Why We Are Bible-Presbyterians
Rev Dr Jeffrey Khoo
In this modern age when Christendom at large has forgotten its biblical, theological and historical roots, the Lord has raised up the Bible-Presbyterian (B-P) Church and other like-minded churches to: (1) preach the pure gospel of Jesus Christ against the false gospels introduced in the last century (e.g. the social gospel and liberation theology of the modernists, and the health-and-wealth gospel of the charismatics); (2) teach the whole counsel of God against those who say that only the gospel is important but not all the inspired words and fundamental doctrines of the Holy Scriptures; (3) defend the Christian Faith by taking a separatist stance against ecumenism which aims to unite the Protestant Church with the Roman Catholic Church, and to confuse truth with error.
By so doing, we fulfil the Great Commission which is the Lord’s first commandment to the Church: “And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen” (Matt 28:18-20).
History
As B-Ps, it is important we remember our roots, our history, even the godly men whom the Lord had specially anointed to point us to the right direction according to His Word. “Remember them which have the rule over you, who have spoken unto you the word of God: whose faith follow, considering the end of their conversation” (Heb 13:7). One such man was the Rev Dr Timothy Tow, the founding father of B-Pism in Southeast Asia. He was saved during the great revival of Dr John Sung. Submitting himself to his mother’s vow that he should be a pastor, he went to China for his theological training under China’s first theologian, Dr Chia Yu Ming, and then to Faith Theological Seminary, USA, where he caught the spirit of the 20th Century Reformation Movement from the Rev Dr Carl McIntire, the founder of the Bible Presbyterian denomination in the United States. Upon the completion of his theological studies at Faith, he returned to Singapore in 1950 to become founding pastor of Life B-P Church. In 2003, he resigned from Life B-P Church to found the True Life B-P Church so that he might continue to teach and defend the twin doctrines of Verbal Plenary Inspiration (VPI) and Verbal Plenary Preservation (VPP), and the 100% perfection of the Holy Scriptures without any mistake in the original languages on which the King James Version (KJV) is based. The Far Eastern Bible College and other faithful B-P churches remain faithful and true to the Word of God and the Testimony of Jesus Christ, earnestly contending for the faith in these last days of rampant unbelief and apostasy, when many have fallen away.
Doctrine
We are B-Ps because we stand foursquare on the absolute and final authority of God’s Written Word—the Holy Scriptures. It must be stressed that we are Bible first, then Presbyterians. Without the Bible, there will be no Presbyterianism, not even Christianity. “If the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do?” (Ps 11:3).
The Holy Scriptures, fully inspired and fully preserved, are the very foundations of our Christian Faith. Many who call themselves “Christian” today do not believe the Bible to be the totally infallible and inerrant Word of God. As B-Ps, we affirm VPI and VPP. “The words of the LORD are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times. Thou shalt keep them, O LORD, thou shalt preserve them from this generation for ever” (Ps 12:6-7). “For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled” (Matt 5:18). “Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away” (Matt 24:35). Like the Reformation saints, we believe in the sole and supreme authority of the Holy Scriptures (Sola Scriptura) because the Bible was not only divinely inspired in the past, but remains divinely inspired today to the last word, syllable and letter because God has supernaturally preserved His words down through the ages, and by the logic of faith, we identify the divinely authentic and authoritative words to be the Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek words underlying the KJV. We use and uphold the KJV because it is the most faithful and accurate English translation of the Holy Scriptures we have today.
As Presbyterians, we follow the theology of John Calvin—the great 16th Century Reformer who systematised the Christian Faith in his Institutes of the Christian Religion. The Rev Dr Timothy Tow rightly said, “Calvinism is Paulinism systematised.” We follow Calvin because he followed the Apostle Paul who taught the fundamental doctrines of Sola Gratia, Sola Fide, and Solus Christus. Contrary to the teaching of the Roman Catholic Church, the Bible teaches salvation by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone. “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast” (Eph 2:8-9). This is the good news of Jesus Christ which gives us the assurance of salvation and the forgiveness of sins.
Practice
We are B-Ps because we obey the Lord’s command to be separated from all forms of ungodliness and false teachings. The command of separation is found in 2 Corinthians 6:14-7:1, “Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness? And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel? And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty. Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.”
Not only must we be a separated community of saints so that we might be the salt and light God meant us to be in this sin-plagued and sin-darkened world, we must also “earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints” (Jude 3). We must engage in a prophetic ministry of calling people to repentance, warning them of the spiritual dangers that abound in the world today and from the judgement of God to come when Christ returns.
May the Lord keep us and find us faithful. Amen.
Faith & Freedom Bookshop
(10 George St, Stirling, Perth, WA 6021)
Jim Laurenson
On the evening of Sunday, November 16th 2008, Rev Stone, Elder Harold Watkins, Budi Soetarto and myself (Jim Laurenson) met at Adelaide Airport, having flown in from Perth and Melbourne to accept the gift of Faith & Freedom Ministries Bookshop and Magazine from Rev John MacKenzie, his wife Christine and the Faith & Freedom Board of Management, on behalf of Faith Presbyterian Church—Perth.
The next 3½ days and long nights were spent stocktaking, listing and packaging more than 9,000 items including books, tracts, CDs, pamphlets, cards, bookcases, stands, the list is endless and the wealth of resources was mind blowing. Mrs MacKenzie had been meticulous in her recording of the business matters and Rev John had done an equally fine job of archiving materials. It was obvious everything we needed to continue the work was there. Praise God. The container arrived in Perth on Thursday, December 11th and the work of seeking all the necessary government approvals etc was begun.
Faith Presbyterian Church had been asked to nurture the reestablishment of these ministries which Rev John MacKenzie and his wife had so faithfully built up over some 40 years. Due to ill health, Rev MacKenzie was no longer able to continue the ministry in which he had stood so firmly for the Truth of the inerrant and infallible Word of God as found in the KJV, and had continually denounced the apostasies of false doctrines which have become so prevalent in these Last Days.
All glory to God for the gift of this new ministry in Perth which opened on June 16th. We look forward to serving the many folk who have been such loyal patrons of the work through the years and also the new brethren we know God will direct to avail themselves of the sound puritan and reformed materials which are stocked.
The 24th Chapter of Matthew’s Gospel speaks of the events that will occur in the Last Days. Jesus said in verses 4b and 5, “Take heed that no man deceive you. For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many,” and in verses 11, 12, “And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many. And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.” These prophesied events have been taking place in the last 200 years of church history and are accelerating in the present day.
Among the many books available in the new bookshop can be found the record of how and by whom these apostasies have taken place. We are privileged to have been handed the task of making these valuable resources available and of encouraging God’s born again children to read and study to equip themselves to counter all deception and to grow in their own spiritual walk. This is a unique godly resource in Australia.
