Dear family, brethren, and friends,

Salvador Parbo drove for two hard hours from Digos City Friday morning for us to reach President Roxas, Capiz where I began preaching to 157 souls just after 10:00 A.M.  Joel Neniel has been doing a good work as an evangelist with this congregation while supporting himself as a public school teacher.  I worked with his father 30 year ago when I first came to southern Mindanao.

The first lesson was “The Prison of Sin,” followed by “Back to the Bible.”  After lunch we studied “When Peter Confessed Christ,” which emphasizes that Christ built his church on the solid foundation that he is the rock of our salvation because he is the Christ, the Son of the living God.  Among our denominational visitors were members of the Iglesia ni Cristo (1914) sect, founded by a Filipino named Felix Manalo.  This religion like the Jehovah’s Witnesses insists that Jesus Christ did not come as God in the flesh – he is not deity but was only human.  

During the open forum we discussed several questions to clarify baptism.  It must be performed by the command and authority of Jesus Christ, but he did not give a specific formula of words to repeat at every baptism.  Also, people who have been baptized after being told they are saved by faith only have not received the baptism commanded by Christ in the Great Commission (Mk. 16:15-16).  Like the people in Acts 19:1-5, their baptism is not valid and they need to be baptized again for the purpose of receiving God’s grace in the forgiveness of their sins (Mk. 16:16; Acts 2:38; 22:16).  

In the late afternoon we arrived in Kidapawan City and checked into our hotel.  I was exhausted and napped for about an hour, then took supper, studied, walked, and studied again before getting to bed at 12:15 A.M.  It has been a good and full day.  It is an inspiration to work with dedicated Filipino Christians and to teach God’s true plan of salvation to so many souls who are searching for truth and willing to listen.

Saturday found us in a large public gym on the basketball court in Kidapawan City, Cotabato because the facility was offered free to Danny Angeles for our all-day preaching.  170 souls gathered including 96 denominational “pastors” and “pastoras” representing 18 denominations to hear the morning lessons on “Salvation by Grace through Faith” (Eph. 2:8-9) and “When Peter Confessed Christ” (verse by verse study of Matt. 16:13-19).  The afternoon was devoted to a detailed study of the question “Instrumental Music in Worship?”  

On some occasions the denominational preachers are incensed to hear from the Bible that their doctrines, organizations, and systems of worship are not authorized by Christ in contrast to the church Jesus built through his Apostles.  Today they were very calm and seemingly intrigued to hear such lessons for the first time.  I was surprised that not one question in the open forum challenged today’s presentations from the Scriptures.  The questions merely sought further clarification.  

For instance, the first lesson pointed out we do not inherit Adam’s sin but are guilty only because of our own sins.  I was asked to clarify Romans 5:12 which says, “By one man sin entered into the world.”  Yes, sin entered the world through Adam, but the verse goes on to say we all have sinned, i.e., we are not guilty of Adam’s sin but are guilty of our own sins.  I was asked to clarify why we are “by nature children of wrath” in Ephesians 2:3.  The answer is in verses 1-2 which show that by nature of our disobedience we are children of wrath, not by nature of our birth.  

Another question was since Christ established only one church, will people in other churches be lost?  There is only one Savior who gathers lost souls into his one church (Matt. 16:18; Eph. 4:4-6).  If we are not gathered by the one Savior into his one church, which is his one body and one kingdom, we are still lost in our sins.  He does not gather people into denominational churches because he did not build those churches.  

Someone asked for clarification on Christ’s kingdom.  When he gathers people for salvation, that is his church and that is his kingdom (Matt. 16:18-19).  He himself clarified in John 18:36 that his kingdom “is not of this world,” i.e., it is a spiritual kingdom for salvation, not an earthy civil government.  In Colossians 1:13-14, the gospel transfers us from the power or kingdom of darkness into Christ’s kingdom, which means we have “forgiveness of our sins.”  The basic idea of kingdom is rule and Christ rules for our salvation.  In Matthew 25:31-34 the saved enter the kingdom prepared from the beginning of time, which is heaven, because God rules there. 

A pastora said there are many pastoras here today and she asked what are we to do – we have congregations, do we need to be baptized again?  I read 1 Timothy 2:11-12 to show that Christ taught men not women to lead the church and to preach.  I pointed out that people in Acts 19:1-5 who had received an invalid baptism were very willing to submit to Christ by being baptized again under his authority.  

Danny explained to our audience that he was a denominational preacher for many years and held a high position in his denomination when he first heard the true gospel in 2021 during Jim McDonald’s last trip to the Philippines.  Therefore, Danny understands the pride these preachers have in their denominational affiliations, but he appealed them to lay aside that pride in order to submit to Jesus Christ as our only Lord and Savior.  Because of his past denominational position, Danny is highly respected throughout the area, which opens many doors for him to teach, but this area is not like the remote regions where people are very humble and open to hear the original gospel.  Danny is working hard to give people in this area the opportunity to hear that gospel.  The rare opportunity we had today is evidence of that hard and sustained work!

When we dismissed, two denominational preachers invited Danny to come to their congregations to baptize them into Christ and to teach the whole congregation why they need to obey the true and original gospel of Christ.  

Connie Balbin drove us two hours on the Lord’s Day into the mountains to reach the church at Kapatagan where Dudley Balbin labors in the gospel near Mt. Apo, he highest mountain in the Philippines.  I preached there 28 years ago when we gathered young people for a vacation Bible school on Mt. Apo (we stayed in sparse accommodations and took our morning bath in an ice-cold spring!).  Sixty souls attended today’s service and heard my sermon entitled “Precious: The Death of God’s Saints” (Ps. 116:10).  

After lunch I presented a lesson entitled “Let Us Pray” in which we studied some Bible prayers and offered up prayers to God.  Connie drove hard another two hours to bring us to Davao City where they have an evening service at the Downtown church of Christ, and James Paet preached.  

When I walked for exercise tonight I finally saw the half moon, although it was partly obscured by the clouds.  The continuous cloud cover on my days in Mindanao has moderated the heat, although my clothes still get wet preaching in buildings without air conditioning.  

Monday was dedicated to an all-day lectureship at the Downtown church of Christ in Davao City with an attendance of 90.  Sonnie Dave Balbin labors as an evangelist here and is one of the three elders (they have two deacons).  His father Juanito layed the groundwork for sound churches in this area starting in the 1970’s and this congregation has been a pillar of strength through the years.

I presented the series on “Life, Death, and Beyond” and then conducted an open forum.  Someone asked about the meaning of Tartarus in 2 Peter 2:4.  It is equivalent to the realm of torment in Hades and the fallen angels are held there waiting to be cast into hell for ever.  

I was asked to clarify “the second coming of Christ.”  He first came to earth when he was born of Mary.  When he left the earth, Acts 1:10-11 records the angels proclaiming to the Apostles that he will return in like manner in the clouds of heaven, which is his second coming, the Final Judgment Day.  The Old and the New Testaments speak of the coming of the Lord in judgment on various nations and the context must clarify what particular coming in judgment is under consideration.  In Matthew 24:1-35, Jesus promised to come in judgment against the nation of Israel by the destruction of Jerusalem, which he accomplished in A.D. 70 through the military might of the Roman Empire.  Beginning in verse 36 and continuing over into the 25^th chapter, Jesus discussed his second coming to judge all men on the Final Judgment Day.

Again tonight, I saw the half moon a little clearer as the clouds were breaking up somewhat.  What a beautiful reminder that God loves us and we can love each other as we share in viewing its beauty even when separated by hundreds and thousands of miles!

I guess my body is saying it is time to go home for rest and recuperation because I went to sleep about 11:15, against my will, and slept for over 8 hours!

James Paet and I bid adieu to our dear friends in Davao City Tuesday and flew back to Manila.  The two-hour flight was uneventful, as far as I know, but actually I was sound asleep before the plane got off the ground and have no idea what happened!  I had the pleasure of seeing all of James’ family because they met us at the airport and brought me to the hotel.  A powerful typhoon dumped so much water on Manila during the last couple of days, there was severe flooding, but it is subsiding today.  After exercising, eating supper, and working for a short time, I crashed again and got to bed by midnight.

After a good 7½ hours sleep, Wednesday began with a short exercise session followed by breakfast, and then James took me to the Philippine Bible Society where I ordered 1,137 Bibles in various Filipino dialects to be shipped throughout the islands.  I hope to get some vigorous exercise this evening because that will boost my stamina for the long trip home, but I miss Donna and everyone back home and look forward to the return tomorrow which will take about 24 hours.  

Andy Alexander and Keith Greer finished their trip just ahead of me, so we were not able to meet, but I trust they are arriving safely home by now.

It is always uplifting to work with our dear Filipino brethren and to see their faith, hope, and love in action.  God’s providence allowed me to preach and teach during 113 sessions on this trip.  There were 27 souls converted and baptized into Christ, with 3 more we know of who obeyed very soon after our visit.  

While traveling from place to place, I see signs of the maturing of the faith of Filipino saints.  For instance, they are conducting studies about the need and qualifications of elders and deacons, and more churches are now fully organized.  Also, evangelists are traveling more among the provinces and islands, so that “cross fertilization” is occurring as they work and teach together. There are plenty of new converts in need of edification and our brethren work hard to provide it. Financial constraints limit what they can do at times, and there are widows needing help, so poverty is an integral part of life here.  Please pray for our brethren facing all of these trials while pressing forward to serve our Lord.

May God continue to bless the great harvest of souls in the Philippine Islands and bless all the saints who help support Filipino evangelists and men like myself who travel here to preach from time to time.

In Christian love,
Ron Halbrook