THE GREAT COMMISSION & THE MISSIONS SOCIETY

From the Board of Elders

Dear Members in Christ,

The Great Commission & the Missions Society   

“Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.” Matthew 28:19-20

“... and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.” Acts 1:8

Whether we as an individual or as a body in Christ, we are to know, obey and carry out the Great Commission in the salvation of souls for the kingdom of God. A soul saved is precious as it is the best gift a sinful man can ever receive from God!

The Bible teaches that man was made out of dust of the ground. And God gave man a living soul, that he would live forever. “And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.” Genesis 2:7. Out of the first man, Adam, God gave him a “help meet”, a woman, whom Adam called Eve “… male and female created he them.” Genesis 1:27.

Adam and Eve were made perfect and they lived in the Garden of Eden. They walked with God daily i.e. they had perfect communion, fellowship and relationship with God. God gave them everything they needed except the instruction of not to eat of the fruit from the “… tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.” Genesis 2:17. We know that Eve was deceived by the devil, and Adam accepted the fruit from Eve, did eat the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. Adam fell into sin and, mankind represented by Adam, fell into sin … “as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:” Romans 5:12. Thus, mankind inherited the sin of Adam and forever separated from God. The whole creation was cursed and death followed thereon to all of God’s creation.

Thus, after the fall of Adam into sin, man (and woman) dies physically. When he dies, as he is separated from God, his soul, which lives forever, cannot be with God. The soul will not be in heaven where God is BUT will be in another place call Hell. The Bible describes Hell as a place of eternal torment, wailing and gnashing of teeth, where “… the fire that never shall be quenched: Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched.” Mark 9:45-46.

The question we need to ask is “how can our souls be in Heaven when we die?” Heaven is a place where God dwells. “God himself shall be with them, and be their God. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.” Revelation 21:3-4. It is a place of light, perfectness and holiness. There is eternal love, joy, peace and happiness.

Out of His mercy and grace, God provides a way for fallen sinful man to be reconciled back to Him i.e. to be in Heaven. How? Sinful man has to pay for his transgressions against God. God demands a perfect sacrifice in payment which sinful man cannot fulfill on his own. God gave mankind His only begotten son, a perfect sacrifice, to bring us back unto Himself “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” John 3:16. Thus, if any man, when he is still living, who has not accepted and believed on the Lord Jesus Christ, his soul, when the body dies, will not be with God in Heaven but in Hell. Thus, this is the simple gospel message of salvation that all faithful Christians must preach. This is the Great Commission.

Calvary Jaya BP Missions Society (CJMS): The BOE initiates and provides leadership and makes decisions in support of Missions station and Missionary. Any new Missions station and support for Missionary, locally or foreign, will be committed in prayers to the Lord for His wisdom and guidance.

To do the work of the Great Commission in an orderly and organised manner, a Missions Society was proposed in May 2019. It is important that the work of the Missions be well grounded and established upon Biblical principles as Missions work is spiritual. An official document on Missions Society was then drafted and approved by the Church Session on 21^st July 2019. CJMS was thus established.

CJMS helps to oversee Missions work in (1) coordinating missions trip (2) ensure that there are planned program and resources for the trip and (3) Report be made upon the return of the trip. The full functionality of CJMS has yet to be in place as the Covid-19 pandemic lock-down, since 18^th March 2020, hampers the progress of the work.

It is important to ensure that the mother Church, Calvary Jaya BP Fellowship, must first be well grounded, rooted and established in Biblical doctrines, spiritual leadership and resources before reaching out to foreign lands “… and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth” Acts1:8b. Here in the Book of Acts, the Bible teaches that the work of the Lord should start in Jerusalem, the home ground of the Christian faith. Once it is established, the work would then gradually be expanded to the nearby lands and then further away which is “the uttermost part of the earth”. In complying with this spiritual injunction, the BOE has decided to re-focus on establishing, building, developing and strengthening the local Church and local missions, as priority, before moving outward to foreign lands.

To update, CJBPF has now the Puchong and Miri ministries. With effect from 1^st January 2021, the Kuching ministry will be directly under the leadership of Gethsemane BP Church. The other foreign missions will now be on “fellowship and visitation” basis where a Missions trip, upon the approval of the Missions Society, will then be made.

Dear brethren, let us be mindful of our calling, to prepare and serve the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords in His vineyard where “The harvest truly is plenteous, but the labourers are few; Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth labourers into his harvest.” Matthew 9:37-38. Let us answer the call of our Lord, to organise ourselves and bring in the harvest of lost souls into His kingdom beginning from our home base and moving outward to lands afar. 

May we treasure lost souls because once these souls are lost, they can never be saved for eternity. They are lost forever! On the other hand, every soul saved “.. joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth …” Luke 15:7. At the end of our life’s journey may we hear the Lord say to each one of us “Well done, good and faithful servant;” Matthew 25:23. Amen.

In Christ,

Eld Choe TS