|
Reformation into the
Twenty-First Century
Timothy Tow
Text: Jude 3, 4
When Luther nailed the 95 theses on the door of the Castle Church at
Wittenberg on Oct 31, 1517 to protest against the dark Roman System of
Salvation by works, he set the 16th Century Reformation ablaze. It gave
birth to the Protestant Church.
When Carl McIntire founded the International Council of Christian Church
in Amsterdam 1948 to challenge the Ecumenical Movement of the World
Council of Churches, he called for a 20th Century Reformation. While the
Ecumenical Movement of the WCC was to dismantle the 16th Century
Reformation by gathering all Protestants to reunite with Rome, the 20th
Century Reformation Movement rallied the faithfuls to come out from among
them and be separate. We heard McIntire’s call and established the B-P
Church in 1950 as a separatist church.
The Bible-Presbyterian Churches in Singapore which have spread to all
ASEAN countries and around the world are a strong constituency, of the
ICCC (International Council of Christian Churches). And Maranatha B-P
Church which is celebrating your Ninth Anniversary Thanksgiving today is a
true son of the 20th Century Reformation through your pastor Jack Sin. His
timely publication of The Reformation: Retrospect, Introspect and Prospect
is a vital contribution to the 20th Century Reformation.
Reformation is an ever-ongoing battle for the Faith. For no sooner is
Satan subdued in one area of the fight than he appears in another. He is a
Hydra-headed Snake. The second half of the 20th Century sees him spawning
one hundred new versions of the Bible which are rightly called
"perversions". These hundred newfangled versions are based on the corrupt
text of Westcott and Hort.
Who are Westcott and Hort? They are what the apostle Jude revealed to be
"men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this
condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into
lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ"
(v.4). Westcott and Hort were two Anglican clergymen, Greek scholars who
supplanted the Authorised Version, the King James Bible with their corrupt
text. Out of this corrupt text came a new translation the Revised Version
in 1881 to take the place of the KJB. Being the evil fruit from a corrupt
tree it died a diseased death in the earlier part of this Century. In my
boyhood I possessed a copy of the Revised Version. Soon after this it went
out of print. But the KJB goes on forever.
Though Greek Scholars that they were, Westcott and Hort are now exposed to
be false prophets, wolves in sheep’s clothing. Both are modernists and
liberals of the deepest dye. Dr. D. A. Waite, Th.D., Ph.D., President of
Dean Burgon Society, certifies them to deny all the fundamentals of the
Faith, especially the doctrine of the infallibility and inerrancy of
Scripture, the Virgin Birth, Substitutionary Death and Ressurection of our
Lord Jesus Christ. They ridicule Adam and Eve to be no more than a fairy
tale, but take to Evolution as Gospel Truth. They were friends of Darwin
and Freud (called by Straits Times a Fraud). Westcott and Hort were secret
worshippers of Mary.
Westcott started a club called the Hermes Club. This club for young people
was infected with homosexuality. Later he founded the Ghost Club to
communicate with the dead. It was dubbed the Bogey Club (Bogey means
Devil). One who communicates with the dead is called a necromancer, which
is condemned in Deuteronomy 18:11,12 to be "an abomination unto the Lord."
Now, David asks, "Who shall ascend into the hill of the LORD? or who shall
stand in his holy place? He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart; who
hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity, nor sworn deceitfully" (Ps
24:3,4). By their treacherous conduct to the Cause of Christ, they have
disqualified themselves from touching the sacred Text.
But, they did. They intruded into the holy office. And what they did was
to tear away from the Bible the equivalence of eight chapters of I and II
Peter. Using two earliest Manuscripts of the Bible Codex Sinaiticus and
Codex Vaticanus, but the most corrupt according to Dean Burgon of Oxford,
they mercilessly cut up the traditional Textus Receptus upon which the KJB
is based. They scissored the last 12 verses of Mark and the passage of the
woman taken in adultery (Jn 7:53-8:11) and the Johannine Comma I Jn 5:7
which clearly teaches the Holy Trinity; and numerous other parts of the
Bible. A new Westcott and Hort text arises to topple the venerable
Received Text, like Cain killing his brother Abel.
The God who inspires to write an infallible and inerrant Bible also
preserves an intact replica, so that we have in the Received Text the
same
infallible Word. This is taught in the Westminster Confession and affirmed
by David, "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." As Providence follows
Creation, so Preservation of Scripture follows Inspiration. Yes, God who
has given an infallible and inerrant Bible follows up to preserve it
intact through the ages, even to eternity. Jesus reaffirms, "Heaven and
earth shall pass away but my words shall not pass away" (Matt 24:35).
Now, God in His providence has blessed the English-speaking world nearly
400 years with the KJB. But during the last 50 years a flood of new
translations, based directly or indirectly on Westcott and Hort has
invaded the Church. Under the guise of putting it in easier to read modern
English, the New International Version (NIV) has now supplanted the KJB,
insofar as Singapore is concerned. But the equivalence of eight chapters
in the KJB is missing from the NIV. But hypocritically why do the NIV
publishers retain the last 12 verses of Mark and the woman taken in
adultery passage in print? Sharp businessmen, they know the household of
faith will not buy their product if these two passages are left out. But,
hey presto! They have cunningly deleted the Johannine verse I Jn 5:7 on
the Trinity, because, being very brief, its deletion is not easily
detected. Satan, like the Monkey god has 72 disappearing tricks.
"Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common
salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye
should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the
saints. For there are certain men (Westcott and Hort) crept in unawares,
who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men. . ."
Reformation is an ever on-going battle for the Faith. Reformation into the
21st Century is the battle of the King James Battle vs the NIV and the
hordes of "perversions" based on W&H.
If you are in a Church that uses the NIV, you should tell your pastor why
he should not use it. If you cannot persuade him to change back to the KJB,
then you should get out and join a Church that upholds it. You can play a
part for the 21st Century Reformation. As B-Ps we’re in the 21st
Century
Reformation which is only 60 days away.
"The Lord gave the word: great was the company of those that published it"
(Ps 68:11). Let everyone here today take a stand for the Truth wherever we
go, till Jesus returns. Amen.
Rev Dr Timothy Tow is the
principal of Far Eastern Bible College, and pastor of True Life
Bible-Presbyterian Church. This Message was delivered to Maranatha B-P Church at her Ninth Anniversary
Thanksgiving, October 31, 1999
Top
/ Back
|
