Reformed Blogging

I find myself pretty mixed on Dr. John F. MacArthur's decision to reopen church. I'm not saying that it's wrong per se for him to reopen the church. However, seeing a jam-packed church where there's no facemask and social distancing is not something to be there. MacArthur did write a book called "Reckless Faith" then ends up what could be an example of such. I think reopening church can be done. For me, MacArthur did something both courageous and reckless at the same time. I felt he needed to consider that he may want to reopen but are there safety conditions? What safety conditions are there? I think the following safety precautions should be set and I pray MacArthur and his associates will do the same:  Social distancing is necessary. That means those who wish to attend services should first register before they enter. This is to ensure that the church operates at half-capacity. Sickly people and the old should stay at home and attend a virtual service whene...

I was thinking about it that I should never put any pastor above the pedestal. Pastor John F. MacArthur himself has decided to reopen in the midst of the crisis. Worse, the local service itself has put others who are aged (including MacArthur) in danger. An act of faith? I think not and it's the responsibility of everyone in the Body of Christ to rebuke the error of their fellow Christians. I think MacArthur needs to be rebuked as a brother-in-Christ. I feel this is very wrong for a number of reasons. I remembered reading Spurgeon.org's article " Spurgeon and the Cholera Outbreak of 1854 ". I'm really thinking that MacArthur may have ignored this warning written by his colleague: Pastors need to exercise wisdom when it comes to gathering as a church, especially when the health and lives of people are at stake . Certainly, adjustments will need to be made and priority will have to be given to only the most important aspects of our gatherings. But when such gatherin...

As I'm studying the epistles of the Apostle Peter - I'm still left pondering on the term "royal priesthood". Ephesians 4:11 doesn't make mention of priests. When Paul wrote 1 Timothy 3:1-7, he doesn't say, "If any man desires the office of a priest." or "The priest must, therefore, be the husband of one wife." The office of the priesthood is gone. Nowhere in the New Testament have priests become part of the office. Today, we don't call the pastor (also referred to as bishop or overseer) as a priest. Leviticus 22 had the order for priests to be the husband of one wife. The New Testament priesthood has been set for all believers. We need to see the contrast. In the Old Testament, only people from the Tribe of Levi can be priests. The restrictions were even greater as people with physical deformities can't be priests. Priests were to marry only virgins. The priesthood had to be from father to son. Aaron's priesthood was passed ...

A recent study in Philippians got me into more of the Greek . These are the words koinonia (fellowship) and suqkoinonous (wrapped up together). How are these two words used? The words are used in Philippians 1:5 and Philippians 1:7. For your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now; 6 Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ: 7 Even as it is meet for me to think this of you all, because I have you in my heart; inasmuch as both in my bonds, and in the defence and confirmation of the gospel, ye all are partakers of my grace. (KJV)  because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now. 6 And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. 7 It is right for me to feel this way about you all, because I hold you in my heart, for you are all partakers with me of grace,[a] both in my imprisonment and i...

I may not agree with Paul Washer all the time (though these areas for me are very minor) but he has very powerful statements. One of his biggest statements is the truth that the Church is one. I'm referring to the holy catholic apostolic church and not the Roman Catholic institution. The word catholic is derived from the Greek word katholes which means universal. Consider how Acts 9:31 which means "all throughout". The word catholic is synonymous to universal. In the times of a great pandemic - I do have the comfort that the Christian church remains in it catholicity (or universality), apostolic, and holy church. The Bible may refer to "churches" and the Church. How can there be the churches and the Church? It's because the churches may be divided organizationally but they are united spiritually .  How can the churches be united spiritually while being organizationally divided? For one, I'm not a Baptist Brider. I don't consider myself a Prote...

While Holy Week is considered to be one of the most hypocritical times of the year (aside from Christmas) yet it's an evangelistic opportunity. Charles H. Spurgeon preached Good Friday sermons back in his day. Good Friday commemorates what Christ has done to defeat sin once and for all - making the superstitions of the Roman Catholic eucharist all too unnecessary. Now, I contemplate on the thought that tomorrow is Palm Sunday yet the brethren couldn't be together to worship the Lord our God as a community. Is God telling us something? We have to consider why death and disease are in this world. The once perfect conditions of man have been tainted by Adam's sin (Romans 5:12). While it does sound unfair for God to pin it on Adam but think about it. Who did God put in charge of Eve? Adam should've known better to warn Eve or stop her before she ate of the forbidden fruit. Adam himself had a much higher responsibility and couldn't blame Eve. Blaming Eve meant blaming...

I was reading through The Spurgeon Center and found an article where it talked about Charles H. Spurgeon and the cholera epidemic . One of the most striking points by Pastor Geoff Chang on his article are as follows:  Pastors need to exercise wisdom when it comes to gathering as a church, especially when the health and lives of people are at stake . Certainly, adjustments will need to be made and priority will have to be given to only the most important aspects of our gatherings. But when such gatherings are possible, pastors should realize that they can be tremendous opportunities for preaching the gospel to those who are desperately looking for hope.  The case of Spurgeon was that his side of the community was not quarantined. I would say that the grace of God was at work that allowed Spurgeon to have gatherings in spite of the plague. However, what if God won't grant pastors today that privilege today as Spurgeon had it? What if the government would temporarily put ce...

I remembered the one time I actually wanted to object to pastors being called as a reverend was because of this passage from the King James Bible: Psalm 111:9  He sent redemption unto his people: He hath commanded his covenant for ever: holy and reverend is His name. One pastor I met named Pastor Armando C. Borja of the Christian Church in Cebu objected to anyone calling him as a reverend. He says that the title should be for God and God alone. Reverend appears once in the King James Bible. The Strong's Concordance says the Hebrew word is "yârêʼ". Strong's definition is as follows: A primitive root, to fear; morally to revere, causality to frighten: - {affright} be (make) {afraid} dread ({ful}) (put in) fear ({ful}{fully}-ing) (be had i) reverence ({-end}) X {see} terrible ({act} {-ness} thing). The Hebrew word actually means, "to fear; morally to revere; causatively to frighten". The Hebrew word wasn't always translated as reverend. ...