Reformed Blogging

Years ago, I remembered a song called "Stand in the Gap" from Praise Worship. The song's theme was taken from the verse Ezekiel 22:30 which God laments that no one was willing to stand in the gap. This was a defying expectation when Ezekiel from the Tribe of Levi became that person to stand in the gap. Israel and Judah were practically in exile. Before Ezekiel, others had stood in the gap. A good example is Moses of the Tribe of Levi who also interceded with God not to destroy the hard-headed people who were having an idolatrous feast in Exodus 32. Later, Aaron (the first high priest) acted like a person to stand in the gap in Numbers 16 after those who joined Korah's rebellion fell into Hell alive. Ezekiel as a Levite would be familiar with that story of Aaron and Moses that well due to his Levite heritage. Why has it become a very hard task to stand in the gap on behalf of the land? It takes extreme patience. I would hate to be in Jeremiah's shoes as the prophet...

Ezekiel is a book that takes place after the captivity of Babylon. We can see that Ezekiel (whose name means God strengthens) was first called on the fifth year of Jehoiachin's captivity. Zedekiah his uncle (brother of Jehoiakim) was made the king by Nebuchadnezzar. Later, we would read the calling of Ezekiel's introduction that he was a Levite (since only those from Levi are to serve as priests). Ezekiel was already part of the exile. It's estimated that he was 25 years old when he was exiled and had a ministry from 597 B.C. up to 571 B.C. - a total of 26 years. Ezekiel was already a priest then he was called a prophet. The prophet was God's spokesperson. The priest was God's representative. These were two different offices. Yet, Ezekiel was both a prophet and a priest. Jeremiah was also from the Tribe of Levi. I would say Ezekiel was a type of Christ as Jeremiah was. Yet, none of them fulfilled all three offices at one that Jesus did - prophet, priest, and king. E...

While I did retire Chick Publications from my list of sources but they did sell one video that was rather useful. It's called "Catholicism: Crisis of Faith" which is also sold by Chick Publications . Unfortunately, Chick Publications has been guilty of publishing several fraudulent testimonies. Rebecca Brown's story was too fantastic to be real. The late John Todd was a fraudster. A dead man who I put above the pedestal was Alberto R. Rivera. Unfortunately, documentation of Rivera having shown signs of being a fraud while he lived has shown up and I ignored it for several years. What seemed to be just a malicious work by the Vatican turned out to contain facts against the man. Rivera is too dead to defend himself but the facts aren't. What was also amazing is that some Protestant groups and Baptist groups are speaking against Rome also discredit the "Alberto" comics as spurious sources .  Was Rivera really a man of God or a fraudulent man of Satan ...

As Holy Week starts this Palm Sunday, I decided to think about how Palm Sunday quickly took a U-turn on Good Friday. Charles H. Spurgeon's sermon " The Voice of the Cholera " also records these famous words: This dreaded cholera is but a gentle blow from His hand, but if it be not felt, and its lesson be not learnt, there may come instead of this a pestilence which may reap the multitude as corn is reaped with the sickle; or He may permit us to be ravaged by a pestilence worse than the plague; I mean the pestilence of deadly, soul-destroying error . He may remove the candle of His gospel out of its place, and may take away the bread of life from those who have despised it, and then, O great city! thy doom is sealed! It's true that Coronavirus is a dreaded issue. Spurgeon also experienced the cholera outbreak in 1854 in his day and age. I'm just sad to think that, for some reason, God chose not to allow certain areas to be spared and church services to be can...

As I finally go back to reading Genesis. I remembered the very blasphemy that Philippine President Rodrigo R. Duterte did as he asked the question of who is this stupid God. It should be a good question to ask and Christians must be ready to answer when they are asked (1 Peter 3:15-17). You have to remember that Romans 13:1-7 asks people to submit to authority. At this point, this is the very situation where Filipino Christians have a very serious responsibility of praying for their country's leader. This is also where one must be a Daniel when the leader is a Nebuchadnezzar. It may have been some weeks since he made the tirade but I still feel the need to be a Daniel if ever God made President Duterte a Nebuchadnezzar. President Duterte was once a Roman Catholic. He supposedly became "born again". He even made January as Bible month for the Filipinos but there's no doubt that he's still not saved as evidenced by his anti-God tirade. He has a very poor unders...

I remembered a couple of years ago after I ended up checking more of Dr. John F. MacArthur's website and when Calvinism "crept into me" - I saw one of the most informative videos is called "Hell's Best Kept Secret" by Ray Comfort. It was talking about the problem of modern churches today and why evangelism is failing at a huge rate. It's no secret that we're indeed the Laodicean age where false converts are indeed abounding. Why is it happening? I watched the video and examined the flaws of current evangelism. These flaws happen to involve the following: Focusing on the benefits of salvation instead of the message of salvation. Some of these include "Receive Jesus Christ and you will feel peace, you will feel joy." instead of addressing the real ugly issue of sin. Many preachers are not using the Law to preach the Gospel and to reveal to the sinner their sinfulness. How can people know that they are sinners if they don't get t...

I don't deny that some Catholic apologists are sincere, polite and they defend their stand as professionally as possible. I've seen some of them have a constructive conversation with the likes of Dr. James White or Walter Martin. I could remember how Mitch Pacwa a Jesuit priest displayed so much dignity in defending his error against Walter Martin who professionally defended the truth in the John Ankberberg Show. I've also seen how some Roman Catholic apologists had a constructive conversation with Dr. White. Unfortunately, this isn't always the case. I've already ran across amateur and/or self-proclaimed Catholic faith defenders. Why do I say amateur? Dr. Taylor Marshall a Catholic apologist had in not getting emotional and sticking on topic. But these self-proclaimed Catholic faith defenders only keep showing their rotten fruit so easily by getting emotional, using red herrings (which isn't sticking on topic), Ad Hominems and strawman attacks in order to ...

There is the statement that says that it doesn't matter how much you know if it's not done in love. Is it wrong for Christians to study science? They are encouraged to know the facts so they could defend the faith. But there is the problem of the atheist who in spite of all the evidence shown upon them that they still choose to mock it. One of the worst arguments is that they can use is that the watchmaker is a human invention while the human body is a product of atheistic evolution. This is really a temptation to get mean towards the atheist especially when they start calling names to the other person or make every form of mockery.  I reflected on how often I fail to remember that it doesn't matter what I know if I don't have love. I could go ahead and do diligent research to defend my stand. I could listen to one expository sermon after the other, I could dig for facts in science, I could just do everything to gather evidence for my faith. But 1 Peter 3:15-17...

I thought about the discussions I had with some Roman Catholic apologists and I ended up making the fallacy of division. I ended up assuming that all of them are like that after one bad experience after the other ignoring that some of them are actually willing to have a healthy conversation. Dr. James R. White himself addresses the issue of this Calvinist Club. It's stupid for any Christian to keep pointing out the mistakes of some most likely self-proclaimed Roman Catholic apologists while they end up engaging in the same behavior. If there's a sad state in Catholic apologetics then there's a sad state in Christian apologetics. It's a problem that many Christians have a very incomplete application of this verse: 1 Peter 3:15-17  But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear: having a good conscience; that, whereas they speak evil of yo...

There's one huge problem with having knowledge without love. I could go ahead and master the Scriptures. I could go ahead and start talking about how wrong their doctrine is based on the Bible and history. But if I don't do it in love then I'm nothing. This is what the Bible says about having all the knowledge in the world but not having love at all: 1 Corinthians 10:2  And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing. While knowledge isn't useless but having knowledge without love is useless. It's like giving a sword to a person who has no self-control. The problem isn't knowledge per se but how the person handles the knowledge one acquires. As Paul would say that it doesn't matter how great you are but if you don't have love (spelled as charity in the King James) then you're nothing. It profits nothing...

I remembered reading through "The Gospel According to Jesus", "Hard to Believe" and  listening to Ray Comfort's lectures "Hell's Best Kept Secret" and "True and False Conversion". All these books present a non-watered down presentation of the Gospel according to Jesus. But there's one huge problem: no matter how much I present the Gospel and give evidence for my faith, some just refuse to believe. Somehow, I wish I could change people's minds from their unbelief to their belief. I really wish I could change people's minds whenever I tell them the truth or present the evidence of my faith. I could go ahead and gather all the evidence of all sciences to prove the Bible is real, I could study exegesis to get Scriptures into context than out of context and yet the person still doesn't believe. It's very easy to compare that the Pharaoh of the Exodus. Even after all the twelve plagues have hit Egypt he still refused to...

"You're such a narrow-minded stupid person!" is one of the biggest insults that are hurled on to my face because I stand by the Bible. They say that I'm narrow-minded because I rely on the Bible as my only filter for right and wrong. Some people think that I read nothing but the Bible. For their information I don't espouse Solo Scriptura but Sola Scriptura. Sola Scriptura is the principle where the Bible serves as the standard for right and wrong. While I do encourage people to widen and deepen their mind but they must have the Bible as a measuring stick. Accept any idea that doesn't go against the Bible but go against every idea that doesn't agree with the Bible. People complain Christianity is narrow. Let me tell you this truth that Christianity is narrow. Matthew 7:13-14 says, "Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait is the g...

It's no surprise that I get attacked by Roman Catholic faith defenders. It's expected they hurl all sorts of false accusations about me. It's no surprise I get attacked by atheists, Muslims, vile people who call themselves liberal and pseudo-Christian cults either. It's been expected and I'm to expect it. But the worst problem for me is when there are people who claim to be Evangelicals. My reason is because whenever there's someone claiming to be a Baptist or Evangelical I'm willing to work with that person. Some of them may even seem Christian because they're anti-Catholic. But the biggest threat is that they're actually false brothers. They're not necessarily working for the Jesuits or the Vatican. Some of them are anti-Catholic but they're spreading the false doctrine of Antinomianism. The other claim to be Evangelicals or Baptists but they're in league in Rome. Either way, both sides are false brothers and sisters that I must be...

As Reformation Day arrives this October 31, I still think about this one problem: do I show sympathy for the lost and do I recognize that my real enemy is Satan and his demons? Remember, these people are blinded. Some of them have become so blind to think they're in perfect agreement with the Scriptures and that God is on their side when He isn't. Although I can't blame Satan for my sins and shortcomings but he certainly is still my enemy to ward off. It does get frustrating to share the Gospel and people don't want it. Even after a super exasperating discussion with Scriptures, even after I start showing the verses in context they still insist that their   out of context quoting is right. The Scriptures are bright as day but these people are blinded by the Devil. What's worse, they don't know that they're blinded. They do what they do because they're not saved at all. Why are these people mean, inconsiderate, rude and have their haughtiness? It...

I just want to get so angry looking at this! It's easy to remind myself that Jesus never promised me to be happy, healthy and wealthy all the time. It's easy to remind myself that the Christian life will be difficult. But it's hard to remind myself to calm down whenever the crowd doesn't want the truth and would rather choose to remain lost in their error. It's a huge problem today that people today would rather choke on their pride than spit it out so they can swallow the truth. They'd rather believe comforting lies that would soothe and kill rather than the truth that will hurt and heal.  Satan really knows this truth that and he knows it well. This is the truth that we can't ignore about how deception and sin spreads: 1 John 2:16 - For everything in the world— the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life —comes not from the Father but from the world. Although I don't encourage blaming Satan for your sins and you sho...

Every time it's September, I'm reminded of the 9/11 attack on the World Trade Center. It's been 15 years since the fall of the Twin Towers at the World Trade Center and I felt like it was a sign of the L ORD's inevitable coming. After that incident, I started reading more about Islam that it wasn't a peaceful religion. It didn't surprise me because I was already saved when I read those information.  So why did the two terrorists two what they did? Islam guarantees no salvation even for Muslims and the biggest guarantee is that if they die in Jihad. The religion of Muhammad was spread through terrorism. The whole promise of giving the martyrs of Allah their reward of seventy virgin may have motivated the two suicide bombers into doing what they did. By willingly hi-jacking two planes and crashing them into the World Trade Center's two buildings, they may have been enthusiastic to meet their seventy virgins only to realize they were headed to Hell. Many...