Dear family, brethren, and friends,

The brethren at Victorias City where Jack Jaco preaches hosted a series of classes on “How to Study the Bible” Tuesday and Wednesday.  We used the excellent Truth In Life workbook by that title, written by Cecil Willis.  Our hope was to have 60-70 primarily young people, but over 100 participants joined us the first day, ranging from 11 years old upward.  While we hope this series will help prepare young men to preach, young ladies were also welcomed to improve their study skills and skills in teaching children.

I taught “The Bible: A Book to Study” and “Can We Understand the Bible?” in the first morning sessions.  After lunch Jack addressed “Reasons for Bible Study” and “Preparing the Heart.”  These topics were followed by my lesson on “Improper Attitudes and Methods of Study.”  Jack ended the day with “Rightly Dividing the Word.”  The students gladly participated in reading passages and several of them expressed appreciation for what they had learned after we dismissed.

As usual, some denominational visitors came including one man who had mentored some of our preachers in a Baptist Bible school before they learned the true gospel – he was very interested and promised to return for the next day’s sessions.

The humidity is still high, but we were blessed to have an overcast sky and to teach in an air conditioned function room on the second floor of a merchants’ business building.

Our Wednesday attendance was 92 and my first lesson explained that the Law of Moses was “Nailed to the Cross,” followed by Jack teaching “The Context of a Passage” and “Read All the Bible Says.”  Before lunch I taught “Word Studies and Translations.”  After lunch Jack taught “When the Lord Says Nothing” and I finished the series with “The Historical Context” and “Interpreting Figurative Language.”  I offered a few minutes for questions after each study and we had several good ones – for instance, seeking clarification about washing feet, about the purpose of Bible baptism and denominational baptism, about the dead burying the dead, and about the binding of Satan and the 1,000 years in Revelation 20.

At the end of the day, we rejoiced with Alfonso Molinos, the Baptist pastor and former administrator of a Baptist Bible school, because he decided to submit to Christ in water baptism for the remission of his sins.  He had come to realize his Baptist baptism was not for the Bible purpose and the doctrine of salvation by faith alone is false.

Jack drove us an hour and a half Thursday to reach the church at Escalante City where James Berden has been preaching for many years.  The attendance today was 132 which included many young people because today was a holiday.  In the morning I preached two lessons on “Selecting a Mate” and in the afternoon another two lessons on “The Threat of Pornography: Making Sex an Idol” (Eph. 5:3-5).

In the open forum I responded to a question to clarify the difference between fornication, all forms of sexual intercourse outside of marriage, and sinful conduct which qualifies as lascivious and unclean such as pornography.

I had referred to immodest dress as portraying women in a pornographic manner, and a young man asked for more information on modest dress.  For instance, he wondered if a woman is guilty of dressing immodestly if that was not her intention.  While all people should examine their intentions, immodest dress draws improper sexual attention regardless of the person’s intent.  This is a case where many females simply do not understand the male nature as created by God.  Men are quickly and easily aroused by sight and by inappropriate touching.  Modest dress avoids creating temptation.

Another question involved the distinction between God joining or binding us in marriage when we take our vows, and the government making a record of it for legal purposes.  Though God rather than government has the exclusive power to bind and loose in marriage, we should respect the legal process in recognition of Romans 13. There were other good questions and we had a very fruitful study at Escalante City.

As we returned to Bacolod City, we stopped to visit the church in Sagay City where Jerry De Erio labors.  I preached to about 40 people about “The Word of God’s Grace” (Acts 20:32).  Our audience was very attentive and appreciative, and it is a joy to see so many brethren we have not been able to visit for the two years of the pandemic.

The gospel continues to spread in Negros Occidental and we have many faithful men devoted to the work of the gospel in this large province.  I thank God for every one of them and thank God for the privilege of coming to edify and encourage them – they also encourage and edify me!

In Christian love,

Ron Halbrook

To see good Bible study material, go to:
https://www.hebronlanechurchofchrist.com
https://biblework.congregateclients.com
https://truthbooks.com
https://www.truthmagazine.com