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The Necessity
and Needs of a Bible College
Jeffrey Khoo
“Without the Bible
College, the Church would die” said the late Rev. Dr. Paul Contento.
Without knowledge, the Church is destroyed (Hosea 4:6). In the Great
Commission, Jesus commanded His Church not only to evangelise the
world—“make disciples of all nations,” but also indoctrinate His
people—“Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded
you” (Matthew 28:18-20).
In the light of the Great
Commission, the Church needs the Bible College to:
Prepare Faithful Servants for Christ
“And the things that thou
hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful
men, who shall be able to teach others also” (2 Timothy 2:2). This
verse, by Paul to Timothy, is a favourite verse of many a Bible College
and rightly so. The Church needs faithful pastors, not “payful”
preachers whose motto is “more pay more preach, less pay less preach, no
pay no preach,” “whose God is their belly” (says Paul in Philippians
3:19) and “whose religion is their kitchen” (adds Calvin).
The Bible College crucible
should weed out those who enter the ministry for selfish reasons. The
grind of daily homilies with practical duties should test the mettle and
worth of every student. Those who endure suffering and prove themselves
faithful, usually emerge mature and equipped for the ministry. Those not
called will soon fade away and disappear.
The Church does not need the clever and the cunning, but the humble and
the faithful. There are students who may not be ‘A’ academically, but
they do their very best, and their hearts are right before God and man.
Though weak, they are clean. The Church needs such men and women.
“For ye see your calling,
brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty,
not many noble, are called: But God hath chosen the foolish things of
the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of
the world to confound the things which are mighty; And base things of
the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and
things which are not, to bring to nought things that are: That no flesh
should glory in his presence. But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of
God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and
redemption: That, according as it is written, He that glorieth, let him
glory in the Lord” (1 Corinthians 1:26-31).
In this day and age, Bible
Colleges are needed to train strong doctrinal preachers faithful to the
Perfect Scriptures. Dr McIntire has rightly said, “Strong doctrinal
preaching is absolutely essential if a church is to be a faithful church
of Christ. There is no place in the church of Christ for a single
preacher who denies the Word of God.”
Indeed, there is no place
in any church or any Bible College for any preacher who denies the
infallibility and inerrancy of Scriptures, and believes the Bible today
contains errors. A Bible College that does not believe in a 100% Bible
does not deserve to exist.
How can a preacher be
faithful if he does not believe in a perfect Bible? He cannot!
A Bible College needs
Faith.
Faithful men are needed
to:
Promote the Historic Christian Faith
In any true Bible College,
there must be a passionate proclamation of the foundational convictions
of the Christian faith and of the good news of what Christ has done for
the salvation of sinners. A Bible College curriculum must be first and
foremost Bible-centred and steeped in doctrine and theology with an
emphasis on the biblical languages.
The promotion of the
Christian faith cannot be had with a smattering of Bible and theology
and half-baked practical ministry courses that most seminaries today
offer. Practice comes out of doctrine. Doctrine begets practice.
Proof of this can be seen
in the intensive, systematic Biblical studies programme that Paul
conducted in the School of Tyrannus that led to many conversions and
changed lives—“And many that believed came, and confessed, and shewed
their deeds. … So mightily grew the word of God and prevailed” (Acts
19:18, 20).
A Bible College needs
Truth.
Honest and brave men are
needed to:
Protect the Purity of the Church
A Bible College is like a
military institute to train godly Christian soldiers to protect the
doctrinal purity of the Church. The Apostle Paul showed by example this
important aspect of Bible College ministry. He told the Ephesian church,
“For I have not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of God. Take
heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the
Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he
hath purchased with his own blood. For I know this, that after my
departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the
flock. Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse
things, to draw away disciples after them. Therefore watch, and
remember, that by the space of three years I ceased not to warn every
one night and day with tears. And now, brethren, I commend you to God,
and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up, and to give
you an inheritance among all them which are sanctified” (Acts 20:27-32).
The Apostle Jude likewise
wrote, “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” (Jude 3).
In these last days of
falsehood and falling away, the Church must be doubly vigilant if she is
to be kept from being swept away by the tide of unbelief and apostasy.
The Bible College can serve as the Church’s protector. The College must
always be on the alert to spot the latest doctrinal virus that seeks to
infect the Church. She must be the first to sound the alarm. She must do
her research. She must publish her findings. She must expose these
harmful agents.
Singapore is
well-protected against SARS. This is only so because she has a
well-armed institution in Tan Tock Seng Hospital, and an expert staff of
doctors and nurses to deal immediately and effectively with any incoming
threat. How about the Church? Does she have a Bible College with a
biblically well-trained faculty to fend off any invading doctrinal germ?
Is it any wonder that Dr Contento warned, “Without the Bible College,
the Church would die”?
Today, there are two SARS-like
doctrines that the Church must watch out for. The first is open-theism
or neo-theism that presents a God who does not know everything about the
future, questioning His omniscience. The second is neo-fundamentalism or
neo-deism that teaches a God who is incapable of preserving all of His
inspired words in the Holy Scriptures, questioning His omnipotence. Be
warned, beware!
The Bible College needs
Courage.
May the Lord raise up more
Bible Colleges that will prepare faithful servants to promote the
Christian Faith and protect the Church’s purity in the Word of God. The
Lord is calling devout and brave men to join His army and ministry. Why
won’t you answer the Lord’s call?
Rev Dr Jeffrey Khoo is the
academic dean of Far Eastern Bible College.
- Published in
Bible Witness, Vol 4 Issue
1
(January - March 2004)
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