Reformed Blogging

2017 is coming to an end and 2018 is coming soon. The world isn't getting any better and we're already in the last days. Ever since the Lord Jesus returned to Heaven the last days begun from the apostles. I don't know how many last days are remaining and prophecy is fulfilled. The more I read the Bible and the watch the news the more I'm convinced that they match. Matthew 7:13-14 says that the way to life is narrow. Is it easy to cross a narrow road? Absolutely not. The road to life is narrow. Salvation is free but the Christian life is full of struggles. The Christian life will be hard. Jesus said in John 15:18-19 that Christians will be hate by the world. They will also be persecuted by people who think they're doing God a favor (John 16:2). The Christian life was never a call for ease on Earth but a struggle. There's one comfort I have in trials and troubles is that I can make them out by God's grace. Philippians 2:12-13 talks about working out one

It's nearly the start of a new year and I believe it would be nice to talk about Mary's sin offering. I can't help but admire the earthly mother of Jesus and how she willingly participated in God's plan. She knew through God all things are possible. It was by God's grace that Mary who wasn't born without sin gave birth to a sinless child.  Luke 2:22-24 And when the days of her purification according to the law of Moses were accomplished, they brought Him to Jerusalem, to present Him to the LORD;  (as it is written in the law of the Lord, Every male that openeth the womb shall be called holy to the LORD;) and to offer a sacrifice according to that which is said in the Law of the LORD, A pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons. Such devotion! Such obedience! Such a woman is worthy of admiration and respect as a fellow sister-in-Christ! Mary submitted herself to the will of God. As she would say, "Behold the handmaid of the LORD, be it done to me acc

As I grow older, I could care less about a festive Christmas. I think about how much I have the tendency to hate Christmas because of all the unruly people, crowded malls, traffic... you know it! Yet Christmas has one thing that has come to my mind - the fulfillment of the prophecies of Isaiah 7:14 and 9:6-7. I could agree that Jesus wasn't born on December 25 yet couldn't I use a certain date to give more emphasis on the incarnation of Jesus Christ? There's one truth that I could think about Christmas. No Christmas or the Incarnation of Christ then there would be no Calvary. Matthew 1:21 has declared that Jesus will save His people from their sins. He had to be born like every human child, grow up like every human child and live a perfect life so He could pay for the sins of mankind. 2 Corinthians 5:21 says that the one who knew no sin became the sin sacrifice of the world. Every Christmas, I think about one thing. We've all been naughty. Nobody's been nice by

The problem of the December 21, 2012 doomsday prediction is that they were using the Mayan Calendar. Not all the Mayans even believed it was the end of the world but it was just another cycle. For some, they even wanted to say that December 21, 2012, would be the glorious day when Jesus Christ would come back to claim His Church and the Tribulation Period will start on December 22, 2012. Why do people believe in end of the world predictions? They don't read their Bible. I did a study on the Book of Revelation and a lot of events need to happen before the end of the world happens. How can the end of the world come by a set predicted date when the Rapture, the Tribulation Period and the Battle of Armageddon have not yet come to pass? They would buy any prediction from a man, get fooled and yet many of them still don't want to believe what the Bible says. Remember Jesus said in Matthew 24:36 that no man knows that day and the hour but the Father only. Acts 1:8 says that it&

Years back, I remembered I was more of an Independent Fundamentalist Baptist, I was sort of allergic to Calvinism and had a severe misunderstanding of what Lordship salvation really meant and how the term has been lost in confusion all these years. After reading through Theopedia and some of Dr. John F. MacArthur's articles on Grace to You, I soon ran into who I may consider my favorite apologists and preachers - Robert Charles Sproul Sr. or R.C. Sproul Sr. for short. I may be a King James Onlyist but I still have respect for this man. It saddens me and makes me glad at the same time he's gone. I'm sad because I won't be hearing any new sermon any time soon. I'm glad because it's time to be present with the Lord. Although I have never met him in this life but I'm glad for all the sermons that he has prepared. The moment I shifted from fundamentalism to Reformed was a big shift in my life. I remembered picking up some of his books namely Now That's A G

This Christmas season, I think of the Mary of the Bible and what I can learn from her humble experience. She was no proud Madonna as the Papists would declare her. She was blessed among women as she had the privilege of giving birth to the Messiah in His humanity. Now I think of why was Mary chosen to be Jesus' earthly mother. Isaiah 7:14 says that a virgin shall bear a Son. The Old Testament prophesies of the Messiah coming from the line of David and the Line of Judah. A simple study on the genealogy of both Mary and Joseph would give us the idea of why the Savior chose her to be His vessel and earthly mother. The lineage of Joseph (Matthew 1) and Mary (Luke 3:23-38). Joseph's lineage was from Solomon. Mary's lineage was from Nathan. Both descended from David and Bathsheba. Joseph's lineage was under a curse because of Jeconiah (1 Chronicles 3:16, Jeremiah 22:24). Therefore, it ended the Kingdom of David but it was going to be restored one day. Legally, Joseph wo

Christmas is no doubt around the corner. The next Sunday services will be held on December 24, 2017 or Christmas Eve. I don't deny that I myself have a tendency to hate Christmas not because of its earlier origins to Saturnalia but also because of how people's behavior and materialistic attitude tend to worsen during Christmas. There's no doubt that there's always a battle between Christians in celebrating Christmas. The great Charles H. Spurgeon once celebrated Christmas but later renounced it. Christmas is still considered a pagan holiday. I remembered reading through Alexander Hislop's rather faulty "Two Babylons" and that in some cultures - December 25 of the Gregorian calendar (or for some December 25 of the lunar or lunisolar calendar) is the birthday of any pagan savior or god. There was also connections to the Saturnalia celebration of Rome which was linked to orgies.  Here's an excerpt of what Arthur W. Pink wrote about Christmas :

I admit, my mind tends to change a lot about Christmas. I decided to read about Charles H. Spurgeon's love-hate relationship with Christmas as a self-reflection. There's something that interested me to think about how I too have a love-hate relationship with it. I can't help but think why I have the tendency to hate Christmas   It's the time of the year when people are the most inconsiderate. You have people asking for extra leniency or mendicancy during Christmas. It's the time of the year when traffic is at the worst especially inconsiderate drivers are around. It's also the time of the year when parents break the rules and lie about Santa Claus. The wicked make a show out of Christmas to show their "good" works while they have hypocrisy for almost every day of the year - maybe except Lent if they were Roman Catholic. That's just among a few reasons why I really tend to hate the holiday. I started reading a couple of anti-Roman Cath

As December 17, 2017 is Thanksgiving Sunday in Bible Baptist Church-Katipunan, I decided to do a reflection on Psalm 100. Here's what the Psalm says: Make a joyful noise unto the L ORD , all ye lands.  Serve the L ORD with gladness: come before His presence with singing.  Know ye that the L ORD He is God: it is He that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are His people, and the sheep of his pasture. Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless His name.  For the L ORD is good; His mercy is everlasting; and His truth endureth to all generations. Thanksgiving is never limited to only when good things happen. The problem is that people focus too much on what the storm has destroyed instead of what the storm hasn't destroyed and how to replace what the storm has destroyed. David always praised God even in the times of utmost difficulty. This is not just worship but also praise. One of the biggest mista

Today is the feast of the so-called Immaculate Conception of Mary. That statement that says Mary was born without any sin is a lie from the pits of Hell. If Mary was born sinless (and this also has the question that she had both human parents) then why did she express in John 1:47 that she needed a Savior? She was truly a humble woman. Grace was given to her not because she was sinless but because she was a sinner saved by grace. I reflect upon the words of Mary that she rejoices in God her Savior. I have no reason to believe that she was conceived without sin. A careful reading of Luke 1 would reveal that she was indeed someone who needed a Savior. The very idea that God the Son would be in her womb, that a child would be born of her conceived by the Holy Ghost is unfathomable. She must have thought many times that why her of all people. I can't fathom what was in Mary's mind and heart that moment the angel Gabriel appeared unto her. But she was obedient anyway because sh

One of the many passages that puzzle me is when David said in Psalm 51:4 saying, "Against Thee, Thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight: that thou mightest be justified when thou speakest, and be clear when thou judgest." At first, it sounds really illogical. It's maybe because modern English today uses the word sin more often. There's no difference between a sin and a fault. James 5:10 in some modern translations say to confess our sins one to another (but this doesn't justify confessing to a priest) while the King James says to confess our faults to one another. So what's my understanding of David saying that He only sinned against God? This is a very confusing statement. I decided to consult Charles H. Spurgeon's Treasury of David to help me understand a difficult to understand passage: Verse 4 . Against thee, thee only have I sinned. The virus of sin lies in its opposition to God: the psalmist's sense of sin towards others r

Since today is the traditional feast day of Nicholas of Myra for Roman Catholics, I thought I might as well write about my broken, never to be restored faith in Santa Claus. Yes, I did believe in Santa Claus before as a former Roman Catholic. I always got mad whenever I was told that there is NO Santa Claus. It took me a long time to accept it. Now I would like to talk about my broken faith in Santa Claus. I remembered back when I was lied to by my elders. I was told that I were good all year then Santa Claus would come and give me a gift. I just needed to write to him and be good and I can get any material item. At the same time, I was told that I should be happy about Christmas because it is the birthday of Jesus (HUH?!) and not because Santa Claus was coming to town. But how can I even think about Jesus when all I could think was a jolly old man who could enter locked doors if there was no chimney? How could I think about Jesus if I spent the whole year looking forward to Santa

I remembered the time I thought it's crazy to thank God all the time. I couldn't comprehend at it especially when I first read Psalm 34. The first verse made me think that it must be madness to thank God all the time even in times of trouble. The first verse struck me and it made me hate the Bible all the more before I got saved: Psalm 34:1 - I will bless the LORD at all times: His praise shall continually be in my mouth. I even thought it once to be lunacy. Nothing was more offensive for my sinful, unsaved self-reading that I should thank God for the bad times. Worse, I was reading the Book of Job and found out this verse: Job 2:10 - But he said unto her, Thou speakest as one of the foolish women speaketh. What? Shall we receive good at the hand of God and shall we not receive evil? In all this did not Job sin with his lips.  I soon embraced these verses when I received Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior. But there are times I just find myself sinning by complaini

While I don't accept the Roman Catholic superstition that says that Mary was born without sin yet I believe in the importance of the virgin birth. So what's so important about the virgin birth? I would like to give time to reflect on the importance of the virgin birth.  Isaiah 7:14 has Isaiah delivering the important message to the wicked King Ahaz. The message was the following that a virgin will give birth to a child. One of my many problems with modern translations is how often virgin has been translated as woman since a woman is not necessarily a virgin. This was all part of the Old Testament promise in Genesis 3:15 when the Seed of the woman and not the woman will crush the head of Satan.  Some may ask if Mary wasn't born sinless then how can the Savior be sinless? That's a good point. This is a miracle of God's grace. The sin nature is passed from Adam and not from Eve and it's from the father and not the mother (Romans 5:12-17). The blame fell on