The Loss and Gain to the Cause of Christ
Rev Dr Quek Suan Yew
(From the Elder’s Page of Calvary Pandan BPC’s Weekly, 3 May 2009)
The passing of Rev (Dr) Timothy Tow, God’s faithful servant, is a loss and a gain to the Cause of Christ. Rev Tow’s life had impacted many lives beyond the shores of Singapore. His work for the LORD was not carnal (i.e. of this earth) but eternal. Therefore, the impact of his life upon others must be measured spiritually and not materially.
The home-going of Rev Tow has left a vacuum and is a great loss to all who remain behind. We have lost a godly witness. Christians today are more carnal than spiritual. The tragedy is that they are comfortable to remain in this state of carnality because others who profess to be Christians reflect a life of carnality that is worse than theirs. This delusion has caused many Christians to languish in sin and they euphemistically call it “a way of life.” Their conscience is easily silenced. The prompting of the Holy Spirit is conveniently pushed to the back of their minds. Rev Tow knew how to abound and how to abase. He lived as he preached and taught God’s perfect Word. His godly witness reminds the Christian that, “man shall not live by bread alone but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.”
We have lost a servant with a tender heart. Rev Tow had his fair share of enemies, some from without and many from within. There are those who rejoice in his passing, just as there were those who rejoiced in the death of the LORD Jesus Christ when He was crucified, who have taken advantage of Rev Tow’s tender heart, believing that his meekness was weakness. But Rev Tow’s Calvinistic understanding of the sovereignty of God prevailed over and over again in his perspective and evaluation of life. “There are no accidents in a believer’s life” is a truth Rev Tow drummed into the hearts of his students. Rev Tow’s tender heart caused him to think well of others and to give them the benefit of the doubt. He often held back his condemnation of many who deserved immediate condemnation that they might have time to repent and change.
We have lost a warrior with a lion’s heart. Rev Tow was a persevering fighter. He was not afraid to stand alone as the Billy Graham incident in the 1970s revealed. He knew of the compromises of Billy Graham before his fellow ministers did. They did not believe him when he told them of Billy Graham’s falling away. Apostasy in its infancy is very difficult to see, unless one is close to the LORD. Rev Tow stood firm and would not flinch! The inroads of the younger ministers’ attempt to replace the KJV with the NIV, the rejection of the doctrine of biblical separation, and the acceptance of tongues speaking were some of the doctrinal battles Rev Tow had to contend with. But none is more deadly than the latest attack on the perfect Word of God as encapsulated in the doctrine of VPP (verbal plenary preservation) of the Holy Scriptures. The attack began from without but soon crept within. The battle was fierce and no B-P church was left unscathed. Those who defended the doctrine of VPP, including Rev Tow, were castigated as teaching a heresy. Truth is stranger than fiction—Christians have been denounced as heretics for believing that the Bible that they hold in their hands is perfect and without mistakes! Rev Tow did not waver from his resolute stand, no matter how he was barraged and harassed by men half his age and whom he once regarded as his spiritual children. This was the heart of a warrior. It was all for Christ or not at all!
We have lost a very wise counsellor. Rev Tow’s wisdom was evident in his ability to hit the nail on the head whenever he counselled. A student had enrolled into FEBC full of confidence in his stand against the doctrine of infant baptism. He was challenged by Rev Tow to supply biblical evidence to support paedo-baptism. Instead of debating with the student in class, Rev Tow simply directed the student to read certain books. The student had to sit down and be quiet. That student searched the Scriptures with the help of the books that Rev Tow highlighted, and is now a staunch defender of paedo-baptism! The clear and decisive counsel which Rev Tow gave helped direct many toward God.
We have lost a writer, a humble preacher and teacher of God’s Word. Rev Tow’s penmanship was crisp and succinct. He chose his words well. The teachings he gleaned from his interpretation of God’s Word have left behind a treasure trove to help Christians understand God’s Truth better and know how to apply them.
The “gain” from Rev Tow’s life to all who remain behind is greater than the “loss”. Mankind goes the way of death. This is the reality of the journey of life on this earth because of sin. The moment we come into this world, we are preparing for death. Every day that passes is a day closer to our death day. This is not meant to be morbid but to cause us to take stock of our own lives in relation to the Day of Judgement before our Creator. This is why the Bible declares in Ecclesiastes 7:1, “A good name is better than precious ointment; and the day of death than the day of one’s birth.” The gain is thankfully not in terms of bricks and mortar, for these will soon pass away when the LORD returns to destroy this sin-sick world by fire. The world leaves behind its legacy of stones and monuments. But Rev Tow has left behind a legacy of spiritual blessings, least of which was a life of exemplary conduct rarely seen today.
Rev Tow was called by the LORD into service when most of us were not even born. His obedience came out of the deaths of his mother and daughter. The call was genuine as reflected by his life of devotion and service to the LORD Jesus Christ. In the course of his life of service the LORD used him to found the B-P movement and the Far Eastern Bible College. Through the B-P movement, the 20th Century Movement (which is to earnestly contend for the faith) spread to Australia, Canada, China, Africa, India, Sri Lanka and South East Asia. The “battles” Rev Tow fought were many. Those fought with the enemies within were much more painful and difficult to fight. He had fought for the doctrine of biblical separation when the Singapore B-P Movement was born in 1950. His final battle was for the Bible. This final battle was triumphantly won because he did not flinch or compromise even when his beloved Life BPC was at stake. It was a choice of being loyal to Christ or to a local church that the LORD used Rev Tow to found. His LORD Jesus Christ must be first. When a church attacks the perfect Word of God by believing that it has mistakes, it is as good as attacking Christ, for Christ is the living Word and the Bible is the written Word. Rev Tow had to separate from such attackers of God’s perfect Word. It was the Abraham-Isaac principle in action! The LORD had laid upon his heart to found True Life BPC at the age of 83 years. Rev Tow fought to the very end of his life faithfully.
The Singapore B-P Movement was Rev Tow and Rev Tow was the Singapore B-P Movement. His one life of obedience has brought truths and blessings to all who have known him personally, and through his students as well. Sadly, some have facetiously said that “Rev Tow began well but did not end well”. Either these people did not know Rev Tow at all or they merely accessed him according to their own carnal standards. God’s truth has warned that evil men are blinded by lusts and “having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away…. Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.” 2 Timothy 3:5-7. God has warned His children that such people will arise in the last days before the LORD’s return.
There is only one life to live, and only what is done for Christ will last. Will these words from Revelation 14:13 be applicable to us all, “And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Write, Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours; and their works do follow them.” They should, if we are Christians … obedient Christians that is.
Condolences from the President of Foundations Bible College
To The Esteemed Dr. Jeffrey Khoo:
In behalf of Foundations Bible College and Theological Seminary and its ministries I wanted to write and express our deepest condolences to you, your family, and to the Far Eastern Bible College in the passing away of Dr. Timothy Tow. He was of a generation that was exacting in the Word of God as well as in the living of its principles. The investment of our prayers in his behalf can now cease as he has gone to be with his Beloved Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ. Please be assured of our prayers in your behalf as well as for the family members in their bereavement. We also pray that God will enable you in the divine task that will increase due to Dr. Tow’s home going and in the responsibilities that will now fall upon you in the providence of God.
May Dr. Tow’s memory continue to inspire and encourage the remnant in Singapore and around the world to ever be faithful to the Word of God in these dark and difficult days of the falling away.
Remembering You in Prayer,
In His Majesty’s Service,
Dr. H. T. Spence, President
Foundations Bible College and Ministries
Dunn NC 28335-1166, USA
