My dear readers,

Answering Remaining Questions from Calvary Pandan Church Camp 2023 (10)

Question 1: For a Christian in a leadership position in a secular organization (eg: if a Christian was made a leader of a corporation or a country), how should he decide on what policies to enact? Should he act in accordance with the Bible, eg: stopping all work on Sundays?

Answer 1: If the Christian is the sole owner of his company where he makes the decisions and is responsible before God alone, then Christian principles ought to be applied in relation to keeping the Sabbath Day holy and he should not do business on Sundays. However, if he is one of many leaders in a secular organization, he is accountable before God only in terms of his behaviour and conduct, which are within his absolute control. He should bear a holy witness for Christ before God and his colleagues.

The domain within the believer’s jurisdiction is the basis for holy obedience. Exodus 20:10-11: “But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: 11 For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.” Note the repeated occurrence of the word “thy.” It refers to the believer’s domain, where he is the owner. In our context, the application remains the same. This includes the believer’s home if he is the head of his own home. It does not apply to the believer living in his parents’ home.

Question 2: During one of the messages, you mentioned that servants can never call the master “father,” but the children can and that we are blessed to do so. If we are both children of God as well as unprofitable servants for Him, how are we able to call him our “Father”?

Answer 2: The Bible’s clear teaching is that we are unprofitable servants of God and Christ. Luke 17:6-10: “And the Lord said, If ye had faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye might say unto this sycamine tree, Be thou plucked up by the root, and be thou planted in the sea; and it should obey you. 7 But which of you, having a servant plowing or feeding cattle, will say unto him by and by, when he is come from the field, Go and sit down to meat? 8 And will not rather say unto him, Make ready wherewith I may sup, and gird thyself, and serve me, till I have eaten and drunken; and afterward thou shalt eat and drink? 9 Doth he thank that servant because he did the things that were commanded him? I trow not. 10 So likewise ye, when ye shall have done all those things which are commanded you, say, We are unprofitable servants: we have done that which was our duty to do.” The Greek word for “servants” in verse 10 means “slaves.” This describes the believer’s attitude when he serves the Lord Jesus Christ. He must not complain or compare whether his task is fair, unfair, harsh, or easy. As an unprofitable servant, he must do everything his master tells him, expecting nothing in return. This is his duty.

The Bible also clearly teaches believers that they are already children of God before they arrive in heaven. 1 John 3:1-3: “Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not. 2 Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. 3 And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.” God teaches us to serve as children in our own homes too. As children of God, we ought to serve constrained by our love for God and His love for us.

Question 3: How would you counsel someone who acknowledges he is a sinner but has difficulty accepting the gospel because he believes he deserves to suffer the punishment?

Answer 3: Illustration: A father has been rowing a boat for 24 hours to save his son from drowning in the sea. When he reached his son, his son said he was not deserving to be saved and would rather drown! It is not a matter of not deserving to be saved, for all sinners do not deserve to be saved.

When the gospel is shared with him, it is God offering His unconditional love. God’s love for him cost God the life, suffering and death of His only begotten Son Jesus Christ. The Son of God lovingly and willingly became the Son of Man to save him from sin, death and hell. The sinner’s reply that, “I would rather die and be punished for my sins” is evidence of the sin of pride. Basically, he is saying that he wants to go to hell to be punished forever for his sins against the all holy God. This sin of pride stems from a heart of self-righteousness and arrogance. It could also be ignorance because he might not know that the punishment does not end with physical death but a continuation of great torment and unimaginable pain in Hell and ultimately in the Lake of Fire!

The best way to reach out to him is to share with him God’s love. God, in His infinite grace and mercy took more than 4,000 years, when man fell into sin, to save him. God did not do it for His children, He did it for His enemies. All sinners are enemies of God because they sin against Him. The sinner must not reject His love; it will be a greater sin to reject such unconditional and sacrificial love.

Question 4: What is the appropriate reply to a non-believer who challenges me to reconcile what he believes to be copyist errors in the Bible?

Answer 4: Believers need to know that the natural man cannot understand spiritual things. Only believers possess the mind of Christ to understand the truths of God. A believer has the mind of Christ because he is a spiritual man who has the indwelling of the Holy Spirit in him. 1 Corinthians 2:10-16: “But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God. 11 For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God. 12 Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God. 13 Which things also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual. 14 But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. 15 But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man. 16 For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ.”

The doctrine of the perfect Bible is a spiritual issue and not an academic one, like evaluating Shakespeare's works, for example. One needs to be born again in Christ before he can learn all the truths of God. Share with him the gospel. Unbelievers cannot understand creationism, that God created the world from nothing! Believers should not try to win any debate on creationism at the expense of losing the opportunity to share the gospel. This is also true in the case of the perfect Bible. When an unbeliever’s eyes are opened, and he becomes a believer, the truth of the perfect Bible will be made known to him through the convicting power of the Holy Spirit indwelling him. Steer the conversation to focus on the gospel.