Book of Revelation (Part Eighteen/Final)

Eighteenth and Final Part of the New Testament Survey Series

Khen Lim




Image source: 7-themes.com

Even for non-Christians, the Book of Revelation is long since been preceded by its very own eschatological reputation. Not only that, this Book can be so cryptic that many Christians consider it an extremely difficult book to read let alone understand and in many cases, it is often the last book they would pick up and try to decipher.

There is no doubt that the reputation of the Book of Revelation is broadly based on the detailed compendium of barely unbelievable visions of the Last Days prior to Christ’s Second Coming as well as the heralding of the New Heaven and New Earth. For the modern man, these visions are nigh impossible to comprehend let alone accept because the imageries are very hard to humanly relate to.

Letter to Philemon (Part Seventeen)

Part Seventeen of the New Testament Survey Series

Khen Lim




Onesimus seeks Philemon's forgiveness (Image source: patheos.com)

Paul’s letter to his friend, Philemon, is unique not least because it only has one chapter with 25 verses, making it the shortest in the New Testament. Besides that, this is not a letter to a church or any group of people but specifically to an individual.

Considering both of these points, for such a letter to be included in the New Testament simply means that the Early Church Fathers saw something quite significant in it that is worthy of canonisation.

The Pastoral Epistles of First and Second Timothy including Titus (Part Sixteen)

Part Sixteen of the New Testament Survey Series

Khen Lim




Image source: frederictoncrc.com

The term Pastoral Epistles refer to a collection of three letters written by Paul namely, the First and Second Letters to Timothy and one Letter to Titus. The term was first made popular by D.N. Berdot in 1703 and later by Paul Anton in 1726¹ as a reference to the manner in which these three letters address individuals with pastoral oversight of churches (such as those responsible for pastoring and appointing pastors) as well as talk about themes around Christian living, doctrine and leadership.

By the time the three letters were written, Paul was already an old man nearing the end of his ministry and as such, he also made used of these correspondences to express concern over his pastoral succession, which in turn provides us with a framework of how pastoral leadership is managed.

Letter to the Hebrews (Part Fifteen)

Part Fifteen of the New Testament Survey Series

Khen Lim





Paul (Image source: ecotopia.org)

Within the context of the New Testament, much is made about Paul’s letter to the Hebrews that in terms of sheer importance, this towering piece of work is, to some, second only to his letter to the Romans. The overriding theme in this letter is its Christology for here, Paul has brought Christ into very sharp focus for the reader.

That He is the high priest, superior to the Aaronic priesthood and is the ultimate fulfilment of both the Law and the Prophets. This letter doesn’t only introduces the greatness of Christ but it also reaffirms and amplifies Him as the Author and Perfector of the Christian faith (12:2).

As brilliant as this piece of work is, the question of authorship rears its ugly head once more. The avid reader of the Bible may notice that the title, “To the Hebrews” that is found at the beginning was never there in the first place. The appendage is, in fact, an afterthought that somehow ‘found’ its way into the letter.

First and Second Letters to the Thessalonians (Part Fourteen)

Part Fourteen of the New Testament Survey Series 

Khen Lim


Image source: revphil2011.wordpress.com

Paul’s letters to the Thessalonians are written to encourage new converts. This could not have come at a better time because all new Christians were under fairly serious persecution then. The first letter provides not just useful instructions for Christian living but also a promise of Jesus’ Second Coming that resonates at the end of every chapter.

The second letter, on the other hand, deals with some of the emerging common misconceptions relating to the Day of the Lord in which Paul has noticed because some in the church had decided to stop working in order to anticipate it. To the Thessalonians, both letters would have been very comforting, reassuring and encouraging, which are the prime motives behind why they were written in the first place.

Letter to the Colossians (Part Thirteen)

Part Thirteen of the New Testament Survey Series

Khen Lim



Image source: thebiblejourney.org

Heresy has very ancient roots. It began the moment someone decided he hated God or felt He was worth challenging. And so he developed narratives that went against God. Those narratives have since developed into something far bigger, more serious and dangerous.

From the days of Moses and the Golden Calf through all of ancient times, heresy has spread throughout the world. In Asia Minor where Christianity had begun to take root during Paul’s days, heresy remained rife simply because where God is to be found, there will always be those who detest it.

Paul’s letter to the Colossians was simply the apostle’s response to a threat of serious heretical nature to the church in Colossae. He knew of the danger that had crept into the church (although we are not told how) and he was clear that the Colossians were given two maligned views of Christ.

Letter to the Philippians (Part Twelve)

Part Twelve of the New Testament Survey Series

Khen Lim



Caesarea Philippi (Image source: praisegate.com)

Incarcerated in a Roman prison for the first time, Paul’s letter to the Philippians is just one of four written behind bars and yet this is the very letter in which the apostle discovered much of what the imprisonment had revealed to him.

Firstly he admitted to have acquired a more advanced understanding of the Gospel (1:12-18). Then he declared that it is a Christian’s duty to suffer for Christ (1:27-30), to follow in the steps of Christ towards achieving humility (2:1-11) and to ‘work out’ their salvation (2:12-18).

Letter to the Ephesians (Part Eleven)

Part Eleven of the New Testament Survey Series

Khen Lim



Interior of a home in ancient Ephesus (Image source: kirazlivillage.com)

Paul’s letters have always been known to have a reason or purpose even if at times, one might have to labour on looking for one. Nonetheless, one finds it if you try hard enough. His letter to the Ephesians, though, might be an exception because there is no documentation of rhyme or reason in it. Take his letter to the Colossians as an example. Here, he specifically levels his attacks on faux teachings but in Ephesians, it is almost non-existent.

Can You Tell the Truth from All the Surrounding Misinformation?

Editorial Commentary (1 Cor 5:1-13)

Khen Lim



Actual snow in Sapa, Vietnam in 2013
Image source: says.com

Recently, news on the Internet have been abuzz with reports that some parts of Malaysia could be in for a nice and snappy cold weather change. As low as 16^o Celsius was touted. Apparently the Meteorological Department (MET Malaysia) predicted that as near to Ipoh as the suburb of Subang Jaya in Petaling Jaya was a likely recipient, making it not much different from the higher-altitude Cameron Highlands.

To make things more exciting, MET director-general Datuk Che Gayah cited Kuala Krai in Kelantan as having experienced such low temperature last year. And considering that Vietnam had just experienced snow and Bangkok was hit with a similar 16^o Celsius change, locals were apparently bracing for an exciting time.

That was in late January, which was before the Chinese New Year season arrived. We are now fourteen days into the month of February of 2016 and the ‘closest’ we got to were patches of scattered showers but nothing approaching the cool torrentials. There were no signs of baseball-sized hail. No snow blitzes unlike Sapa in Vietnam in 2015 that was hit with a temperature of -1^o Celsius.

All we had was just plain old rain. Chinese New Year 2016 came and went without nary a splutter. No episode of cold weather was even within sight. Instead the customary sweltering Chinese New Year heat was what we got and all the brouhaha amounted to yet another misinformation. I can just imagine how some people would have felt anticlimactic or crestfallen.

Spurious weather reports (for Malaysia at least) are just one of countless examples of how information cannot always be relied upon. And if you want to be reminded of the most recent infamous example of misinformation, look no further than the Y2K issue that almost caused a global meltdown; perhaps as near to a pandemonium as the whole world got to.

For Malaysians, let’s not forget that every end of the year for the past decade or more, we’ve all been hearing about how the next year was always going to be an en-masse economic disaster. Doom was unfailingly nigh. And every time, that disaster never exactly came. While GST and the poor Ringgit performance weren’t exactly great news over here, they didn’t really constitute an all-out economic disaster that doomsayers had been touting. And right now, we’re again told that 2016 will be that disastrous year. We’ll just have to see.

In fact, every day, we face a constant deluge of information of which we’d be incredibly thankful if we can trust even one percent of what we read and hear. And it’s not just local news. What we read about in America and Europe are just as unreliable.

American media likes to tell us that they’re climbing out of their massive unemployment problem but the real news that we don’t often see tells us otherwise. While Germany blames the recent rape crisis that was sparked across different cities on their own local German citizens, many of us are wondering how misinformed the government and media can be when everyone else seems to know that certain sections of the Syrian refugees need to be questioned.

Trying to disentangle ourselves from the unreliable information everywhere is like figuring out how we can rid ourselves of the yeast (leaven) in our lives (1 Cor 5:1-13). Try as we might, the answer is no unless we excommunicate ourselves from society, go live in the most remote parts of the world and shun ourselves from social contact and the rest of civilisation.

So long as we live within the structures of society, we will continue to be fed all sorts of information that we are persistently told we can trust be it socio-economic, political or news about the environment. There has been so many lies that, at best, it’s too difficult to know what aren’t anymore. And the more we look around us, the bleaker the picture is in terms of what we can rely on.

Jesus called the Pharisees ‘yeast’ because they covet their Old Testament knowledge even to the most exacting point and yet they were too blind to see beyond their noses at the big picture, the truth of God, the coming of the Messiah. In fact, throughout the Old Testament, there are many passages that talk about the coming of Christ and yet the Pharisees still could not recognise Him in their face-to-face encounters. With the Truth staring in front of them, they actually decided to send Him to His death.

And so we keep trying and trying to figure out if the news we get is reliable or not but in our abject helplessness, we confess to know that the only one reliable piece of truth is Christ and Christ alone.

You and I know that truth. We learn about that truth. We live that truth.   

Have a great week.

Leavin' Out the Leaven

Commentary on 1 Corinthians 5:1-13

Khen Lim



Image source: randolphcofc.org

Although I could already cook my own meals by the time I was in university, I knew very little about baking though. But sharing a flat with another uni-mate opened my eyes to a wholly different experience altogether. I remember observing my friend preparing to make bread in the old oven that the flat came with.

Letter to the Galatians (Part Ten)

Part Ten of the New Testament Survey Series

Khen Lim



Image source: trikeri-galatia.gr

Paul begins his letter to the Galatians in defence of his credibility as a God-sent apostle (1:1-5). He cites the acceptance of his Gospel teaching by the apostles in Jerusalem but this is only a preamble to something more fiery.

In the letter, Paul confronted and challenged Peter to teach the true Gospel. This was the result of Peter having walked away from fellowshipping with the Gentiles; something he rebuked him for.

First and Second Letters to the Corinthians (Part Nine)

Part Nine of the New Testament Survey Series

Khen Lim



Paul in Corinth (Image source: biblescripture.net)

The backdrop for the first letter is a church beleaguered by divisiveness in which believers find themselves split into camps loyal to different spiritual leaders (1 Cor 1:12, 3:1-6). Paul uses his first letter¹ to encourage the Corinthians to stay united and devoted under Christ (3:21-23).

However chapter 5 to 7 reveals the Corinth church to be riddled with some serious issues. Immorality was mentioned in verses 5:1-2 and so was wickedness in verse 13 of the same chapter. Lawsuits among believers in the same church were apparently rife (6:1-2) while in chapter 7, Paul provided instructions to counter marital infidelity and adultery. Believers were also apparently offering food to idols as part of a disturbing practice in idolatry in chapters 8 and 9. That’s quite a bit of ground for anyone to cover in just a single letter!

Letter to the Romans (Part Eight)

Part Eight of the New Testament Survey Series

Khen Lim




Image source: patheos.com

From the prosperous ancient Greek city of Corinth in the depth of winter around 57AD to 58AD, Paul completed the longest single letter to grace the New Testament, writing it before his trip to Jerusalem to delivery alms meant for the poor there (15:25-27, 30-33).

According to 15:24, Paul had wanted to go to Spain via Rome (15:22-29) but that wasn’t possible because he was arrested in Jerusalem and then incarcerated in Rome. We are then told that a member of a church in Cenchrea near Corinth (16:1) called Phoebe could have picked the letter up (in Corinth) and had it delivered to Rome on his behalf.

Letter of Jude (Part Seven)

Part Seven of the New Testament Survey Series

Khen Lim



Image source: st-judes.lambeth.sch.uk

This may be a short letter but the interests we can draw from it would require more pages than this article can hope to deal with. In fact with no more than 25 verses, this is the briefest book in the whole Bible and not just the New Testament. 

Yet crammed in these few verses are references that find roots in the Old Testament as Jude draws from the Exodus, Satan’s rebellion, the story of Sodom and Gomorrah, Moses’ death the tales surrounding characters like Cain, Balaam, Korah, Enoch and Adam (vv.5-14). Like Peter, Jude’s use of the Old Testament references remind Jewish Christians of the need for truth, faith and obedience.

The First, Second and Third Letters of John (Part Six)

Part Six of the New Testament Survey Series

Khen Lim




Image source: sacredspace102.blogspot.com

The estimates put these three letters as being written between 90AD and 95AD and in that time, John was in Ephesus on the west coast of Asia Minor where he remained until he was laid to rest. He moved there because of the outbreak of the Jewish War, which took place around 66AD to 70AD. They would have also been written after John had completed his Gospel. This would put the completion of the latter around 80AD to 85AD.

First and Second Letters of Peter (Part Five)

Part Five of the New Testament Survey Series

Khen Lim




Image Source: buildingontheword.org

The First Letter

The moment you accustom yourself with the Pauline way with letter writing, Peter’s style will feel disengaging because it is somewhat quite different. By combining doctrine with application, Peter would begin each paragraph with a command and then introduce the appropriate theology to substantiate it.

A look at 1:1-2 reveals this practice when Peter begins by calling Christians “God’s elect” and then bringing up the scattered exiles to back up his statement. He then proclaims that God’s people, being born again, have privileges and responsibilities but at the same time, they have attained for themselves hope and inheritance for their future (1:3-9). Then he establishes all of this by recalling the prediction of salvation offered by Old Testament prophets (1:10-12).

Do New Year Resolutions Resolve Anything?

Exactly what worth are New Year resolutions to Christians?

Khen Lim

Image source: drperillecounseling.com

Quite amazingly, it was the ancient Babylonians who came up with the idea of making New Year resolutions. That means we have a history of about 3,000 years to look back to. It was therefore the Babylonians who felt that there was something to look forward to at the beginning of each brand new year. Like a fresh new start, a way to not look back, an exciting new chapter. Or the shiny promise of a new beginning.

But as someone prosaic would ask, what’s the difference between December 31 and January 1? It’s just another day. When the final hour rolls into a brand new one, life remains the same. We trundle forward but yesterday doesn’t seem any different from today. It’s not as if we suddenly turn into superheroes or that all our debts would vanish like spontaneous combustion.

Furthermore nothing mystical ever takes place when the clock strikes midnight and usher in the New Year. We may have a night sky filled with brilliant fireworks. We’re sure to charge and clink a few glasses of sparkly and hug and kiss whoever is in our presence. There’s also the customary countdown where everyone in the streets and in all the parties held worldwide would do so together in a single chorus while staring down the clock. However none of these hold special magical or supernatural powers, other than people finding excuses to get stone drunk followed by bad hangovers and headaches the following morning.

Scripture says absolutely nothing about celebrating the New Year or making resolutions. The concept of doing either does not appear to hold any importance in the Bible. It is therefore not incorrect to say that God doesn’t think it is of any significance to Him. But what would we say to a Christian who is set on making a New Year resolution? What kinds of resolution should we encourage him or her to make? And why are these questions even important to begin with?

The popular resolutions that people often make for the New Year are wide and varied, and can be said to be basically noble. People make amends to quit smoking or drinking, stop gambling, be more frugal minded or make vows to spend more quality time with their family or even try to be a better spouse or parent. The more sanguine ones want to lose weight, eat more healthily, exercise more or regain some self-esteem.

None of these, as I said, are bad but Paul in his letter to Timothy asks us to put exercise into proper perspective, saying, “For physical training is of some value but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come” (1 Tim 4:8). Perhaps we can consider the ‘physical’ aspect of this verse to remind us of the ‘physical things’ that make up a majority of all the New Year resolutions that we, including Christians, entrusts ourselves with. Alas it should not be this way!

Image source: stgeorges-maplewood.org

In contrast, Christians can make New Year resolutions resonate a little differently. This is not to say that normal resolutions are unacceptable but more so, we can raise the level of significance to that, which means much more to God. We should then look to a New Year where we can pray more (and more earnestly), read the Word of God with greater diligence and heartfelt purpose, attend church more regularly and have a sincere volunteer’s heart to be of serious service to Christ. Now, these would be remarkable goals, albeit goals that should be more familiar to Christians.

Yet even these resolutions fall by the wayside just like the non-spiritual ones because they too carry no power. As New Year resolutions go, there is neither mystical nor supernatural empowerment. In other words, resolving to begin a new activity or engaging in a different habit possesses no value beyond mere words on paper unless there is that incentive to carry them out. A nicotine-stained smoker can announce to the whole world he is ditching the habit and he can even do that every year because words have no effect other than to sound impressive. I know that for a fact because I was once a smoker.

As an example, why not ask yourself why you want to read the Bible every day. Is it because you heard it’s an exciting book worth reading? Is it because it’s been on the bestseller list for the last 500 years? Or is it because you want to honour God and grow spiritually? Conversely why would you want to lose weight? Is it because you desperate want to gain acceptance by your bullies? Or is it because you are inspired by the models that appear on all the girlie magazines? Do you do it because you are zealous about self-respect or is it because you want to honour God by looking after your physical body?

In his letter to the church in Philippi, Paul wrote, “I can do everything through Him who gives me strength” (Php 4:13). In the Gospel of John, Jesus says, “I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in Me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from Me, you can do nothing” (Jn 15:5).

These two verses are a stark counterbalance to the secular idea that resolutions are what we do on our own, using our own steam. They remind us that no matter what we think, we are powerless to make amends because without Christ, there is no strength in what we do. Without Christ, we bear no worthwhile fruit (if at all). Remember, “Apart from Me,” Jesus says, “you can do nothing” (ibid).

When we centre our New Year resolutions on Christ alone, our chances of success are greatly bolstered so long as we remain committed to change and provided it is in God’s will that your resolution is fulfilled. When that happens, He will make it all possible in his own unique way. On the other hand if the resolution don’t bring glory to Him or is something that is incongruent with His Word, there is unlikely to be any help coming from Him. You are on your own and whether or not you succeed in your quest, God has nothing to do with it and He will have no bar of it as well.

Image source: fortheloveofhistruth.com

So we come back to the question again – what resolutions should Christians commit themselves to for the New Year? Maybe I can humbly suggest some ideas for you:

Firstly if you are bereft of ideas yourself, pray to God for wisdom (Jms 1:5) and ask Him for the kinds of resolution He would prefer us to commit to. He should be the architect of change that we desire to work for us because He and no one else knew us even before we were formed in the womb (Jer 1:5).

Secondly give God a chance to help you fulfil the goals. Ask for His hand in accomplishing it. Seek the Holy Spirit every day to help steer you in the right direction. Paul says in his letter to the Ephesians, “Now glory be to God, who by His mighty power at work within us is able to do far more than we would ever dare to ask or even dream of – infinitely beyond our highest prayers, desires, thoughts or hopes” (Eph 3:20).

Thirdly trust not in your own but in God’s strength (2 Cor 1:9) because with our sins, we can never achieve anything worthwhile on our own. In contrast, the secular world is hell-bent in enforcing the idea that we are our own man, we are capable of great things and like demigods, we can reinvent them. Nothing is further from the truth!

Remember Isaiah who said, “Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help, who rely on horses, who trust in the multitude of their chariots and in the great strength of their horsemen, but do not look to the Holy One of Israel, or seek help from the Lord” (Isa 31:1). Psalm 20:7 reinforces that: “Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the Name of the Lord our God.”

Fourthly find someone, preferably a fellow church member, who can help you along, keep you on track, encourage you and make sure you can be held accountable, someone who shares your desire to see you change for the better and who loves to see you give glory to God for the actions you take. Choose wisely though – avoid those who have little understanding of what you wish to achieve and why.

Fifthly remind yourself that in keeping your resolution, a stony rough road might be ahead on which you could stumble and fall and where you are tempted to give up because it all seems ‘too difficult.’ Occasional failures are not to be unexpected (Jn 16:33) and God never promised that. The wholesale deception that obedience will automatically lead to material prosperity has long been a false promise that many megachurch evangelists preach. Rather than allow temporary setbacks to derail us, use God’s Word to undergird us and seek Christ’s promises to motivate us.

Lastly stay humble and be firmly grounded in the Word. Don’t drown yourself in false pride and never assume that Frank Sinatra was correct when he sang, “I did it my way.” It never was and it never will be. Instead be mindful that God was always there and if you have trusted Him all the way, then you will also know that His hand has ensured your success. So ditch the vanity and offer God His glory for the good work you have achieved.

The psalmist tells us to “Commit your way to the Lord; trust in Him and He will do this: He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn, the justice of your cause like the noonday sun” (Ps 37:5-6).

Letter of James (Part Four)

Part Four of the New Testament Survey Series

Khen Lim




Image source: traditionalcatholicnetwork.com

From his letter’s traditional introduction of addressees (1:1), we know that it is an outreach to the twelve tribes of Israel that were, by then, scattered abroad. For them, James offered instructions as to their code of conduct in anticipation of the return of the Messiah (5:7-8). As such, the letter has a strong moralistic tone as James exhorts his readers to behave piously and uprightly.

Book of Acts (Part Three)

Part Three of the New Testament Survey Series

Khen Lim




Peter speaks to the crowd in Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost (Image source: markmcmillion.com)

When it comes to the history of Early Christianity and the formation of the Church, it is hard to get past the Book of Acts because it plots its early roots as well as focuses on the importance of the Pentecost and of being empowered to be effective witnesses for Christ.

It is this Book that records the historical witnessing by the apostles in not just Jerusalem but also Judea, Samaria and the rest of the immediate world during that time. It sheds considerable light on the gift of the Holy Spirit who we learn empowers us as much as guides, teaches and serves as our inner counsellor, the voice from within or the spiritual conscience if you must.

Paul and the New Testament (Part Two)

Part Two of Survey of the New Testament Series 

Khen Lim



Image source: kennethwyatt.com

Introduction

It isn’t too far-fetched to say that the New Testament would have been the poorer for it had it not been for Paul’s major contributions, which amounts to thirteen letters (that we know of). Without them, we’re left with a hole a quarter the size of the whole New Testament. 

Paul’s incredible influence is both enormous and seminal in how we understand Christ and in his works alone, God has, through him, laid down a larger plan not just for Christians and the church all over but also for the entire humanity to learn and embrace.