Don Kristyano

Ephesians 3:20-21 Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.

THE BIBLE IS MORE THAN STORIES

It is one THREADED story that leads to Jesus, and then leads to Jesus again!

What do we mean?

We mean that the entire Old Testament exists to point us to the incarnation of Christ, which we read about in the beginning of the New Testament.

But the entire New Testament exists to point us to the second coming of Christ, which we read about in the Book of Revelation.

This is the Bible's "meta-narrative."

The individual stories are there to serve the purpose of leading us to the meta-narrative, while revealing truths to us about God, His Work, and His world that provide context once we get there.

And then we arrive; we arrive at Jesus and His incarnation.

All throughout the life and ministry of Jesus, He is telling is not only how to follow Him and be saved, but also how to bring about His second coming.

What does He tell His church before He leaves them?

"All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to obey all that I commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." (Matthew 28:18-20)

Now, why did Jesus command the disciples to do this?

"And this Gospel of the Kingdom shall be proclaimed in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, **and then the end will come**." (Matthew 24:14)

In 2 Peter 3:9-13, the Apostle Peter interprets what Jesus says here as meaning that we can HASTEN ("speed up") the second coming of Christ. He wants none to perish, but ALL to come to repentance.

The meta-narrative of the Bible is: "in everything, lead to Jesus."

The Bible exists to lead people to Jesus.
The Church exists to lead people to Jesus.
The life in you exists to lead people to Jesus.

The individual stories serve that purpose. Study them. Exegete them. Teach them. Show how they lead to Jesus.

That's why they are there.

Keep Thinking!

+ The Christian Think Tank PH +

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𝐑𝐄𝐅𝐎𝐑𝐌𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍 𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐅𝐄𝐑𝐄𝐍𝐂𝐄 𝐂𝐄𝐁𝐔 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟒
𝐎𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐛𝐞𝐫 𝟐𝟖-𝟐𝟗, 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟒
Bradford United Church of Christ, Inc.

📍 𝗣𝗵𝗽 𝟯𝟬𝟬.𝟬𝟬 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁 𝟭𝟬𝟬 𝗿𝗲𝗴𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘁𝘀 ❌️SOLD OUT❌️
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📍 𝗦𝗽𝗲𝗮𝗸𝗲𝗿𝘀 & 𝗧𝗼𝗽𝗶𝗰𝘀:
1. 𝘏𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘛𝘜𝘓𝘐𝘗 - 𝘗𝘵𝘳. 𝘍𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘰 𝘍𝘦𝘳𝘳𝘦𝘳 (𝘐𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘉𝘢𝘱𝘵𝘪𝘴𝘵 𝘊𝘩𝘶𝘳𝘤𝘩 𝘰𝘧 𝘔𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘭𝘢)
2. 𝘛𝘰𝘵𝘢𝘭 𝘋𝘦𝘱𝘳𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘵𝘺 - 𝘗𝘵𝘳. 𝘌𝘥𝘰 𝘔𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘻 (𝘐𝘮𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘶𝘦𝘭 𝘙𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘦𝘥 𝘉𝘢𝘱𝘵𝘪𝘴𝘵 𝘊𝘩𝘶𝘳𝘤𝘩-𝘊𝘦𝘣𝘶)
3. 𝘜𝘯𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘌𝘭𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 - 𝘗𝘵𝘳. 𝘒𝘪𝘳𝘬 𝘐𝘮𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘦 (𝘊𝘩𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘢𝘯 𝘎𝘰𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘭 𝘔𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘗𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘱𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴, 𝘐𝘯𝘤. - 𝘊𝘦𝘣𝘶)
4. 𝘓𝘪𝘮𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘈𝘵𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 - 𝘈𝘵𝘵𝘺. 𝘡𝘪𝘨𝘧𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘔𝘢𝘤𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘯 𝘋𝘪𝘢𝘻 (𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘔𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳'𝘴 𝘊𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘍𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘱 - 𝘊𝘦𝘣𝘶)
5. 𝘐𝘳𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘎𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘦 - 𝘗𝘵𝘳. 𝘑𝘢𝘱𝘩𝘦𝘵 𝘌𝘭𝘶𝘥𝘰 𝘐𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘤𝘰 (𝘔𝘦𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘱𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘯 𝘊𝘩𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘢𝘯 𝘍𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘱 - 𝘊𝘦𝘣𝘶)
6. 𝘗𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘚𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘵 - 𝘗𝘵𝘳. 𝘑𝘶𝘳𝘦𝘮 𝘙𝘢𝘮𝘰𝘴 (𝘚𝘰𝘭𝘪 𝘋𝘦𝘰 𝘎𝘭𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘢 𝘊𝘩𝘶𝘳𝘤𝘩 - 𝘋𝘢𝘷𝘢𝘰)
7. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘛𝘜𝘓𝘐𝘗 - 𝘗𝘵𝘳. 𝘔𝘢𝘤𝘬𝘺 𝘚𝘢𝘣𝘢𝘺𝘭𝘦 (𝘉𝘜𝘊𝘊𝘐 - 𝘊𝘦𝘣𝘶)

***𝙉𝙤𝙩𝙚: 𝙋𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙨𝙚 𝙨𝙚𝙣𝙙 𝙖 𝙨𝙘𝙧𝙚𝙚𝙣𝙨𝙝𝙤𝙩 𝙤𝙛 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙤𝙛 𝙤𝙛 𝙥𝙖𝙮𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣 24 𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙧𝙨 𝙩𝙤 𝙗𝙚 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙨𝙞𝙙𝙚𝙧𝙚𝙙 𝙧𝙚𝙜𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙚𝙙.

‭‭Lucas 1:49 APD‬‬
[49] tungod sang makatilingala nga mga butang nga ginhimo sa akon sang gamhanan nga Dios. Balaan siya nga Dios!

𝐈𝐒 𝐂𝐇𝐑𝐈𝐒𝐓𝐈𝐀𝐍 𝐅𝐀𝐈𝐓𝐇 𝐀𝐆𝐀𝐈𝐍𝐒𝐓 𝐂𝐑𝐈𝐓𝐈𝐂𝐀𝐋 𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐍𝐊𝐈𝐍𝐆?

Maraming believers ngayon ang umiiwas sa mga bagay na challenging pag-isipan o kaya ay pag-usapan. May mga spiritual leaders pa nga na dini-discourage ang critical thinking ng mga miyembro nila by saying na ang mga subjects like apologetics, philosophy, hermeneutics, among the others ay hindi na kailangan pa. Two of their most used verses are found in Colossians 2:8 and 1 Corinthians 8:1. Today, we will study these passages more closely.

𝗜𝗦 𝗣𝗛𝗜𝗟𝗢𝗦𝗢𝗣𝗛𝗬 𝗘𝗩𝗜𝗟?

“See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ.” (Col 2:8)

Masama nga ba ang philosophy according to this verse? Maraming Christians ang hindi nakuha ang punto ni Paul dito. He was not speaking about philosophy in general, but a particular philosophy at that time, which was “deceptive based on human tradition and the elemental spirits of this world.” This kind of philosophy is known to be some form of “Gnosticism,” a false teaching na nakapasok sa Colossian church na may emphasis sa mga mystic beliefs, apocalyptic visions, and spiritual forces/ spirits. Ang buong Epistle to the Colossians ay isinulat ni Paul to combat this philosophy. Kaya nga mapapansin na paulit-ulit na pinapatunayan ng author sa buong letter niya na si Jesus ang superior over all spiritual forces (1:16; 2:8,10,15,20, etc).

This shows that the Bible is never against philosophy in general, but only the bad ones. In fact, gumagamit din si Paul ng language of philosophy kapag kailangan at kung hindi naman ito against sa godly wisdom in Christ ( 2:2-3). He used philosophy to argue against Anti-Christian ideas in order to promote the Gospel (Acts 17:16-34). Knowing different philosophical subjects and disciplines is never wrong or unnecessary; kung iisipin, advantage ito sa kahit sinong Kristiyano. Philosophy ay maaring maging effective tool para unawain at i-promote ang biblical truths.

𝗞𝗡𝗢𝗪𝗟𝗘𝗗𝗚𝗘 𝗣𝗨𝗙𝗙𝗦 𝗨𝗣…?

“But knowledge puffs up while love builds up.” (1 Cor 8:1)

Kung nakapagpapayabang (“puffs up” or in Greek “phusioo” meaning “to inflate”) daw ang knowledge, bakit kailangang pa ‘yon kung pwede namang "love-love lang"? Based on context, ang tinutukoy ni Paul dito ay ang knowledge na hindi naman talaga buhay o existing ang mga pagan idols, dahil ang totoo ay mayroon lang iisang Diyos at Panginoon (vv. 4-6). Hindi lahat ng believers that time ay may ganitong knowledge (v.7), kaya expectedly may nao-offend kapag may nakikita silang kapwa nila believers na kumakain ng mga pagkain na hinandog sa idols, kasi ang iniisip nila ay may basbas na ng ibang "diyos" ang mga pagkain. Though Paul was specifically referring to this, applicable din ang 1 Cor 8:1 sa lahat ng uri ng knowledge. This passage became the favorite verse of those who are proud and comfortable with their ignorance, but it should never be used that way.

For the record, hindi against si Paul sa knowledge, rather against siya sa knowledge without love. Binanggit ni Paul ang “knowledge puffs up but love builds up” to promote the idea na kahit may mas lamang sa kaalaman sa kanila (which is in this case alam nila na wala namang masama by itself sa pagkain ng foods sacrificed to idols), they should still be considerate to others particularly sa mga sensitive na maaring ma-offend (vv. 9-13 see also Rom 14:15). He used the Greek word “agape” here which is a “self-sacrificing love” and so he was encouraging his readers na mag-sacrifice din para sa iba kung paanong siya rin ay nagsasakripisyo para sa iba (9:19-23). Paul further explained this idea in 1 Cor 13 kung saan binanggit niya na kahit malaman niya pa lahat ng misteryo at lahat ng bagay kung wala naman siyang pag-ibig wala pa ring saysay (v.2).

By knowing the context, makikita natin na hindi ginagamit ang passage na ito para i-promote ang ignorance! Rather, this was written to encourage believers to be loving while being knowledgeable.

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Christian faith is never against critical thinking. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom ( Ps 111:10; Prov 1:7; 9:10; 15:33), kaya ang bawat believer na claiming na may takot sa Diyos ay expectedly dapat wise and reasonable. Sa panahon ngayon kung saan laganap ang “anti-intellectualism” among churches, naging normal nang paghiwalayin ang faith sa reason. Naging mistulang “demonic” o “worldly” na ang pagsasaliksik, pagsusuri at pagsasala ng katotohanan. Asking questions now became a sign of unbelief, and so must be avoided. Puro kababawan na lang ang nagiging theology ng marami dahil hanggang gano’n lang din ang kayang ibigay ng mga spiritual leaders nila. This is what happens when Christians fail to love the Lord with all their minds. Stay Curious!

Does Obligation Imply Ability? Here is a quick post on this question, especially in matters of salvation, Affirmative: Leighton Flowers of Soteriology 101 examines Calvinism’s analogy regarding this when he asserts, & #8220…

But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
Matthew 6:33 ESV
https://bible.com/bible/59/mat.6.33.ESV

But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
2 Corinthians 12:9 ESV