Dear family, brethren, and friends,

On Saturday, April 11, James Paet dropped Harry and me at the Manila airport, and we flew to Cebu City on Cebu Island, arriving about 2:30 PM.  Jonathan and Nanette Carino were waiting to bring us to the hotel.  The flight went well and it is always a joy to work with the Carinos and other brethren here in Cebu City!

Raquim Miego drove me an hour and a half Lord’s Day morning to reach the Seaside church in Toledo City where Shamar Cajigas preaches.  We crossed high mountains on fairly decent roads, but Raquim had to dodge many places where landslides had occurred, and the road was being repaired.  Our attendance was 297 including many teenagers and young people in their 20’s and 30’s.  My lessons were “Come Out of Her, My People” (Rev. 18:4) and “Modest Dress through the Ages” (1 Tim. 2:9-10).  The audience could not have been more attentive and appreciative.

After lunch we drove to Balamban where Cornelio Roda, Jr. and his son Cornelio III labor in the gospel.  Our attendance was 28 as we studied a two-part sermon on “The Message of the Bible: Salvation in Jesus Christ” (Jn. 20:31).  This church came out of the Seaside church when covid restrictions prevented travel, and it has continued to thrive in this community.

The Cebu City church invited Harry to preach.  This worked out well because he was able to rest in the afternoon while struggling with a sinus headache. 

Monday, we started a six-day training class for preachers at the Cebu City church where Jonathan Carino labors as an evangelist.  As a guide, we are following the outlines in Robert Harkrider’s 4 volume workbook series on Basic Bible Doctrine.  The first section of volume 1 is “Understanding the Theme of the Bible.”  My first lesson gave a separate overview entitled “The Message of the Bible: Salvation in Jesus Christ.”  Then Harry covered the Patriarchal and Mosaic ages and what men must do to receive salvation. Jack Jaco is teaching with us, and he introduced the section on “Practicing Undenominational Christianity.”  

The 93 attendees include 7 denominational preachers who heard about the classes and wanted to attend.  During our very fruitful open forum, someone asked for clarification about the meaning of the restoration movement.  It simply refers to a period during the late 1700’s and the 1800’s when many people who studied the Bible realized modern religious bodies such as Roman Catholicism and Protestant denominationalism cannot be found in Scripture.  Like good King Josiah who called on Israel to return to God’s standard of faith and practice when the Law of Moses was found in the Temple, these people wanted to go back to the Bible in their faith and practice.  They escaped the Catholic and denominational systems to practice New Testament Christianity.  These people are not our standard of truth, but the Bible alone is the perfect and complete standard they wanted to follow and we want to follow.

One of the denominational preachers offered Luke 9:49-50 as proof that Jesus taught the disciples to accept people in other groups – in other words, Jesus wants all denominations to accept each other.  No, to the contrary, Jesus taught the disciples that people who taught and practiced the truth should be accepted even if they are unfamiliar to us. The men encountered by the disciples taught and practiced what Jesus was teaching the disciples even though the disciples had not personally known them before. If we encounter people today who preach and practice the very same things we do from the Bible, we should freely receive them and not be suspicious of them simply because they are new to us.  The passage does not teach unity in doctrinal diversity as if the denominational system constitutes the body of Christ.  

The preacher then offered the thief on the cross as proof people can be saved before and without baptism.  When we pointed out the thief lived under the Law of Moses when Christ had not yet given the Great Commission recorded in Mark 16:15-16, he saw the point.  He promised to come back and continue to study with us. 

Tuesday was another good day with a full house as we continued the preacher training classes.  My lessons covered why we sing but do not use instrumental music in worship, giving on the first day of the week, and, entering a new section on “How to Study the Bible,” a study of interpreting figurative language.  Harry taught on why we worship, the fallacy of worshiping by the commandments of men, the Lord’s Supper, and prayer. Jack taught on what it means for Christ to be the only head of his church.

Once again there was excellent participation in the open forum.  Our denominational visitors did not ask questions today but did ask for copies of the PowerPoint charts – they are obviously beginning to understand the true gospel, judging by their changed reactions.  Someone asked about how the many Filipinos working overseas can give on the first day of the week.  There are three options: 1. Find a faithful local church where they can worship. 2. Teach and baptize friends in order to plant a local church.  3. Bring their collection home to the local church when they visit or return.  The first consideration should be to ask, “Is it wise to work so far from home that a Christian is isolated from other Christians and from his own family for long periods of time?”

Someone asked whether the account of the rich man and Lazarus in Luke 16 is a parable.  The Jehovah’s Witnesses religion insists it is a parable in their effort to escape the reality that the soul survives the death of the body.  If it is a parable, it does not help their case because parables are events that occur in real life so many times that the events make an easily recognizable way to illustrate a lesson.  Parables are not fables.  Actually, Luke 16 is not a parable.  Parables refer to people in a general way and do not assign personal names to people such as Lazarus.

Another question was why Matthew 28:19 mentions baptizing in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, but the book of Acts speaks of baptism in the name of Jesus.  Notice that “name” is singular in Matthew 28:19 because it refers not to personal names but rather to the united authority of the Godhead, which includes the three persons of the Godhead.  Likewise, baptism in the name of Jesus simply refers to his divine authority.  Colossians 3:17 teaches us to do “all things” in the name of Jesus.  It does not mean we go around pronouncing his name with every activity of life, but it means every activity must be under his authority and according to his will.  No passage gives a formula of words which must be pronounced over every baptism. 

Thank you to all who are praying for us as we continue a week of intensive study to better equip evangelists to go into all the world preaching the gospel of Christ! 

Unfortunately, I still cannot see the moon so far, but I will keep looking and thank you to all my friends who keep an eye out to find it, too.  If we cannot see the moon, at least we know the Creator of the moon can see us!

In Christian love,
Ron Halbrook