Student Testimony: Marcus Lee (Master of Divinity)

I grew up in as a 2nd generation Christian family with both my parents being Christians. Since young, I’ve been attending church faithfully. Church to me wasn’t boring, unlike many who grew up in similar situations like myself. My friends were there, there were lots of games and activities to keep us occupied and entertained, not forgetting the points that we could collect for redemption. Besides, I was one of the smarter kids back then, being able to answer most questions regarding the Bible that were asked. I believed deep down in my heart that God was true and He was real. However, I was also the rascal that tried to look admirable in everyone’s eyes. In school I would do lots of foolish things to get approved by my friends. I profaned my lips and lashed out at anyone who made me angry while behaving like an obedient child in church.

At the age of 13, I got my first phone and immediately begin asking friends to transfer songs via Bluetooth (those were the days). One of the songs was “light of the world”, a song I’ve sang countless times in church. One day as I came back from school, I played the song as I was going to shower, and for the first time the lyrics of the song caught my attention. It was also the first time I felt God’s convictions about my sins. This event eventually changed me, I stopped speaking profanities and found the strength to control my emotions by God’s grace. In the same week, I was given the opportunity to serve in children’s ministry. This was the beginning of God’s calling, shaping and moulding, as I was given many more roles in various other ministries throughout the years.

Long story short, I then entered Sunway university and joined the Christian Fellowship. I never really thought of becoming a minister until about 2 years into my degree. During this period, God begin to reveal many issues within the Christian youth ministries and churches. He also brought me trough several encounters with cults and with “Christians” of odd beliefs, twisting Scripture to suit their own desires. It troubled me deeply like never before, but what troubled me even more was that I felt incapable of doing anything about it due to the serious lack of understanding of the Bible. By God’s grace I was exposed to the ministry of apologetics, which was a joy to me as I did all I could to learn as much as I can to defend my faith. As I neared the end of my degree, I prayed for God to lead me. I didn’t really enjoy the prospect of getting into the corporate world, and although I had a passion for God’s Word, I didn’t want to make decisions without knowing God’s plan and will. Finally, by His loving guidance, I eventually registered to be theologically trained under Equip Gospel Ministries.

When I examined the state of Christianity in this age, I can’t help but notice the level of shallowness in theological understanding and biblical literacy particularly amongst the youths, although many have devoted their lives to the study of Scripture. This among many other factors have opened up the doors for all kinds of false teachings to creep into our lives. As such, I believe God’s calling for my life is to devout myself into serious study and to teach sound doctrine. One of my main encouragement comes from 1 Timothy 4:12-16, and I pray for God’s strength to persevere.