church’s mid-week gathering for the study of God’s Word and prayer – which we commonly refer to as ‘Church Prayer Meeting’. On Tuesday nights (8 pm), as we regularly met together, we rejoiced in the Lord as we sang our hymns, meditated on God’s Word and prayed together.

Church Prayer Meeting Resumed

However, the COVID safe measures hindered our gathering; the result was that we met online for the church prayer meeting. Though our online meetings were held efficiently and orderly, they lacked the joy of us coming together as a congregation to have fellowship with our God and one another. Besides, it had been very tedious to plan and hold the online prayer meeting.

Now that we are allowed to meet physically (with the safety protocols), the Church Prayer Meeting is being held again in the SingPost auditorium every Tuesday night. We urge all the church members and friends to come together for our prayer meeting and be blessed by the blessed ministry of the Holy Spirit amongst us through hymn-singing, meditation of the Word, prayer and fellowship.

Church Prayer Meeting Webcast Halted

As announced some time ago, the live webcast of the Church Prayer Meeting has been halted. The webcast of the entire meeting was made available only because of the mandated restrictions to our physical gatherings. The proper practice is that believers ought to come together in one place for the meetings. It is the Scriptural injunction and pattern that the church members get together to pray. Secondly, it is improper and unwise to share over the internet the prayer items that we mention amongst ourselves during the prayer meeting. Nonetheless, members can listen to the sermons preached during the prayer meeting from Bible Witness Web Radio’s ‘Faithful Men’ segment (available from the on-demand page).

Church: A People in Prayer

“These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication…” (Acts 1:14). True Christians (not pretentious) within the church have always been fond of coming together to pray. The church recorded in the Scriptures has always been characterised by prayer gatherings of her members. The church’s legacy in the New Testament portrays it as wholly given to prayer to give thanks to God and to plead for the Gospel work, the preachers, the fellow believers. Though faced with many treacherous circumstances, the church thrived everywhere by the continuous engagement of her people in prayer.

The record of the early church in the Book of Acts alone mentions prayer to God in heaven about 50 times. Most of the recorded prayers in Acts are public prayers, though a few are private ones, such as Cornelius’ prayer. The prayers recorded in the first four chapters of Acts are all public prayers led by the apostles. Various people offered the prayers in this book: Christ’s disciples in general (1:13-14), new believers (2:42), apostles (6:4; 8:15), a deacon (7:59-60), leaders of a church (13:3), a centurion (10:4), the concerned brethren of a church (12:5), women (16:13), a repenting persecutor of believers (9:5), etc. The book of the Acts of the Apostles also records prayers of people in different situations: as the disciples waited for the power of the Spirit (chp. 1), in appointing an apostle (chp. 1), for the releasing of Christ’s witnesses (chp. 4), at death (chp. 7), on a journey (chp. 9), when believers were still in prison (chps 12, 16), while thrusting missionaries forth (chp. 13), in strengthening churches (chp. 14), when fasting and praying (chps 13, 14), while facing persecution (chp. 16), in bidding goodbye (chp. 20), and in thanking God for food (chp. 27), etc. Indeed, prayer is strategic in Acts – from close to the start (1:14) to near the end (28:15)!

Church Prayer Meeting & Its Benefits

There are some unique practical benefits when church members pray together. Though more can be listed as benefits of praying together, a few are listed below:

• Coming together to pray helps brethren to encourage one another to seek the LORD and His blessings (cf. Acts 2:46-47; Hebrews 10:24-25). We also will be encouraged by others’ exhortations and examples.
• Coming together to pray unites the congregation. Praying together creates a deep feeling of belonging, resulting in strengthened fellowship and solidarity of the church. The brotherhood within a church that prays together will be healthy and vibrant.
• Coming together to pray enables the church to receive the Spirit’s guidance to identify and ordain godly leaders (cf. Acts 1:24; 6:6).
• Coming together to pray enables the church to seek, find and send Gospel workers for the soul harvest locally and abroad (cf. Matt. 9:38; Acts 13:2-3).
• Coming together to pray opens our hearts to the struggles, fears and needs of other brethren and reminds us of our duty to intercede for them, as expected by God (1 Thess 5:25; Gal 6:1-2).
• Coming together to pray provides an opportunity to listen to others pray and improve our attitude, manner and presentation of prayers to God.
• Coming together to pray increases our faith, knowledge, wisdom and discernment as we hear and understand how the will of God is discerned by the pastors, elders, preachers and deacons who pray for various needs, difficulties, problems, etc.
• Coming together to pray comforts and strengthens us in our painful situations as others pray for our nourishment, healing, guidance and steadfastness.
• Coming together to pray grants an increasing sense of responsibility towards one another, the ministries of the church, and all other matters presented in prayer. Thus, each member grows as a part of God’s glorious purposes worked out in and through the church. Besides, the Lord may then show us how we can be the answer to someone’s need and prayer.
• Coming together to pray as individuals and families offers us a unique opportunity to witness the answers to our prayers together. It is like the experience of the Jerusalem church (praying together for Peter who was earlier arrested) that was suddenly taken by surprise when Peter, being miraculously released by God’s angel, went to them while they were still praying (Acts 12:12-17)!

Conclusion

It is downright disobedience and a dishonourable attitude to consider church prayer meetings as not obligatory. Church members and leaders must put off the tendency to think of prayer gatherings as an optional “extra-curricular activity” in the church’s life.

When church members come together to pray, they honour God, who Himself has sovereignly ordained the corporate praying of the church. May God, who down through the ages has been pleased to work out His mighty purposes through the churches that have prayed together, also grant us the grace to increase our commitment to pray together and thus be channels of His blessings.

Sermon Text: Galatians 6:17–18
Speaker: Pastor Prabhudas Koshy
Date: 20th February 2022

“God is love.” Though short, it is a statement of eternal magnitude and significance. Never was more meaning encapsulated in so few words as in this short sentence – “God is love.” The apostle John stated this truth twice in his first epistle (cf. 1 John 4:8, 16). The message of this short verse is splashed across the Bible.

Some clarifications are necessary before any further elaboration of this glorious statement is attempted. When John wrote that “God is love”, he was not saying that “love” is the complete revelation of God. In fact, he has already written in the same epistle that “God is light” (1 John 1:5); that refers to God’s holy nature (cf. John 3:18–21; 1 John 1:5–10). So, love is not the only attribute that adequately describes God. God cannot be fully explained by one of His attributes alone. Love is not the only perception we ought to have of Him. Neither was the apostle John implying that “love is God”. The emphasis of the saying, “God is love”, is that in God alone can one fully view what true love is – and only by His enablement can one have the power to express true love.

God is Essential Boundless Love

The declaration that “God is love” not only reveals God as a loving God, but also portrays love as natural and essential to His divine glory. All of God’s will and all of His works are draped in His glorious love. In nature and essence, He is “God of love” (2 Corinthians 13:11).

God is perfect, and His love is perfect too. God is unfathomable, and hence His love is beyond our full grasp. But the knowledge that God is full of perfect and infinite love enables us to draw near to Him with full assurance of faith for pardon and redemption.

In this dark world of hatred, sin and sorrows, we have the assurance that the God of infinite love rules over all. Though we may not be able to reconcile all the cruelty and tragedies that occur around us, yet by exercising faith on this marvellous declaration, we can find consolation. In fact, amidst all the sadness, sin and sorrow, there is abundant evidence that God is love. Among all the manifestations of His love in this dark world, the gift of a Saviour is the greatest of all.

God Manifested His Love through His Son

We can know God because His great love is manifested unto us. Immediately after making the assertion that “God is love”, the apostle John wrote, “In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him. Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins” (1 John 4:9-10). God’s love has sent the Son of God to bear all our sins so that we may know Him intimately.

How amazing it is that God should love vile mortals like us! Who can fully comprehend that the eternal God, who is holy, would love ungrateful rebels such as us? What a great mystery and a grand miracle that the divine love would send His only begotten Son into the world for us! If this is not love, what then is love?

John says, “Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins” (1 John 4:10). God’s sending of His Son is so unusual and such an unprecedented expression of love that the apostle says, “Herein is love”. God loved the world so wonderfully, so amazingly, and so incredibly, that He sacrificed His only begotten Son as the ransom for the redemption of sinners. “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8).

God’s Matchless Love

Being moved by the love of God manifested through Christ, the apostle John exclaimed, “Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God” (1 John 3:1a). John encourages us to contemplate the greatness of God’s love. He points us to God’s love as peculiar. It is out-of-this-world kind of love. There is no act of love in this world that can ever be compared to God’s love that received us as His children, though we were once His enemies.

The apostle was so astonished at the greatness of God’s love that he wrote, “what manner of love”! The Greek words (potapên agape), used by the apostle, point to both the quantity and quality of God’s love. Its length, breadth, depth and height are beyond description.

How can we ever describe the love of God that allows us to call Him, “Father!” There can be no higher expression of love than His adopting of us, reckless children as we are, as His own, now and forever. There can never be any greater act of love, even from God, than that which He manifested through the sacrifice of His Son so that we may be reconciled to Him as His children. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16).

He loved us, when we had no love for Him. He lovingly came to us, even when we had wandered away from Him. When we laid down in our sin, guilt and misery, His tender love sought to redeem us. When we were undeserving, ill-deserving, polluted and unclean, in love He stooped down to wash us from our sins with His sacred blood. While we were dead in trespasses, His love for us “affixed” Him on the cross to die, that we might live forever through Him. He loved us, wretched sinful mortals, that we might live in heaven, live with God, and live in eternal glory and blessedness with Him and through Him. Oh, what love has reached us here on earth!

Conclusion

All those who have tasted His love, in receiving the salvation by faith in Christ, must praise Him for His eternal love. When we remember how insignificant we are as creatures, and how ungrateful, rebellious and vile we have been as sinners, we may well be full of adoration and worship at His love which has adopted us into the holy family of God, so that we may be regarded and treated as the children of the Most High. The love of God that surpasses all finite conception will be the theme of adoring praises from multitudes that no man can number, for ever and ever. Moreover, we should declare His love to every creature, that others may also come to Him and rejoice in His love.

Even in this world of animosity, bitterness, violence and suffering, we have sufficient evidence to prove that He is benevolent. Let us always behold the cross, where the love of God shines through the injustice, travesty and violence of human sin. The gruesome experiences of this earth tend to mask our perception that God is love. The full glory and meaning of His infinite love will be fully understood only when we reach heaven. In the meantime, let us hold on to the truth that God is love. Let us believe that He sincerely desires our good, and that what seems dark to us may be designed for our welfare; yea, amidst all the sorrows and disappointments of this present life, let us rest assured that our interests and our destiny are in the hands of the God of love.

There is none who is infinitely perfect in love as God. Oh, what astonishing goodness and condescension from the Almighty God towards us who believe on His Son. God is love!

Sermon Text: Galatians 6:16
Speaker: Pastor Prabhudas Koshy
Date: 13th February 2022

Read Them to Grow Spiritually

No book is more important to a Christian than God’s Word, the Bible. Reading and meditating on the Bible is our God-given daily duty (cf. Deut. 6:6-8; 17:19; Josh. 1:8; Jn 5:39; 1 Tim 4:15); it is essential to our spiritual growth and blessing (Psalms 1:2, 37:31; 119:11, 97-104, 130; Prov. 2:1-5, 8:34; Lk. 11:28; 2 Tim. 3:15-17; 1 Pet. 2:2-3; Rev. 1:3). The Bible is essential for knowing God and His will for our lives. It is the source of divine truths that every Christian should know, believe and obey.

Next to the Bible, biblically sound magazines, books, and other published material are essential resources for Christians’ spiritual development. Good Christian books provide the readers with the knowledge necessary for establishing their faith and nurturing godly living. Understanding sound biblical doctrines will produce motivation and enthusiasm to live godly and fruit-bearing spiritual lives.

As a personal testimony, I would like to mention that reading books written by great men of faith from yesteryears and of this generation has been immensely valuable to my growth as a Christian young adult in the ministry. The books were like having a peek into the devout minds and consecrated endeavours of the spiritual giants who wrote them. Reading their books was like sitting with them and enjoying an enlightening conversation on various topics of great interest. Sometimes, it was like taking a long walk with them and having a heart-to-heart chat about theological and practical issues. The books, written by men of biblical knowledge, with profound experiences of Christian life and ministry, and of excellent testimonies, have been refreshing and nourishing to my soul.

Good books are like bottles of “well-brewed tonic”, where the wise thoughts of a sanctified mind, accumulated through many years of learning and experience, are distilled and stored. As such, biographies of Christian men and women, who lived with sincere piety and zeal for God, are of great benefit to all those who seek to live an abundant Christian life. Cultivating the habit of reading all types of good Christian books would help a believer to be well informed, duly motivated, and adequately equipped for a life of spiritual excellence.

Excellent Christian resources provide faithful exposition and application of God’s Word. They carefully delineate the biblical truths with clear and robust explanations that are logically developed and arranged. They accurately present the doctrines and well-thought-out biblical counsels to aid the readers for a life of devotion and piety. While some excellent books provide us with nourishing biblical truths, others warn us against pernicious doctrines and philosophies of life that are equivalent to heresies and hedonism. There are still others (in content, historical and biographical), which open our minds and hearts to good biblical traditions, exemplary behaviour, God-honouring passions and pursuits, profitable ideas and actions, etc. All in all, they provide biblical truths for the building up of the readers’ lives.

The apostle Paul, who wrote more than a dozen of the inspired books of the New Testament, wanted the books that he had owned to be delivered to him. So, he advised Timothy, “The cloke that I left at Troas with Carpus, when thou comest, bring with thee, and the books, but especially the parchments” (2 Timothy 4:13). The “cloke”, a large, heavy woollen garment that served as both a coat and blanket, was of an urgent need for Paul as he was about to face the winter. “Books” (probably papyrus scrolls) and “parchments” (vellum sheets, made of animal hides) were of little use to provide him with physical warmth or protection. Nonetheless, Paul regarded them as of great importance for his ongoing ministry. They probably included the Old Testament books, and other essential writings and documents. While speaking on 2 Timothy 4:13, Charles Spurgeon commented about Paul’s interest in the books as follows:

“He was inspired, and yet he wants books!
He had been preaching for thirty years, and yet he wants books!
He had seen the Lord, and yet he wants books!
He had a wider experience than most men do, and yet he wants books!
He had been caught up into the third heaven, and had heard things that it was not lawful for a man to utter, and yet he wants books!
He had written a major part of the New Testament, and yet he wants books!”

Some Caution on the Choice of Books

Beware of loving to read books more than God’s Word, the Bible. Never neglect daily reading and meditation of the Bible. You may read many good books, but you should not neglect the reading of God’s Word in order that you may live by it (Psalm 119:97, 127, 167; Neh. 8:8; James 1:22).

Beware of reading books to impress others, whether it is the size of the book or the number of books you read. Always be mindful to read for the spiritual growth of your soul.

Beware of the content of the books you choose to read. These days, many books made available as “Christian books” are of little profit for spiritual growth. Worse still, not a few of them are unbiblical, posing a serious threat to their readers’ purity of doctrine and practice. Much care must be exercised in choosing books for your consumption. I would strongly warn, especially younger readers (whether in age or understanding), against adhering to contemporary books, which have not been adequately analysed and evaluated. It would be best if you instead choose older books, which have been read and recommended by faithful teachers and preachers of the Word. Choose weighty and worthy Christian books with biblically sound content. Ask mature Christians to recommend books for you, or ask for their opinions about the books you want to choose for reading. Read a variety of books – Bible study books, commentaries, devotionals, biographies, books on theology, church history, apologetics, etc.

Church Library for Your Reading

We thank God for everyone who has laboured to catalogue and make the books of our church library available to children, youth and adult members and regular worshippers alike. A team consisting of Bro. John Peh, Sisters Ruby Seng, Yeo Geok Hien, Chong Shu Mun, Chairine Chayadi and Jenice Choy have been availing their service to help brethren to obtain books from the church library.

Gethsemane Youth Fellowship started a reading programme last year to encourage our youths to read and grow spiritually. We thank God for the testimonies of a good number of the youths who have benefited from the reading programme. Their testimonies are published today in an additional booklet made available with the church bulletin. I encourage all members and worshippers to cultivate the habit of reading good Christian books for your edification.

Sermon Text: Galatians 6:14–16
Speaker: Pastor Prabhudas Koshy
Date: 6th February 2022