From CHC Management Board, we read Aries Zulkarnain’s media release in which he states:
“We put our trust in God that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.”
Aries Zulkarnain
This statement is a paraphrase of Romans 8:28
“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”
Sadly this scripture barely resembles the lives of Kong Hee, or his leadership. However it does reflect the lives of those who have left CHC after clearly questioning CHC’s teachings and practices.
What Zulkarnain quoted is exactly what CHC has not done.
If CHC put their faith in God, why is their founder, and his senior leaders, going to jail?
This is why things have NOT worked out for the good of CHC and why it has NOT worked for the six accused. If “God works for the good of those who love Him,” why are six leaders from CHC going to jail?
Why do they now have criminal records?
God’s Word gives CHC members plenty of warnings against following false shepherds like Kong Hee. If CHC truly put their faith in God, why did they go out of their way to reject God’s warnings in His word and put their faith in a man that scripture calls a “lawless one”?
The severity of punishment for such law breakers in the Old Testament was death. In the New Testament church, Jesus’ apostles said such persons were meant to be excommunicated.
Some in CHC have called these events “persecution”. However they are not being persecuted because they put faith in Christ and His Word. They are being persecuted because they put their faith in a false teacher and his leadership and are now reaping the consequences.
Just as 2 Timothy 2:5 says: “An athlete is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules”, Kong Hee can not be recognized as a true shepherd unless he acts in accordance to the rules of the Christian church laid down by Christ and His Apostles. And since he was never properly qualified, this deems him as an impostor to the Christian ministry.
Is Kong Hee being fairly or unfairly persecuted by the Singapore government?
CHC writes,
CHC TRIAL: GUILTY VERDICT BUT REDUCED SENTENCES (7 APR 2017)
Dear Church Family, The verdict of the appeal by the six—Pastor Kong, Pastor Tan, Serina, Sharon, John and Eng Han—was given today at the High Court. The Appeal judges gave due consideration to the matter, and agreed with the State Courts’ finding that the six are guilty of the charges.
However, the majority of the judges disagreed that the punishment for the six should fall under Section 409 of the Penal Code, as the six did not fulfill the definition of “agent”. Instead, the majority felt Section 406, or CBT simpliciter, was applicable. The sentence for Section 406 is much lighter.
Hence, the sentences for the six were shortened to between seven months for Sharon to three years and six months for Pastor Kong, compared to the State Courts’ sentencing of between 21 months and 8 years.
While we are deeply saddened by this decision, we thank God for the shorter sentences. We put our trust in God that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.
It has been a seven-year journey for City Harvest Church. In the Bible, the seventh year is a time of Sabbath, a time of release and rest. It has been a hard journey that all of you have taken with the leadership—through it all, we have learned many lessons, the most precious of which is to trust God with our whole lives.
Thank you for your seven years of ceaseless prayer and uncompromising faith. Let us continue to pray for and support the six and their families as they go through this difficult time.
Let’s come together this weekend to worship God. Let’s also hold fast to the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful.
In Christ,
Aries Zulkarnain
on behalf of the CHC Management Board
Source: Aries Zulkarnain, CHC TRIAL: GUILTY VERDICT BUT REDUCED SENTENCES (7 APR 2017), CHC, https://www.chc.org.sg/, (Accessed 07/04/2017).
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Categories: City Harvest Church