Dear family, brethren, and friends,

Saturday morning, we drove an hour into the foothills of the mountains to reach the saints at Baliuag, Penablanca where Alfonso Danao preaches.  An audience of 55 was waiting and we arrived as a gospel caravan with three vehicles and 14 motorcycles including brethren from Manila, the Bicol region, and Davao City on Mindanao.  The weather was extremely hot and humid again, but everyone was very attentive to the study of “The Resurrection of Christ” in Mark 16.  Rody Gumpad then summarized the sermon in the local dialect.

When the invitation of Christ was extended, five people came forward to submit to Christ in baptism from ages 54 down to 8.  Normally, Rody is able to convince an 8 year old that they need to wait and mature more in understanding, and we all waited several minutes while he tried to convince this young man.  But, he answered every question and could not be dissuaded from his decision.  Rody finally explained that if at a future time he concludes he was too young to make this decision, he should be baptized again at that point.  We rejoice with the angels of heaven for this harvest of souls.

When I visited here several years ago, I met Jimmy and Cane Christup.  He is from Denmark and married this Filipina, then was converted to Christ and they are still faithful.  It was good to see them again.

We came back to Tuguegarao City to enjoy a family’s thanksgiving feast for the blessings of God which have made it possible for them to expand their house.  Mike Darby is an American married to Elsa, a Filipina.  He lived in Alaska 38 years and retired from the U.S. Air Force there.  They now live here and attend the Metro Tuguegarao church.

This afternoon we drove about three hours westward in the Province of Cagayan and spent the night at Abulug in order to be able to worship at an early Sunday service at Dubeng in Pamplona.  God has granted us safe travel including the 14 on motorcycles.

Our first Lord’s Day service was with the Dubeng, Pamplona church where Robin Pulveras preaches.  The church building was full to overflowing with 115 in attendance.  He is considering enlarging the building.  “Work While It Is Day” (Jn. 9:4) was the subject of my sermon.  Rody Gumpad followed me in the pulpit to summarize the sermon in the local dialect.  Three young men answered the call of Christ to believe in him, repent of sins, confess his name, and yield to him in baptism for the remission of sins.  They were baptized in the muddy waters of a river nearby as we all rejoiced together.

We immediately proceeded to the Magacan church which is composed of natives called Negritos who are served by Danilo Bautista, one of their own.  I have visited them several times through the years and they always met under a nipa hut (nipa is dried palm leaves), but now their hut is covered with galvanized iron sheets.  Unfortunately, a long coconut tree fell and damaged the roof recently.

Negritos are among the poorest of the poor.  Having come down from the mountains seeking work, they have no land or possessions and squat on any available land they can find, living in the most primitive conditions.  About 80 assembled today (others wanted to come but had no available transportation today) and heard my lesson on “The Lord’s Supper: Memorial to Christ” (Acts 20:7).  Their little blackboard was so worn out it was hard to see the outline I inscribed on it, but I gave Danilo funds to replace it with a good one.

We left Magacan about 3:00 P.M. and traveled through the mountains to Laoag City in the Province of Ilocos Norte, arriving about 7:30.   We took a short break along the way at a military park opened in January of 2024, putting all sorts of arms and equipment on display used by their Marines.  We were told it is not merely for display, but live ammunition is readily available on a moment’s notice.  This is a clear and obvious sign of resistance against the Chinese military who are harassing Filipino fishermen and vessels within Philippine territorial waters.  In reality, the Philippine military could not withstand a Chinese attack unless the U.S. intervened.  Let us pray such things never develop because it would close the door to travel and preaching by U.S. brethren in the Philippines.

I rested from preaching on Monday but worked “from can to can’t,” in a large measure preparing the sermons to preach in Japan in early May.  I did take a one-hour break in the night to swim in the ocean since my hotel is along the seashore.  I have been getting to bed between midnight and 2:00 A.M. most nights, but resting my voice definitely helped the next day.

142 people filled the hall Tuesday rented by Rolly Salvador for the lectureship on the theme “United, We Stand!” in Batac, Ilocos Norte.  The session opened with Connie Balbin from Davao City, Mindanao conducting a singing class.  Shortly after 10:00 A.M. my first lecture was presented on “The Heart of the Preacher,” a textual study of Philippians 1.  Next, before lunch I preached on “Marriage: Joined by God,” because marriage is a universal part of life which Satan targets to destroy with sin and false doctrine.

After lunch we studied in two parts “Mistaken Views VS False Doctrine” based on 2 Peter 1:5-7 and 2:1.  All of us gradually make progress is correcting mistaken views as we grow in Christ, but false teachers are corrupted more and more by embracing false doctrines.

The open forum generated 14 questions on a wide range of topics.  The doctrine of the Nicolaitans in Revelation 2 was mentioned in the study of false doctrine and someone asked specifically what they taught.  Details are not given, but the context shows this was part of a pattern of teaching which allowed Christians to compromise with idolatry by eating at idols’ feasts and committing fornication with temple prostitutes.  If this sounds strange to our ears, we might remember “once saved, always saved” today teaches that Christians can commit all sorts of sins from adultery to murder and still go to heaven.

When the soul of Jesus went to Paradise (Lk. 24:43, 46), does it mean Abrahams’ bosom in hades or does it mean heaven?  Peter explained in Acts 2:26-29 that the soul of Jesus entered hades but returned to earth life in his resurrection.

If a brother denies the exception for fornication in cases of divorce and remarriage, is he a false teacher?  It depends on how he handles his view.  If he holds it as a personal view without binding it upon all saints, he is like the vegetarian in Romans 14. If he attempts to enforce his view on the whole church, he is like the false teachers in 1 Timothy 4:1-5 who tried to enforce vegetarianism as a doctrine.

If a married woman took up living with a married man and they had children, what is the right thing for them to do if they obey the gospel?  Can they marry each other after baptism?  They must repent of their sins in order to be baptized, and after baptism bring forth the fruits of repentance by separating (Acts 2:38; 26:20).  Baptism washes away their fornication but does not release them from their marriage vows to their original mates.  Like the souls addressed in 1 Corinthians 7:10-11, they need to remain unmarried or be reconciled to their mates if possible.  They are still responsible to care for the children they brought into the world as best they can.

After today’s session, I met with some brethren who felt isolated from sound brethren in the area.  The meeting was productive in opening doors of fellowship.

The last few nights when I have exercised, the moon has not been visible, but I still know many of you are praying for this work and you are in my prays also!

Our lectureship continued Wednesday with 114 in attendance.  After a good period of singing led by James Paet, we proceeded to the first lesson on “The Social Gospel,” showing the church’s work focuses on salvation, not social activities and services. Next, we studied a two-part lesson on “Maintaining Balance in Times of Controversy.”  This included first a study of passages that teach us how to maintain balance, and after lunch this concluded with a study of how controversies developed among brethren in the 1800’s and 1900’s.  We must equip ourselves to handle controversy in the right way because there will be no end of controversies until Christ returns because Satan is constantly trying to destroy the truth and the church.  The final presentation focused on “Preserving Unity in Christ.”

The open forum extended for almost an hour and a half covering 27 questions.  Is it right for a Christian who was prevented from attending the Sunday morning worship to access an online assembly during the day?  Yes, this technology is a tool of communication which could be used that way, but it does not constitute assembling with the saints and should not be used as a substitute for the assembly when we are able to attend.

If a woman converted her family who lived in a place where there is no church of Christ, may she start a congregation there?  Yes, if there is no available man to help her, she can baptize her family members and then teach the men to lead.

If a brother has relatives who are sick and are not Christians, can he ask for benevolence funds from the church to pay for medicine and other expenses?  No, benevolence from the church treasury must be used for saints, but he should use his own personal money to help his relative (1 Tim. 5:16).

Is it a sin for a Christian to marry a sinner in the world?  No, but it is not advisable because it can generate many problems later in the marriage.

May a woman teach a class of women?  Yes, she is not exercising authority over the men because they are not present.

Is it scriptural for a church to donate a small amount of benevolence to every widow every week?  When a disaster strikes and benevolence will be distributed, all who are in need should be helped including all widows in need.  But, 1 Timothy 5:3-16 teaches a widow must be 60 years old and meet other qualifications in order to received ongoing benevolence.

Will we forgive someone who sins against us if they do not repent?  No, Luke 17:3-4 shows we forgive when people repent, just as God does.  But, we should maintain and exhibit the willingness to forgive at all times and avoid holding grudges and bitterness in our hearts.

It has been a great joy to labor again with saints in the Ilocos region.  We have many dear brethren and friends here reaching back more than 25 years.  One brother gave me a picture which was taken of us together in 2001 when I was here.  May God bless the brethren in this region to be strong in the faith and to press forward toward heaven.

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