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NO PERFECTLY PRESERVED WORD OF GOD TODAY?
Tan Kian Sing
In Ephesians 4:14, the Apostle Paul warns believers, “That we
henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with
every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness,
whereby they lie in wait to deceive.”
J C Ryle wrote, “False doctrine does not meet men face to face, and
proclaim that it is false. It does not blow a trumpet before it, and
endeavour openly to turn us away from the truth as it is in Jesus. It does
not come before men in broad daylight and summon them to surrender. It
approaches us secretly, quietly, insidiously, plausibly, and in such a way
as to disarm man’s suspicion, and throw him off his guard. It is the wolf
in sheep’s clothing, and Satan in the garb of an angel of light, who have
always proved the most dangerous foes of the Church” (J C Ryle, Warnings
to the Churches, 56).
In the gospel according to Matthew Chapter 24, the Lord Jesus taught the
disciples how to look out for the signs of His coming, and of the end of
the world. And one very common warning given by the Lord is to watch out
for deception. In Matthew 24:4-5, the Lord warns, “Take heed that no man
deceive you. For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and
shall deceive many.” Again in Matthew 24:11, the Lord warns, “And many
false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many.” And then in Matthew
24:24, He warns, “For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets,
and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.”
Let us take heed of the warnings of the Lord and of the Apostle concerning
the deception of the last days. Paul says, “Be no more children, tossed to
and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of
men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive.”
Children are very gullible. They are easily tricked into believing lies.
Are we like spiritual children and therefore easily deceived and carried
away by every wind of doctrine?
To avoid being easily tossed to and fro by the trickery of men, we need to
build ourselves up in the faith. We need to study the Word of God
diligently, faithfully and prayerfully that we will not yield to the
cunning craftiness of the father of lies.
Dear Reader, do you search the Scriptures daily and receive the truth with
all readiness of mind (Acts 17:11)? Do you humbly and obediently respond
to God’s commandments with “Yes, Lord” (Mk 7:28), or do you challenge
cunningly, like the serpent, “Yea, hath God said” (Gen 3:1)? Do you
treasure the inspired, inerrant and infallible Word?
Consider the statement on the infallibility and inerrancy of Holy
Scriptures by Dean Burgon of Oxford: “The Bible is none other than the
voice of Him that sitteth upon the throne. Every book of it, every chapter
of it, every verse of it, every word of it, every syllable of it, every
letter of it, is the direct utterance of the Most High. The Bible is none
other than the Word of God, not some part of it more, some part of it
less, but all alike the utterance of Him that sitteth upon the throne,
faultless, unerring, supreme.” How do you regard the Word of God? Do you
believe that God is exceedingly powerful and able to perfectly preserve
His inspired Word all intact in every age? Do we not believe in the
literal six-day creation, the world-wide flood in the days of Noah, the
virgin birth of Christ, His bodily resurrection and ascension, the rapture
of believers when Christ comes again? It is with this same simple faith
that we believe in the perfect preservation of the Holy Scripture till
today!
You must read “A Child of God Looks at the Doctrine of Verbal Plenary
Preservation” by Miss Carol Lee (Lecturer in Christian Education at the
FEBC) in the July 2005 issue of The Burning Bush. Sister Carol writes:
“Just as I believe by faith that God created out of nothing and that He
created over a literal six-day period because the Word of God says so (no
matter what the scientists or the science text books say!), I believe by
faith that God can and has preserved His words for us because the Word of
God says so (no matter what the textual critics, scholarly linguists,
commentators, etc may say!).”
“Just as much have been written against the six-day creation (and the
other miracles in the Bible), much have also been (and will continue to
be) written against the verbal, plenary preservation of the Word of God.”
“But, finally, it is not what the ‘experts’ or ‘godly men’ say but what
God’s Word says. It is not what I can see with my eyes and touch with my
hands, it is what is revealed to me (and you) in God’s Word.”
The Word of God is truth. But in the last days, let us be aware of cunning
men who change the truth of God into a lie insomuch that, if it were
possible, they shall deceive the very elect. But God forbid: yea, let God
be true, but every man a liar (Rom 3:4).
God is perfect, and He has preserved His truth providentially down through
the ages in the copies of the writings perfectly so that we today still
have the perfect Word of God which converts our soul. If we reject the
doctrine of perfect preservation, then we do not have the inspired,
infallible and inerrant Word of God intact. So, beware of certain
deception today which proclaims that we cannot accept with simple faith
that we still have the Word of God that is perfect, infallible and
inerrant. The psalmist says in Psalm 19 that the Word of God is perfect,
sure, right, pure, clean, and true. Do we say “Amen, Amen and Amen”?
Yes, the Word of God is perfect. The Word of God is truth. It is therefore
the power unto perfect salvation in a perfect God. It is the perfect Word
of God that converts our souls unto salvation in Jesus Christ. And so let
us be bold to speak the perfect word of truth. Paul tells us this is what
we are to do in Ephesians 4:15, “speaking the truth in love.” Are we doing
our part in the ministry by speaking the gospel of truth in love?
What is the gospel of truth? It is the gospel which tells us of the love
of God for sinners like you and me. The Bible tells us that “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.” God loves
us and wants us to be with Him forever and ever. But because of sin in us,
we cannot be with God. But God has His way. His way is to wash away our
sins with the blood of His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ. And so if you
believe that you are a sinner, and you need to be washed in the blood of
Jesus Christ, His blood washes you clean so that you can be with God
forever in eternity. Do you recognise that you are a sinner? Do you
believe in the Lord Jesus Christ that He is the Son of God who died by
shedding His blood to wash away your sins? “Believe on the Lord Jesus
Christ, and thou shalt be saved.”
Rev Tan Kian Sing is pastor of Berean B-P
Church.
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