Pastoral
Letter 27 Oct 2019
My dear readers,
Questions Posed at CPBPC’s Annual Church Camp
(10-15 June 2019) – Part 18
Question:
Can patients with Dissociative Identity Disorder (a medical condition where
a person has multiple distinct personalities) be a Christian? What if one
personality believes but another does not?
Reply:
“Dissociative identity disorder (DID),
previously known as multiple personality disorder (MPD),
is a mental
illness
characterized by at least two distinct and relatively enduring
personality states
. This is accompanied by
memory gaps
beyond what would be explained by ordinary forgetfulness. The personalities
alternately show in a person's behavior; presentations, however, are
variable. Other problems which often occur in people with DID include
borderline personality disorder
(BPD), posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, substance use
disorders, self-harm, or anxiety.
“Some professionals believe the cause to be childhood trauma. In about 90%
of cases, there is a history of abuse in childhood, while other cases are
linked to experiences of war or health problems during childhood. Genetic
factors are also believed to play a role. An alternative hypothesis is that
it is a by-product of techniques employed by some therapists, especially
those using hypnosis. The diagnosis should not be made if the person's
condition is better accounted for by substance abuse, seizures, play in
children, religious practices, or other mental health problems.
“Treatment generally involves supportive care and counselling. The
condition usually persists without treatment. It is believed to affect
about 1.5% of the general population (based on a small US community
sample), and 3% of those admitted to hospitals with mental health problems
in Europe and North America. DID is diagnosed about six times more often in
females than males. The number of cases increased significantly in the
latter half of the 20th century, along with the number of
identities claimed by those affected.
“DID is controversial within both psychiatry and the legal system. In court
cases, it has been used as a rarely successful form of the insanity
defense. It is unclear whether increased rates of the disorder are due to
better recognition or to sociocultural factors such as media portrayals. A
large proportion of diagnoses are associated with a small number of
clinicians, which is consistent with the hypothesis that DID may be
therapist-induced. The typical presenting symptoms in different regions of
the world may also vary depending on how the disorder is depicted by the
media.” [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dissociativeidentity_disorder]
Perhaps a better question ought to be: Can a patient with a Dissociative
Identity Disorder (DID) be saved by God? Salvation is of the Lord. He can
save anyone. The power to save belongs to Him. When an adult believer
confesses his sin and accepts Christ as his Lord and Saviour, the Bible
reveals that Jesus Christ will baptize him with the Holy Spirit. All his
sins would be washed by the blood of Christ. At the same time, he would be
imputed with the righteousness of the law and he becomes a child of God.
In the case of the salvation of a child who dies before the age of
accountability, the child cannot confess Christ as his Lord and Saviour.
How is a child saved? We know from the Bible that a child can be saved
because King David said that upon his death he would “go to the child”. We know that King David was definitely born
again in Christ. 2 Samuel 12:19-23:
“But when David saw that his servants whispered, David perceived that
the child was dead: therefore David said unto his servants, Is the
child dead? And they said, He is dead. Then David arose from the earth,
and washed, and anointed himself, and changed his apparel, and came
into the house of the LORD, and worshipped: then he came to his own
house; and when he required, they set bread before him, and he did eat.
Then said his servants unto him, What thing is this that thou hast
done? thou didst fast and weep for the child, while it was alive; but
when the child was dead, thou didst rise and eat bread. And he said,
While the child was yet alive, I fasted and wept: for I said, Who can
tell whether GOD will be gracious to me, that the child may live? But
now he is dead, wherefore should I fast? can I bring him back again? I
shall go to him, but he shall not return to me.”
Christ saves a child the same way He saves an adult believer. All babies
are born with a sinful nature, i.e. they are born sinners, inherited from
the first Adam. Romans 5:12: “
Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin;
and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned.”
If a baby dies and at the point when Christ saves him, Christ will impute
the righteousness of the law onto the child. His sins would be washed by
the blood of Christ like an adult believer. The baby will also be given the
Holy Spirit to indwell him and experience the fullness of salvation. Of
course, the baby will not spend eternity as a baby just like an old man of
100 will not spend eternity looking like an aged 100-year-old man. The
spirit of the baby and of the 100-year-old man is the same. Spirit has no
age. Thus, when we apply the salvation of babies who die before the age of
accountability to those who have conditions like DID, then the latter will
also be saved the same way. They are not responsible for their actions like
children before the age of accountability.
Question:
There are five crowns mentioned in Scripture. Are these crowns with
reference to spiritual blessings or physical crowns?
Reply:
1Thessalonians 2:19:
“For what is our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing? Are
not even ye in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at his
coming?”
2 Timothy 4:8:
“Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous
judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all
them also that love his appearing.”
James 1:12:
“Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried,
he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath
promised to them that love him.”
1 Peter 5:4:
“And when the chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away.”
1 Corinthians 9:24-25:
“Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one
receiveth the prize? So run, that ye may obtain. And every man that
striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things. Now they do it
to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible.”
[Emphases added]
The word “crown” in all five occurrences is the word
“Stephen.” It refers to a crown given at the end of a competition. This
is not the same as the diadem of a king born to royalty. The crowns in
the verses above are given to born again believers in Christ at the end
of their lives of service on earth. As the names of these five crowns
that imply rejoicing, righteousness, life, glory and incorruption are
not descriptions of anything tangible, these crowns are not meant to be
understood as literal but figurative, in my opinion. These promised
crowns mean that believers who
receive them are royalty, which is what Peter revealed that all
believers are right now. 1 Peter 2:9:
“But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy
nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of
him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light.”
[Emphasis added] These crowns will be given, by God’s grace, to all who
are truly born again in Christ.
Question:
What do the four horses in Zechariah 6 represent?
Reply:
The eighth vision describes four charioteers who would head out in all
directions to patrol the earth. The two “brass mountains”
symbolize the heavenly throne. Out of them would come four horses: 1 st – red horse; 2nd – black horse; 3rd
– white horse; and 4th – grisled and bay horse. These horses
represent the four spirits of the heavens which “go forth from standing before the Lord of all the earth” (cf.
6:5). Both the black and white horses went toward the north country
where the people of God were located namely Babylon. The grisled and
bay horse went toward the south country. The red horse is not mentioned
after that introduction. It appears that the 1st and the 8 th visions are bookends based upon the content of their
vision. Both of them have horses. The red horse of the 1st
and the 8th seems to be related. What it did in 1:7-11 seems
to be the same for the other three horses here. Their role was to check
the spiritual condition of the people of God and evaluate their
spiritual condition. The 8th vision concludes with good
results as the LORD was pleased with what He saw. Zechariah 6:7-8:
“And the bay went
forth, and sought to go that they might walk to and fro through the
earth: and he said, Get you hence, walk to and fro through the
earth. So they walked to and fro through the earth. Then cried he
upon me, and spake unto me, saying,
Behold, these that go toward the north country have quieted my
spirit in the north country
.”
[Emphasis added]
Question:
Calvary Pandan is so big now. Do you think we should decentralize into
branch churches, such as in Punggol, for new couples? Isn't
decentralization the B-P way to church growth? Are we becoming a
megachurch?
Reply:
Calvary Pandan is far from becoming a mega church. The word “mega”
means “great.” By today’s standards, a mega church has to number into
the tens of thousands, at least. Pandan is not even close. It is true
that the B-P church has grown by decentralization. But a church ought
not to decentralize for the sake of decentralization. Look at the
present state of B-P churches. Most of them believe the Bible has
mistakes. These churches have become neo-evangelical in their beliefs
and practices and have fallen by the way side. It is important that
good men, who are theologically trained and are called, are prepared by
the Lord before such a step can be contemplated. To start a ministry or
a church is easy, but to sustain it for many years is very difficult.
Much prayer and seeking of God’s will are required before such a step
can even be considered.
If it is God's will and the Lord tarries, decentralization is a good
biblical principle to observe.
Reply:
The Stephanus edition was one of the Greek manuscripts that the KJV
translators used as they studied all the Greek texts available to
identify the inspired words of the Greek New Testament for us. It can
also be said to be the primary text that they used. “Robert Estienne
(known as Stephanus) (1503-1559) edited and printed four editions from
1546 to 1551. His third edition of 1550 was the first to have a
critical apparatus, with references to the Complutensian Polyglot and
fifteen additional Greek manuscripts. The fourth edition of 1551 had
the same Greek text as the third, but was especially noteworthy for its
division of the NT books into chapters and verses, a system still in
use today. Theodore Beza
(1519-1605) published four independent editions from 1565 to1604. His
text was essentially a reprinting of Stephanus’ third edition (1550)
with minor changes. The third edition of Stephanus (1550) became the
standard form of the Greek NT text in England and that of the Elzevirs
(1633) on the continent. The Stephanus 1550 text as given in Beza’s
edition of 1598 was the main source for translators of the 1611 King
James Version of the Bible.” [https://www.theopedia.
com/textus-receptus]
The Textus Receptus refers to the entire Greek text underlying the KJV
whereas the Stephanus edition is one of many Greek manuscripts, which
means that there are differences. It is not the same as the Textus
Receptus.
Therefore, when the person who rejects the Textus Receptus and believes
in the Stephanus edition as the inspired and preserved Greek texts
teaches the Word of God, potential problems will soon arise because of
these differences. It is therefore not wise to allow this potential
disunity to arise in the church. To my knowledge there is no translation of the English Bible that is based
upon the Stephanus edition that is in print today.
Yours faithfully in the Saviour’s Service, Rev Dr Quek Suan Yew Advisory Pastor |