Rev (Dr) Quek Suan Yew

Questions from Church Camp 2018

1. If the Egyptians smeared blood on the door posts like the Israelites during the first Passover, would the first born of the Egyptians be saved? Can this be compared with the Gentiles who put their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ like Rahab and can this be applied to the non-Jews today?

Answer:-The Passover was not meant to be a punishment but to bring about salvation to all. All who believed in the blood of the lamb would be saved. If any Israelite home did not believe in this and did not kill the Passover lamb and smear its blood over the door posts, then the firstborn in that home would die. Likewise, if the Egyptian home believed and did exactly what the LORD instructed the Israelites to do, their firstborn would also be spared. This is the lesson for all of us. The text that teaches this truth is Exodus 12:11-14 “And thus shall ye eat it; with your loins girded, your shoes on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and ye shall eat it in haste: it is the LORD'S passover. 12 For I will pass through the land of Egypt this night, and will smite all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment: I am the LORD. 13 And the blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses where ye are: and when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you, when I smite the land of Egypt. 14 And this day shall be unto you for a memorial; and ye shall keep it a feast to the LORD throughout your generations; ye shall keep it a feast by an ordinance for ever.”

The answer to the second question is “yes”. That was what John the Baptist meant when he declared in John 1:29-36 “The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world. 30 This is he of whom I said, After me cometh a man which is preferred before me: for he was before me. 31 And I knew him not: but that he should be made manifest to Israel, therefore am I come baptizing with water. 32 And John bare record, saying, I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it abode upon him. 33 And I knew him not: but he that sent me to baptize with water, the same said unto me, Upon whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending, and remaining on him, the same is he which baptizeth with the Holy Ghost. 34 And I saw, and bare record that this is the Son of God. 35 Again the next day after John stood, and two of his disciples; 36 And looking upon Jesus as he walked, he saith, Behold the Lamb of God!”

2. In Micah 5:5, you interpreted “seven shepherds and eight principal men” in a non-literal sense. Can you give some instances when we do not use the literal grammatical method of interpretation?

Answer:-The literal interpretation of the Bible, also known as the historical-grammatical method of interpretation, does not exclude the use of figures of speech. When the phrase of Micah 5:5 was interpreted figuratively, it was interpreted literally. The literal method of interpreting the Bible is to be used from cover to cover, i.e. from Genesis to Revelation. But we need to apply the literal method correctly to the different genres found in the Bible like narratives, prophecies, Hebrew poetry, epistolary and of course eschatology (the study of last things). They are to be interpreted literally but also according to their respective genres in order to have the correct understanding of the whole Bible. For example, in Hebrew poetry (which is different from English poetry), we need to look for parallelism. There are basically four major types of parallelism – synonymous, synthetic, emblematic and antithetical parallelisms. They are all commonly used in Hebrew poetry. To interpret the epistles, we look for main and subordinate clauses in order to have a correct division and understanding of the Bible.

3. Regarding the doctrine of biblical separation (2Cor 6:14-18): This doctrine is applied usually to the following:-i) marriage with unbelievers; ii) engagements with unsound churches. Does this extend also to the immediate family where we should not engage in spiritual activities like prayer, family devotions with unbelieving family members or family members from Charismatic churches? If not where do we draw the line when the doctrine of biblical separation is applied in a family context?

Answer:-The doctrine of biblical separation has two aspects. The more commonly understood one is to be separate from unbelievers taught in 2Corinthians 6:14-18. The less understood is the separation from errant “believers.” As long as the person calls himself a believer (it does not matter whether he is truly one or not), Christian principles will be used to evaluate his life (cf. Rom 16:17-20; 1Cor 5:9-13; 2Thess 3:6). The reason is that the Name of Christ is shamed by this errant “believer”. He calls himself a Christian and when he sins his transgression is more serious than that of the unbeliever who will not shame the Name of Christ.

The principle of applying the doctrine of biblical separation is the same. It is to keep ourselves away from sin and sinners in order not to bring shame to the Name of Christ and not to fall into sin ourselves. 2Cor 6:14-18 is often applied to marriage and business partnerships as these will impact and affect the Christian’s witness for Christ and as unbelievers do not have the same perspectives in marriage and running the business. The Christian wants to apply biblical principles whereas the unbeliever does not and cannot. Furthermore, to marry an unbeliever and have partnership with an unbeliever means that the believer is giving the message that he and the unbeliever are one and the same. They are not. The believer is a child of God whereas the unbeliever is a child of the devil. This as what Jesus said to the unbelieving Jews in John 8:42-45 “Jesus said unto them, If God were your Father, ye would love me: for I proceeded forth and came from God; neither came I of myself, but he sent me. 43 Why do ye not understand my speech? even because ye cannot hear my word. 44 Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it. 45 And because I tell you the truth, ye believe me not.”

It is not possible to pray with a member of your family who is not a Christian and does not believe in the one true living God. Prayer is not for man to hear but for God to hear and answer. If the Christian prays with this family member he is giving the message that there is no difference between his God and other gods. How can God answer such a prayer? God said in Psalm 66:18 “If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me.”

We need to protect God’s people in the church from evil and erroneous teachings. Therefore biblical separation is applied. This application is based upon the latter understanding of biblical separation where Christian principles will be used to evaluate that church. This is also applied to individual professing believers. In the case of praying with a “believer” from a Charismatic church, if you pray with them you are giving the message that the Charismatics’ beliefs and teachings are biblically sound which they are definitely not. They are part of the ecumenical movement which will ultimately result in the end time one world church of the Antichrist. To pray with them is to say that your beliefs and what they believe in are the same. Their tongues-speaking is gibberish and a deception of man or the devil. Their visions and dreams add to the Holy Bible which God already warned that no one is permitted to do. Whoever does so will face the sure condemnation and judgment of God as taught in Revelation 22:18-19 “For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book: 19 And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.” The “gospel” of the Charismatics is health and wealth which is not the gospel of Jesus Christ according to the Scriptures. Those who preach their gospel will receive an anathema from God. (cf. Gal 1:6-9). A Christian who prays with them is not only in danger of condoning their transgressions but is also a partaker of their transgression. 2 John 10-11 “If there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into your house, neither bid him God speed: 11 For he that biddeth him God speed is partaker of his evil deeds.”

4. In Micah 6:6-8, how do we know that the people of Israel were being sarcastic? The plain reading, to me, seems to suggest that Micah was asking a series of rhetorical questions to show the insufficiency of even the most extravagant offerings. Please explain.

Answer:-Micah 6:6-8 “Wherewith shall I come before the LORD, and bow myself before the high God? shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves of a year old? 7 Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams, or with ten thousands of rivers of oil? shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul? 8 He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?” As mentioned in the previous messages, Micah ministered during the period when the Assyrians were about to destroy Israel. He had already preached to them two messages during the early part of his ministry. Chapters 6 and 7 relate the LORD’s final message to them. The LORD asked Israel to show cause, like in a court room scene, if He has failed them in any manner since the day He brought them out of Egypt hundreds of years ago. The LORD was faithful in keeping all His promises to Israel and had never failed Israel at any time. There was no cause for Israel to turn to idols for such a long time and for so many generations. The worship of idols in the face of all that God had done for Israel was a heinous and the most ungrateful rebellious transgression that Israel could ever commit. Verse 6 was the reply of the people of Israel, NOT Micah. Verse 8 is Micah’s reply to them.

Verses 6 and 7 demonstrate Israel’s sarcasm as seen from the context and the contents of what they said. To ask whether they should bow down before God with burnt offerings of one year old calves, thousands of rams and ten thousands of rivers of oil, and finally human sacrifices, shows the impossibility of their sacrifice! It progresses from simple worship to human sacrifice. This is what idol worshippers do. They reveal again that they think that God is no better than an idol by these rhetorical and sarcastic questions! It is impossible for anyone to offer ten thousands of rivers of oil! That is why Micah simply answered by God's inspiration that what pleases God is to live as true believers of Christ (cf. verse 8).

5. A stand alone Chinese B-P church of 100 members only has the same elder for years. Is this right? Is this safe?

Answer:-It is not possible to answer this question without more information given. However, some possible scenarios with certain assumptions might allow for possible biblical answers: If the elder is godly and the congregation is spiritual through his faithful ministry, then there is no problem with him being the only elder and with good deacons assisting him. Of course it is better if there is a faithful pastor to shepherd the flock. But we also know that good faithful pastors are very difficult to find in these last days. Therefore it is better to just have one faithful elder than to have a bad and unfaithful pastor with that elder. On the other hand, if this elder continues to serve alone and the deacons who assist him are derelict in their responsibilities in caring for the flock, then it could be a problem. Or the elder could become a dictator without a group of leaders like the Board of Elders or session to hold him accountable for the decisions he makes. Believers need to have accountability on earth as they serve.

[To be continued with more questions]