Pastoral Letter 05 Feb 2023

My dear readers,


Answering Remaining Questions from Calvary Pandan Church Camp 2022 (1)

Question 1: You mentioned that the ministry of the Holy Spirit starts with the death of Christ on the cross. Then did the Holy Spirit have any ministry during the Old Testament?

Answer: The ministry of the Holy Spirit began from creation. Genesis 1:1-2: “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.” The dispensationalists like the Baptists, Brethren churches, Charismatics, etc. believe that the indwelling of the Holy Spirit was not experienced by believers in the Old Testament (OT) and that only New Testament (NT) believers experienced the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. The reason for this belief is based on their interpretation of John 16:7: “Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you.” This verse does not mean that the Holy Spirit was not ministering in the lives of the OT believers the way He does in NT believers such as indwelling, filling, etc. John 16:7 does not refer to Christ going to heaven per se but refers to Christ’s suffering and death at Calvary’s cross. If Jesus did not go to the cross, there would be no salvation for all since all who are saved (from the time of Adam and Eve onwards) have to believe in Christ who must die for us at Calvary. OT believers looked forward to what Christ would do at Calvary to be saved. NT believers look back to what Christ has done at Calvary to be saved. All are saved by faith in Christ! The moment a sinner is saved (applies to both OT and NT saints), Christ baptizes him with the Holy Spirit. The indwelling of the Holy Spirit must be the experience of all believers who are saved and called children of God. This absolute truth is universally applied to all believers as stated in Romans 8:9: “But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.”

The natural man, i.e. the unbeliever, can understand only the things of nature. Whereas the spiritual man, i.e. the believer, who has the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, understands both natural and spiritual things. The moment a sinner becomes a believer, he is a spiritual person forever. A spiritual person is one who has the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. If he does not have the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, he is a natural man, i.e. an unbeliever, and cannot understand spiritual things. The saints in the OT like Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, Joshua, King David, all the prophets, etc. definitely understood spiritual things. How could they if they did not have the indwelling of the Holy Spirit? (cf. 1Cor 2)

Question 2: You mentioned in your sermons that only Christians can do and execute the Will of God. Did Judas Iscariot do and execute the Will of God? Was he a Christian then?

Answer: All believers love to obey the desiderative will of God in their lives because they have the Holy Spirit prompting them from within. For example, God desires His children to repent of their sins. God’s children want to repent of their sins because they do not wish to grieve the Holy Spirit who lives in them. They also desire to please God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ by obeying His holy Word such as getting baptised, taking the Lord’s Supper the right way, practise biblical separation by living in holiness, etc. When we study the Bible, we also find that the will of God is not limited to only His desiderative will. There is His punitive will, decretive will, chastitive will, directive will, cooperative will, preceptive will, permissive will (cf. “The Sevenfold Will of God by Rev Timothy Tow). No one can escape the will of God because God is sovereign. If anyone can do anything outside of God's will, then God ceases to be sovereign. Man falls into any one or more of the above aspects of the sovereign will of God, including Judas Iscariot and evil men like Hitler, and all the despots of the world, past and future, such as the Antichrist.

Just because God is sovereign does not negate human responsibility when man sin against God. All are born sinners. If Jesus Christ did not come to die for sinful man, all man will die in their sins and be cast into hell deservedly. Jesus Christ did not come to condemn, but to save. Sinful man need not have to hear of the Bible or Christ before they are cast into hell when they die in sin because all are under condemnation the moment they exist in their mother's wombs. John 3:17-21: “For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.”

Question 3: When our prayers are not answered, how do we know if it is due to iniquity or that what we pray for is not meant for us?

Answer: The one who prays must be honest with his own soul. He knows whether his motive is right or sinful before God when he prays. The more he knows the Bible, the more he should always pray according to God’s revealed truth, i.e. the Bible. If he prays according to the Bible why would God not hear and answer accordingly? He gave us the Bible so that we can pray according to the Bible and have all our prayers answered by God in the affirmative.

God uses circumstances and people to help us discern His will as well. For example, we apply for a job in a company after much prayer. We do not get the job. Then we know that God has a better job for us somewhere else where we can be a more effective witness for Him. We need to patiently trust Him to show us the way. We must pray without ceasing. Once God opens the door and we step in, we know that it is God's will for us to do so. Thereafter, no matter what challenges we face, we will persevere through, for we know that He will not allow us to be tempted above that which we are able to bear. He is faithful and will always make a way of escape (cf. 1 Cor 10:13). 

Question 4: Please explain what is meant by "sin unto death" in 1 John 5:16.

Answer: 1 John 5:14-17: “And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us: And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him. If any man see his brother sin a sin which is not unto death, he shall ask, and he shall give him life for them that sin not unto death. There is a sin unto death: I do not say that he shall pray for it. All unrighteousness is sin: and there is a sin not unto death.”

There are three deaths in the Bible: physical, spiritual, and the second death. When a person is sick unto physical death, we can pray for God’s mercies. When a person is in spiritual death (i.e. not saved), we can pray for his salvation. But when a person is about to experience the second death (i.e. to be cast into the Lake of Fire), we cannot pray for the sin that cast him into the Lake of Fire. What is the sin that will cast a person to the Lake of Fire? It is when a person dies in his sin (any sin) without the Saviour. Therefore, we cannot pray that when a person dies in his sin, that God will show mercy and not cast him to the Lake of Fire which is the second death. This prayer we cannot utter. There are some who call themselves believers, but they believe in the doctrine of annihilation. This is a deceptive teaching which is basically another gospel that cannot save. The gospel of the annihilationist is to offer the sinner the option of being annihilated versus entering heaven if they believe in Christ! This is a distortion of God's love at the expense of God’s holiness and justice.



Yours faithfully in the Saviour’s Service,
Rev Dr Quek Suan Yew
Advisory Pastor


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