Dearly beloved,
Thank the Lord for the 60th Anniversary Celebration of the B-P Movement at Calvary Pandan BP Church on the 24th of October 2010. The gathering of many like-minded brethren of various BP churches once again heard the clarion call to earnestly contend for the faith. This clarion call could not have been more urgent than in these times for the upholding of the doctrine of the divine, verbal and plenary inspiration and preservation of the Holy Scriptures in the original languages. Once again, we are reminded that preservation is the process by which God has supernaturally kept His word that we may have it in our hands today. It is God and Him alone who has faithfully guided His own word through every age and generation that we may say we are reading are the very words of the living and true God. The autographs or the original writings of the prophets and apostles were divinely inspired but none of them have survived to this day. And if that is the case how can we be sure and confident that the Bible that we have in our hands is the very word of God? If the internal evidence can prove that Scriptures are divinely inspired and the proof text in 2 Timothy 3:16 and 17, ‘All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.’ Internal evidence will also point to divine preservation to be true. God’s Word is preserved by His promises and by which He affirms His own intention to preserve His inspired word throughout all generations.
Old Testament Promises of Preservation
1. Psalms 12:6-7, ‘The words of the LORD are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times. Thou shalt keep them, O LORD, thou shalt preserve them from this generation for ever.’
2. Isaiah 40:8, ‘The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever.’
3. Psalms 119:89, ‘For ever, O LORD, thy word is settled in heaven.’
New Testament Promises of Preservation
1. Matthew 5:18, ‘For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.’
2. Matthew 24:35, ‘… Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.’
3. 1 Peter 1:25, ‘But the word of the Lord endureth for ever. And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you.’
There are many more verses but the above six verses from the Old and New Testaments will do with regard to what He says about preserving His Word. And how many times does God has to mention anything before we can believe what He says; just once because God is faithful and true and God cannot lie. God’s Word has not only been preserved by His promises but by His power and His providence. Therefore, we can read the Bible with confidence that there are no mistakes and to depend on it with assurance. God has never ever re-inspired the Bible as some would think that He did in 1611. He has never re-inspired but He has preserved His word in its infallible and inerrant form to this very day.
Pastor Douglas Ho
Trust in God!
The only survivor of a shipwreck was washed up on a small, uninhabited island. He prayed feverishly for God to rescue him, and every day he scanned the horizon for help, but none seemed forthcoming. Exhausted, he eventually managed to build a little hut out of driftwood to protect him from the elements, and to store his few possessions.
But then one day, after scavenging for food, he arrived home to find his little hut in flames, the smoke rolling up to the sky. The worst had happened; everything was lost. He was stunned with grief and anger. “God how could you do this to me ! ” he cried.
Early the next day, however, he was awakened by the sound of a ship that was approaching the island. It had come to rescue him. “How did you know I was here?” asked the weary man of his rescuers. “We saw your smoke signal” they replied.
It is easy to get discouraged when things are going bad. But we should not lose heart, because God is at work in our lives, even in the midst of pain and suffering. Remember, next time your little hut is burning to the ground it just may be a smoke signal that summons the grace of God. For all the negative things we have to say to ourselves, God has a positive answer for it.