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THE UNFINISHED COMMISSION (MATT 28:18-20)
Timothy Tow
“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, baptising 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).
When Sun Yat-Sen, Father of
the Chinese Republic, toppled the Manchu regime in 1911 and became its
president, he called on his followers: “The Revolution is not yet
finished. Let comrades struggle on” ( ). The Great Commission, which our
Lord gave to the Church 2,000 years ago, is an Unfinished Commission.
There remains much land to be conquered, and untold millions have yet to
hear the Gospel. With the Return of our Saviour looming nearer each day,
this Unfinished Commission must be accelerated. This is mandated to us in
the Olivet discourse, “And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in
all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come”
(Matt 24:14). What have you and I done to speed this Unfinished Task? We
must confess we have done very little. “Remember therefore from whence
thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come
unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place,
except thou repent” (Rev 2:5). If we do not repent from our Laodicean
lukewarmness to serve the Lord fervently, God will give our candlestick to
another that will fulfil His purpose. And has not our Lord given it to the
Korean Church that has sent thousands of her sons and daughters to 120
countries in the world? And if it is true there is a Chinese restaurant
wherever you go in the world, it is also true wherever you go in the world
there is a Korean church.
Despite our
cold-heartedness, He Himself will bring it to fruition. And though the
Great Commission is unfinished, His power over heaven and earth and His
presence with His devout disciples will finish it. We believe in a
sovereign God.
Now, the Unfinished
Commission is a full-four Commission. Many works in the Name of the Lord
by para-church organisations stress one or two points, but it is a
full-four Commission. It is:
(1) Go! This is the Missions emphasis.
(2) Teach (matheteusate), ie, to make disciples. This
is the Evangelistic emphasis.
(3) Baptise. This is the Church Planting emphasis.
(4) Teach (didaskontes). This is the Indoctrination
emphasis.
When we diligently carry out
these four points of the Unfinished Commission, we will be attended with
divine power and blessed with His holy presence. “All power is given
unto me in heaven and in earth. . . . and, lo, I am with you alway, even
unto the end of the world.” How often the Great Commission is misquoted,
leaving out the all-pervasive power of God in us, around us and behind us
to thrust us forward. No wonder the little headway we make in our own
strength.
I
The Unfinished Commission
begins with Go. Notice these are the first two letters that spell Gospel.
The Gospel must be on the Go. Missions is the First Commandment to the
Church. This is clearly exemplified in the Acts of the Apostles. And what
the Apostles did for the early Church becomes our infallible pattern. Paul
says, “Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ” (1 Cor 11:1).
Let us learn a lesson from
the earliest churches. The church in Jerusalem was the first to be
founded. It began in AD 33 with Pentecost, Though it continued for a full
year in the Apostles’ doctrine it was not until a great persecution came
upon it and scattered it abroad, that the disciples went everywhere
preaching the Word (Acts 8:4).
Some of those scattered
abroad travelled as far as Antioch. They preached to the Jews but others
to Grecians and a great multitude believed. This Antioch Church drew the
attention of Jerusalem which sent Barnabas to exhort them. To add more
power to the Church, Barnabas departed to Tarsus to bring Saul in. Now, as
the leaders of Antioch prayed, the Holy Ghost said, “Separate me Barnabas
and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them. And when they had
fasted and prayed, and laid their hands on them, they sent them away” (Acts 13:2-3). Thus was opened officially the Door of Foreign Missions.
The pattern for us to follow between Jerusalem and Antioch is the latter
one. Go with the Gospel is indeed the First Commandment to the Church.
Now, I come as one
representing the mission field. My roots run deep to the year 1859 when my
great-grandfather was converted in Swatow, South China. He was saved after
William Chalmer Burns, Scots missionary sent by the English Presbyterian
Mission. My great- grandfather became the first Swatow pastor in 1882. He
gave his daughter to my grandfather because he also was a pastor. My
father who became a doctor trained by the English Presbyterian Mission
Hospital, was an elder. And now, me, whom the Lord has graciously accepted
from my mother’s womb that I should follow in their steps.
My theological roots also
reach back to China. I studied under Dr Chia Yu-Ming, ICCC Vice-president
for China and Dr A B Dodd, missionary of the Independent Board for
Presbyterian Foreign Missions. From China, the Lord transplanted me to
Faith Seminary, Wilmington, Delaware. After I graduated in 1950, I was
ordained by the hands of the Philadelphia Presbytery at the Second
Congress of the ICCC in Geneva. I returned to Singapore where I was called
by my Mother Church to start an English Service.
In order to separate from
our Mother Church which was linked to the National Council and the World
Council of Churches, we established the Life Bible-Presbyterian Church.
Rev Dr K C Quek, then an elder, stood firmly with me.
Now, in the matter of
missions, we did not have a Mission Board to guide us. Our young,
inexperienced Church, was our Mission Board. The four walls of our little
church, with a congregation of 50, could not contain us. We went
everywhere preaching the Gospel, especially to next door Malaysia. In four
years we founded a station in South Malaysia, and in seven years we
established two branch churches in Singapore. By God’s grace, Life Church
has grown today to 48 churches and institutions (such as Far Eastern Bible
College) all over Southeast Asia, with a dozen missionaries. This does not
include the branch churches’ extended churches.
We have no overall mission
board. Each B-P Church is its own mission board. The B-P Churches of
Singapore, though now each on its own after our split in 1988, has become
a missionary movement that has encircled the earth: in Southeast Asia,
Burma, India, Pakistan, East and West Africa, England, Canada, Saipan,
China, Australia. This is the Lord’s doing. Without a mission board each
church handles its own accounts, so the cost of running missions is nil.
As to financial support
there is not the leniency of the American government which allows
deduction for Income Tax. Ours is pure giving, after paying all the taxes.
A good number pay their tithes and some much more above the sacred tenth.
And when others outside our church are touched by the good reports of our
missionaries, they channel their gifts to us. I say all this as a
testimony to the Lord’s blessing on our home grown missionary movement.
But the pastor himself must
be the ever outgoing one. Like the Israeli commanders, the generals and
colonels must be prepared to lead at the forefront.
Furthermore, we encourage
the formation of laymen’s missionary societies, so that young people are
attracted to mission trips on their own. Out of these trips have gathered
smaller groups who go out at regular intervals to speak at children’s and
youth meetings, and sometimes at church services. This quickens the growth
of young churches in the mission fields. Insofar as Life Church is
concerned, our Missions Fellowship publishes its own literature and runs
its own accounts.
II
The second point in the
Unfinished Commission is the need to make disciples, to evangelise. This
the pastor must emphasise and apply in his weekly sermon. The pastor must
be a soul winner. He must make every effort to hold evangelistic meetings.
The dissemination of Gospel tracts is a silent auxiliary to evangelism.
Some of these from his own pen add a personal touch. The Sunday School and
children’s ministry must also be geared to the saving of souls. The
members added to the church by baptism each year is a barometer of its
growth.
Soul-saving is also the main
task of our missionaries. The failure of missionaries is their lack in
winning souls. Hence the quick resignations from the fields, or if they
hang on, it’s a chore and a job, not a joy. Missionaries of this calibre
are quick to assert their rights but slow to perform their duty.
We have a most outstanding
example of a missionary. A graduate of Far Eastern Bible College, he is
sent by my brother’s church, Calvary B-P Church, to the island of Saipan,
former Japanese territory in the South Pacific now under American mandate.
For six years he has had a most illustrious ministry to the garment
sewers, mostly women from mainland China. With a vigorous emphasis on
repentance from sin and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, he has baptised
600 in six years. His converts are born again in tears of repentance.
Though we do not expect every missionary to measure up to him, he has set
the pace for others to follow, to the glory of God.
A collateral in the
advancing of missions is the support of nationals. These are chosen from
foreign graduates of Far Eastern Bible College. For example, Rev Robert
Thawn Luai, graduate from an Indian Bible College, came for a semester’s
refresher course at FEBC. Having proven his worth as leader of the
Evangelical Presbyterian Church of Burma, we supported his work by
building a four-storey Bible College, costing half a million. Nearly a
hundred have graduated from this College since 1987. Many of the graduates
have become pastors who have added to the growth of his denomination, from
22 to 55 churches.
We have supported several
other national leaders and are pleased with their steady progress, not
only in Burma but also in Indonesia and Malaysia. With their natural
fluency in the vernacular they have instant access to the hearts of their
own people. This method of missionary work is most cost-effective.
III
The third point in the
Unfinished Commission is baptism, which is missed out by para-church
organisations. Calvin defines a Church to be one that preaches the Word
regularly on the Lord’s Day and that administers baptism and the Lord’s
Supper. This is the foundation of the local church.
It is important for
believers to be baptised and be joined to the local church. And it is this
sacrament and the Lord’s Supper that builds it up to be a branch of the
universal Church. Being baptised as a member, he has obligations to fulfil.
He not only attends church regularly according to Hebrews 10:25, but also
gives of his substance to support the work of the Church. The tithe is the
test.
When Life Church was
branching out to build a new church, we did not rely on man’s method of
raising funds by jumble sales, garage sales, fun fairs, concerts, etc. We
preached tithing and free-will offerings. One weapon, very effective, is
interest-free loans.
Baptism is normally given to
the catechumens who attend catechism classes for an extended period. To
those who receive Christ on sick beds, it must not be delayed. Once
baptised the family which often is non-Christian, will submit to the Lord.
The power of baptism over heathens is to be experienced by western
pastors.
Evangelism and baptism is
the only way to solid church growth. Not by the display of charismatic
gifts, the slaying of spirits, and speaking in tongues. Nor social
programmes catering to the flesh. But by the slow but steady process of
winning them to the Lord, one by one.
IV
The fourth point of the
Unfinished Commission is “Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I
have commanded you.” This is where full indoctrination comes in. Although
the Sunday School is a powerful auxiliary to imparting Scripture knowledge
to members, we need the Bible College or Seminary to train pastors,
teachers, and missionaries. The secret of growth of the Bible-Presbyterian
Church in Singapore is the Far Eastern Bible College, founded 1962. Over
350 have come out of its classrooms and many scores have been ordained who
are now serving in many parts of the world.
Our students have also to be
trained to contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints.
Being in the 20th century Reformation Movement, we have taken a stand
against the many “isms” that try to undermine the Church: liberalism,
modernism, neo-evangelicalism, charismatism, ECTism (Evangelicals and
Catholics Together), the total denial of the 16th century Reformation.
There is now a concerted
attack also on the Bible. The hundred versions of the English Bible,
beginning with the Revised Version of 1881, have swarmed out of the
Westcott and Hort Pandora Box, so that our vision of Truth is blurred. For
a century a conspiracy of silence on the evil character of the two
masquerading angels of light in textual criticism have prevailed. Faith
Seminary and Dallas Seminary, for example, had sheepishly bowed to their
dictates. In Faith Seminary, I was taught all that Westcott and Hort had
revised of the beloved King James Bible was Gospel Truth. Ten thousand
alterations and deletions were accepted by us students, such as the
passage of Jesus pardoning the woman taken in adultery, the last 12 verses
of Mark, and the Johannine comma—1 John 5:7-8. These were declared later
interpolations. As much as the equivalent of 1 and 2 Peter were scissored.
But now the true colours of
these so-called Greek experts are revealed, the best part of it all, by
the sons of Westcott and Hort. Do you know that Westcott and Hort were
liberals and modernists of the deepest dye? They detested the doctrine of
the infallibility and inerrancy of the Scriptures, denied the Virgin Birth
of Christ, His Blood atonement and resurrection. They derisively declared
the Creation, Temptation and Fall to be myths. They were secret
worshippers of Mary. They were friends of Darwin, Freud (called a Fraud by
The Straits Times) and Carl Jung, all enemies of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Westcott founded the Hermes
Club at Cambridge, which was reputed to be a homosexual club. He branched
into the Ghost Club with Hort and others. Scoffers called it the Bogey
Club. Bogey means Devil. They practised necromancy, ie, communicating with
the dead, which is abominable to the Lord (Deut 18:11,12).
They were the architects of
revision of the KJB, but where is the Revised Version of 1881 now? It died
a diseased death. “Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn
down, and cast into the fire” (Matt 7:19). Now, the hundred new versions
that have swarmed out of Westcott and Hort are emanations from their
corrupt text, in one way or another.
“When the enemy shall come
in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord shall lift up a standard against
him” (Isa 59:19). While God has used Dr Carl McIntire to raise the ICCC
Standard, there was a fellow student of his in the early days of the
founding of Westminster. He was McIntire’s friend and his name is Edward F
Hills (ThD, Harvard). He took a brave stand against Westcott and Hort.
Before him was David Otis Fuller. At one of the ICCC Congresses I heard Dr
Fuller’s impassioned appeal to stand up for the KJB. Then arose Dr D A
Waite (ThD, PhD), president of the Dean Burgon Society, who testifies how
when a student at Dallas he was as much taken in as when I was in Faith
Seminary. Following him is raised up another, David W Cloud, with his O
Timothy monthly. Though G A Riplinger has been questioned for accuracy
here or there in the exposure of Westcott and Hort in her book New Age
Versions, she has done yeoman service in ripping off the masks of Westcott
and Hort (Riplinger’s book has sold 100,000 copies). Last but not least is
my brother, Dr S H Tow, whose latest defence of the King James Bible,
Beyond Versions, is just off the press and to him is added the full weight
of FEBC’s faculty. (Last but not least is the Resolution on the Bible by
the International Council of Christian Churches at her 50th Anniversary
Meeting in Amsterdam, August 11-15, 1998, supporting the KJB against the
hundred versions.)
Conclusion
The Unfinished Commission is
encumbered with so many wiles of the Devil, especially in Satan’s last
attack on His Holy Word. “Yea, truth faileth; and he that departeth from
evil maketh himself a prey: and the Lord saw it, and it displeased him
that there was no judgment. And he saw that there was no man, and wondered
that there was no intercessor: therefore his arm brought salvation unto
him; and his righteousness, it sustained him” (Isa 59:15,16). Truth must
prevail! “For we can do nothing against the truth, but for the truth”
(2 Cor 13:8).
The words of Sun Yat-Sen,
Father of the Chinese Republic, that the Revolution he led to topple the
Manchus was unfinished, and comrades must continue to struggle on reminds
us that the Great Commission of our Lord Jesus Christ is also far from
finished. Let us go forward to carry out its fourfold programme of
Missions, Evangelism, Church planting, and full theological indoctrination
with increasing acceleration until our Lord comes again. Even so, Come
Lord Jesus.
We are in the closing
chapter of the 20th century Reformation. In no time we will
enter the new millennium, and will there be a 21st century
Reformation?
Message delivered by Rev Dr Timothy Tow to the 62nd
Synod of the Bible-Presbyterian Church, Lakeland, Florida, USA, August 7,
1998, and to the ICCC 50th Anniversary, English Reformed
Church, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, August 13, 1998.
- Published in
The Burning Bush,
Volume 5 Number
1 (January 1999)
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