Dear BPCWA worshipper, In the ACM reports distributed last week, we announced proposed changes to our Constitution to be passed at the meeting next week. One of these changes is to include in Article 4.2.1 the preservation of the Scriptures in the original languages. The doctrine of Verbal Plenary Inspiration was established during the Reformation era and more firmly established in the 19^th and 20^th centuries when fundamental Christians defended God’s Word to counter the influences of biblical criticism, liberalism, and so-called “scientific” theories such as evolution. Subsequently, new attacks on God’s Word moved on to the perfect preservation of Scriptures. While the doctrine of Verbal Plenary Preservation (VPP) has been taught and preached for many years in BPCWA, I would like to reiterate again what it is to ensure everyone is on the same page.

An overview of the change.1) This clarification is fully consistent with our existing beliefs. As stated in Article 4.1 of our constitution, “The doctrine of the church shall be in accordance with that system commonly called “the Reformed Faith” as expressed in the Confession of Faith set forth by the historic Westminster Assembly together with the Larger and Shorter Catechisms, together with other Biblical doctrines that are not specifically stated in the Westminster Confession.” The Westminster Confession of Faith Chapter 1:VIII states, “The Old Testament in Hebrew (which was the native language of the people of God of old), and the New Testament in Greek (which at the time of the writing of it was most generally known to the nations), being immediately inspired by God, and by his singular care and providence kept pure in all ages, are therefore authentical”. Kept pure speaks of preservation, inerrancy, and infallibility. 2) For the protection of BPCWA. Since Satan twisted God’s Word in the garden in Eden, which resulted in the fall of mankind, he has not and will never stop attacking God’s Word. The attack on a perfect Bible will only intensify. Hence, the inclusion of VPP into the Constitution is to safeguard the church and protect her for future generations.

The doctrine of the verbal plenary preservation of God’s Word. 1) What the acronym VPP stands for. Verbal (meaning words), Plenary (meaning total, wholly, every part), and Preservation (referring to God’s supernatural, providential, and perfect preservation of His Scriptures).  2) Why we believe in VPP. We do so simply because God promised to preserve His Word. Our God, who cannot lie, promised in Psalm 12:6-7, “The words of the LORD are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times. Thou shalt keep them, O LORD, thou shalt preserve them from this generation for ever”. Christ also promised His preservation down to each and every alphabet in the original languages because He affirmed, “Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled” (Mt 5:18). In these verses, God promises to precisely preserve “words” as well as each letter within the word. To say that God preserved doctrines but not words perverts God’s promises. Words convey the doctrines and messages. An alphabet changes the meaning of a word. Moreover, if we do not believe that every single word is perfectly preserved, then we should not say that we believe in preservation. 3) How God preserved. God has preserved His words in the Old Testament through the Hebrew Ben Chayyim Masoretic Text, and in the New Testament through the Greek Textus Receptus. The New Testament of the Authorised Version (KJV) is based on what is known as the Textus Receptus (or Received Text). It is called the Received Text because it is “the text that is received by all” as used by God’s church through the centuries. Of course, we no longer have the original autographs of Scripture, but we have apographs – texts which people copied from the original autographs and passed on. There were indeed unintentional copyist errors as well as errors introduced intentionally by men in the original languages. But God can and did supernaturally, through “his singular care and providence”, keep every word of Scripture, down to alphabet level, in these original languages for us today. It is a matter of faith in God. God preserved, and today we have and know exactly every single word in His Scriptures – not merely doctrines, concepts, and messages. Conversely, if we say that we do not know with precision every word of Scripture today, then we should be honest and not pretend to say that we believe in the preservation of Scripture! God has preserved Scriptures for us. The preservation of God’s Word is the supernatural work of God. Our Omnipotent God can and did intervene to ensure His exact words were never lost and are known. To not believe that God can do so despite the myriad of copyist errors is both to insult God’s omnipotence and to call Him a liar who cannot keep what He promised in Psalm 12:6-7 and Matthew 5:18. Would BPCWA want to be guilty of that by rejecting the doctrine of VPP? 4) Which text fully represents the preserved words. Since God promised that we will have jot and tittle preservation, where is the final and complete repository of His exact words?We believe it is the preserved original language texts underlying the Authorised (King James) Version. And which edition of the Textus Receptus would exactly and fully represent the original inspired text? It is the Greek text underlying the King James Version. Why? Again, by faith, because of God’s clear stamp of approval upon it during the Reformation. The King James Version Bible is the key Reformation Bible that God has provided, which His Church embraced and used for centuries.  5)VPP means we have a perfect Bible with absolute certainty of every word within. Preservation of the original language texts means that they are infallible and inerrant. VPP is the reason why we can say that we have the perfect Bible, which is 100% without any error, and so can be fully trusted. Conversely, rejecting VPP would mean we can no longer believe that Scripture is inerrant (has no mistakes) or infallible (cannot make mistakes). 6) Translations are not preserved words. The KJV and CUV, which are used in BPCWA, are translations. We use these versions because they are the best translations available to us today into English and Chinese. The inclusion of VPP is also needed because of the modern Bible versions. We do not use modern English versions because of their underlying corrupt texts (known as the Critical Text upon the foundations laid by Tischendorf and Westcott and Hort) which have large sections of the Bible missing, such as Mark 16:9-20 and John 7:53–8:11. Among the thousands of differences with the preserved texts, the defence of Christ’s deity and the Trinity are also compromised in 1Timothy 3:16 and 1John 5:7-8 in the unreliable texts.   

And in case you were also wondering . . . 1) We do not believe that the King James Bible is inspired by God. We use KJV because it is the most accurate and only English translation widely available today that is based solely on the preserved original language Scripture texts. Modern English Bibles use the Critical Text, and at best, some in conjunction with the Received Text. 2) We will continue to use CUV at our Chinese services, as this is the best translation available currently that is closest to the preserved texts in the original languages. The Bibles we will use will be determined by the underlying text used and the faithfulness of the translation.

This pastoral is intended to help the general worshipper understand the matter at hand. It is difficult to include all theological aspects precisely within a single pastoral. If you are interested in reading up further, you can refer to the articles at https://www.febc.edu.sg/ on this subject. The books “Kept Pure in All Ages” and “KJV Questions and Answers” are also available on our church’s YouTube and Spotify channels. We do not say that anyone reading other versions cannot be saved. A person who believes in the right Gospel through even reading a tract can be saved. However, as a child of God and as His church, we should choose that which pleases Him and is provided by Him – a Bible that most accurately reflects the Words He gave us because it uses His perfectly preserved words, not man-corrupted texts. The Bible is God’s revelation of Himself to man, and we must have the highest view of it. This is why we uphold the Verbal Plenary Preservation of Scriptures, as it exalts our promise keeping God. As we were reminded at the scheduled responsive reading at last week’s Worship Service,

“I will worship toward thy holy temple, and praise thy name for thy lovingkindness and for thy truth: for thou hast magnified thy word above all thy name.” (Ps 138:2)

Yours in our Lord’s service,
Pastor