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FEBC Under Siege by Life BPC:
Pray for Peace and Unity Based on
Truth and Charity
MY LAMENT 2 BY BRUTUS BALAN
My
dear Lily and Carl
Thanks
for forwarding today (14th Jan 08) the correspondence between your
dad (T. Tow) and Life BPC (C. Seet)
with regard to the request for the use of
the ‘sanctuary’ of the church for night theological classes for FEBC. The
paternalistic letter is painful read even for me. The spirit of the response
from Charles Seet and his session is baffling common sense and freezes
thought. It is without doubt and made very clear by him, that the Life BPC is
now considering FEBC as a heretical institution that cannot be tolerated.
The
100% VPP position is not a heretical position but a position that must be
celebrated as another valid view of the high view of Scripture.
The 98% VPP position is also
a faith position with its own inherent problems. For example, if we affirm the divine inspiration, inerrancy and infallibility
of the originals (which we don’t have and therefore cannot peruse to
confirm as true) should we not also extend the same affirmation to the
manuscripts? Do we have an authoritative exact copy of the originals
or a reliable copy close to the originals? Both involve bible scholars
to discern the exact words of the originals.
The
100% VPP camp say ‘Thus said the Lord!’ in every portion, while the 98%
VPP champ may say, ‘Thus I think said the Lord!’ in the two percent.
The argument can be made that when God has taken such great care to reveal His
Word to mankind of the origins of the heavens and the earth (to its
consummation), and even given a glimpse of revelation of the new earth and
new heavens to the ‘39+1’ writers, why would He allow scribal errors, howbeit
2%, to corrupt His Holy Word in the transmission of it? When Moses broke the
tablets of stone of the Ten Commandments overcome by indignation over the sin
of the Hebrews, he was not told patch it up and decipher what was originally
given in Sinai. It was reissued verbatim by divine hand to keep its accuracy.
So is the expectation throughout Scripture where God’s people were told not to
pervert what was revealed and preserved at great cost. A conclusion then can
be made that divine revelation by inspiration necessitates an existence of a
true copy reflecting the originals word for word for it is THE revelation of
God to man. By extension the copies or copy must also retain its inspiration,
therefore inerrant and infallible in its content. Did God slumber leaving the
scribes to human fatigue and failings? To claim the providential preservation
of Scripture is ironical if it doesn’t simply mean that we do have a 100%
exact copy of the originals today. Did God ascertain 100% accuracy or did He
tolerate the injection of 2% human inaccuracies for some divine humour? Is God
a sadist? Heaven forbid! That is the 100% VPP view.
But
the problem is the Church of God is not agreed upon a single text to call it
the exact copy of the originals.
For those who hold to the view that
God has providentially preserved the exact copy of the originals and can be
discerned from the group of accepted texts is a welcome proposition.
Why shouldn’t the church of God continue the search of the Scriptures (the
Received/Byzantine/ Majority manuscripts) so that no parchment is unturned
and no scroll unrolled in search for a common stand? Shouldn’t we welcome
that? Those who prefer to hold to the Received Texts as the true copy have the
freedom to do so with their own defense for it. That’s not heretical!
Those who believe that the true copy can be discerned from the group of texts
accepted by all are also a valid position. That’s not heretical! The
98% champs will have to defend their own camp’s proposition too. That’s not
heretical! A heresy is a denial of a fundamental tenet of what constitutes
sound doctrine. None of these camps deny any but affirm every one. So what is
the heresy accused of the 100% VPP brethren? All are zealots for the Cause of
Christ. All positions have inherent strengths and problems. All are in
agreement to the great biblical presupposition. All hold to a high view of
Scripture. All scholars of every camp in the end must preach the foolishness
of the cross along side the lowly ‘fishermen’ called of Christ. All will
appear foolish to the perishing world. All will become fools for Christ no
matter what view they hold to this issue.
Therefore, calling FEBC a heretical institution is sheer arrogance.
Especially, having been born into a fundamentalist movement, having not done
the hard yakka and assuming to be an even greater defender of the faith than
the one who birthed the movement into existence in Singapore gives me the
chill. To counsel the one who nurtured him and to pen such a letter of slight
must have a callous soul. The usurpation of a pastorate and pride in a
position that he had not toiled for and the presumption to be wiser than Rev
Tow to counsel him on doctrines is beyond belief. Chewing the fat of which he
did not work for but for the hard labor of another and relishing the cream of
another’s dream is sinful stupor. The ‘sanctuary’ denied FEBC was dreamed,
designed and done by Rev Tow when many of these modern ‘champions’ were still
infants. I will find it against my whole being to squatter in a foundation
that was lovingly built by the sweat and tears of another. One born of God
ought to have a heightened conscience quickened by the Holy Spirit and
therefore possess good judgement and values. Conscience is a hard master to
live with for there is no rest until it is appeased. Has the disciple grown
greater than the master? Has the teacher forgotten the decades of conviction
his life was spend for?
Convictions become you in the passing of time. Convictions are sealed in the
heart of your soul over time. Convictions are the very pulse of your being in
time. Convictions motivate and move a man to stand alone when everyone
deserts him at any time. Convictions of truth cannot be contradicted but only
focused and refined in the progress of time. Therefore, has the man who
founded the BP movement to uphold and defend the Word of God, and the
‘prophetical’ institution to reproduce himself to continue the work of God;
and whose name was synonymous with Singaporean fundamentalism, slumber to
spiritual insanity to forsake the ‘old path’ and push a ‘new path’?
All
men of God in history have refined their thoughts without being
heretical. Theology is dynamic in scope. We refine our views in space and time
and are better for it. There is so much room within sound doctrine for
everyone of the fundamentalist persuasion to move and co-live in co-operation.
A life time isn’t enough to understand it all and many a young bible scholar
often confuse institutional doctorate for the mastery of His Word.
After
all, the Spirit of God is the Master-Teacher and was it not the ill educated
disciples who were given the high privilege to be with the Creator-Savior to
hear and yet not understand the meaning of much of what He said? Was it not to
them the Spirit of God opened the exposition of the providentially preserved
Word of the OT and the Master’s voice of the NT? A group of unassuming,
humble, simple, childlike, grown men were picked for a visual lesson to show
modern churches which prides in high decibel doctorates and puffed up
positions of privilege that lack the discipleship in heart. Would the Lord
pick today’s crop bypassing Peter, James and John? Who is this modern man
who prides over his humble teacher?
The
heart of His Master was the heart beat of Rev Timothy Tow as I have known him
since 1974. He often said that ‘the school of the prophets is not a school
for square hats.’ Those aspiring to study theology at FEBC then was: 1.
an irresistible calling; 2. an ability to study with the ‘best’; and,
3. Most of all those who are humble at heart, may apply. This gave a
lot of hope and encouragement for late bloomers like me. If not for that holy
principle, I would not be a pastor/teacher today.
During
these 30 years of my serving the Lord I see the lack of humility in the many
that are highly schooled in theology. It has not produced any new
understanding of the truth better than the disciples down the road of Emmaus
or a quality that has surpassed the expositional ability of Peter, James and
John. Rev Tow is of this humble ‘fisherman’ quality even though he is second
to none. Those who know him must learn of him. To follow such an example is to
understand humility. Such was the Apostle Paul’s invitation to follow Christ
even as he followed Him.
Where
and when is this going to end? The Lord is mindful of His servant’s work. All
will be vindicated here or there. Every work and word will be accounted for.
All motives exposed. One needs to guard ones heart that one does not sin in
bitterness. Festering ‘wounds’ cannot heal but bring on its own destruction.
When the twain will not meet, they must part (Amos 2:2).
Surely as the father of the BP movement and FEBC is still on this side of
heaven, and it is his vision and wisdom poured into this work of God, it is
only proper the pastors, the session of Life BPC and all who would follow
them, vacate the premises and find their own pasture. There is honor in that.
May the Lord give rest to his servant before he enters his heavenly REST.
There is a balm in ‘Gilstead’ to make the wounded whole.
14 Jan
2008
Hobart, TASMANIA
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