Pastoral Letter 06 Sep 2020

My dear readers,


Mind Your Answer

Proverbs 15:28: “The heart of the righteous studieth to answer: but the mouth of the wicked poureth out evil things.”

Joshua and Caleb begged the people of Israel to not listen to the faithless report of the ten spies who returned with them after inspecting the Land of Promise for forty days. The moment they answered, their fate was sealed almost instantly. This was what happened. Numbers 14:6-10: “And Joshua the son of Nun, and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, which were of them that searched the land, rent their clothes: And they spake unto all the company of the children of Israel, saying, The land, which we passed through to search it, is an exceeding good land. If the LORD delight in us, then he will bring us into this land, and give it us; a land which floweth with milk and honey. Only rebel not ye against the LORD, neither fear ye the people of the land; for they are bread for us: their defence is departed from them, and the LORD is with us: fear them not. But all the congregation bade stone them with stones. And the glory of the LORD appeared in the tabernacle of the congregation before all the children of Israel.”

When the LORD appeared, the punishment was irreversible. All those men twenty years and upwards who said to stone Caleb and Joshua were sentenced to die in the wilderness by wandering in the wilderness for the next forty years. 

We all have experienced consequences by our hasty answers. We have read from the news of people who mournfully regretted their hasty answers after they lost their jobs or loved ones or best friends.

As children of God living and serving the LORD in a sin-filled world, our answers to issues on earth have temporal as well as eternal consequences. Sinners may end up in heaven or hell due in part or wholly because of what believers say.

Study before answering – The word “study” means “ponder” or “meditate.” The ones who can and ought to do this are the righteous ones. The only righteous ones on earth are believers who have accepted Christ as their Lord and Saviour. They have been imputed with the righteousness of Christ upon salvation. Their sinful nature was removed and replaced with a new nature in Christ. This new nature is the righteousness of Christ imputed to all believers. Their answers are from the heart. The heart is where the answer is meditated upon or mulled over before it is given. What are some of the considerations in his meditation?

  • Will my answer glorify Christ? – Do all things to the glory of God is the command of Christ to all His disciples. This is the backbone behind every believer’s reply in any given situation. He knows that he bears the image of Christ in his life. His words need to point others to the wonderful Saviour. The only way to accomplish this is to answer according to Holy Scriptures’ principles.
  • Will my answer bless the hearer? – The answers must point the hearer back to Christ if he has strayed away. Or it must build him up in his faith and encourage him to continue living in holiness despite the adversities he faces. His spiritual and not carnal well-being must be foremost in my mind when answers are given.
  • Is my answer truthful? – I cannot help him if my words are not truthful. I cannot lie just to help him. God must receive the glory by his changed life. Lying will not bring glory to God and not help the person in the perspective of eternity. Lying belongs to the father of lies which is the devil. Truthfulness must characterise the answer always.
  • Is my answer correct? – Will my answer deal with the issue at hand? If it does not there is no need to speak. Empty words that do not help clarify or cast away doubts are better left unsaid. Wisdom from the Lord is needed to apply the right biblical knowledge to the right situation in life.

The above considerations are not exhaustive. They are the basic considerations before any word is spoken. Once the words flow out, it is impossible to rein them back in.

Don’t let the mouth pour – Thus the Bible warns God’s children not to be careless with words, spoken or written or posted in picture forms on the internet. “…the mouth of the wicked poureth out evil things” warns the LORD. The verb “poureth out” means “gush forth.” The words of the wicked are the words of the god of this world. They promote his agenda which is always against Christ. They either promote carnality that appeals to the flesh and self-righteousness or works of evil. The words of evil people will not be regarded as evil in the eyes of evil men. They sincerely believe that the words are right. This is what being blinded in the mind by the devil will do to the person’s words. These words flow out copiously through millions of pages of books and the internet without end. It is like a tsunami wave crashing and sweeping aside everything at an unstoppable speed. This is the world of the internet which can never stop gushing out words, resulting in more and more evil.

Children born into this tide of evil are swept into its flow through the education system and the ever-present internet world that the young and old cannot do without. The internet world with the gushing words of the devil have become like man’s third leg and arm. Without this third arm and leg, he cannot walk out of his house or rise from his bed because the first thing that he looks at when he opens his eyes is his handphone. By this incessant tidal gush of words, evil things are being learned every day. Sinful hearts of wicked men have been programmed since birth to open their hearts and minds to drink them all in and enough is never enough! This is the end of man’s society which the Lord says this world is reserved for. It is a world of sin and evil that the fire from heaven will burn away. 2 Peter 3:7: “But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.”

Let us mind our words!

Food for Thought -- Proverbs 10:19: “In the multitude of words there wanteth not sin: but he that refraineth his lips is wise.”



Yours faithfully in the Saviour’s Service,

Rev Dr Quek Suan Yew
Advisory Pastor


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