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A VERY SAD STATE
OF THE
BIBLE-PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH
IN SINGAPORE TODAY
A warning from
Pastor
I was raised a B-P Church member since
1960 when I first attended Galilee B-P Church in Pasir Panjang.
I got to know Rev Timothy Tow at a very young age. I remembered
Rev Tow visiting our family when we were living in No. 5 Pasir
Panjang Road.
In 1974 the Lord called me into the full-time
Christian ministry and I began my theological education in the
Far Eastern Bible College (FEBC). I graduated in 1977 and served
in Grace B-P Church. I have been in the B-P Church ever since.
I have seen the many good sides of the
B-P Church. I have been blessed by her strong doctrinal teachings.
FEBC was once a strong school of theology, producing many Bible
believing pastors and full-time workers for the church. I am thankful
to the Lord for FEBC and her fundamental teachings in those days.
The changes today in the B-P Church
Something has gone terribly wrong with the B-P denomination today.
Just about six years ago, a new teaching was introduced into FEBC
by some young lecturers. The Verbal Plenary Preservation (VPP)
teaches that God has preserved certain Greek and Hebrew manuscripts
which underline the King James Version (KJV). So these people
say that God has given the English speaking world only one Bible,
the KJV. To them, the KJV is the "inspired" Bible for
the English speaking church. All other versions namely NKJV, NASB,
NIV, ESV, etc, are corrupt versions. They will condemn anyone
or any church that uses a version other than the KJV. They have
even gone to the extreme to say that other Bible versions present
a different Jesus from the KJV.
I have never, in all my life, in the B-P Church seen such extreme
teaching which had led to church splits, name calling, and the
soon to be, public court battle between FEBC and Life B-P Church.
This VPP teaching has been a curse in
the B-P Church. Once upon a time, we were all united and growing
strong together as a denomination. Today it is a laughing stock
to the Christian community in Singapore.
This year especially is bad for the B-P
Church as news of both FEBC and Life B-P Church's public court
case have been announced in the papers. This is against God's
Word. See what the apostle Paul has to say about this matter in
1 Cor. 6: 1- 6
"Dare any of you, having a matter
against another, go to law before the unrighteous, and not before
the saints? Do you not know that the saints will judge the world?
And if the world will be judged by you, are you unworthy to judge
the smallest matters? Do you not know that we shall judge angels?
How much more, things that pertain to this life? If then you have
judgments concerning things pertaining to this life, do you appoint
those who are least esteemed by the church to judge? I say this
to your shame. Is it so, that there is not a wise man among you,
not even one, who will be able to judge between his brethren?
But brother goes to law against brother, and that before unbelievers!"
(NKJV)
How could believers who know God's Word
do such a thing?
The VPP teaching has not been a blessing
to the B-P denomination. Instead it has caused trouble and disunity.
For your information, a large majority
of B-P Pastors are not supporting this teaching. We strongly oppose
it. Very few B-P Pastors and B-P Churches are for this teaching.
They should rightly call themselves the VPP B-P Church and not
be confused with those of us who are the original B-P Church.
Churches which are for VPP:
" Calvary-Pandan BPC, Calvary Tengah BPC, Gethsemane BPC,
True Life BPC, Truth BPC, Berean BPC
B-P Churches that are not for VPP:
" Life BPC, Olivet BPC, Grace BPC, Shalom BPC, Nazareth BPC,
Galilee BPC, Maranatha BPC, Sharon BPC, Gospel Light BPC, Moriah
BPC, Emmanuel BPC, Herald BPC, Calvary-Jurong BPC, Eden BPC, Jireh
BPC, Macedonia BPC, Sembawang BPC, Zion BPC (Serangoon Gardens
and Bishan), Faith BPC, All the Tamil B-P Churches, All the Mountain
B-P Churches (i.e., Hebron, Herman, Mt. Carmel BPCs etc).
Be watchful
We live in the last days. The Bible warned of many false teachers
coming into the church who will deceive even the elect. And sad
to say, many will follow their pernicious way (2 Peter 2: 1-2).
The VPP Traits
We should know that these people are a very combative group.
One of the traits in this group of VPPers
is to fight anyone who disagrees with them. The recent and earlier
editions of "The Burning Bush", a publication of FEBC,
and the writings and the correspondences of some of these advocates
of VPPs resonate their argumentative attitude. "The Burning
Bush" is targetted to combat non-VPPs. It was once an edifying
magazine, but today, it is used to put down B-P pastors and elders
who are not supportive of their cause. There is nothing edifying
in this magazine which publishes only about VPP.
"The Burning Bush" has also
been blasting the newly setup "Asia Seminary for Ministry"
(ASM), in which Rev. Goh Seng Fong, Rev. Tan Choon Seng, Rev.
Yap Beng Shin, Dn. John Chin and myself are the founding members.
"ASM" has been accused of being neo-evangelical and
ecumenical.
The aggressive nature of their correspondences
in the many emails I have read is unbecoming of a Christian leader.
Split Churches
The issue of VPP creates a huge problem and results in split of
Churches. This is witnessed in the States as well as on our own
shores. Since the day VPP came to the B-P Church in Singapore,
we had seen with our own eyes the problems encountered by Life
B-P Church, Calvary-Jurong B-P Church and Calvary-Pandan B-P Church.
A Lack of Love
Another of their trait is the lack of love in dealing with fellow
B-P pastors and elders over this issue. To them, this matter of
VPP is life and death. If the B-P Pastor or Elder is not supporting
them, they are swiftly condemned as neo-evangelicals or neo-fundamentalists.
Their names are highlighted in their magazines and church weekly,
etc. There is no personal and friendly conversation over how to
solve this issue in a loving manner.
Name Calling
They are quick to call anyone who are not for their cause, neo-evangelicals,
neo-fundamentalists, ecumenical, etc. They have also labelled
fellow B-P pastors as liars. They have published openly the names
of Bible colleges, seminaries and gave them such names.
Claim to possess the truth
They claim to have the perfect Bible. They have the "inspired"
KJV with them. So long as other Christians do not use the KJV,
they do not have the truth. To these people, all other Bible versions
are corrupt and don't have the the Word of God. They are the only
ones who have it because they use the KJV. So they have the truth.
Is that so?
Martin Luther, the reformer, did not use
the KJV. Did he have the truth of God's Word? What about Christians
of other races, like the Indonesians, for example, whose Bibles
are in the Indonesian language, do they have the truth of God's
Word? What about Christian leaders like John MacArthur who uses
ESV or NASB? Is he teaching the truth from God's Word?
Do not fear at all, my brethren!
We have the truth of God's Word in other Bible versions and
diverse languages. God did not give us one Bible version only,
i.e., the KJV, even though we may love this version.
"In the first place, then, let it be said that we believers
in the plenary inspiration of the Bible do not hold that the
Authorized Version or any other form of the English Bible is
inspired. I beg your pardon for saying anything so obvious as
that, but, do you know, my friends, it is necessary to say it.
There are scarcely any limits to the ignorance which is attributed
to us today by people who have never given themselves the trouble
to discover what our view really is. Let it be said then very
plainly that we do not hold that the Authorized Version or any
other form of the English Bible is inspired. We are really quite
well aware of the fact that the Bible was written in Hebrew
and in Greek. The Authorized Version is a translation from the
Hebrew and the Greek. It is a marvelously good translation,
but it is not a perfect translation. There are errors in it.
The translators were not supernaturally preserved from making
mistakes. It is not inspired."
"Is the Bible the Word of God?"
(A quote by J. Gresham Machen taken "The Christian Faith
in the Modern World" 1936)
Claim to defend the truth?
VPPers like to see themselves as
defenders of the truth. It seems that they see themselves as the
only ones who have the perfect and "inspired" Bible
(the KJV) and they are defending this Bible version. Anyone who
speak against this version is immediately taken to task.
Conclusion
Has not the original B-P Church been defending the truth since
the days of Rev. Timothy Tow? We have been taught and we will
continue to teach our B-P Church members that God has given to
us the inspired, inerrant Word of God in the original autographs.
This is VPI (Verbal Plenary Inspiration). We have never heard
of VPP which is a new and strange teaching that has infiltrated
the B-P Church some years ago. We have defended the truth of God's
Word and we will continue to do so. We will defend our flock against
this teaching of VPP. That is what the original B-P Church is
doing today. So who is the original B-P Church? Are we not the
ones?
Rev Tan Eng Boo
Pastor, Grace B-P Church
January 2009
A previous article written by pastor:
THE PERFECT BIBLE OR
THE PERFECT VERSION?
(Shifting from the original B-P position)
The perfect Bible is acceptable in the
Christian Church. We must have a perfect Bible. Our Bible is the
infallible, inerrant Word of God. This is seen in the original
copies of the Old and New Testament, written in Hebrew (OT) and
Greek (NT) which is known as the Autographs. This has always been
the Bible-Presbyterian position since it's founding in 1950. The
founding father of the B-P Church, Rev Timothy Tow, has taught
us in the Far Eastern Bible College (FEBC) this wonderful truth.
"Men talk of "mistakes
of Scripture." I thank God that I have never met any. Mistakes
of translation there may be, for translators are men. But mistakes
of the original word there never can be, for the God who spoke
it is infallible, and so is every word he speaks, and in that
confidence we find delight"
C. H. Spurgeon
Only the original copies of the OT and
NT are the inspired Word of God. Throughout the centuries, God
has, in His infinite wisdom kept for us the Word of God. The preservation
of the Bible is an amazing truth. We have the Bible in our hands
today. Bible translators have done an amazing job in producing
for us the Word of God in its entirety. We have in our hands the
perfect Word of God. We believe we have the perfect Bible, but
not the perfect version!
A Perfect Version?
There seems to be a shift today in the B-P Church (certain B-P
Church) that says that the perfect Bible has reference to the
King James Version (KJV). Proponents of this view say that God
has preserved for the English-speaking world, a perfect Bible
in the KJV. Thus it is the perfect Bible to them. This version
is like the original autographs, because they say that the Greek
text, which was used for the English translation into KJV, is
the "inspired" one. They have even gone as far as to
say that every Bible translation must use the Greek text which
produced the KJV. So if any Bible today that does not use this
Greek text in the translations, these Bibles are considered corrupt
versions/Bibles and they speak of another Jesus.
A Strange Teaching
This is a strange teaching. For more than 50 years the B-P Church
has understood that the original Hebrew and Greek texts were the
inspired Word of God. FEBC championed this truth. The founding
father of the B-P Church taught his students this doctrine. Today
everything has changed and we are told that the autographs have
been preserved (in a photo-copied manner) for us in the Greek
text which underlines the KJV. Where did this strange idea come
from? Have the founding father and FEBC change their doctrine?
It looks like it.
A Plea from B-P Pastors
In October 2002, five B-P pastors: the late Rev (Dr) Burt Subramaniam,
Rev Anthony Tan, Rev Tan Choon Seng, Rev Yap Beng Shin and myself
met up with Rev Timothy Tow and Mrs Tow. Five of us pastors shared
with Rev Tow our concern that FEBC was heading towards an extreme
view (KJV-Only view). We asked him to stop certain people from
advocating this view, and we expressed our fear to him that the
B-P church is heading towards another split if nothing is being
done to nip this problem in the bud.
We were trained in FEBC. We have the highest respect for the principal,
Rev Tow. We love FEBC. It was the college that gave us the fundamentals
of the Christian faith. We do not wish to see the college take
an extreme view and we do not wish to see another split in the
B-P church.
We grew up with the Bible-Presbyterian Church. I was with Galilee
BPC since 1960. Having been in the Synod of the BPC we have seen
many problems and splits in our denomination and we do not wish
to see another one taking place over a strange and unbiblical
teaching.
We have done our part to express our feelings and to warn of an
impending split, which may occur if nothing is done by the founding
father of the B-P movement and the principal of FEBC over this
extreme belief. We are seeing the effect of this strange teaching
today.
God's Word with Us Today
Throughout the centuries, godly men have given the Christian church
the Bible in their own language (German, English etc). Even before
the KJV came into existence in 1611, there were many Bibles (translations)
done for the common people to read. Don't tell me those people
in the days of Luther and Tyndale never had the Bible until the
KJV was printed? It is absurd.
Today, many Bible translators are doing
their best to produce for the church a readable Bible in the language
of the common people. Many newer manuscripts have been discovered
since the days of Erasmus who used the Greek text which underlines
the KJV.
Language change! The KJV of 1611 can never be understood today
therefore the KJV went through several changes to update the language.
Its language is too difficult for the common people to appreciate
and understand even in today's context. I have a problem understanding
it too. I have used the KJV all my Christian life.
The literal, word for word translation of the KJV also has its
setback. The meaning cannot be easily understood (see Ruth 2:
3; 3: 16). It becomes a burden to read the Bible instead. I am
not suggesting that we replace the KJV for the B-P church or for
our own church. There are many good Bible versions/translations
other than the KJV only. It is not wrong for any Christian to
consult these versions to get a clear translation or meaning.
Reading the Bible must be a joy, not a burden.
There are many good Bible versions today, like the New King James
Version (NKJV), New American Standard Bible (NASB), English Standard
Version (ESV) etc. Why deprive God's people from reading the Bible
if they don't like the KJV or if they do not understand it?
The Roman Catholic Church (RCC) in the days of the dark ages refused
to let their church members read the Bible in other languages
except in the Latin (Vulgate Bible). This is similar with what
is happening in Christendom today with KJV-Only proponents.
Do not Judge Others
KJV-Only proponents tend to be judgmental of others who do not
use the KJV only. One of their methods is name-calling (neo-fundamental,
neo-evangelical, liars etc.). They think they are the only ones
with the truth (KJV Bible only). They can be merciless when it
comes to dealing with those who do not take their view. Their
obsession with the KJV Only will drive them to talk and write
about this subject all year round. It seems that the KJV is to
be defended even with their life.
This is strange that one should give his/her whole heart to a
version. My greatest fear for such people is that they will become
a KJV-Only cult.
The In-Fighting Must Stop
The B-P church can't go on like this. The in-fighting must stop.
As it is, we have already split so many times from within. Now
comes this strange idea. When will we ever be united again? When
will we come together as we were in the heydays of the 70s, when
the B-P Church was the fastest growing denomination in Singapore.
The name-calling must stop. The judgmental attitude must give
way to brotherly love. John 13:34-35 "A new commandment I
give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you,
that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that
ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another."
Heaven is not compartmentalized. There is no section for the KJV-Only
people or the B-Ps only. You will find a Baptist there, and a
Christian who uses a NKJV or a NASB etc.
"And be at peace
among yourselves" (I Thess. 5: 13)
Rev Tan Eng Boo
(June 2005)
We are for
VPI not VPP!
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