I truly believe that it is a privilege to be a pastor in Hope church. It is not simply because the Hopefuls are great and loving people. It is not simply because they are friendly and God fearing people. There are at least three reasons for which I thank the Lord for Hope church: (1) It is a Bible believing church, (2) It is a Biblically separated church, and (3) it is a Biblically oriented church. First of all, I thank the Lord that the Hopefuls are believers of the Bible. It does not sound very special. Isn’t it true that every church believes in the Bible? The answer is no. Very unfortunately, modern-day churches have lost their confidence in the Bible. They either deny certain parts of the Bible or distort the meanings of the Bible in the disguise of hermeneutics (interpretation of the Bible).

I have been teaching a course, How to Study the Bible, every Sunday afternoon for more than a year. It is important for us to know how to interpret the Bible. Without knowing it, we will fall into a trap of man’s ungodly reasoning from his darkened mind. Modern-day churches have suffered as a result of the loss of their confidence in the Bible. When they removed the authority of the Scriptures, they lost their messages as well. Their messages are not “thus saith the Lord” any longer. The authority of man, philosophy, and ideas has filled the vacuum. As a result, people in the pews are satisfied with “privatized, individualistic, and subjective experiences” (Os Guinness, Dining with the Devil, 20). People believe what they want to believe. Thus, God does not speak to them about what they should believe from the Scriptures. Instead, people choose what they want to believe from the Bible. The final authority of their faith is ultimately subjective. They are wondering why God says that believers should not live by bread alone but by every word that comes from His mouth. However, we shall affirm again and again that the Bible is God’s Word, and it has the final saying in all matters. It is infallibly and inerrantly God’s Word. The Bible has the final authority in Hope church. This conviction shall never move away from our constitution, teachings and hearts. On this anniversary day, I thank the Lord that Hope church is a Bible believing church.

I thank and praise the Lord that Hope church is a Biblically separated church. A rock star, Michael Been, of the Call said, “Everything that goes on in every major corporation goes inside the church, except as a sideline the Church teaches religion” (“The Door Interviews Michael Been,” The Door, July/August, 1991, 8). Under the influence of modernity, Christian faith has become deformed. Churches are trying to win the world while losing their souls. Churches have become secularized. This secularized Christian faith becomes so irrelevant in practice. There is no need for God, and amazingly God is not sought after even in churches. Pluralization is another problem in modern churches. This has resulted in relativism and subjectivism. Therefore, God does not define man, but man defines God. Such confusions have brought man into many uncertainties and anxieties. People are not sure what they believe, and they are not sure whether what they believe is correct. Or, it does not matter what they believe because everything seems to be the same teaching. Churches have abandoned their traditional teachings and altered, instead, them to fit in with the new trends and fads of the days. It causes the churches to lose absolute truths. The gospel is so much pruned and domesticated that it is not presented as absolute truth any more. Thus, compromises are everywhere. The World Council of Churches (WCC) is one of many examples. Dean Inge aptly said, “He who marries the spirit of the age soon becomes a widower.” That’s exactly what has happened to churches. Churches have lost their people, faith, and the world. Look around us and see the pitiful and mournful look Christian churches have! They are left without young people, and church doors are locked one by one. They are on the market waiting for the highest bidders. So called Christian rock is shaking our young people in mega churches, and they argue that it is the way of true worship. Extra revelations and fallible prophecies are promoted as legitimate means to bring people to God. How is this age different from the days of Ahab? Abiding in the Bible is somewhat archaic. Under the name of relevance, Christian doctrines are set aside, and treated like oldies. What they do not know is that “to be always relevant, we have to say things which are eternal” as Simone Weil said. Hope church is a separated church from theological compromises, philosophies of this age, and liberal views of the Bible. When a man does not hold unto the Bible as God’s Word, he is not a Christian. If a church denies the truthfulness of the Bible, it is not a Christian church any more. Therefore, we refuse to make any compromise or association with such movements or academics that take us from the teachings of the Bible. We have take a side with the Bible and the forefathers of the faith in church history

I thank and praise the Lord that Hope church is a Biblically oriented church. It means that she has endeavored to do what the Bible commands her to do. One of these examples is found in foreign missions. I am grateful and thankful that Hope church has sent out a few short term mission teams to Cambodia and is planning for another one next January. It is a right thing to do. The Lord has given us a great commission to fulfill. It is my prayer that Hope church will be able to do more things for the Lord in the coming years, and such endeavors will be continued through the following generations.

Pastor Ki

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14 Bedford Square, Colonel Light Gardens, South Australia 5041