When the early modern universities were established in Europe between the 15th and 18th centuries, they were centres of research, expertise and progressive thinking. During those times there was a characteristic thirst for knowledge of all kinds (e.g., law, medicine, science, mathematics, rhetoric and theology) and academic freedom in speech and writing was supremely sacrosanct.

Many pioneering university academics were also devout Christians and their works were inspired by, and often inseparable from, Scripture. Indeed, we can envisage a time when the university was the place where discipleship and learning combined uniquely into a single entity: scholarship in the name of human and spiritual advancement.

In many cases, today’s global universities are equally prestigious and studious but their connection with religious and spiritual matters has either declined, disappeared or never existed. For some, these are matters of grave concern.

In his impactful book titled, Ministering in the Secular University: A Guide for Christian Professors and Staff,¹ author Joseph McRae Mellichamp, identifies two reasons for what he calls the ‘demise of Christian thought in universities.’ These are: (i) the inability of academics to agree on the appropriate role of Christianity in their contexts, and (ii) the lack of engagement by Christians in the fight to keep Christian ideas in the university’s marketplace of ideas.

Mellichamp continues with a stinging reprimand: ‘Christian professors and, to a lesser extent, staff have stood by and allowed Christianity to be pushed aside often without “lifting a finger” or, more literally, “raising a voice” to oppose what was happening.’

In my opinion, even though Scripture teaches us to submit ourselves to our leaders’ authority for Christ’s sake (Hebrews 13:7; 1 Peter 2:13), one of the biggest challenges facing Christian communities on university campuses today is the silent acquiescence of the ways of the secular, pragmatic world in the belief that ‘making waves’ is a barrier to full professorship.

When we acquiesce, we passively accept something without necessarily consenting to it or we accept something without protest. At its worst, is acquiescence any different from surrender?

At times, it seems like a self-inflicted paralysis borne, I think, from a lack of alternatives. We just ‘do’ (or not) because we have no other viable means of doing otherwise. This surely isn’t the Christian way given the urgency and necessity of the gospel.

Christian Engagement with the University

As Christians we are commanded to go in Jesus’ name to spread the good news and God’s peace (Matthew 28:18-20, John 20:21). The great commission applies equally to professors, researchers and staff at universities. As influential and respected members of society, Christian professors especially have many precious opportunities to witness for Christ in their offices, classes, meetings and writing.

Vinoth Ramachandra² of the International Fellowship of Evangelical Students (https://www.ifesworld.org) suggests a two-pronged plan for Christian engagement within universities:

• Forming learning and witnessing Christian communities, comprising students, researchers, faculty and administrators, who engage courageously and dialogically with the diverse academic disciplines and conversations that constitute university life (this entails the crossing of status hierarchies and replicating in universities what can be done in local churches); and
• Seeking to influence universities so that they become more human-friendly, just and ecologically-sensitive spaces in which to study and work. This implies that we care about the moral, intellectual and spiritual flourishing of individuals, and also of groups and systems.

Undoubtedly, this is an ambitious and far-reaching proposal with great transformative potential. But I would add two conditions relating to its implementation.

First, we need to understand that unlike informal conversations that can quickly pass, true dialogue is exploratory and helps build lasting relationships. Second, I believe we need even more action to unite Christianity and the University over the long-term.

While I fully recognise and support the ministries and evangelism of Cru (https://www.cru.org), IFES, ALPHA (https://www.alpha.org) and other on-campus small groups, they crucially need the intellectual, spiritual and moral support of others both within and beyond universities to be meaningful and successful.

As an illustration, there are necessary roles to play and functions to perform by the Church through regular intercessory prayer for teachers, professors and students, individual supplications and small-group meetings that model and inspire local missions and community (koinonia); by Christian parents and friends through encouragement, shepherding resources and modelling dialogue on widespread issues; and through schools and society (more broadly) by fostering an active concern for justice, equity, epistemology (the theory of knowledge, especially concerning its methods, validity and scope, and the distinction between justified belief and opinion) and ethics (the moral principles governing a person’s behaviour and actions).

Universities are, and will continue to be, sites of tremendous personal, communal and professional growth. They can also present us with opportunities to teach and learn in unexpected and totally surprising ways but we have to be open to, and prepared for, God’s calling and the Holy Spirit’s empowering for this to happen.

I’m suggesting that this preparation in terms of content (theological and discipline-based), and qualities of mind and character, might best begin at an early age and must be continually supported by others outside of the university.

Of course, some might disagree. For sure, God can and does work in miraculous ways on campuses and I have read several uplifting testimonies from students who came to Christ while at university through evangelistic outreach and then went on to serve the Lord after graduation in various work-place appointments.

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However, in my experience, testimonies from university professors and members of staff about coming to Christ through their work and living out the Christian life on campus are far less popular or common. That’s a pity.

In closing, I believe the quality, extent and influence of Christianity at the university should be a priority for the Church because what happens there often carries over into a myriad of other professions in the public square where there is high contact with other people (e.g., teaching, medicine, law, social work etc.).

For whatever reasons, Christian professors and other members of staff at universities face a crucial fork in their professional and spiritual journeys.

One path unites vocation, work and ministry in biblical terms.³ Along the other lies fragmentation and sterility that comes from forcing our work and faith lives apart.

The choice is ours: in one direction lies our duty and our joy, the other is potentially burdensome and often too harsh to bear.

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Notes

1. ^{Mellichamp, J. McR. (1997). Ministering in the secular university: A guide for Christian professors and staff.Carrollton, TX: Lewis And Stanley.}
2. ^{Ramachandra, V. (2016). Christ and the university. In Engaging the campus: Faith and service in the academy (pp. 37-65). Singapore: Fellowship of Evangelical Students.}
3. ^{Stevens, R. P. (1999). The other six days: Vocation, work and ministry in biblical perspective.Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company}

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Dr. Phillip A. Towndrow (Ed.D., Durham) is a church lay leader with extensive experience in small group work, discipling and Christian education. He is currently a teacher, teacher-educator, and educational researcher at a tertiary-level institution in Singapore where he specialises in New Media Literacies, Teacher Professional Learning, and Pedagogy and Classroom Practices. Phillip is also the author of the ETHOS Engagement Series booklet, ‘Education and Society: A Christian View of Education in Singapore‘. 

“For there will never cease to be poor in the land. Therefore I command you, ‘You shall open wide your hand to your brother, to the needy and to the poor, in your land.’” —Deuteronomy 15:11 (ESV)

Throughout Scripture, God shows Himself to be a God who takes notice of the poor and needy, and cares for them materially and spiritually. It is one of the ways in which He demonstrates His love and compassion. As God’s children, Christians are thus called to imitate Him, loving not only in word and talk but also in deed and truth (1 John 3:18). This is the motivation for holistic missions, which are an integral part of the expanding global Bible Mission. 

Holistic missions focus primarily on humanitarian efforts and disaster relief, seeking to meet the immediate needs of those disadvantaged by persecution and natural disasters. These acts of care and love communicate to the poor and needy that they are not forgotten, and that God’s love and message of salvation in Christ are also theirs to embrace. 

Since the early 2000s, the Bible Society, in collaboration with regional Bible Societies and churches, began engaging in holistic missions to serve overseas communities in need. This included raising awareness of and undertaking fundraising activities for countries hit by major disasters such as the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami and the recent floods in South Asia.  

From 2014 onwards, formal mission trips have also been organised to various affected areas to serve the needy there. Through these efforts, the Bible Society and participating churches gain opportunities to be God’s channels of blessing to these communities, both in the caring for their material and spiritual well-being, as well as in the restoration of their way of life. 

There are still many needy communities in the world that need to know and grow in God’s love, which mean more areas of service for us to explore. Egypt is one example. One of the oldest countries in the world, Egypt has a rich history and culture that dates back to Biblical times. At the same time, children and youth, many of whom are poor, make up a large percentage of the total population (33%). Its Christian population is also among the most persecuted in the world today. 

Tacloban, the Philippines (2014) 

– Ravaged by Typhoon Haiyan, the worst tropical cyclone recorded in history. 

– Distributed Scriptures, food, toiletries and furniture to the locals, and helped in church rebuilding efforts. 

Lebanon (2015) 

– Thousands suffered displacement, persecution and hardship from ISIS attacks. 

– Visited refugees in several areas and provided relief through the distribution of Scriptures and relief packs. 

Myanmar (2016) 

– Locals subjected to regular floods from yearly monsoons. 

– Distributed Scriptures and necessities such as mosquito nets and family kits to aid the rebuilding of the locals’ homes and lives. 

Nepal (2016) 

– Locals affected by frequent earthquakes and floods. 

– Distributed Scriptures and daily necessities, and provided zinc roofing sheets to aid in house rebuilding projects. 

In August 2017, we sent a team to Egypt to further understand and support the mission works there. They joined up with staff from the Bible Society of Egypt, who have been organising rallies and special programmes to reach out to the children and youth. One of the team members, Joan Cher, recounts:  

“I saw how the youths were so passionate in reading and learning about the Word. Living in the hostile environment, the local Christians also depended on one another for support, which further strengthens their faith and identity as one Body of Christ. I am greatly challenged to take the reading of God’s Word and being part of the church—my immediate spiritual family—more seriously.” 

We are truly privileged not only to partner with our Egyptian brothers and sisters in serving the needy in Egypt, but also to share in the joy of seeing them grow in the love of God and His Word. We are also committed to support these ongoing outreach works in Egypt, such as the upcoming Christmas distribution of Scripture materials, hygiene items and sweets to the children. 

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British evangelist Leonard Ravenhill once remarked, “That world outside there is not waiting for a new definition of Christianity, it’s waiting for a new demonstration of Christianity. “ 

We are ever thankful for our faithful supporters and volunteers, whose contributions enable us to continue to demonstrate God’s love through these missions with local and overseas brothers and sisters in Christ. We also covet your continued prayers and support, so that more will be able to taste and see that the Lord is good, and be brought into His fold. 

Visit bible.org.sg/egypt for a video from our most recent Egypt trip. 

“Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good! Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him!” —Psalm 34:8 (ESV) 

Psalm 34:8 is a verse that captures the call of the Great Commission to make disciples of all nations. However, it also reveals the motivation behind that call—to personally experience the goodness and blessedness of knowing God. This is the motivation that drives churches and Christian organisations in their outreach and discipleship efforts.  

To help in these labours, the Bible Society organises overseas tours and mission trips of various kinds. These endeavours serve a twofold purpose: they provide an educational platform for God’s people to grow in their own faith and be better informed about the work He is doing in other countries, and they also provide a missional platform for God’s people to support these works in diverse ways. 

Tasting God’s Truth 

The story of God’s redemption took place in real world history, involving real places, cultures and peoples. A good knowledge of these aspects, enriched by “live” interaction with them, enables Christians to understand and appreciate the Bible’s message and various parts better.  

To help equip believers with such knowledge, the Bible Society organises Bible Land Tours (BLTs) toplaces like Israel, Jordan, Egypt, Turkey, and Greece. Led by experienced Spiritual Directors, you will not only be introduced to places mentioned in the Bible, but also trace the journeys of key Biblical figures such as the Lord Jesus Himself and the apostle Paul. You will experience the Bible come alive in unique ways, which will in turn enhance your learning and teaching of God’s Word.  

You will also have opportunities to interact with local people, Christian communities and missionaries, and visit places where Bible Mission projects have taken place. These enable you to have a better understanding of the Gospel needs and works in these lands, and inspire you to join these missionaries and support their labours. In fact, many participants in previous BLTs have become supporters of Bible Mission works in these countries, contributing to the building of God’s Kingdom beyond their borders, in their own ways. 

Sharing God’s Truth 

The Bible Society also partners with Bible Societies in regions such as Southeast Asia, South Asia and East Asia, and organises Bible Mission Trips (BMTs) to these areas. As inter-confessional organisations, the Bible Societies are committed to serve Christians of all denominations, along with communities of various ethnicities and demographics in their societies, through consistent outreach initiatives.  

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BMTs therefore provide you opportunities not only to learn more about the wide-reaching work done in these areas, but also to actively participate in them. Such works include distributing Bibles to people groups who still do not have access to God’s Word, as well as humanitarian and disaster relief works. Joseph Biak, who runs an orphanage in Myanmar, described the joyful response perfectly: “We have been praying for 25 years for the Holy Bible for all our children. Then God sent us our Bibles! Some of the children accepted the Bible with tears because they were so happy.” The blessing of taking part in the improvement of others’ material and spiritual well-being, and of witnessing and sharing in their joy, cannot be overstated.  

“Two villagers accepted Christ during our BMT to Ghyang Sukhatokar in Nepal in 2016. I am greatly moved to learn that there are more than nine villagers who have accepted Christ later on.”— Sharon Chai, a participant of a BMT to Nepal in 2016 

Across the Lands 

By God’s blessing through the support of our donors and of our BLT and BMT participants, the Bible Society has been able to continue organising and facilitating such tours and mission trips through the ministry of International Bible Experiences. We are thankful to be able to serve and partner with Christians and churches, helping and equipping them to meaningfully experience the Word of Life and share it with others beyond our shores. 

We hope to continue these endeavours and open up opportunities to experience and bring God’s Word to even more countries and Bible lands. Come and join us in fulfilling the God-given mandate to sound His good news of salvation across the lands! 

The Practice of Snake Handling

The practice of snake handling, especially venomous ones, can be found in some churches as part of their worship service. Although snake handling has resulted in deaths from snake bites, it is still being practiced as it is perceived by members of such congregations as a test or demonstration of the snake handlers’ faith. The scriptural passage often cited to support this practice is Mark 16:17-18:

And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name … they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; … (Mark 16:17-18)

There are two main issues related to such use of this passage: (1) whether 16:9-20 is a latter addition or the original ending of the Gospel of Mark and (2) the interpretation of 16:17-18.

Is 16:9-20 the Original Ending of Mark?

Many English translations such as the ESV, NASB, NIV, NKJV and NRSV note that several of the earliest manuscripts of Mark do not contain 16:9-20.  Early prominent Christians such as Clement of Alexandria, Origen, Eusebius, and Jerome either do not show awareness of 16:9-20 or note that 16:9-20 was missing from most of the Greek manuscripts of Mark.[1] Many early copies of Mark containing 16:9-20 also have notes indicating the passage as a spurious addition.[2] Thus, the external evidence (manuscripts) does not support 16:9-20 as original.

The use of literary criticism (internal evidence) also reduces the likelihood of 16:9-20 as the original ending of Mark, such as the incongruence between 16:8, describing fearful and fleeing women, and 16:9, which begins by presupposing the resurrected Christ, using a masculine, nominative participle “arising” (Greek anastas) to refer to Jesus with no male antecedent, to Mary Magdalene, who is described like a new character, though she has appeared just prior to this passage (15:40, 47; 16:1).  Other evidence include the use of numerous new words in 16:9-20 that are not found earlier, and themes that seem to contradict earlier themes, such as the prominence of charismatic signs in 16:17-18 in contrast to Jesus’ reticence to them (cf. 8:11-13).[3]

As such, both external and internal evidence point to 16:9-20 as a later addition to the Gospel of Mark.  However, the addition must have occurred quite early, as early as 145 CE in the Epistula Apostolorum 9-10.[4]

As for the original ending of the Gospel of Mark, the more likely possibility is that (1) 16:8 is not the intended/original ending of Mark than (2) it ending at 16:8.  The strongest evidence for the second view is that the earliest manuscripts ended at 16:8. However, arguments for such a view, i.e. an open-ended ending, are mostly based on modern literary theory, especially reader-response theory, than the nature of ancient texts that usually state a conclusion, rather than suggesting them.[5] Literary, linguistic and contextual considerations suggest that either the original ending was lost or the author of Mark was killed or interrupted before completing it.[6]

What does 16:17-18 Mean?

Mark 16:17-18 provides a list of signs of power accompanying those who believe, many appearing as miracles in other parts of NT but are here considered as signs of faith. We will examine two of the signs: the handling of snakes and drinking of deadly poison.

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The Greek term for snake used here, ophis, refers to a generic snake, not necessarily a poisonous one, unlike the term echidna, used in Acts 28:3-6 in the account of Paul miraculously surviving a poisonous serpent bite.  Interestingly, ophis is also used in Genesis 3 in the narrative of the temptation of the primeval couple by the snake. This raises the possibility that the handling of snakes here could refer metaphorically to the overcoming of the curse of the serpent in the new age of salvation.[7]

As for the sign of drinking poison (Greek thanasimos), there are no other references in the NT concerning Christians drinking poison without any harm. However, there is a reference to the same Greek term for poison used here, thanasimos, towards the end of the first century, by Ignatius in his letter to the Trallians, that is suggestive for understanding 16:17-18.

As evidenced in Ignatius’ letter to the Trallians, there seems to be a heretical cult related to “poison” that was affecting Christian groups.  Ignatius cautions the Trallians against the food of the heretics, mixed like deadly poisons (thanasimos) with honeyed wine (Ign. Trall. 6), in this case referring either literally to poison or metaphorically to heresy. This raises the possibility of a similar understanding of deadly poison in Mark 16:17-18, which when combined with the prior understanding of ophis as referring to the curse of the serpent, suggests heresy to be the more likely reference.[8]

Conclusion

Thus, the reference to handling snakes and drinking poison in Mark 16:17-18 should be interpreted metaphorically as believers being freed from the curse of the serpent, with reference to Genesis 3, and being protected from heresy, rather than literally as a test or demonstration of faith.  The examination of this passage emphasizes the importance of understanding the meaning of a biblical passage with respect to the socio-cultural-historical context in which it was written to avoid misinterpretation and misapplication of biblical passages. Nevertheless, like the early church whose missionary gospel was attested by miraculous signs (cf. Mark 16:20), our interpretation does not rule out the possibility of such signs of power accompanying Christians in missionary contexts. Rather than being tests or signs of faith, these signs of power serve to convince non-believers that the Christian God is real and more powerful than local religions, especially where the occult is prevalent.[9]

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^{[1] Mark L. Strauss, Mark, ZECNT (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2014), 728.}

^{[2] Craig A. Evans, Mark 8:27-16:20, WBC (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 2001), 543.}

^{[3] Strauss, Mark, 729; James R. Edwards, The Gospel According to Mark, PNTC (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2002), 498–99.}

^{[4] Martin Hengel, Studies in the Gospel of Mark, trans. John Bowden (London: SCM, 1985), 168.}

^{[5] R. T. France, The Gospel of Mark, NIGTC (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2002), 670–73.}

^{[6] For more details, see Edwards, Mark, 501–3.}

^{[7] Ibid., 506.}

^{[8] Ibid., 506–7.}

^{[9] Ibid., 507.}

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Rev Dr James Lim teaches subjects related to New Testament at Trinity Theological College. He is an ordained minister of the Presbyterian Church of Singapore and serves as an associate minister in Ang Mo Kio Presbyterian Church. 

Have you ever wondered what Christmas is without Christ? For Christians, Christmas holds a deep and dear meaning—it celebrates God’s gift of salvation for humanity gift-wrapped in the infant Jesus. For those who do not have God’s Word, they may never hear about this gift of salvation and new life, and thus miss the essence of Christmas.    

The Bible Mission takes different forms in different countries. In India, for example, we partner with orphanages and other organisations, providing not only Scriptures but also shoes, blankets and school supplies for the children. With the funds availed to us, we can bring hope to all peoples, like Deetha (name changed). Discriminated, abandoned, and abused since birth, Deetha found comfort and love through God’s Word. This is her story:  

“My father was a drunkard and used to trouble my mentally-retarded mother  

a lot. He was unhappy with my birth, and even threw me in hot water! But  

my grandmother saved me and brought me to Shalom Children’s Home when  

I was 8. I accepted the Lord Jesus as my personal Saviour and found comfort in  

Him. I praise God for all the wonderful things He is doing in my life.” 

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As 2017 wanes, let us take a moment to thank God for His many blessings in our lives, and seek to do His Word.  It is stated in the Scripture that whoever brings blessing to others will be enriched. Flow your blessings to others today—for one who waters will himself be watered (Prov 11:25).  

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Will you give generously, so that more lives like Deetha can be impacted and transformed through the Word of God? 

Make it happen. Moved to be a partner? You may mail us a cheque, made payable to The Bible Society of Singapore, using the enclosed response envelope to indicate your participation; or visit bible.org.sg/donate to partner with us in the Bible Mission. 

Reader’s Question: How can I be a faithful witness for Christ to my sceptical friends and colleagues?

In 1 Peter 2:9, we have one of the most remarkable descriptions of the Church in the New Testament. Writing to Christians who were dispersed in various parts of Asia Minor (present-day Turkey), Peter reminds them of their true identity as God’s people by using some of the most evocative imageries from the Old Testament.

‘You are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession’, writes Peter. Christians are chosen and called by God to be his own people and possession. They must therefore reflect the holy God whom they worship and serve.

In this verse, Peter also makes it quite clear that Christians are set apart by God for a purpose. The English Standard Version translates the rest of verse 9 thus: ‘that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvellous light’. The NIV puts it differently: ‘that you may declare the praises …’

I personally prefer the way in which the King James Version renders this verse: ‘that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light’. The reason for my preference will be revealed shortly.

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Whichever translation we use or prefer, the main point of this verse is clear. As God’s chosen people, Christians are also witnesses of God’s grace, mercy and love. To be a Christian is to be a witness for God.

But how are Christians to be good witnesses in a society whose outlook and values are often inimical and even antithetical to the Gospel?

In his book entitled To Change the World (2010), James Davison Hunter advances the notion of ‘faithful presence’ to depict how Christians should conduct themselves in the world. Although Hunter’s book addresses a number of important issues related to culture and society in late-modern America, I would like to commandeer this concept to respond to the concerns of the reader.

What does Hunter mean by ‘faithful presence’ and what does this concept suggest?

Faithful presence refers to the particular way of being in the world that Christians should embrace, a kind of presence that makes them the true embodiment of the divine love and mercy they have by grace received, and therefore faithful witnesses of God.

‘Faithful presence’, Hunter explains, ‘means that we are to be fully present to each other within the community of faith and fully present to those who are not. Whether within the community of believers or among those outside the church, we imitate our creator and redeemer: we pursue each other, identify with each other, and direct our lives towards the flourishing of each other through sacrificial love’.

Faithful presence, therefore, presents a very simple idea: that Christians bear witness to God simply by being who they are – God’s holy people. But at the same time, faithful presence also presents a great challenge to Christians because it insists that Christian witness has to do, not just with what Christians say, but by the way in which they conduct themselves in the world.

This is the reason why I prefer the KJV rendering of the second half of 1 Peter 2:9. God’s chosen people are not simply to ‘proclaim’ or ‘declare’. They are to ‘shew forth’ the praises of God, that is, they are to glorify God with their manifestly doxological lives. Christian witness has to do with much more than the words that we speak.

The New Testament repeatedly emphasises the importance of Christian conduct. How Christians behave and the values they uphold play an important part in shaping the unbeliever’s view about Christ and the Christian faith.

Christians are therefore exhorted to let their light shine ‘before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven’ (Matthew 5:16). And here in 1 Peter the apostle writes, ‘Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honourable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation’ (1 Peter 2:12).

Hunter suggests, quite helpfully, that Christians should be witnesses within their own spheres of influence. ‘[F]aithful presence in the world’, he writes, ‘means that Christians are fully present and committed in their spheres of social influence, whatever they may be: their families, neighbourhoods, voluntary activities, and places of work’.

But in bearing witness to the Lord by being faithfully present with their family, friends, colleagues, etc., Christians must always be careful to conduct themselves with humility, gentleness and respect.

Even when the Christian is explaining and clarifying his faith, or, as Peter puts it, making a ‘defense’ to those who enquire about his hope, he should always do so with ‘gentleness and respect’ (1 Peter 3:15). He should always be civil and patient, and he should never be aggressive, boastful or quarrelsome.

This means that in explaining and clarifying his faith to the unbeliever, the Christian is not at all interested in just winning the argument. His supreme concern is to make a clear and faithful presentation of what and why he believes.

Even more profoundly, the Christian wishes to share with the unbeliever his redemptive and transformative relationship with God in Christ. The Christian faith is not just a concept, an idea or a system of thought; it is a relationship.

In addition, as the expression faithful presence stresses, Christian witness has to do with more than words – it is fundamentally about how the Christian lives his life in the world, in the presence of those who have yet to experience the saving grace of God.

Finally, the Christian who witnesses for Christ to friends, colleagues and members of his family should always remember that God is with him. God himself is faithfully present and at work in and through the life of his obedient witness.

By being faithfully present in this way, the Christian allows God’s love and grace to be made manifest and mediated to the people around him.

Like many Christians returning to Iraq, Ihsan and Lara have lost their home and experienced tragedy in the conflict with ISIS. Thanks to our supporters, the Bible is bringing comfort and hope as they begin to rebuild their lives.

The ancient town of Nineveh, now encircled by the modern-day city of Mosul in Iraq, has had a chequered history. In the Old Testament, God spared it from destruction, having sent the reluctant prophet Jonah there. But in recent years, it has been the scene of mass devastation as the so-called Islamic State and Iraqi authorities fought for control of the city. ISIS’ grip on the city ended in August 2017 and now hundreds of families are returning.

I travelled there to find out what life is like for returning Christians and how we can help them. The journey to the Nineveh region was shocking and painful with extensive damage in every direction assaulting my senses: houses and churches ravaged by fire, looted and in some cases riddled with networks of tunnels.

Resilience in the face of destruction

Walking through the abandoned market and seeing the rubble that had once been the homes of Christian families, it was hard not to feel demoralised. But, I was also struck by the amazing resilience of the refugees when I visited Al-Tahera Church, formerly one of the biggest and most beautiful churches in Iraq, and observed a small congregation praying with their priest amidst the chaos of the ransacked building.

I met a young Iraqi couple called Ihsan and Lara, both from nearby Qaraqosh, the largest Christian city in Iraq. They have two children and Ihsan used to work as a blacksmith, until ISIS took over their city in August 2014. They had no choice but to flee their beautiful new home which had taken six years of sweat and sacrifice to build.

But Ihsan’s deep sorrow was for his mother’s death not the house. She died a few days after they fled Qaraqosh in the church hall which they shared with other refugee Iraqi families. Still traumatised by his mother’s death, he said, “Nothing is more important than my mother, she was everything to me. Imagine that you lose your mum in this situation.”

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'Persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed...' 2 Corinthians 4.9

I accompanied them to Qaraqosh to inspect their house, which had become a pile of stones. Like many returning Christians, the first thing the couple did was to remove the letter “N” in Arabic which had been daubed on the door, meaning ‘Nasrani’ (Christian), to indicate that there were Christians living there and the inhabitants could be killed. You may be familiar with this symbol as people around the world took it up on social media to show solidarity with Christians in Iraq.

I saw lots of graffiti on the Christian houses. Some said ‘No more church – the Islamic state is remaining and expanding’ but many of these had been overwritten with statements like ‘Jesus is the light of the world’ and ‘God is love.’

Ihsan said: “We have to return because this is our life and home, our history, and the church always helped us. Bible Society also did a good job. We get strength from their help. I believe God permitted the pain to realise the good and the love.”

“We bear witness to Jesus and his resurrection when we live here like our Christian ancestors. There are 2,000 years of history behind us, how can we deny that?” As I left Ihsan and Lara I felt the power of God and the certainty of their trust in him.

Your support is making a difference 

Thanks to our amazing supporters, Bible Society is able to provide Bibles and food packages which are distributed by the local churches. Our Bible-based Trauma Healing program is also helping refugees to talk through their experiences and discover God’s love for them. Please join us in praying for the Iraqi Christians who are still living as refugees in foreign countries. They are physically and emotionally exhausted, living in terrible conditions. Now, as their cities are freed from ISIS, a few have started to return. Churches and other organisations are helping them to rebuild their houses, but the feelings of uncertainty and unsafety are still deep in their hearts. Thank you for standing with them.

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* This article was written by a Communications Officer at Bible Society of Jordan.

“Christianity without the living Christ is inevitably Christianity without discipleship, and Christianity without discipleship is always Christianity without Christ.” These words eloquently summarise the central message of Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s influential book, The Cost of Discipleship, first published in 1937.

This book began life as a series of lectures about the Sermon on the Mount, delivered by Bonhoeffer at Finkenwalde, a seminary that trained ministers for the “Confessing Church” during the Nazi period. Bonhoeffer later joined the conspiracy to assassinate Adolf Hitler, a crime for which he was arrested and executed at the age of 39.

In this book, Bonhoeffer tried to disabuse his readers of the idea that they could take God’s grace for granted just because they have received it freely and unconditionally. Hence, in the pages of The Cost of Discipleship we find the oft-repeated refrain that although grace is free, it is never cheap.

“Cheap grace is the deadly enemy of our Church,” Bonhoeffer insists. “We are fighting today for costly grace.”

Dietrich Bonhoeffer

By “cheap grace” Bonhoeffer is referring to a religion that makes no demands on its adherents, a religiosity that gives a polite nod at commitment but refuses to pay the price it exacts.

“Cheap grace is the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance, baptism without church discipline, Communion without confession, absolution without personal confession. Cheap grace is grace without discipleship, grace without the cross, grace without Jesus Christ, living and incarnate,” he writes.

The free grace of God is costly because it is made available through the sacrificial death of Christ on Calvary’s cross. But this grace is also costly for Christians because it “calls us to follow Jesus Christ”.

For Bonhoeffer, then, at the heart of Christian discipleship is obedience to Christ. No one can claim to be a Christian – a believer – if he is not also a disciple, that is, if obedience does not characterise his life: “… only he who believes is obedient, and only he who is obedient believes.”

Dietrich Bonhoeffer

The obedience demanded of the believer is also not something open to negotiation or bargain, but absolute, without reservation or hesitation. For if you are only partially obedient – which means that you occasionally acquiesce to sin – “you are trying to keep some part of your life under your own control”.

True obedience therefore requires self-denial, the resolve to remove the self with its ambitions, passions and wants from the centre of one’s life so that Christ may take His rightful place there. To obey is to smash the idol of the “sovereign self” and to bring the self into humble submission to the true Sovereign.

Only when we are determined to deny our selves can we embrace the suffering that comes with discipleship. Bonhoeffer writes movingly: “To deny oneself is to be aware only of Christ and no more of self, to see only him who goes before and no more the road which is too hard for us.”

In this book, Bonhoeffer also explores the profound relationship between discipleship and the moral law of God by drawing creatively from the Lutheran tradition that shaped his theology.

To be obedient is to live our lives according to the purposes for which God created us; it is to bend our wills to God’s. And since God’s will is revealed in His moral law, the disciple must order his life according to it.

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But the divine law points to the holy God who, in giving it, invites His people to commune with Him. This means that the divine law, which is purposed to usher us into an intimate covenant relationship with God, can never be reduced to rules – the dos and don’ts – that govern external behaviour.

The Christian can never be an antinomian (who regards the moral law of God as unimportant) or a legalist (who thinks that the Christian life is only about rule-keeping). In other words, discipleship is not just about doing what is required by the law; but if one ignores God’s law one ceases to be a disciple.

Discipleship therefore has to do with obedient love.

“If you love me,” Jesus said to His disciples, “you will keep my commandments … Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me.” (John 14:15, 21)

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Dr Roland Chia is Chew Hock Hin Professor of Christian Doctrine at Trinity Theological College and Theological and Research Advisor for the Ethos Institute for Public Christianity.

Remember my affliction and my wanderings,
The wormwood and the gall!
My soul continually remembers it,
And is bowed down within me.
But this I call to mind,
And therefore I have hope:
The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases,
His mercies never come to an end;
They are new every morning;
“Great is your faithfulness,
The LORD is my portion,” says my soul,
“therefore I have hope in him.”

Lamentations 3:19-24 (ESV)

These are the first words of prayer (that is, words actually addressed to God), that the Poet of Lamentations has uttered. The word ‘your’ in verse 23 shows he is at last speaking to God – right here in the middle of this chapter which stands in the middle of the whole terrifying book. Verses 22-23 are the only part of Lamentations that most people know, because they generated Thomas Chisholme’s lovely hymn ‘Great is thy faithfulness,’ – even if those who sing that hymn are quite unaware of the shocking context in which those words were originally uttered.

For this is the prayer of ‘the man who has seen affliction under the rod of his wrath’ (3:1) – and what affliction, what a rod! Look at verses 1-18. That repeated, accusing word ‘He’ refers to God. Lamentations was written in the immediate aftermath of the siege and capture of Jerusalem by the Babylonians in 587-6 BC. That had happened, according to the prophets (and accepted by this book), as God’s judgment for the rebellion and wickedness of the Israelites for generations, in spite of all warnings to turn around and avoid it. And the suffering was incomprehensible – except perhaps by those today caught up in the hell of Syria, or South Sudan, or Yemen, who know only too well what such descriptions mean.

In chapters 1-2, the Poet personifies the city of Jerusalem as Lady Zion, gasping out in the dust for somebody, anybody, – even God if only he would –  to look at her, listen to her, comfort her. She is a woman stripped, gang-raped, beaten, exposed, violated, her children traumatised and dying in the streets. If this is judgment, even if it is deserved, is it not too awful, too cruel? Whatever the moral argument, the suffering and pain is given voice, the tears are allowed to fall, while God remains silent. There is no comfort, but neither is there any rebuke, nor any heartless ‘told you so.’ Suffering is given the dignity of a hearing. Lamentations has been called a bottle for the tears of the world (cf. Ps. 56:8). If it can be called prayer at all, it is the prayer of desperate suffering, of lament, and protest.

Then in chapter 3 the Poet speaks: ‘I am the man…’ His words speak both for himself and for his people. He was there. He had endured what the city suffered, and puts it into searing poetry that pauses at verse 18 with complete loss of hope.

Hope Perishes

Read again through the catalogue of metaphors in verses 1-18. ‘The Man’ has been beaten by a bad shepherd (1-6 are a negative Ps. 23); walled up alone (7-9); hunted, mauled and shot at (10-13); trampled face-down in the dust (14-16). He is left utterly without peace, unable even to recall what happiness felt like (17), and worst of all, with all his hopes gone (18).

Without hope, life is unbearable. Friends in Lebanon tell me of the tragic rate of suicides among women and young girls in the Syrian refugee communities there – for which the prime reason given is, ‘We have lost all hope for any possible future.’

Hope Remembers

cempakaslot daftar

All the Man is left with is his memories. But there are two kinds of remembering. There are the bad memories that come unwanted and unbidden, the flash-backs and nightmares of trauma, the tormenting, bitter and poisonous memories that the Man struggles with in verses 19-20. But then comes the intentional remembering of verse 21. This is a deliberate act of will, in which he forces himself to remember what he knows to be true. Literally, he says, ‘This I cause to come back into my mind.’  He chooses to think differently. ‘And therefore I have hope’! What a contrast. Verse 18 ends with all hope gone; verse 21 ends with ‘I have hope.’ What is the ‘This’ that he chooses to remember, that makes such a dramatic difference?

The last word of verse 18 is the name of the LORD – Yahweh, the God of Israel’s history, exodus, covenant and centuries of repeated faithfulness. Yahweh is the God who defined himself as ‘The LORD, the LORD, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger and abounding in love and faithfulness’ (Ex. 34:6). If the LORD is still God, then surely this terrible anger and suffering cannot be his last word? You see, once you let the LORD in, even by the back door at the end of verses 1-18, things cannot remain as they are, and that’s what the Man remembers, and turns into prayer.

What he prays is something like this,

‘My life, my hope, my future feel like they have all ended (v. 18),
BUT this is what I remember (v. 21):
Yahweh’s acts of love, they have not finished
For they have not come to an end, his acts of compassion (v. 22 literally).
Indeed, not only have they not ended,
they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness (v. 23).

The God who had acted in judgment is still the God who will keep his promises to his people and will never abandon his covenant with them, nor his ultimate purposes for the whole world through them. So, with that long-term perspective, the Man decides to wait in hope(v. 24) … Almost as if he had just remembered Psalm 33:20-22. Maybe he had. It’s another powerful prayer.

Then another shock (for us) in verses 25-27. Each of those verses begins with the Hebrew word for ‘good’. ‘Good…good…good’ he says!  How can somebody who has just described the horrors that God had inflicted in verses 1-18 turn round and say, ‘The LORD is good…’? Yet he does. He affirms it as the bedrock of Israel’s faith, of biblical truth, and of Christian worship. As the Africans say, ‘God is good; all the time. All the time; God is good.’

But, this does not at all deny or lessen the pain of verses 1-18. Nor does it stop him from going back to that pain very soon after – in the second part of chapter 3 and on into chapters 4-5. But if the God who judges or allows suffering is the God who is good, then even God’s wrath cannot be the last word for those who turn to him – as this Poet is urging his people to do. God will have a good purpose ahead. So even if it cannot be imagined at this moment, even in the midst of the unbearable pain, ‘it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the LORD’ (even though ‘quietly’ is hardly the mood of this whole book).

The swings between gut emotion and theological affirmation in Lamentations are vital to its message. Aren’t there times when singing ‘Great is thy faithfulness, O God my Father’ seems hollow, hypocritical and bitter because of the stress and suffering of the moment? And yet other times when it expresses exactly what you do believe and need to affirm?

Hope Explains

We still wonder, though, how the turbulent desperation of verses 1-18 can reach the calm prayers and advice of 22-30. So the Poet obliges with his explanation. Each of verses 31-33 begins, in Hebrew, with the word ‘For.’ He is saying ‘Here’s why…here’s why…here’s why!’ These three verses begin with the middle letter of the Hebrew alphabet, right in the middle of the whole book. In the midst of the pain, sin, rebellion, judgment and suffering – here is what we must know.

• Yes, God may reject his people when they rebel — but not forever (31).
• Yes, God causes grief when he punishes – but his compassion and love will return (32).
• Yes, God afflicts (or allows affliction) – but ‘not from his heart’ (literally; 33).

We should not equate God’s anger and God’s love, as if they were equal and opposite eternal characteristics. They are both realities. God’s anger is his reaction against all sin and evil that opposes his love and goodness. But anger does not define God in the way love does. ‘God is love.’ God is not anger – on the contrary, God defined himself as ‘slow to anger,’ and Micah affirms that this is something that makes Yahweh the God of Israel unique – ‘You do not stay angry forever, but delight to show mercy’ (Mic. 7:18-19).

So in his prayer, the Man drops anchor into the bedrock of God’s eternal, unchanging, faithful,  covenant love. That gives him security. But it does not give him release from the suffering. The anchor is down, but the storm still rages and his ship tosses – as chs 4-5 will show. Nevertheless – at the centre of the book and the centre of his faith, God’s eternal love has been affirmed in faith and in prayer. I doubt if the Man could have sung this song just yet, but its truth is close to his experience and testimony:

You are my rock in times of trouble;
You lift me up when I fall down.
All through the storm, your love is the anchor;
My hope is in you alone.

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Rev Dr Christopher Wright is the International Ministries Director, Langham Partnership.