Introduction

In December 2021 God wrought a mighty reformation in Singapore. Covenant Evangelical Reformed Church (CERC) in Singapore was once a faithful witness to the truth of God’s sovereign grace and unconditional covenant of grace. Not twenty years ago, the Lord sent Prof. Herman Hanko to CERC to preach the beautiful gospel of Jesus Christ and to teach her the glorious doctrines of God’s sovereign grace and his unconditional covenant of grace.

But CERC soon became corrupt. When her sister churches, the Protestant Reformed Churches (PRC), were ravaged by a controversy in which the gospel truths of justification by faith alone and God’s unconditional covenant of grace were corrupted, CERC stood by with deafening silence. When Christ’s perfect work on the cross was displaced by heretical sermons in the PRC, CERC offered no admonition nor rebuke to her sister for corrupting the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Within CERC the faithless watchmen exerted themselves in keeping the congregation ignorant of and indifferent to the raging controversy in the PRC. The watchmen foolishly thought that keeping silent in the face of false doctrines and heresies was the way to secure peace in CERC. They gave no instruction in the gospel that was under assault in the PRC until a tiny group of believers banded together to study and speak the truth—for which they were wickedly disciplined and cast out of Christ’s kingdom. Now CERC has peace—a carnal peace in ignorance and indifference to the lie. But she does not have God’s peace.

For CERC’s lack of love for the truth and lack of hatred against the lie, God gave her over to a delusion, so that she now believes the lie. God placed on her pulpit Rev. Josiah Tan—a product of Protestant Reformed seminary training and theology—and placed in his mouth a lying spirit, so that he now feeds the lie to CERC. By means of his preaching, teaching, and writing, Reverend Tan corrupts the gospel truth of justification by faith alone in Christ alone.

Doctrinal Corruption

Doctrinally, CERC has become thoroughly corrupt. The gospel of Jesus Christ means nothing to CERC. The gospel is not the good news of salvation in Jesus Christ. The goal of the gospel is not the glory of God in the salvation of his church. Rather, the climax of the gospel, according to Reverend Tan’s bold declaration, is “in the way of our obedience.”² Man’s obedience—not the glory of the almighty God—is the climax of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Man’s obedience is the goal, the aim, the climax of the gospel!

In her theology CERC has replaced the absolute sovereignty of God with the sovereignty of man. Man has become sovereign and decisive in his salvation. Man’s willing and doing are decisive for his salvation. Reverend Tan boldly teaches that God’s activity of saving, justifying, and forgiving sins follows man’s prior activity of believing and repenting. God’s activities are not absolutely sovereign; they wait upon, are dependent on, and are conditioned on man’s prior activities performed by grace.

Jesus Here is teaching, that for salvation/justification/forgiveness of sins to follow, something must happen prior, that is a man believing in Jesus. That is a man, abasing himself and casting himself completely on Jesus. Without this, salvation will not follow. (5)

In yesteryear Professor Hanko taught that salvation is entirely God’s work, and nothing is left to man. Professor Hanko condemned any notion that something is left for man to do to complete the work of salvation.

All of salvation is God’s work, from beginning to end. Nothing at all is left to man. The salvation of the church, rooted in sovereign election and accomplished in the redemptive work of Jesus Christ, is performed in the hearts of the people of God by the Holy Spirit, who works irresistibly to bring God’s chosen and Christ’s redeemed to the final glory of heaven.³

God’s absolute sovereignty in salvation means that the whole work of salvation, from beginning to end, is so completely God’s work that no room at all is left for man’s work. Sovereignty excludes the freedom of man’s will to choose for God. Sovereignty includes all the good works of God’s people which are eternally prepared that the elect should perform them (Eph. 2:10). Sovereignty means that even the willing and the doing of good works is God’s work, done according to His good pleasure (Phil. 2:12, 13). God’s glory in the salvation of the church means absolute sovereignty in the work of salvation.⁴

From God’s point of view, He works all things sovereignly so that all salvation is given graciously as a gift. Nothing is left to us which makes His salvation dependent upon what we do. We can do nothing, for we are sinners, dead in trespasses and sins.⁵

If man must do something at any stage of the work, then flesh in distinction from the Spirit does it. Nothing but flesh—impotent, wicked, depraved flesh—in the final analysis is responsible to complete salvation.

Are you so foolish?⁶

Witnessing CERC’s replacement of God with Man on the throne, God gave Reverend Tan to rob CERC of one of her most precious treasures: God’s forgiveness of her sins. In a sermon preached on Lord’s Day 21, Reverend Tan robbed CERC of the forgiveness of her sins by teaching that the forgiveness of sins is forfeitable—losable. God’s activity of forgiving sins is forfeitable by man’s activity of not forgiving his brother. “When you don’t forgive your brother, you’re forfeiting the forgiveness of God.”⁷

The members of CERC must have gone home comfortless that Lord’s day. Their minister robbed them of the assurance of God’s forgiveness of their sins. In a class on the PRC’s controversy, Reverend Tan again robbed CERC of the forgiveness of sins by teaching that “without repentance there is no forgiveness of sins. While we remain in the sin of an unforgiving spirit against others, there is no forgiveness for us” (12).

The fundamental blessing of salvation—justification, or the forgiveness of sins—is forfeitable, according to the prophet of CERC! Even more astounding was the response of CERC’s members when their minister robbed them of their most precious treasure. They were not the least bothered. They might have been more bothered if their minister told them that their bank accounts, their careers, their vacations, or their houses would be forfeited; but they yawned when their minister robbed them of their most precious treasure.

In yesteryear Professor Hanko taught that the gift of justification is one of the most precious truths to the child of God.

The doctrine of justification is a fundamental doctrine of Scripture and is a delight to the child of God. It includes the most precious truth there is for the believer: the forgiveness of his sins in the blood of the cross. If the believer knows his sins are forgiven, he has everything. If he does not know that his sins are forgiven, he has nothing—though he possesses houses and lands, riches and fame. It all is a pile of ashes without the assurance of the forgiveness of sins.⁸

Faith as a Condition

Corrupting the absolute sovereignty of God and forfeiting his forgiveness of sins, CERC corrupts the precious Reformed doctrine of faith. Faith is mixed with man’s works, specifically man’s work of repentance. According to Reverend Tan, “Repentance is part of faith…you can’t have faith that lays hold of Christ without repentance” (14).

In yesteryear Professor Hanko explained the concept of faith in altogether different terms.

Faith is, in its essential nature, the bond that unites the believer to Christ…

Faith is not, first of all, believing. But it is, first of all, the living “connection” between Christ and His people.⁹

Faith as the bond that unites the elect to Christ is the essential and fundamental idea of faith. No aspect of faith as knowledge, confidence, trust, receiving Christ as one’s own, or believing him is anything else than the activity of the bond that unites one to Christ.¹⁰

The crucial idea is that faith is the living bond between the elect, regenerated Christian and Christ, by means of which all the blessings Christ merited for him become his.¹¹

Since faith is partly man’s work of repentance, according to CERC, faith becomes a condition that man fulfills to be saved. Rejecting Professor Hanko’s doctrine, CERC openly teaches that faith is a condition. Unlike his dishonest Protestant Reformed colleagues, Reverend Tan is honest in admitting that his theology is conditional and that faith is a condition. “Is faith a condition for justification or forgiveness?…Is faith a condition? Yes, it is necessary.”¹²

In yesteryear Professor Hanko repudiated the teaching that faith is a condition. Professor Hanko explained that

when faith is made a condition, the meaning is that salvation will not be granted to anyone unless he fulfills the condition of faith. Man must first believe for salvation to be given to him.¹³

To teach that faith is a condition, instructed Professor Hanko,

makes faith the work of man and salvation dependent upon man’s believing…

Faith is described in Scripture as a part of salvation (Eph. 2:8). If it is a part of salvation, it cannot be a condition to salvation.¹⁴

When so many teach that justification is by faith and works, what they mean is that faith and works are the ground of our justification; we are justified because we believe and because we do good works, namely the works of faith and obedience.¹⁵

CERC was once a bulwark against conditions and conditional theology. Now she freely embraces conditions. Her consistory deceitfully assures CERC that “there is no condition in which man fulfills on his own power, therefore it is ALL OF GRACE” (5). It is all of grace that man performs these conditions for his salvation. Man, in the end, is sovereign.

Corruption of the Sacraments

That CERC has also become the false church is manifested in her corruption of the sacraments. The Lord’s supper is consistently and openly profaned by members of the church, with the approval of her consistory. Members who do not attend the worship services regularly—many for months and years—are still in good standing and approved by the consistory to partake of the Lord’s supper. By their persistent absence from the worship services, these members show their wicked despising of the Lord’s table. The elders continue to refuse to discipline them. These members remain in good standing.

The sign and seal of God’s covenant—infant baptism—is another sacrament openly profaned by CERC. Covenant parents who do not bring their covenant children for baptism remain in good standing in the church. Despite all their pious noise about church orderliness, CERC’s consistory has no regard for the doctrine of infant baptism. The baptism of the covenant seed is commanded by God because infants

are included in the covenant and church of God…they must therefore by baptism, as a sign of the covenant, be also admitted into the Christian church, and be distinguished from the children of unbelievers as was done in the old covenant or testament by circumcision. (Lord’s Day 27, in Confessions and Church Order, 111)

In CERC infant baptism is an option. Members who baptize or do not baptize their infants all remain in good standing. 

Corruption of Church Discipline

Church discipline is not exercised against the wicked in CERC. Many members of CERC regularly break the fourth commandment by their long absences from church. The consistory allows them to break the fourth commandment with impunity. No church discipline has been exercised against them. The elders tolerate their sin for months and years. The elders may visit them every once in a while to cajole them back to church, but no discipline is exercised.

Neither is church discipline exercised against those who break the fifth commandment by not obeying their God-appointed leaders in the church. Despite these God-ordained leaders’ calling members of the church to worship twice on the Sabbath, many members of CERC disobey their leaders’ calls. Many have hardly ever been to the second worship service. Some have never been. CERC’s God-appointed leaders may cajole, scream, or threaten, but no discipline will ever be exercised against those who reject the calls to worship. They are free to break the fifth commandment with impunity.

Church discipline is, however, exercised against those who study and speak the truth of God’s word in the midst of a controversy that has corrupted the gospel of Jesus Christ and justification by faith alone. Within a week of meeting to study and speak the truth of God’s word, six souls were disciplined and cast out of CERC. At the final judgment the Lord of heaven will open the books and give his judgment on CERC’s consistory.

Reformation

Out of the fierce fires of false doctrines and deceitful lies, the Lord rescued six souls and their children. These six souls gave their ecclesiastical lives and names for the sake of the gospel. Although Professor Hanko’s judgment of these six souls today is that they are rebels and schismatics,¹⁶ we ask: Have we departed from what he taught us, or have CERC and the PRC departed from his teachings?

Professor Hanko used to warn us to be intolerant of false doctrine and to hold the truth above all. He taught us that a church once strong may depart on key doctrines of the truth and that our calling is to follow the truth wherever it is.

The church world today is obsessed with toleration. Within the same denomination and between denominations mutually, people express a great tolerance for the most vicious and spiritually destructive heresies. A church once strong may depart on key doctrines of the truth, but these deviations may be tolerated for the sake of love. The very teaching that Paul condemns in this epistle [Galatians] as another doctrine that brings with it God’s curse is being widely taught in once-conservative churches, but it is tolerated on the grounds of love.¹⁷

From the end of the apostolic era until the present, the church has never been free from the threat of false doctrine. Fighting false doctrine is so crucial a part of the church’s existence in the world that to ignore it is to run the risk of not understanding church history at all. One cannot learn anything significant about a man from whose biography has been omitted the most important events in his life. One cannot understand the history of the church militant without understanding her battles against false doctrine.¹⁸

The enmity aroused by the believer’s confession of the truth of the gospel and the suffering that results from such enmity the believer is willing to bear, for Christ his Lord bore the same hatred of men. Believers rejoice in the privilege of suffering for Christ’s sake.¹⁹

We are committed to warfare on behalf of the truth, as scripture, the Reformed confessions, and Professor Hanko have always taught us. “Deep commitment to the truth of Scripture leads to warfare, for there are not many who love the faith with fire and passion.”²⁰ Let Professor Hanko and the church world judge whether our doctrine is true or whether the PRC’s and CERC’s doctrine is true.

The Lord will reveal at the end of time whether we are rebellious schismatics or faithful children of the reformation. As Professor Hanko was thankful for the controversy of 1953 in the PRC, so are we thankful for our present controversy.

Ought we, therefore, to be thankful for this controversy?

All glory belongs to God, who preserves His cause in the midst of the world and makes His truth to triumph.²¹