PILGRIMS

PILGRIMS is a body of Bible believing Christians saved through the grace of God, united in Church fellowship, so that as a holy brotherhood, we may advocate the truth of God, proclaim the riches of His sovereign mercy to the lost and perishing, and by sympathy and counsel help one another in the Christ-like and heavenward life.

We believe it our privilege and duty, by the Spirit’s aid, to bear one another’s burdens, and in the exercise of a tender-hearted, tolerant, forgiving kindliness, to avoid everything of harsh and ungenerous criticism, recognising in each other, fellow members of that mystical Body of which our risen Saviour is the Head. We seek to maintain in primitive simplicity, purity of worship and communion. We regard as essential features in the teaching of our Lord Jesus Christ that redeemed souls should walk in the newness of life and holy separation from the world; and consider those only admissible to the Lord’s Table who profess their sins forgiven though the blood of Jesus Christ, and whose lives are in harmony with that great truth.

While desiring to extend to all believers the fullest and freest liberty of conscience, we require from all Church members an adhesion to the following doctrines of our faith as understood in a simple, straight forward and evangelical sense.

DOCTRINAL STATEMENT

The verbal plenary inspiration, sole authority and all sufficiency of the 66 books of the Bible, the monotheistic view of God, the Triunity of God, the personality and eternality of God, the sovereignty of God, the deity and humanity of Christ, the virgin birth of Christ, the sinlessness of Christ, the atoning death of Christ, the bodily resurrection of Christ, the return of Christ, the personality and the deity of the Holy Spirit, the literal creation of this universe, the creation of man in the divine image, the universal sinfulness of man ever since the fall of Adam rendering man subject to Gods wrath and condemnation, the eternal heaven and hell, salvation by grace through faith, the eternal security of believers, the eternal damnation of the unsaved, the indwelling, anointing and baptism of the Holy Spirit for all born again believers, the Church universal and local, the headship of Christ over the Church, the recognition of all who trust in Christ alone for salvation as members of the body of Christ and that the local church is the visible expression of that body, the ordinance of baptism of believers by immersion upon confession of personal faith, the ordinance of the Lord’s Supper, the prohibition of worship of men and angels (including Mary, the mother of Jesus), the absence of any mediator other than Christ between man and God, and the absolute absence of any opportunity for salvation after death.

POLICY STATEMENT

Except for the above fundamental doctrines, we hold that individuals and local churches have the liberty to hold differing views, provided that they hold their distictives in love and respect, agreeing to disagree and allowing differences of opinion and practice keep our spiritual perspective balanced. While remaining fully autonomous, we co-operate with likeminded churches on a voluntary basis. We believe that local churches should continue in separate corporate existence respecting each others separate identity and full independence. We encourage each church to confess without wavering all God’s truth known to her and therefore being associated with us involves no sacrifice of principle or testimony. In all joint gatherings of two or more local churches we insist that utmost care is taken to avoid subjects where difference of opinion exist between the groups. Instead emphasis is given on the several cardinal truths that we hold in common, Instead of large churches we encourage small gatherings to enhance intimacy of fellowship and personal care. We stand opposed to legalism and exclusivism.

REGISTRATION:

PILGRIMS came into being in 1990 and was registered as a Trust in 1991 (Reg. No. 139/91/IV, Ollukkara, Mannuthy 680651, Kerala) with jurisdiction throughout India. The Trust exercises no authority over the functioning of the local churches that voluntarily choose to be affiliated with it. This is so because we believe that local churches should continue in separate corporate existence respecting each others separate identity and full independence. The Trust cares for the registration of marriages, local cemetery needs and the Trust Document carries with it the Doctrinal and Policy Statement to which local churches proclaim allegiance. In the 20 years of its existence PILGRIMS has remained small by design and stayed away from further institutionalization.

Mission: Evangelism or Social Action?

Extracted from the writings of John Stott

I suggest the need for a three fold recognition about evangelism and social action:

1. Recognition that the two are partners in the Christian mission… ‘distinct yet equal’ partners. Neither in an excuse for the other, a cloak for the other, or a means to the other. Each exists in its own right as an expression of Christian love. Both should be included to some degree in every local churches programme
2. Recognition that both are also every individual Christian’s responsibility. Every Christian is a witness, and must take whatever opportunities he is given. Every Christian is also a servant, and must respond to challenges to service, without regarding them as merely occasions for evangelism. Yet the existential situation will often assign priority to one or other of the two responsibilities. For example, the Good Samaritan’s ministry to the brigand’s victim was not to stuff tracts into his pocket but to pour oil into his wounds. For this was what the situation demanded.
3. Recognition that, although both are part of the Church’s and the Christian’s duties, yet God calls different people to different ministries and endows them with appropriate gifts. This is a necessary deduction from the nature of the Church as Christ’s body. Although we should resist polarization between evangelism and social action, we should not resist specialization. Everybody cannot do everything. Some are called to be evangelists, others to be social workers, others to be political activist. Within each local church, which is the body of Christ in the locality committed to both evangelism and social action, there is a proper place for individual specialists and for specialist groups.

Yet the Kingdom of God is not Christianized society. It is the divine rule in the lives of those who acknowledge Jesus Christ. It has to be ‘received’, ‘entered’ or ‘inherited’ by humble and penitent faith in Jesus Christ. And without a new birth it is impossible to see it, let alone enter it. Those who do receive it like a child, however, find themselves members of the new community of the Messiah, which is called to exhibit the ideals of His rule in the world and so to present the world with an alternative social reality. This social challenge of the gospel of the kingdom is quite different from the ‘social gospel’ – which replaces the good news of salvation with a message of social amelioration. Evangelism is the major instrument of social change. The followers of Jesus Christ are optimists, but not Utopians. It is possible to improve society, but a perfect society awaits the return of Jesus Christ.

God is GOOD. He is UNABLE to do EVIL

A R Peter shares…
Excerpts from an informal talk with students of the ICEU, Thrissur on 30th January 2010


I committed my life to Jesus Christ in late 1978 while I was a student of the Mar Athanasious College of Engineering, Kothamangalam. The Open Homes of the graduates there had a significant influence on me and I made a commitment to serve the Lord wherever He placed me. I had applied for a job at NSS College of Engineering, Palakkad but circumstances did not permit me to attend the interview. For some reason the rank list was cancelled and the interview had to be conducted all over again on a later date. I was selected without any political pressure or any unethical means. Thus I joined as a Lecturer in NSS College of Engineering, Palakkad.


The EGF at Palakad was a source of great encouragement to me. In those days in my Roman Catholic family none understood what I meant by claiming to be a born again believer. So when I insisted that I would marry a girl only with similar convictions, they could not understand it. God provided Shirley to be my wife. We got married in 1988 and together we started a home near the college campus.


Our home became a home away from home for many who studied at the NSS College of Engineering, Palakkad. Several camps and retreats were organized in our home. Boys would sometimes continue to stay till midnight asking questions and clarifying doubts. Open Home is a concept that cannot be taught theoretically, it can only be learned from practical observation. There was a believer girl from Buddhist background. She was shell shocked when she found Shirley using cane to discipline our children. Thus she realised that even believers' children had to be disciplined.


Four years ago I developed a nasal blockage and I was treated by an ENT surgeon for two years. The nasal drops to ease my congested nose helped me to have good sleep at night. But, one day I noticed a red shade of blood. The scan reports and biopsy revealed a major tumour had extended from the nose all its way into the outer membrane of brain. It was malignant third stage cancer. It was July 2008. ‘Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on Thee’ was a verse that kept coming back to my mind and I experienced perfect peace amidst all these problems. I didn’t know the reference of this verse. I had probably seen this verse frequently on some calendar. Later on I found it was in Isaiah 26:3(KJV). I realised the value of memorising verses.


Chemotherapy gave me a vomiting tendency all day and night. I became physically very weak and internally very insecure due to nausea. Instead of shrinking, 5% growth took place in the tumour after chemotherapy. The only option now was to undergo a very risky surgery.


The doctors made it very explicit to me that it was a complicated case. But because I had the assurance of salvation, I knew that if I die I would be in the presence of God – and that was in fact a better place to live. Shirley was a committed home maker and I was the only earning member of the family. But I had no anxiety about their future because, it was God who had sustained my family this far. The same God was capable of sustaining my family even in my absence. God had not changed. It was the unchangeable attributes of God that strengthened me during those difficult days. God CAN NOT do any evil. That is different from saying that God WILL NOT do evil. The truth is that God is UNABLE to do evil. If God has permitted this in my life, it is because He has foreseen some GOOD to accrue from it. (Romans 8:28). A child safe in the mothers’ arms doesn’t have to be anxious when crossing a busy road. Likewise I rested in the knowledge that my God was able and in full control. I was never led to ask, ‘Why me?’


I experienced the communion of the universal church: believers whom I still do not know and whom I had never seen were praying for me all over the world. I know you will not believe it, but neither my beloved wife nor my three young children broke down at any point of time during all this. I believe they were being kept by the special grace of God. With a smile on his face, my elder son, bid farewell to me as I was rolled on trolley into the operation theatre.


The chain prayers supported 10½ hour surgery involving two teams of doctors working simultaneously: one team working through my nose and the other team through my skull. The skin of head was slided to the front; the skull sawed open, all extensions of the tumour carefully removed - all this had to be done ensuring that my brain remained in its natural environs surrounded by pressurised fluid. The orbit bone above my left eye had to be reconstructed; a titanium plate placed instead of the disintegrated part of skull, and a skin graft from my thigh was used to patch up the hole made in the membrane surrounding the brain. During all these procedures if one nerve was mistakenly damaged, the consequences would have been life long – paralysis or disfigurement of my face. It is now with so much meaning I am able to join the Psalmist to say to the ‘Lord: I praise You; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Your works are marvellous and my soul knows it very well.’ (Psalms 139:14). I even marvelled at the medical fraternity’s ability to undertake such complex procedures. But ultimately it was God who controlled the entire procedure.


Post Operative Radiation was in fact worse than the Chemotherapy and the Surgery. I understood the depth of verses like ‘My strength is dried up like a potsherd, and My tongue clings to My jaws’ (Psalms 22:15) with fresh meaning. My mouth was full of blisters. I was on morphine for one full month – asleep day in and day out. I would throw up any liquids I tried to take in. As days become months, Shirley had to prepare 12 meals a day for me – each time boiling fresh vegetables, grinding them, filtering the soup and feeding me at 1½ hour intervals. For six months I was on liquid food alone. It was a big strain for her, but not once did I see any expression of complaint or hear a word of murmur from her.


Today my salivary glands are not fully functional. I have to keep wetting my mouth with water frequently when I speak. I always carry a bottle of water in my pocket. I have completely lost my sense of smell. Most of us do not realise how much the sense of smell and taste are interrelated. Because I have no smell, I have only very little taste.


A few months before I became sick I had attended a funeral where the preacher spoke from Acts 13:26 ‘For after he had served his own generation by the will of God, David fell asleep and was buried with his fathers.’ I am able to relate the lessons I learnt from all that I went through with that verse. I learned that we can serve God only in our generation. We ought to serve the Lord in accordance to Gods will and not doing our will. The time we have to serve God is not unlimited. A time will come when each one of us will have to die and cease from our labour. When I became sick and bed-ridden I was not affected by depression or regret. The memories of being active in the Lord's work while I was healthy, kept me from being regretful.


God granted me the opportunity to share the gospel to several non-believers who came to see me while I was recuperating. My colleagues in College have divided my course work amongst them and they do not permit me to strain. I marvel at how much God has provided for me.


Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, from all that I have had to go through, I have come out with a far deeper understanding of who God is and this is what I have to say to you: (1) Give thanks for the health that you now have. You will realise its value only when some organ of your body becomes dysfunctional. (2) Serve the Lord when you are able. A time will come when you will not be able. Every minute is precious; every minute counts (3) God is GOOD. He is UNABLE to do evil.


(You can send your feedback. That could be an encouragement: A. R. Peter 9446127500 or arpeter1059@gmail.com)