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Apart from God and Job, the one major character in the first two chapters of the Book of Job is, undeniably, Satan. In these first two chapters alone, Satan is referred to some 13 times. Thus, Christians cannot just pass over this character. We need to take a good look at this character and the way he functions.

The name “Satan” in Hebrew means “adversary”. He is God’s enemy, as well as the enemy of God’s people. He is the unceasing, untiring adversary of both God and man. His hatred towards God knows no bounds. He has no regard for God and would throw any challenge at Him, as demonstrated in his temptation of Christ in the wilderness (cf. Matthew 4:1-11). That is how cunning and wicked this adversary is. He would go against God to the very end, as is clearly seen even at the end of Christ’s millennial reign on earth, when the Lord would chain him and cast him into the eternal lake of fire (Revelation 20:7-10). Meanwhile, there is a cosmic battle (of cosmic proportions) being raged by Satan against God, whereby believers often get “caught in the crossfire” (cf. Job 1:8-19)!

So, whether we understand it or not, we are all caught up in this great battle that the devil is waging against God. Yet God is not a helpless onlooker who could only stand idly by and watch as events unfold. He is actively involved in defending, protecting and guiding us in the midst of this terrible battle. No evil (whether natural or man-made or satanic) may encroach upon us outside of His jurisdiction (cf. Job 1:12).

Be Not Ignorant of the Devil’s Devices

Be that as it may, the devil is constantly trying his level best to deal a “knockout blow” to believers that would keep them downcast and in deep despair, and ultimately instigate them to deny God’s sovereignty (cf. Job 1:11b; 2:5b). As the apostle Paul warns us, we must not be “ignorant of his devices”, lest “Satan should get an advantage of us” (2 Corinthians 2:11). From the episode of Job’s sufferings, we see in a very clear manner how the devil uses us as his “arena” in his battle against God. One of his most diabolical and favourite tactics is to turn the ones whom God has created in His own image (even mankind) against Him. Oh, we must not be ignorant of this cunning device of the devil, which he tried viciously against Job! From our biblical understanding of the Book of Job, the devil is trying to challenge the sovereignty of God over Job’s life. This should not surprise us as he has always been a “challenger” and usurper since time immemorial, soon after he was created. He had been an angelic being of heaven, one of God’s created angels; in fact, he was the chief of the cherubims.

In Isaiah 14:12-15 and Ezekiel 28:12-17, we read of the condemnation and downfall of the devil. When he, being lifted up with pride, rebelled against God and tried to usurp God’s authority, he was cast down to this earth (cf. Revelation 12:9). Since the day he was cast out of heaven, he has been constantly trying to usurp God’s glory. According to his warped and malicious mind, the best possible way to usurp God’s glory is through mankind by instigating their defiance of God’s authority. That’s disobedience, which was the first sin of mankind! Having succeeded with Adam and Eve, the devil is still trying to do the same with their descendants – but in different ways. He uses different things in different people’s lives to bring about defiance of God’s sovereignty.

In a myriad of ways, the devil is trying to captivate believers’ souls to love things other than God. Whether it be our studies and scholastic pursuits, our job, profession and career prospects, our children, our house, or even our physical appearance, the devil wants to take our allegiance away from God through all these distractions. His is a twisted theology – “worship God in order to get the things that you love”. That is precisely the “prosperity theology” promoted in Charismatic circles. Worship God to be rich, powerful, famous, prominent. That’s false religion! Rather, true religion is coming to God as our true wealth, He being the greatest Lover of our infinitely precious souls. We cannot love anything more than God if we put God as the object of our heart’s devotion. Didn’t Jesus say, “And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment” (Mark 12:30)? In getting believers to love material things, possessions, position, status, relationships, etc. more than God, Satan’s ultimate objective is to usurp God’s sovereignty over believers’ lives. Oh, be not ignorant of the devil’s devices!

The Devil’s Malicious Disdain of Believers’ Submission to God’s Sovereignty

Now, it must be categorically stated that God has no problem giving material prosperity and abundance to His children, if He so chooses. This is reflected in Job’s possession of great substance and his prominent status in the society of his time (Job 1:3). But that is not what God is most happy about with His children – not wealth and health. There is something else that He is more concerned with. In commending Job before the devil, God said, “Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil?” (Job 1:8). God specifically mentioned four outstanding spiritual virtues of Job, namely his blameless life (“perfect”), his righteous character (“upright”), his reverence of God (“feareth God”), and his careful shunning of sin (“escheweth evil”) which reflects his purity of heart. Instructively, God did not commend Job regarding his material abundance, house and animals, or his efficiency in managing wealth. But look who’s talking about all these? “Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, Doth Job fear God for nought? Hast not thou made an hedge about him, and about his house, and about all that he hath on every side? thou hast blessed the work of his hands, and his substance is increased in the land” (Job 1:9-10).

In his reply, the devil blatantly sidestepped God’s focus of His discussion. God is talking about Job’s spiritual maturity, well-being, wholeness, integrity. But the devil wanted to draw attention away towards material things – “his house”, “all that he hath”, “work of his hands”, “his substance”. The devil was saying that everything was going well for Job – his business was good, his family was flourishing, he was in good health. His insinuation was that Job’s piety was all because God had put a protective “fence” around him. Malicious as he is, the devil then put forward a challenge to God. He sadistically added that if God were to “touch” (i.e. to destroy, to cause maximum damage to) all that Job had, Job will defy, rebel against and “curse” God, not fear and worship Him (Job 1:11)!

Herein is the intense and fierce conflict between God and Satan. God is watching over His servant and rejoices in His servant’s recognition of His sovereignty over his life, as well as his complete surrender to God as his Master. This harmonious and perfectly maintained “Master-servant” relationship provokes Satan. How vicious Satan is! He cannot stand the sight of God’s servant being at peace with his heavenly Master. He is full of jealousy, wrath and hatred. “Sovereign God and submissive servant” – this is the relationship that is under attack! Satan regards it with contempt and disdain: “Doth Job fear God for nought?” He could not – and will never – accept that anyone could love God so intrinsically without thinking of getting any external benefit in return. He wanted to prove God wrong.

(To be continued next week)

Sermon Text: Psalm 3
Speaker: Rev. Paul Cheng
Date: 19th November 2023

Teaching Children God's Word

For more than three decades, our church has been organising the yearly Daily Vacation Bible School (DVBS), with two primary goals – (i) salvation of children, and (ii) spiritual nurture of the believing children. The best way to achieve this goal is to teach the truths of Holy Scripture to children with love, faithfulness and fervour. 

The importance of teaching children God’s Word is repeatedly emphasised in Scripture. One biblical passage that testifies to the necessity and urgency of teaching children God’s truth is 2 Timothy 3:15, where Paul powerfully (though very briefly) narrates Timothy’s salvation and spiritual nurture from his childhood. “And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.” The Greek word for “child” (bréphos), used by Paul, denotes “infants” or “babes”. So, at a very early stage of childhood, Timothy was being instructed in the Scriptures. It is such early, sustained instruction of the Word that granted Timothy the biblical wisdom of salvation to put his faith in Christ. 

Such a clear biblical admonition and example must surely instil in us the earnestness to teach our children both at home and in the church. We covet all the church members to pray for and participate in bringing children to the upcoming DVBS. Parents must not let this opportunity slip by. This is more important than all other educational and leisure activities. I urge all the members and friends of the church to invite and bring children to the DVBS. Please do not delay any further. 

Let us pray for all our preachers and sisters, who are involved in the DVBS as teachers of God’s Word to the children. Let us also uphold the Children’s Ministry Committee members who have laboured in organising this event for the spiritual benefit of our children. Praying for all serving and contributing to this particular programme is a great need. “Brethren,” as Paul said, “pray for us, that the word of the Lord may have free course, and be glorified, even as it is with you” (2 Thess 3:1).

Updates from Gethsemane BPC, Cebu

Dear Pastor,

Greetings to you in our Lord’s most blessed Name! I am writing this email to share with you some updates from our side.

Last week, we had a long holiday here in the Philippines. On October 30, we had the Barangay Elections, and then Oct 31 was declared a holiday in view of the “All Saints’ Day” and “All Souls’ Day” on November 1 and 2, respectively. It somehow gave us the opportunity to spend some profitable time with our families and loved ones, especially the opportunity to share with them the truth about the commonly practised observance of holidays by the Roman Catholics. I thank God also for the time to reconnect with my siblings as they came over during the holidays…

By God’s grace, we are pressing on in the work of the ministry. Thank God for the completion of the repair works at the Care Ministry. Praise God for the labours of our Care Ministry brothers in assisting the carpenter that we had commissioned for the job. We hired only one carpenter to save on the cost of labour, and he was assisted by all our Care brothers under the supervision of Dn Samuel Mingo. I have some photos to share with you.

As to the Sae Young property, the Korean owner arrived around the third week of October but has gone back again to Korea, as what we learned is that she is undergoing treatment. The agent told us that she was not in favour of our offer for the property.

Also, I would like to inform you that Rev. Lagapa has invited us (Rev. Donald, Eld. Eli, Pr Edsel and myself) to attend the Bible Conference to be held in Bukidnon on December 4-6 with the theme: “The Reformed and Premillennial Faith”, with Dr Jeffrey Khoo as the speaker. Rev. Donald and I will share God’s Word in the morning devotions while Eld. Eli and Pr Edsel will facilitate some activities planned.

We are now in the month of November, barely 2 months to the combined Youth and Bible Witness retreat. We have been in prayer as we look forward to your and the brethren’s coming, looking forward to a blessed time of hearing and learning God’s Word, as well as a time to fellowship among brethren.

We are in constant communication with Dn Norefel, trying as much as possible to assist and facilitate the ongoing preparations, particularly in the transport arrangement among others. Thank God for the opportunity to co-labour with all of you in this special activity.

On behalf of the church and my family, thank you for your prayers and support. Please do extend our greetings to your family and the church. Thank you!

Respectfully,
Rev. Reggor

Brethren, Christians are exhorted not to be earthly-minded, but be heavenly-minded.

Seek Christ Above

Paul said in Colossians 3:1, “If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God.

The opening words of the verse – “If ye then be risen with Christ” – assume that the readers are those who have experienced new life in Christ (i.e. those who are born again). The word “if” is used logically, as a means of argument, not a means of doubt.

Representatively, all the elect of God died with Christ unto sin and resurrected with Him unto newness of life. Dying and rising with Christ is a spiritual reality that they also personally experience. In an earlier chapter, Paul told the believers that “you, being dead in your sins… hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses” (Colossians 2:13). So those who are “risen with Christ” are no more dead in their sins, but they “are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead” (Colossians 2:12b). Our faith in Christ, the joy of forgiveness, sanctification and all other spiritual realities which we enjoy are abundant evidence of the power of His resurrection that is at work in our lives (cf. Ephesians 1:19-20).

In our text, Paul speaks of the new spiritual pursuit of those who are risen with Christ, as they “seek” (zēteite) or strive earnestly for those things above, where Christ sits on the right hand of God. The phrase, “those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God”, points us to all things with reference to Christ’s present exalted state.

Since He is interceding for us as our Advocate at His Father’s side, we must seek His forgiveness and sanctification (cf. 1 John 2:1).

Since Christ reigns in heaven as the Head of the church, we must submit to His headship (Ephesians 1:20-22; 5:23-24); we must give Him pre-eminence in all the affairs of our life (Colossians 1:18); we must seek to be nourished up in the fullness that He grants us as our Head (cf. Ephesians 1:22-23; Colossians 2:10, 19); we must seek to grow unto the Head, even our Lord Jesus Christ (Ephesians 4:15); and we must seek to be knitted together as His body (Colossians 2:19).

Since He is preparing a place for us in heaven, let us be ready for His coming, and for the heaven and the rewards which He is preparing for us (John 14:1-3; Colossians 3:24; Hebrews 10:35).

Seek the Things Above

Paul continued his exhortation to be heavenly-minded by instructing Christians to “set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth” (Colossians 3:2). Those who are risen with Christ have not only a new spiritual pursuit (Colossians 3:1), but also a new passion, which Paul describes here.

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 entertainment of this world. Worldly lust 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 rather 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 heavenly matters, we will never appropriately seek after them. 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.

Sermon Text: Psalm 62
Speaker: Pastor Prabhudas Koshy
Date: 12th November 2023

Sermon Text: Psalm 61
Speaker: Pastor Prabhudas Koshy
Date: 5th November 2023

As announced over the past few Sundays, our church’s ACM 2023 will be held today at 4p.m. in SingPost L5 Auditorium. The ACM documents have been uploaded to our church website for all the church members’ perusal. I urge all church members to be present, as this meeting is to be held, according to our church constitution, at least once annually to consider our congregation’s affairs.

How to Prepare for the ACM:

Pray for reverential and orderly conduct by all participants of the ACM, for the Bible instructs us concerning all church meetings, “Let all things be done decently and in order” (1 Corinthians 14:40). 

Please plan and make necessary arrangements to attend the ACM, and come to the venue 15-20 minutes early to sign in to enter the auditorium. This would help towards the counting of participants and the determining of the quorum to proceed with the meeting.

Let us pray for the Pastor and Elders (office bearers of the church), that the Spirit of God would empower them to conduct the meeting with wisdom, and present all reports of the past year as well as plans for the upcoming year faithfully and skilfully. 

If church members have any questions on the reports or plans, please submit the questions early for the office bearers to provide studied answers. 

Though ACM is a business / administrative church meeting, we must be mindful to do all things according to the counsels of God’s Word with great reverence and thanksgiving to God, who has blessed the church spiritually and physically. Let us all gather together with boundless praise for the Lord. “He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord” (1 Corinthians 1:31). May our thoughts be about His goodness. Let every heart rejoice and give thanks unto the Lord. “So then neither is he that planteth any thing, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase” (1 Corinthians 3:7). 

The church leaders and members must participate in the meeting with mutual love and respect. “Let your speech be alway with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man” (Colossians 4:6). We must avoid all belligerent, fault-finding, slanderous, provocative, and quarrelsome attitudes. 

Let us not forget the biblical admonition that we should be “endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace” (Ephesians 4:3). “A house divided cannot stand.”

Our recollection and evaluation of the past year’s ministries (local and overseas), as well as our awareness of the needs and burdens of the present and new ministries, must create within us a humble and ready spirit to serve the Lord faithfully and fervently in the coming year. May we renew our commitment, and consecrate ourselves to serve Him joyfully and enthusiastically.

May the Lord bless our gathering together. May we acknowledge and carry out our stewardship responsibilities faithfully, as we joyfully seek to serve our God out of hearts full of gratitude in thanksgiving for the indescribable gift given to us in His Son!

Biblical Guidelines for Orderly Worship

Paul has laid down much-needed principles for orderly worship services. Sadly, the Corinthian church had been conducting their worship services as they felt best - a kind of free, spontaneous worship service where anyone could sing a hymn, prophesy or speak in tongues. However, Paul sharply rebuked such a disorderly, chaotic conduct of worship and instructed the church with some guidelines. Paul insisted on orderliness and purpose in the church’s public gatherings, as attested to in 1 Corinthians 14:26-40.

Worship must not consist of free-for-all, spontaneous activities: The Corinthian church had not maintained order when they gathered for worship. Everyone did as he liked – hence, Paul asked, “How is it then, brethren? when ye come together, every one of you hath a psalm, hath a doctrine, hath a tongue, hath a revelation, hath an interpretation. Let all things be done unto edifying” (v. 26). Our conduct should not distract other worshippers from truly worshipping the Lord in spirit and truth.

Worship services must be edifying: Everything done during public worship must be intended to bring about the building up of the church. Promoting spiritual growth and maturity of the church must be the chief concern of all in the worship services. Nothing should be done with personal promotion or prominence in view but with others’ edification. “Let all things be done unto edifying” (v.26b).

Worship services should not be haphazardly put together: Even if several people have the same spiritual gifts in a local church, Paul did not permit them to exercise their gifts simultaneously. Paul urged that each service element should not be haphazardly thrown together with no order, but with meticulous deliberateness so there will be no confusion (vv. 29-33). We are reminded that “God is not the author of confusion but of peace.” Disorganised services can distract the worshippers from fully focusing on God. Those who plan the worship services must deliberate on what they include and how they order them.

Worship services should be led by those in the church leadership: Women in the church are advised to submit to men of leadership and not to speak in public worship (vv. 34-38). The principle of prohibiting women from questioning their leadership applies to all the leadership realms of the church, especially regarding the worship service. Neither men nor women in the worship should challenge or disrupt the church leaders who lead the worship service. Public worship services and other church activities must be planned and led by church leaders, and all worshippers and members should respect and submit to their authority regarding the worship service.

Worship services should be Word-focused: In vv. 36-38, Paul emphasised the declaration of God’s revelation. Today, the divine revelation received through prophecy is complete and is given to us in the Bible (cf. 1 Cor. 13:9-10; Rev. 22:18-19). So, the declaration and practice of the Word in the church worship service are paramount to God-honouring worship service.

Sermon Text: Psalm 60
Speaker: Pastor Prabhudas Koshy
Date: 29th October 2023

It is instructive to note that Jesus, when He was tempted in the wilderness by Satan, declared unequivocally, “…It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God” (Matthew 4:4). Now, how can we obey this injunction to live by every word of God that “proceedeth out of the mouth of God” unless we have all of God’s revealed words (kept intact) available to us? And as Dr D. A. Waite in his book, Defending the King James Bible, puts it: we who speak English and who may not know the original languages in which the Holy Scriptures were first given by inspiration of God, “how will we know God’s Word unless He has preserved it … and then we have it accurately and faithfully translated … into (in our case) English”? Undeniably, this intimates God’s preservation of His inspired words.

Thus, the crucial question, which is the crux of the matter, is: “which English Bible truly is the very Word of God?” The answer to this question can spell the difference between life and death, nay, between eternal life and eternal death!

Translation from the Infallible, Inerrant Texts

Hebrews 1:1-2b tell us that “God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son …” Truly, God has spoken to His chosen people, the Jews, through chosen holy men, namely the prophets (“Thus saith the LORD”) throughout the Old Testament (that is, “in time past”). Such progressively given revelation has been preserved through writing; hence giving rise to the law, the prophets, and the psalms (cf. Luke 24:44). We see the culmination of all these revelations in the incarnation of Christ “when the fullness of the time was come” (Galatians 4:4). Together with the New Testament writings [referring to the NT books written under inspiration of God during the course of the first century, shortly after Jesus’ resurrection and ascension (cf. John 16:13-15)], “We have also a more sure word of prophecy” (2 Peter 1:19a), namely the Bible, which is God’s special revelation to us.

The Bible reveals to us the mind of the infinite, eternal, unchangeable God, whose “ways (are) past finding out” (Romans 11:33b). While “The secret things belong unto the LORD our God … those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children for ever” (Deuteronomy 29:29). Indeed, in the Bible is contained all that we need to know to gain salvation into God’s kingdom, all the godly principles to live a victorious Christian life in this sin-darkened, trouble-filled world, as well as all that we need to know to “occupy” ourselves as we await Christ’s second coming. All these precious truths – and more – have been revealed to us through God’s Word being recorded in the Bible. Our eternal destiny hangs in the balance, depending on how we respond to its sacred contents. Thus, it is imperative to know which Bible is God’s Word kept intact in English. God has spoken, and His words have been recorded in the original languages, i.e. “the Old Testament in Hebrew (which was the native language of God’s people of old), and the New Testament in Greek (which at the time of writing, was most generally known to the nations)” (Westminster Confession of Faith I:VIII).

These original texts, being “by (God’s) singular care and providence, kept pure in all ages”, were used and recognised by the New Testament churches down through the ages. As copies of the Scriptures were carefully made and faithfully transmitted from church to church and from generation to generation (being widely used by the church community), “the pure Scripture texts were preserved, and only a small minority (of corrupted text) would have escaped detection. Thus the majority text came to be acknowledged as the accepted text to be received by the churches … therefore acquir(ing) the names Textus Receptus, Majority Text and Traditional Text” (Jeffrey Khoo). These providentially preserved traditional texts had been identified and accepted by the Reformers and the Puritans as the very Word of God, infallible and inerrant. They came to be known as the Hebrew Masoretic Text and the Greek Textus Receptus, which would be the very texts underlying the King James Version (KJV), the latter being commissioned in 1604 and published in 1611. As opposed to the modern English versions, the KJV is the only translation of the Bible that accurately preserves the original Hebrew / Aramaic and Greek words in English. This is due to its superiority not only in the texts underlying it, but also in its translators, techniques of translation, and theology.

Godly, Scholarly Translators

Besides its being translated from the Hebrew Masoretic Text and the Greek Textus Receptus, the KJV is superior in that it was undertaken by faithful, scholarly, godly translators – a total of about fifty of them who worked in six companies. These men were the best biblical scholars and linguists of their day, with exceptional ability in their various fields of knowledge. One was conversant in 15 languages; another was an eminent scholar in Oriental studies; another an expert in Aramaic who had Hebrew at his fingertips; yet another was so distinguished in Greek and Hebrew that he read through the whole Old Testament in Hebrew at the age of 5. Among the rest were several King’s Professors of Hebrew and of Greek respectively, a university chief examiner of Hebrew / Greek professors, a renowned textualist, as well as one whose “memory and reading were near to a miracle”.

Above all, they were godly men with a deep reverence for God’s Word. They were not wont to criticise God’s Word; they were men with a mission, committed to the awesome task of providing a good and faithful English translation that could be trusted as the very Word of God. One would probably never find another devout group as gifted and elite as these, whom God – in the early 17th century, by His appointment and providence – had assembled for His higher purpose and plan. By logic of argument, there will never again be a Bible like that of the KJV!

Rigorous / Meticulous Translation Technique

The KJV was given the best translation from the godly collaboration of the best minds available (in an age untainted by rationalism, deism and evolutionism, which only reared their ugly heads in the 18th and 19th centuries). This team technique is unequalled by any modern translation method. Every translator of each company (there were 6 companies as mentioned) was to translate every chapter and verse of the biblical books assigned to his particular company, after which all the fellow translators of each company would gather and decide among themselves which translation was the best. Then they would pass that translation to the other 5 companies respectively for another round of vetting / translation. A joint committee (made up of two members from each company) would be formed to arrive at a final translation! This most meticulous team effort sought to produce the best translation ever to the glory of God.

Furthermore, the KJV translators adhered strictly to the “verbal equivalence” or word-for-word technique, which ensured an exact and faithful translation, free from the corruption of men’s fallible, prejudiced thoughts. This is opposed to “dynamic equivalence”, the technique used by modern versions, which is thought-for-thought translation that allows translators to rephrase God’s Word according to their, at best, imperfect understanding. In so doing, they take liberty to add to, subtract from and change God’s revealed words, which God specifically warns against (cf. Revelation 22:18-19). The verbally inspired nature of Scripture demands “verbal equivalence” to be the only acceptable method in Bible translation. KJV is superior because of its correspondence with the Hebrew / Aramaic and Greek words, not just thoughts or concepts, thanks to its faithful, rigorous and thorough techniques of translation.

Sound Theology Behind Translation

The faithful and sound theology of the KJV is plain for all to see, reflective of the God-fearing translators who were all contenders of God’s Word. The KJV gives pre-eminence to the Lord Jesus Christ by faithfully translating key words which declare the incommunicable attributes of Christ, such as His omnipresence, His omnipotence, His sinlessness, and His eternality, while eschewing textual changes that might effectively attack Christ’s Deity, among other things.

This is in contrast to the liberal changes to and even deletions from the underlying texts that modern versions make at will, whereby a number of vital doctrines are affected, such as the Virgin Birth and the Blood Atonement of Christ, which have been undermined by the preclusion of some (doctrinally rich) word/s. Truth be told, the modern versions all use as their source texts, the corrupt Westcott and Hort Greek Text – the fruit of 20 years’ collaborative doctoring by the said diabolical duo. By their evil genius of textual criticism (which manipulatively cuts out many parts of God’s Word affecting theology), Westcott and Hort displaced the traditional Textus Receptus with their doctored Greek Text (which heavily relied on the Codex Vaticanus and Codex Sinaiticus, two of the “most scandalously corrupt” and “shamefully mutilated” extant manuscripts, according to Dean Burgon). Whereas the modern versions attack fundamental doctrines, the KJV gives evidence of its superiority in its preserving of these Biblical truths, thereby upholding the authority of God’s Word.

No Reliable Alternative to KJV

There simply is no good alternative to the KJV. The proliferation of modern English versions of the Bible (arisen purportedly due to perceived obsolete words and grammatical errors in the KJV), as well as the growing universal desire to replace the KJV with them, is not simply a matter of linguistic preference. This label of “language and readability” masks a real hidden agenda. Deeper issues are at stake. In the light of long-held biblical truths now being systematically distorted, ridiculed and misrepresented by all these versions, it is very unsafe to turn to any of them for an accurate understanding of the words of the Bible.

Incidentally, the different modern Bible versions do not read the same. The unmistakable consensus among the modern versions seems to be that “God preserves His message and doctrines, but not necessarily the words, and certainly not every word.” But as has been pointed out, words do affect how the doctrines are perceived. Moreover, this does not square with Matthew 4:4 and Matthew 5:18, among other key Bible verses. Such an equivocal stand allows the different English versions to be embraced, variations notwithstanding. But Scripture warns us to “believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God” (I John 4:1). The conscientious Bible-reader must not continue to “sit on the fence” and think sentimentally of the insidious modern versions. There is no neutral ground; our most holy faith is at stake (cf. Jude 1:20)!

One more point is worthy of mention. The KJV had the benefit of the fruits of the translation works of the Reformation, including the works of Tyndale, Erasmus, as well as the Coverdale Bible, Matthew Bible, Geneva Bible and Bishops Bible. These Reformation Bibles, in effect, served as useful “forerunners” of the KJV in providing “a wealth of refined texts”, all reliable translations based on the providentially preserved traditional texts. We would rather have the KJV with all its archaic words (which are not that many nor difficult to understand really) than the modern English versions with their diluted and adulterated doctrines. Why settle for “second-best” (which is a far “second”) when we can have the best, namely the KJV?

Conclusion

As a parting shot, the Bible is God’s special revelation to man; in it contains the way of salvation and the doom of sinners. It goes without saying that all who trifle with its sacred contents stand to be divinely condemned. May the discerning Christian beware of the pernicious modern versions which, through their irreverent “trifling” with the texts and their consequent liberal, unfaithful translations, “privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them”, and “by reason of (which) the way of truth shall be evil spoken of” (2 Peter 2:1b, 2b). These have the effect of subverting our precious faith, no less! In contrast, we have the very words of God (kept intact) in the King James Version, which is the most accurate and faithful English translation of the Bible, thanks to its fourfold superiority in its texts, translators, techniques and theology.

Gethsemane Filipino Fellowship (GFF) has been a ministry of the Gethsemane B-P Church since 2001 to reach out to Filipinos in Singapore with the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. Right from the beginning, GFF has made evangelistic efforts to win Filipinos for the Lord and nurture them in sound biblical faith. Through the members of GFF, GBPC has been led to the Philippines to begin 5 mission stations (Cebu, Bogo, San Antonio, Bohol and Pangasinan). All the pastors and preachers labouring in those stations were once part of GFF, who upon being trained in FEBC, had returned to serve the Lord in those places. We also remember, before the Lord in prayer, scores of Filipinos who have either returned to their native places in the Philippines or migrated to other countries, that they will continue to love and serve our Lord Jesus fervently. 

We praise God that brothers and sisters in GFF continue to be a zealous group of believers in our midst. We pray that they will persevere in their faith and love towards Christ and towards one another, despite the hardships and temptations that each of them is faced with. Their participation and contributions to the ministries of our church are praiseworthy, and may the Lord who worketh in and through them be praised. Two from GFF, Dn Norefel Resuma and Bro Jordan Ballega, serve as full-time staff of GBWL, a ministry arm of our church. Let us thank the Lord for all who are part of GFF, rejoicing and serving the Lord as they grow in the Word, prayer and fellowship.

On Sundays, GFF meet at 3:30pm, where they are instructed from the Word by the preachers of our church. To further foster their fellowship and the knowledge of the Word, they meet every first Friday of the month for Kababayan Bible Study (Kababayan means ‘countrymen’ in Tagalog). Pr Jeremiah Sim ministers God’s Word to this monthly fellowship gathering. They also frequently attempt to bring the Gospel to their countrymen who gather in the Orchard Road area. 

As a word of exhortation to all our dear Filipino brethren, I quote the inspired words of the apostle Paul to the church in Thessalonica: “We give thanks to God always for you all, making mention of you in our prayers; remembering without ceasing your work of faith, and labour of love, and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ, in the sight of God and our Father; knowing, brethren beloved, your election of God. For our gospel came not unto you in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Ghost, and in much assurance; as ye know what manner of men we were among you for your sake. And ye became followers of us, and of the Lord, having received the word in much affliction, with joy of the Holy Ghost” (1 Thess 1:2-6).