My dear readers,

Answering Remaining Questions from Calvary Pandan Church Camp 2022 (3)

Question 1: Can I read books/sing hymns that were written before the authors renounced the faith? For example, Joshua Harris and his book "I kissed dating goodbye". And hymns like "Come Thou Fount", "It is Well with My Soul". Can I read books/articles by John Piper (Desiring God website)? Example, the parts that agree with the Bible? If not, please recommend some authors/books to read.

Answer 1: Believers can read any “Christian” book, but with discernment. The key is discernment whereby the believer has the maturity to evaluate what is good and bad, right and wrong, according to Holy Scriptures. In some cases, when we need to evaluate certain “new doctrines”, it is good to go to the source to make sure that the writer we are critiquing is not misunderstood. We have to read their writings or books. However, if it is to read them for personal spiritual growth, it is most unadvisable as they will be filled with errors. They undermine God’s truth. They diminish the testimony of the Lord Jesus Christ.

If the books are theologically sound but the ones who wrote them have denounced the faith, then it is best not to read them. Christian truths are spiritual in nature. How can one who is not born again understand and see spiritual truths from the Bible that is a spiritual Book? These men who write books on the Bible use their minds without the help of the Holy Spirit since they are not born again. Men like Joshua Harris who denounced their faith did not lose their faith since a person who is truly born again cannot lose his salvation as his salvation is of God and not of men. They did not have salvation in the first place. Romans 8:38-39: “For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Such men who later denounce their faith or sin grievously ought to be rejected including their books and their sermons that have been recorded.

The choice of hymns to be sung begins with the lyrics and the music. The music must not be carnal but spiritual where it points the hearers to God and Christ and not self. The music that evokes emotions must be based upon biblical convictions and not sentimentalism. Examples of meaningless sentimentalism include contemporary songs like “I love you Lord, and I lift my voice to worship you, O my soul rejoice, take joy my king, in what you hear, may it be a sweet sound in your ear.” It is void of biblical truths and is sung from the perspective of a lover to another lover rather than to God. It has no reverential awe of God in its music and lyrics both of which must be biblically sound, even when they are written by believers. If they are biblically sound, we can use them for worship.

If we are certain that the authors of the hymns are unbelievers or once professed to be believers and later renounced their faith like Joshua Harris, then they ought to be rejected too. Men like John Piper are very influential because of their prolific writing and preaching. We need to remember that it is not what is written or taught that determines a man but his deeds. Some may write biblical truths, but their lives are not lived in light of those truths. Matthew 23:1-3: “Then spake Jesus to the multitude, and to his disciples, Saying, The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses' seat: All therefore whatsoever they bid you observe, that observe and do; but do not ye after their works: for they say, and do not.” Evaluate their associations and the platforms they preach from and who they stand with as they preach. Biblical discernment demands that believers regard carefully the differences rather than the similarities in what these men believe and not just their writings. Do the enemies not creep into churches and our lives in the form of wolves in sheep’s clothing and masquerade as messengers of light? This means that they appear more like Christ than their master the devil.

The 21^st century is the last days of a Christianity that has fallen away into apostasy (cf. 2 Thess 2:1-3). Biblical discernment is urgently needed to protect ourselves and God’s church. For example, if we listen to sermons on the internet without any discernment, wrong doctrines will be accepted as truth. We might share it in church when we teach or have fellowship. If so, what we have done is the work of the devil. His evil agents have no foothold in the church until we share their errors within the church. This can also happen in our Whatsapp chatgroups when we share what we think is good for others when in fact it is poison from outside now brought inside by us. Jesus counselled His disciples in Matthew 10:16, “Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves.”

Question 2: If we find out another person’s/a pastor's sins after his death, should we expose the sins? Are there right and wrong situations to do so?

Answer 2: If the nature of the person’s sins impacts the truthfulness of his Christian witness, then his sins must be exposed even after his death. The sins that impact the veracity of his salvation such as unrepentant adultery, fornication, etc and all the sins committed when he was alive would have disqualified him from service or negated his holy witness. These sins must be exposed for Christ’s glory.

The reason is that every believer has to be truthful and honest before God in word and in deed. How can God bless such a testimony that is based upon hypocrisy? Furthermore, every time this person’s messages, writings, or name are used or mentioned in some “Christ-centred” way, you know it is a lie. Your conscience convicts you of his hypocrisy. Your silence makes you complicit to his deception even though he is dead. If his sins do not impact the truthfulness of his holy witness, then it is best not to mention it, for all of us have sinned.

Question 3: What does “greater damnation” in Matthew 23:14, Mark 12:40 and Luke 20:47 result in in terms of eternal punishment in the Lake of Fire? Will these suffer greater torment? If so, how?

Answer 3: Matthew 23:14: “Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye devour widows' houses, and for a pretence make long prayer: therefore ye shall receive the greater damnation.” Mark 12:38-40 and Luke 20:45-47 are parallel passages. In the case of Matthew, Mark and Luke, the word “greater” means “more abundant.” Whereas the word “greater” in James 3:1: “My brethren, be not many masters, knowing that we shall receive the greater condemnation” refers to “larger” in terms of size from which we get the English word “mega.” In the context of Matthew, Jesus highlighted the hypocritical sins of the scribes and the Pharisees in devouring widows’ houses and making long prayers to show their religiosity. Not only did they sin against God directly, they also sinned against the widows in the name of Christ causing these widows to hate Christ because of their bullying. Therefore, the sins of the religious leaders were greater in terms of numbers.

In the case of James, the “greater condemnation” is in terms of size because there were teachers teaching others to sin by their wrong teachings and/or sinful living. They led others astray by their erroneous teaching. Of course, if both groups repented of their sins and accepted Christ as their Lord and Saviour, they would be saved and their sins washed by the blood of Christ. But if not, then they would die in their sin and face Christ with more transgressions. What the nature of their greater damnation is we are not told. 

There is a passage in the Bible that says God will cast two persons into the Lake of Fire in their mortal flesh, in contrast to all sinners who will firstly be cast into hell, then resurrected from hell, and then cast into the Lake of Fire. Revelation 19:20-21: “And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone. And the remnant were slain with the sword of him that sat upon the horse, which sword proceeded out of his mouth: and all the fowls were filled with their flesh.” Based upon this revelation from God, we may conclude that the Antichrist and the False Prophet of the last days will experience more intense pain in the Lake of Fire compared to all other sinners.