Posts

Showing posts from March, 2018

Black Saturday Reflection: Every Day is a Holy Day For the Christian Life

Good Friday 2018 is over and it's now Black Saturday 2018. That means it's just one more day and it will be Easter Sunday. It's such a sad thing that when Black Saturday ends and the Easter sunrise happens that so many people return to being worldly. That's why Lent is really more of a license to hypocrisy. But that's not the Bible way. Hebrews 12:14-15 Follow peace with all men, and holiness , without which no man shall see the Lord: [15] Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled; 1 Peter 1:15-16  But as He which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; [16] Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I Am holy . Holiness is a characteristic of the Christian life To be holy means to be set apart for God. Just today, I decided to check out my Charles H. Spurgeon devotional which had written this entry dated for March 30: The spouse wh

The Good News on Good Friday is That "It is Finished!"

Today is Good Friday and nothing makes me cringe more than to think of people who don't quite get it when Jesus said in John 19:30, "It is finished!" In Luke 23:46 we said where Jesus says, "Father into Your hands I commit my spirit." Yes it is finished but why are people still trying to add to the finished work of Christ? There's your good news - Jesus said, "It is finished!" What's so good about "It is finished!"? He had finished His redeeming work. Hebrews 10:12 that Jesus offered one sacrifice for sins. It was never to be repeated again. There is only one sacrifice for sins. It's a once and for all sacrifice. Jesus doesn't get born every Christmas, gets crucified every Good Friday and rise up every Easter Sunday. If there's any reason to call Good Friday as good - it's because the good news is that "It is finished!" The finished work of Christ is done. He has fulfilled the Law that man couldn't l

Good Friday Reflection: The Unpopular Message of the Cross of Christ

I was doing some Good Friday readings and I decided to open the book "Hard to Believe" by Dr. John F. MacArthur for to reread the second chapter called "The Hard Truth" concerning the ugly truth called "The shame of the cross". There is one truth about the cross that can't be denied. It's a very unpopular topic. Here are some words that really make sense why preaching the Cross has never been an easy task: Crucifixion was a repugnant, demeaning forth of execution for the rabble of society. The idea that anybody who died on the cross was in any sense an exceptional, elevated, noble, important person was absurd. Roman citizens generally were exempt from crucifixion unless they committed treason. the authorities reserved the cross for rebellious slaves and conquered people, and for notorious robbers and assassins. The Roman Empire's policies on crucifixion led Romans to view any crucified person as absolutely contemptible. The Romans used it o

Voluntary Crucifixion is an Insult to Jesus' Finished Work

It's Good Friday and I really believe it's time to address the issue of voluntary crucifixion. I would like to specify that the practice of voluntary crucifixion is not found in the official Roman Catholic catechism. It's just like the superstition of not taking a bath on Good Friday where it's not officially taught in the Roman Catholic institution but some Filipinos have incorporated something else into their worship not taught by the official Vatican canon. Please note that a group of heretics known as the Flagellants were even considered as a heretical sect by the Vatican Council. What makes the idea of voluntary crucifixion which is termed as "penitensya" (which means penance) an insult to the finished work of Christ? The very belief that you can earn your merit by voluntary crucifying yourself to get justified before God is absolutely not biblical. Galatians 2:21 I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the Law, then Chris

Ezekiel's Experience in the Valley of Dry Bones Proves It's Stupid to Try Having a Revival Without God's Holy Spirit at Work

Image
I was listening to the very recent sermon of Pastor Paul Tabanao who is a missionary to Cambodia. It had me thinking of how Cambodia still shakes my very bones with the sad history of the Khmer Rouge. How many percent of the victims were saved? How many of them right now are even tormenting Pol Pot in the very pits of Hell? Hell will be more than hot enough for Pol Pot's depravity. Out of this tragedy came the Khmer Rouge museum which displayed the bones of the many victims and this is where he brought the preaching to Ezekiel 37:1-14. 1 The hand of the LORD was upon me, and carried me out in the Spirit of the Lord, and set me down in the midst of the valley which was full of bones, 2 And caused me to pass by them round about: and, behold, there were very many in the open valley; and, lo, they were very dry. 3 And he said unto me, Son of man, can these bones live? And I answered, O LORD God, thou knowest. 4 Again he said unto me, Prophesy upon these bones, and say unto them,

Correcting the Severely Misunderstood View of Sola Scriptura

It's really something when various groups such as the Roman Catholic institution don't really know what Sola Scriptura or Bible alone means. First, we need to think about the difference between Sola Scriptura and Solo Scriptura. So what do the two mean? Here's a big distinction that we should be careful before we mistake them to be just one for the other: Sola Scriptura: the Bible is the only "rulebook" that sets out Christian doctrine. Although we don’t need anything else to know God and be saved by him,  God didn't deliver it in a hermetically-sealed chamber; rather, he put it in the middle of a vast library full of other sources that help us understand it better .  Solo Scriptura: the Bible is the only "rulebook" that sets out Christian doctrine, and any attempt to nuance or finesse our understanding of it using other sources of knowledge is probably from the devil.  We don’t need that malarky, we don’t want that malarky, and in fact, you sho

Bringing in the Sheaves

Image
Perhaps one of the greatest hymns that greatly describe soulwinning is "Bringing in the Sheaves" which is based on Psalm 126:5-6 which says: They that sow in tears shall reap in joy. He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him. The lyrics goes as is: Sowing in the morning, sowing seeds of kindness, Sowing in the noontide and the dewy eve; Waiting for the harvest, and the time of reaping, We shall come rejoicing, bringing in the sheaves. Refrain: Bringing in the sheaves, bringing in the sheaves, We shall come rejoicing, bringing in the sheaves, Bringing in the sheaves, bringing in the sheaves, We shall come rejoicing, bringing in the sheaves. Sowing in the sunshine, sowing in the shadows, Fearing neither clouds nor winter’s chilling breeze; By and by the harvest, and the labor ended, We shall come rejoicing, bringing in the sheaves. Refrain Going forth with weeping, s