TO LIVE IS CHRIST, TO DIE IS GAIN

Philippians 1:21 is the verse that comes to mind when I remember our pastor Dr Tow Siang Hwa. One of his messages from this verse impacted me the most regarding life and death. Life in terms of how we ought to spend it on earth as we must spend it living for Christ. Death in terms of gain when we are home in heaven with God, our heavenly Father, with very few regrets because we have lived for Christ during our sojourn on earth.

As I recall the life of Dr Tow, and there were many moments for reflection as I sat next to his bed for many months, I remember the first time I saw him from afar as he preached at the Sunset Gospel Hour (SGH), an evening service at Calvary Pandan B-P Church which Dr Tow started and considered as one of his personal and most effective ministries. He knew that the SGH ministry was the window to sinners in need of Christ, including many ignorant believers who were snared by the deception of the end-time one-world church of the Antichrist. The SGH was “the Outreach” to help them see the truth and be delivered from the lies and errors of Charismatism, Neo-evangelicalism and Roman Catholicism through the truth of God’s holy and Perfect Word. The first time these truths were revealed to me was shocking and at the same time extremely inspiring as the scales were removed from my eyes by the Spirit of God. Indeed the truth set free the errors from within the heart. There is a deep sense of gratitude in my heart to the LORD for all that He has done in my life through Dr Tow.

The battle for the Faith rages on today even as one more of God’s stalwarts of the Faith has been called home to glory. How has Dr Tow’s life impacted you, dear reader? This is my brief testimony to God’s glory of my pastor, Dr Tow.

As a soldier – He was courageous from the first time I met him to the end of his ministry and life. The first battle I witnessed was through the SGH when I first heard about Dr Billy Graham and his many compromises. Billy Graham was a well-known evangelist and liked by many, but he was a compromiser through and through with Scriptural supported evidence to prove it. This strong open stand against such a well liked personality garnered many enemies. There were many more battles thereafter that I witnessed when we served the Lord together. The last battle was for the perfect Bible. When the perfect Bible was attacked from within by our own B-P leaders and pastors, it was a battle that went all the way to the highest court in Singapore. Thank God for Dr Tow who was one of our key witnesses and he stood for Christ by the grace of God even when he was interrogated by the opposing counsel in front of the High Court judge. He published many books, articles and pastoral pages to warn and encourage his God-given congregations as well as to educate them on the truth and deceptions of the last days.

As a servant of Christ – He was diligent and a perfectionist. He would work on his writings through many drafts until every word was accurately chosen to convey exactly what was in his heart and mind. He did so in his training to be one of the top gynaecologists of his time and he continued with this diligence in his ministry as he defended the Word of God through his writings. He woke up early every morning to spend time with his Master the Lord Jesus Christ. He read and studied hard to understand the Scriptures in order to minister accurately and not fail his Master. This requires faithfulness and much labour.

As a pastor – He took up the mantle to become a pastor when the Lord called him. He studied the Word of God to the best of his ability to feed God's flock even though he had no theological training because in the early days of Singapore’s independence the church scene was lacking in men with any theological training. Through his obedience, many of us have been blessed with the truth of God and some have even come to know Christ as their personal Lord and Saviour.

Dr Tow was compassionate and sacrificial. He appeared stern and austere, and in many ways he was, especially toward those who worked with him and for him. But to God’s people he could be very gentle and soft, so much so that there were times he even put himself into debt to help others out of their debts. It was like taking over their debts so that they could be freed. He would also visit God’s people in hospitals and homes.

Conclusion – The Lord used Dr Tow to found many churches and outreaches for Christ. May we honour his memory and our Lord Jesus Christ whom he loved dearly by remaining faithful to fight the good fight of faith, and to earnestly contend for the Faith once delivered unto the saints. Let us encourage one another in the Lord through prayer, and follow Dr Tow even as he followed the Lord. Amen.