Keep Watching

REFLECTIONS FROM THE CHURCH FATHERS

Christ the Mountain. AUGUSTINE: The central place they are all coming to is Christ; he is at the center, because he is equally related to all; anything placed in the center is common to all.… Approach the mountain, climb up the mountain, and you that climb it, do not go down it. There you will be safe, there you will be protected; Christ is your mountain of refuge. And where is Christ? At the right hand of the Father, since he has ascended into heaven. Sermon 62A.3.

Forgiveness Begins in Jerusalem. BEDE: It was opportune that the preaching of repentance and the forgiveness of sins through confession of Christ’s name should have started from Jerusalem. Where the splendor of his teaching and virtues, where the triumph of his passion, where the joy of his resurrection and ascension were accomplished, there the first root of faith in him would be brought forth; [there] the first shoot of the burgeoning church, like that of some kind of great vine, would be planted.… It was opportune that the preaching of repentance and the forgiveness of sins, good news to be proclaimed to idolatrous nations and those defiled by various evil deeds, should take its start from Jerusalem, lest any of those defiled, thoroughly terrified by the magnitude of their offenses, should doubt the possibility of obtaining pardon if they performed fruits worthy of repentance, when it was a fact that pardon had been granted to those at Jerusalem who had blasphemed and crucified the Son of God. Homilies on the Gospels 2.15.

Peace Through Christ. ANTHANSIUS: Who is the one who has done this, or who is the one who has joined together in peace people who once hated one another, except for the beloved Son of the Father, the Savior of all, even Jesus Christ, who because of his own love suffered all things for our salvation? For from ages past the peace he would initiate was promised. On The Incarnation 52.1.

Walk in the Light. JEROME: For all who do evil hate the light and fail to come to the light lest their works be proven. But you, the house of Jacob, the house of my people, come with me and let us walk together in the light of the Lord. Let us accept the gospel of Christ and be illuminated by him who said, “I am the light of the world.” Commentary on Isaiah 1.2.5–6.

Thomas C. Oden and Cindy Crosby, eds., Ancient Christian Devotional: A Year of Weekly Readings: Lectionary Cycle A (Downers Grove, IL: IVP Books, 2007), 11–12.

Melted down in mutual forgiveness and reconciliation

Insofar as the writer is concerned, he and senior colleagues of the B-P Church had gone through the mighty revival meetings led by Dr. John Sung in Singapore 1935. The working of the Holy Spirit was so manifest that hundreds came to the Lord, confessing their sins in tears of repentance and restitution. Drunkards and opium smokers, cigarette chain-smokers, were delivered snap from their iron-clad shackles. Feuding elders and deacons were melted down in mutual forgiveness and reconciliation. The Church Hall at Telok Ayer Street, where John Sung preached, suddenly became a powerhouse of prayer and praise, of hearty singing and joyful release...

Timothy Tow, BP Faith, n.d. 81

Reconciliation

Seek reconciliation at once. Remember love will not prevent misunderstandings or quarrels. Because we are human, seldom is husband or wife completely right or completely wrong. Any misunderstandings or quarrels should be settled immediately, on the same day they occur before going to bed at night. “...let not the sun go down upon your wrath” (Ephesians 4:26). Be humble enough to say, “I was wrong” followed closely by “I am sorry.” James says, “Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another” (James 5:16). A successful marriage requires two sincere forgivers who can accept and forgive as God accepts and forgives us.

Timothy Tow, Counseling Recipe, n.d. 67

FEBC, TLBPC, LBPC, these are all BPC in Singapore, but they cannot reconcile and forgive one another, they are not loving one another, how come? Aren't they reformed?

Visions, Revelations, and Questions

September 25: Visions, Revelations, and Questions

Zechariah 6:1–7:14; Acts 22:22–23:22; Job 29:13–25

The prophets of old had visions and dreamed dreams. They experienced apocalyptic nightmares and witnessed breathtaking scenes of beauty. Perhaps most fascinating, though, is how they reacted. Zechariah provides us with an example of both the revelation and the proper response.

“I looked up again, and I saw, and look!—four chariots coming out from between two mountains, and the mountains were mountains of bronze.… And I answered and said to the angel that was talking to me, ‘What are these, my lord?’ And the angel answered and said to me, ‘These are the four winds of the heavens going out after presenting themselves before the Lord of all the earth’ ” (Zech 6:1–5).

Zechariah could not have understood what he was seeing, but he paid attention, and he asked questions. Although we may not experience visions as confounding as Zechariah’s, we certainly have the opportunity to be perplexed by God. Our response should be modeled after Zechariah’s: Ask questions and then act. Zechariah’s life was marked by asking and responding, and it made a difference for his generation. People came to God because Zechariah was willing to be God’s instrument.

How many people experience incredible revelations from God and then fail to respond? How many people come near enough to glimpse God’s plan but never pay close enough attention to receive it from Him? How much are we losing as individuals, and as people, because we don’t care enough to ask God for the answers?

What confusion or uncertainty can you overcome by asking questions?

JOHN D. BARRY

John D. Barry and Rebecca Kruyswijk, Connect the Testaments: A One-Year Daily Devotional with Bible Reading Plan (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2012).

Spiritual Authority

• “To offend God’s authority is a rebellion far more serious than that of offending God’s holiness.” - Watchman Nee, Spiritual Authority

Be open minded

1. Don't become too harsh to those who are speaking in an unknown tongue.

2. Be open-minded in wine drinking.

3. Use a drum to celebrate your reunion.

4. Reconcile to one another as soon as possible, do not drag your feet.

5. I will come very soon to talk to you face to face.

words to FEBC TLBPC and LIFE BPC

Charles and Jeffrey, True Life BPC and Life BPC. Both of you are a twins brothers, but you are quarreling all the time.

And both of you are claiming you are Reformed pastors, you hate sin, that is good, but i find that you do not have love. Both of you are nothing in the sight of God. Your knowledge puffs up in pride. Return to your first love toward one another in Christ, especially those who are in Christ, take care of the poor and widow among you, then you will be called great in heaven, if not i will come to the church to rebuke you when you are standing and preaching at the pulpit. Do not think i am very far away from you, i am watching you by day and by night.

In Christ 

Drum

Whereas we use the organ or piano to enhance our singing, they use every instrument that Israel as a nation uses. They have their drums and cymbals. As to the guitar, we do not object as long as it is played with the right beat with solemnity.

Timothy Tow, Psalm, n.d.

 (√ of following; cf. 𝔗 תֻּפָּא Ex 15:20 timbrel, Arabic دُفٌّ (duffun) drum).

Francis Brown, Samuel Rolles Driver, and Charles Augustus Briggs, Enhanced Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew and English Lexicon (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1977), 1074.

Human interpretation

While the Bible is infallible, human interpretations are not. Even though God’s word is perfect (Ps. 19:7), as long as imperfect human beings exist, there will be misinterpretations of God’s Word and false views about his world. In view of this, one should not be hasty in assuming that a currently dominant assumption in science is the final word. Some of yesterday’s irrefutable laws are considered errors by today’s scientists. So, contradictions between popular opinions in science and widely accepted interpretations of the Bible can be expected. But this falls short of proving there is a real contradiction.

Baker Encyclodedia of Christian Apologetics

1 Co 14:2

For he that speaketh in a tongue speaketh not unto men, but unto God; for no man understandeth; but in the spirit he speaketh mysteries.

1 Co 14:2.

1 Co 14:14.

For if I pray in an unknown tongue, my spirit prayeth, but my understanding is unfruitful. 

1 Co 14:14.

Whereas speaking with tongues is of profit only for the one who speaks (→ I, 722, 15 f.), the prophet edifies the whole community. The prophet’s message is for all the members, while the man who speaks with tongues speaks to God and does not profit the whole body, 1 C. 14:2 f. It is true that human volition is not ruled out in the case of the man who speaks with tongues. When Paul himself does this, he is master of his actions, 1 C. 14:19. The man who speaks with tongues does not have to speak if he does not want, so that the number of those who speak with tongues at divine service may be fixed, 1 C. 14:27. But the understanding has no part (1 C. 14:14), and to those outside the man who speaks with tongues seems like a maniac, 1 C. 14:23 → IV, 959, 7 ff. Prophecy, on the other hand, is intelligible speech. The spiritual experience is worked out and presented by the prophet in intelligible form, so that what is said may be understood by all, including outsiders as well as members, 1 C. 14:24 f. → V, 141, 21 ff.

Gerhard Friedrich, “Προφήτης, Προφῆτις, Προφητεύω, Προφητεία, Προφητικός, Ψευδοπροφήτης,” ed. Gerhard Kittel, Geoffrey W. Bromiley, and Gerhard Friedrich, Theological Dictionary of the New Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1964–), 852.

Two instances of tongues-speaking as different in character.

Another difference between Acts and Corinthians is the relationship between tongues and unbelievers. The tongues of Acts 2 are an evangelistic tool that opens the door for unbelievers to come to Christ. However, in 1 Corinthians 14 Paul discourages the use of tongues in worship because of the potentially negative impact they might have on an unbeliever in their assembly (14:23). This contrast between Acts 2 and 1 Corinthians 14 pushes us toward seeing the two instances of tongues-speaking as different in character.

Finally, the tongues of 1 Corinthians 14 are clearly ecstatic rather than a matter of thought, meaning that the tongues speaker at Corinth did not use his or her mind when speaking in them (14:14). They seemed to be having religious experiences in which they uttered unrecognizable sounds that they perhaps interpreted to be the “tongues of angels” (13:1). These were non-rational experiences that by-passed their minds and their thinking. A non-believer might have compared them to the frenzies of the Dionysian festivals or the mysteries of Eleusis, a town about fourteen miles northeast of Corinth. The word the NIV translates as “out of your mind” in 14:23 (mainomai) may refer to these kinds of religious experiences.

Tongues is apparently a phenomenon that has occurred in many different religions in the history of the world. You could argue that the non-Christian incidences are counterfeit experiences. But a more likely suggestion is that certain human brains are “wired” in this way while others are not. This possibility leads us to wonder whether at times some spiritual gifts are instances of God magnifying aspects of who we are naturally rather than God gifting us completely “from scratch.” Is the gift of faith God magnifying some aspect of us that was already there before we came to Christ? Is the gift of leadership the magnification of certain gifts that we had even before God sanctified them as His own?

Kenneth Schenck, 1 & 2 Corinthians: A Commentary for Bible Students (Indianapolis, IN: Wesleyan Publishing House, 2006), 191–192.