Preaching in the Philippines August 10-12, 2023
Dear family, brethren, and friends,
Thursday, August 10, was reserved for getting adjusted to another big time change (the Philippine time zone is 5 hours ahead of Kenya, 12 hours ahead of Kentucky), running some errands, getting a little rest, catching up on some email (sorry I cannot read it all), and preparing to preach tomorrow.
Sammy Medrano has been doing steady work preaching the gospel and on Friday we visited the church meeting in his house at Taytay in the Province of Rizal. James Paet drove 1½ hours to bring me there where 30 people gathered to participate in our studies.
The first sermon focused on “The Resurrection of Christ” in Mark 16 as the foundation of our faith in Christ. After lunch our study showed that the Law of Moses was “Nailed to the Cross” (Col. 2:14). When Jesus offered the perfect sacrifice for sin, he brought the Old Testament system to its end by fulfilling its purpose to bring the Jews to Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. Most denominations do not clearly understand this lesson. That is why they appeal to Old Testament passages to justify such practices as a special priesthood or clergy, the Sabbath observance, instrumental music and burning incense in worship, tithing, infant membership in the church, etc., etc.
The open forum continued for more than an hour, covering a wide range of topics. Living in a Catholic culture which has no formal divorce law, our Filipino brethren are only little by little coming to accept that Jesus allows an innocent mate to divorce a fornicator and then to marry another person (Matt. 5:31-32; 19:9). In response to a request for clarification, some time today was spent showing that Jesus clearly did teach that exception to the basic rule of one man for one woman for life. As the discussion continued, I refuted the claim that Jesus gave that exception as an explanation of how to apply the Law of Moses but did not extend the exception into the Gospel Age. In Matthew 5:31-32 he contrasted the law of his new kingdom with Deuteronomy 24:1-4. In Matthew 19:3-9 the Pharisees offered Deuteronomy 24 and Jesus stated his new law as superseding the Law of Moses. Also, the Law of Moses required the death penalty for adultery, not a divorce penalty (Deut. 22:22).
Someone who raises plants was asked by a Catholic friend to donate a beautiful plant to bring to an image of Mary as an offering. Was this wrong? Yes, we cannot fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness (Eph. 5:11). A follow-up question referred to the Catholic Church dispensing free medicine in the community – is it wrong to accept it? Christ does not authorize his church to dispense medicine to sinners in the world, but a patient simply receiving and using medicine is a legitimate activity, so long as the recipient is not required to participate in acts of Catholic worship and doctrine (this is similar to questions Paul answered in 1 Cor. 8-10). There were other good questions and everyone was satisfied with the answers given from the Bible.
This was a very hot day with temperatures and humidity readings about 90 degrees. My clothes became soaking wet with sweat, and I was still wet when we arrived back at the hotel. What a small price to pay for the privilege of preaching the unsearchable riches of the gospel of Christ! I am constantly thanking God for the saints who make these trip possible.
My schedule required another day of travel from Manila on the island of Luzon to General Santos City on the southern side of Mindanao on Saturday. I left the hotel in Manila about noon to catch my flight and was in the hotel in General Santos City just before dark by God’s good grace. It is a delight to see Jolly Julom and Nestor Francisco who live here, and also to have Jonathan and Nanette Carino join us for these next several days of labor for the cause of Christ. There are a great many churches and gospel preachers in this region of the Philippines and I look forward to seeing many of them on this leg of the trip.
As saints in the Philippines and around the world take their rest for the night, they are preparing for the high and holy privilege of worshiping our Lord and Savior on the day of his resurrection. May we all worship Him in spirit and in truth.
In Christian love,
Ron Halbrook
To see good Bible study material, go to:
https://www.
https://biblework.
https://truthbooks.com
https://www.truthmagazine.com