But you, dear friends, by building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in God’s love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life.

Today, we also face many erroneous teachings taught by cults and people who hold on to extreme positions. We are also assailed by numerous harmful values of the world. I urge one and all to ground yourself in Christian doctrines by reading good theological books. You can find them in the church library. Some months ago, the church also gave out printed copies of the Westminster Confession of Faith. If you do not possess one, you can get a copy from the church office. It is given free but it requires effort and money to print it. Please read it.

I also require every Sunday School teacher to read this Westminster Confession of Faith by June 2018. It is an important confession, that is, a statement of religious beliefs. It is adopted by many churches in the world (including Tree of Life Christian Church) for the past 300 years.

This confession was written as a response to political and religious chaos in England in the early 17th century. The English Parliament called for “an Assembly of learned, godly, and judicious Divines,” that is, theologians, from different parts of England to clarify matters related to the government and doctrines of the Church of England. The confession was written during the years 1643-1647 by the Westminster Assembly, which comprised 120 theologians and 30 members of the parliament of England. Along with it, these theologians also wrote the Westminster Shorter Catechism (published in our church weeklies over many months) and Longer Catechism. This confession and the two catechisms are, as John Murray the Scottish and Calvinist theologian said, “the finest creedal formulations of the Christian Faith that the church of Christ has yet produced.” It is not perfect, but is reliable and godly, and is subject to the authority of the Bible, the Word of God.

There are a total of 33 very short chapters, most of which are as short as one A5 page or less. The topics include doctrines related to the Bible, God, God’s decrees, saving faith, assurance of salvation, the human conscience, marriage and divorce, the state of human beings after death, the last judgement, etc.

When you are sure and clear about important doctrines, you are like a tree with a good seed. The tree will produce good fruits. You would be able to live a godly life and not be deceived by false teachings, be they erroneous religious teachings or harmful values of the world. Then we would be able to

Reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming. Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ. (Eph 4:13-15)