My dear readers,

Answering Remaining Questions from Calvary Pandan Church Camp 2023 (8)

Question 1: I think Matthew 5:23-24 was used to bring out the point that even if we feel like we did nothing wrong against a brother but he has something against us, we ought to reconcile. In the context of Matthew 5:21-22, who is the person that has killed with his words? The person bringing the gift or the person that had ought against his brother? Also, how are we then to understand verses 25 to 26? Upon reading the passage, it seems that the person had actually offended the brother with his words but did not think much about it (as a sin), and so left off reconciliation. Also, because there is real offense with the words, that's why the adversary could actually bring him to the judge if the man didn't reconcile? Thanks for your explanation in advance.

Answer 1: 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: 22 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. 23 Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee; 24 Leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift. 25 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. 26 Verily I say unto thee, Thou shalt by no means come out thence, till thou hast paid the uttermost farthing.”

Verses 21 and 22 stand alone. They teach the correct understanding of the Sixth Commandment.

With the correct understanding of not being angry without a just cause, the Lord applies it to a situation (v23-24) where the one who is bringing the offering to the temple for worship remembers that his brother is angry with him; he has to go and make right his relationship with his brother since his brother cannot worship God because of his anger against him. He might not be angry and feels that he can worship, but he has to be his brother’s keeper and help his brother overcome his anger directed against him.

In another scenario where the offender realizes that he has done wrong (v25-26), he needs to reconcile and make right the wrong before the offended party (in this case, the one whom the offender owes money to) brings the matter to court. Once it is before the court, the matter will take its course, and the offender might find himself in prison unless he pays the debt in full.

Question 2: The stand of Life BPC on the preservation of God's Word is that they believe the Hebrew and Greek texts underlying the KJV Bible are the closest to the original autographs of the Bible. Is this our stand as well?

Answer 2: The phrase “closest to the original” is another way of saying that the Bible has mistakes. It could mean that out of other Hebrew and Greek texts underlying other translations, the one underlying the KJV has the fewest mistakes. The percentage could be any per cent; it is the closest compared to the rest. If closest of the other translations is 60%, KJV could be 60.5% correct. Since the percentage is not stated, the phrase “closest to the original” is left to the reader to guess! Furthermore, this phrase is subtly deceptive as “closest to the original” implies that the ones who make this claim have seen the original. Otherwise, how do they know that the Hebrew and Greek underlying the KJV is the closest?

Life BPC’s position is NOT our position. CPBPC’s position is that the Hebrew and Greek texts underlying the KJV is the perfectly inspired and preserved Word of God, inerrant and infallible. For example, if I were to copy the Ten Commandments in Hebrew perfectly from the Hebrew Texts underlying the KJV, it would be the same as the ones God wrote with His finger that Moses brought down from Mount Sinai. The difference is that this is in my handwriting. The basis for us to declare and know that God inspired a perfect Bible is that this perfect Bible exists today and is in our hands. How can one teach and believe God inspired a perfect Bible in the past from a Bible with mistakes?

Anyone who says that he believes in the perfect Bible and it is somewhere out there but he does not know where it is is a liar. He deceptively means that the perfect Bible is lost. These words are spoken to deceive the gullible.

Question 3: I have a close friend who is a professing believer and her children attend church since young. Her husband is a free thinker and attends church with her occasionally. Over the last decade, her husband committed adultery once before, gambled and landed in debt with banks (putting the family’s financial situation in crisis) at least on two occasions that I am aware of. When she shared with me during those times, she asked for my advice. She considered divorce before but finally chose to forgive and move on. Fast forward, just 2 weeks ago, she learned that her husband had gotten himself into huge debt again, this time with a loan shark. Her husband had reached out to his own siblings to help, and my friend is also asking her family and friends to help. This time, when my friend shared with me not in person but over text (as I was in church camp), she no longer asked for my advice but just let me know her plan of seeking a divorce. While I can share with her Matthew 18:21-22 and 1 Corinthians 7:13-14, I truly empathise with her -- her heart must be broken and burdened. It is difficult. How should I counsel her in such a situation?

Answer 3: As Christians, we embrace the doctrine of God's sovereignty and that He is always good in all He does, especially toward His children. “Good” must be viewed from the perspective of eternity. If your friend is truly born again in Christ, she would understand and embrace this truth that God makes no mistakes and all things in her life will work together for good. Romans 8:28: “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.”

If she married an unbeliever, she must accept what she has sown and reaped, even after she repented of her sin. The consequence of sin remains, especially in a marriage. He is behaving as an unbeliever. His sinful nature rules him. He is demonstrating his bondage to sin. She must know that this was what she was also like before salvation. If she married him when she was an unbeliever and then came to know Christ as Lord and Saviour, then she needs to be holy and help her husband see Christ in her so that Christ can use her to save her husband from sin, death and hell. He needs to see the gospel's impact on her life so that he will also want to believe in Christ. Her husband’s salvation and her children’s must be her new mission.

The Bible’s teaching is that only in the case of unrepentant adultery will divorce be justified in God's eyes. The other justifiable cause for divorce before God is when the unbelieving spouse threatens the believing spouse with divorce, unless the latter recants Christ as Lord and Saviour. The unbelieving spouse initiates the divorce and not the believing spouse. The believing spouse must hold on to his or her faith because once a person is born again, he cannot be unborn. Salvation is of the LORD and not of man. In God's eyes, addiction to gambling or a debt to loan sharks is not a justifiable reason for divorce.

Help her by establishing the veracity of her salvation. Ask her to share with you her testimony of salvation. This is the most important step. Helping to repair the marriage without salvation is of no eternal significance. After ascertaining her salvation then share with her the doctrine of God’s sovereignty. God is a good God and all that He does in the lives of His children will always be for our good. A lot of what to say to help her from Holy Scriptures depends on the facts of the case. Always bear in mind to only prescribe God’s Word to help her, for it will always be right. It will help her draw closer to God.