My dear readers,

Answering Remaining Questions from Calvary Pandan Church Camp 2023 (4)

Question 1: How should I respond if there is a sister in church who had done wrong against me? She insists that she has done no wrong. What should my practical response to her be? If I forgive her, write off her wrong and treat her as if nothing had happened, wouldn't I be encouraging her to continue in sin?

Answer 1: Reconciliation requires both parties to desire it. If one party does not desire reconciliation, there will be none. This is the unchanging rule of reconciliation. God the Father did everything to make reconciliation with Him possible by sending His only begotten Son Jesus Christ to die for our sins. He accepted fully all that His Son did as sufficient to wash away every sin and every type of sin committed by any sinner who desires to receive forgiveness to be reconciled with God. If the sinner does not come and put his hand into His, even though God stretches forth His loving and merciful hand, there is no reconciliation.

This truth also applies when a Christian desires reconciliation. The Christian should make the first move toward reconciliation just like his heavenly Father did in Christ. Matthew 5:21-26: "Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment: But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire. Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee; Leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift. Agree with thine adversary quickly, whiles thou art in the way with him; lest at any time the adversary deliver thee to the judge, and the judge deliver thee to the officer, and thou be cast into prison. Verily I say unto thee, Thou shalt by no means come out thence, till thou hast paid the uttermost farthing."

The answer to the above question will be based upon the above teaching on reconciliation. The scenario presented is that you believe a sister has done wrong against you. You feel hurt. The approach is to go to her prayerfully and share with her how you feel. If she still feels that all is well with her soul even after knowing that you are hurt, and she refuses to apologise, then you have to accept her response. Forcing someone to apologise will not result in a sincere apology. You need to move on and overcome the hurt. You must forgive her for Christ's sake. If you do not, then you will have sinned. Bitterness will breed in your heart, jeopardising your walk with God.

If you did not approach her to let her know, then you would be encouraging her to sin. If you have explained to her that what she did was wrong, according to Scriptures, and if she continues to sin, her blood is no longer on your head. Ezekiel 33:3-6: "If when he seeth the sword come upon the land, he blow the trumpet, and warn the people; Then whosoever heareth the sound of the trumpet, and taketh not warning; if the sword come, and take him away, his blood shall be upon his own head. He heard the sound of the trumpet, and took not warning; his blood shall be upon him. But he that taketh warning shall deliver his soul. But if the watchman see the sword come, and blow not the trumpet, and the people be not warned; if the sword come, and take any person from among them, he is taken away in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at the watchman's hand."

Question 2: In your preaching about our duty as Christians to share the gospel to people around us, what is the outreach focus of Calvary Pandan BPC. If we always spend our time only on building knowledge of the Word of God in our minds and fellowship amongst brethren, etc, how much time is actually left for outreach? What is the right balance and approach?

Answer 2: Jesus Christ has given to His church the Great Commission. Matthew 28:18-20: "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, baptizing 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." The Great Commission has a twofold ministry: Preach the gospel to save sinners and teach them to obey God's whole counsel, i.e. the Bible. This must be the focus of Calvary Pandan and all fundamental churches. Both ministries are spiritual battles. If a new believer shares the gospel with little knowledge of the Word of God, he will probably become a casualty. If a person studies the Bible to improve his head knowledge and does not share the gospel or serve the Lord in the church, his walk with Christ is theoretical and lacks obedience.

The time to share the gospel is in our daily lives. For the Christian student, his time in school is his time of witness for Christ to sinners. To the Christian employee, his time in the office is to share the gospel and be a holy witness for Christ. The church will help through gospel meetings, tracting sessions and visitations to supplement the outreach to sinners. Overseas missions trips are also available for members to serve or visit, especially with Vacation Bible School. The church Bible studies and all the ministries are for building up the faith of all believers so that they will all grow strong together to face the world and lead sinners to Christ.

That is why the ones who spend so much time in school and at work and do not spend enough time studying God's Word and serving in the church are most vulnerable to the devil's wiles and to lose their holy witness for Christ.

Question 3: When our company/work place adopts an inclusive and diversity policy to recruit LGBTQ individuals, advocates equal opportunities for LGBTQ employees and provides paternal/childcare benefits to LGBTQ "parents", does it imply that if we stay on in the job, we are subtly supporting the LGBTQ movement? Do we need to leave the job so as not to appear to be in agreement with the LGBTQ movement?

Answer 3: Christ prophesied the coming of the LGBTQ movement. Luke 17:26-30: “And as it was in the days of Noe, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man. They did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed them all. Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded; But the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all. Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed.” What were the sins of Sodom? Jude 7: “Even as Sodom and Gomorrha, and the cities about them in like manner, giving themselves over to fornication, and going after strange flesh, are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire.” These sins will cover the face of the earth when the Lord returns. When the sins of the world are full, judgment will begin.

God knows who to bring into this world to be His witnesses. Every generation has a different battle to fight. Martin Luther fought against the might of the Roman Catholic Church in the 16^th century. We are the generation to earnestly contend for the faith once delivered unto the saints in the 21^st century. The Lord knows that His people can cope as He continually provides them with the complete armour of God to be victorious.

The way to evaluate the suitability of a work environment is to determine whether the work is sinful. If the work is not sinful, even though the environment may be carnal, the believer should remain and be the salt and light for Christ. The world is supposed to be carnal, and the Lord taught us to be in the world but not be of the world. To remain in such an environment is not a sin and does not imply that you support sinful behaviour (not just the LGBTQ but all iniquities and transgressions). However, if the believer shows any support while in such a carnal environment, he will be transgressing by his participation or sinful acceptance. Daniel was in a sinful Babylonian world but he remained a holy witness for Christ because he refused to defile himself. Daniel 1:8: “But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king's meat, nor with the wine which he drank: therefore he requested of the prince of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself.” [Emphasis added] All believers should be like Daniel!