A 4th-Generation Methodist's Response - Part 2 of 5

Saturday, 19th July 2008

Part II of V

continued from Part 1

Sometime in May 2005, we were looking for someone to fill a managerial position. There was this candidate who came for the interview, who not only mentioned that he was a Christian but told us that he could not work late on Thursdays because he wanted to attend Bible Study.

We ended up hiring him because he could answer our questions, but what left a deeper impression on me was that this guy was bold enough to stand up for his convictions.

Two months into the job, he started bringing his pastor's sermons to the office and left them in a common area for anyone to borrow. Out of curiosity, I borrowed one back to listen in the car and within the first 10 minutes, tears started streaming down my face. I ended up borrowing the others as well, and would sometimes remain in the car even after reaching home or the office carpark because I had to finish listening to what the preacher had to say.

There were sermons that I heard that made sense of what I already knew about. In fact, what I enjoyed most during that time was when the preacher expounded on Old Testament books such as Deuteronomy, Numbers, Esther, Ruth, Song of Songs, Joel, Nehemiah, Amos, the list just goes on and on. During my 30-odd years in a Methodist Church, I cannot recall many, if any sermons on these books. Yet, this preacher could uncover truths in the most boring and obscure of passages!

But truth be told, there were also some other sermons that were hard to swallow. When I first heard about how the 10 commandments were no longer revelant, or when sins past, present and future were already put on the body of Jesus, I struggled to accept them. However, I did what the Bereans did by not just accepting what the preacher said but by searching the Scriptures, and lo and behold, there they were. Take the following examples:

It was God who found fault with the Old Covenant, and saw the need for a New one (Heb 8:8).

It was Paul who said that what was written on stones was the ministry of death (2 Cor 3:7)

It was Jesus who said "It is finished" (Jn 19:30) when he hung on the cross 2,000 years ago. The argument that only our past and present sins are forgiven, but not our future ones seems a strange one. In fact, taking the argument further would result in all of us born after 33AD being doomed because our sins would be considered to be "future" as far as that historical event at Calvary is concerned.

By the end of that year (2005), I had finished listening to all the sermons my colleague had bought, and ended up ordering some for my own from his church's website.

It was also at that time that I became aware that other denominations (including us Methodists) had some reservations about the over-emphasis on the grace message, as this night cause Christians to think they had a licence to go out and sin. However, the more I listened to the messages, the more I was made aware of Jesus' love for me -- and the gift of no condemnation actually empowers one to go and sin no more.

I was searching for an answer to healing because of my son's condition, but God gave me more than that... He gave me the answer to a healthy marriage, prosperity and the meaning of the abundant life while here on earth... and that is the gospel of grace.

As I began to understand that not only did Jesus take my sin, but in return had given me His robe of righteousness which encompasses health, prosperity, peace, etc, it was as though a veil had been lifted, and I felt spiritually liberated. In fact, this is a common testimony among many of them who are now attending New Creation Church. They have been attending traditional and denominational churches, but only when they were exposed to the grace gospel did Christianity suddenly begin to make sense, and be relevant for everyday living.

At the end of 2006, when God blessed me with the biggest bonus I had in my career (at that point in time), I decided to get this preacher's entire sermon and book collection.

I am not sure whether you have heard about this already, but I was asked to step up as a cell leader and Honorary Treasurer sometime in 2006. However, when my stand on the grace gospel became more and more evident, I was asked to step down from both appointments in August 2007. I could have chosen the easier option of toning down my stand. After all, my dad is a well-known and respected church leader and it was probably not an easy decision for the relevant person to make in asking me to step down. But the reality of the grace gospel was so deeply rooted in my heart, that the titles of treasurer and cell leader did not mean anything to me anymore. In fact, I could identify with Paul when he said in Phil 3:8 that he counted whatever he obtained prior to knowing Christ as "rubbish".

Which now leads me to the book Destined to Reign. It was released in late-July 2007, round about the time when I was relieved of my official church appointments. Personally, I found the book to be the best one I have ever read (apart from the Bible) and felt the Lord prompting me to give out more than 70 of his books to total strangers, in response to His giving me numerous salary increments and an even bigger bonus than the one I had in 2006. You can watch the following video on YouTube.




to be continued in part 3 ...