Author: pasugoeditor
Faithfully Determined
Washington DC District cares for educators in Maryland
Washington DC District cares for educators in Maryland
By DON OROZCO and MARK ANDRO T. MILAN
Date Posted: March 12, 2021
With the easing of health and safety protocols in the USA, the dedication of educators to the teaching profession, not only virtually but also in-person, counts them as among the frontliners during the current pandemic.
Showing appreciation for their efforts and concern for their safety, Iglesia Ni Cristo (Church Of Christ) members from the Ecclesiastical District of Washington DC lent a helping hand to teachers through an INC Giving activity on February 24, 2021. The district supervising minister, Brother Matthew Capistrano, and fellow ministers led the event.
The Church members delivered care packages to the staff of several schools in Temple Hills, Maryland area. Along with various school supplies, the packages included personal protective equipment (PPE) such as face masks, hand sanitizers, and disinfecting wipes.
The educators in return said their heartfelt thanks while receiving the care packages and being introduced to the Iglesia Ni Cristo. — With reports from INC News Section
Northeast California District marks 45th year
Northeast California District marks 45th year
By NESLIE CAVERO and MARK ANDRO T. MILAN
Date Posted: March 9, 2021
Having reached their district's 45th anniversary, Iglesia Ni Cristo (Church Of Christ) members from the Ecclesiastical District of Northeast California gathered virtually on February 20, 2021.
The district supervising minister, Brother Crisostomo Lotoy, officiated at the event. He preached from the Bible the importance of further intensifying the propagation of God's words. Reflecting on this, Carl Perez, KADIWA district vice president from Vallejo, said, “People in the world today are trying to find that place where they can have that peace of mind and in their heart ... they can find that here in the Church Of Christ, and we have an obligation as members to share our faith.”
After the special gathering, a musical evangelical mission was held. Choir members presented a number of musical performances, interspersed with Bible verses read by ministers of the gospel. Through music, the brethren and their guests were reminded of the urgency and benefit of sharing and remaining in the true faith.
“What motivates me to share my faith,” said Ron Menorca, a choir member from Sacramento, “is the realization that in our lives, especially last year, things can go in many ways that we don't predict.” He emphasized, “Finding security in knowing that God is in my life, that He guides and protects me, is something I want more people to experience, too.”
Having been instrumental in inviting her fellowmen, Roisin Menorca, also a choir member, shared, “We had one guest, Rosalind. She really enjoyed the musical evangelical mission. She even contacted me afterwards and then she … recently agreed to become a Bible student to learn more about the Church.” — With reports from INC News Section
Iloilo North brethren unite in donating blood
Iloilo North brethren unite in donating blood
By KYLA DATOON and MARK ANDRO T. MILAN
Date Posted: March 7, 2021
Covid-19 cases continue to soar but other emergency cases also require immediate attention. With that in mind, Iglesia Ni Cristo members from the Local Congregation of Sara, Ecclesiastical District of Iloilo North volunteered to donate blood on February 26, 2021.
The brethren underwent health screening protocols to make sure they were qualified donors.
Romel Tady, Church officer and medical technologist at a public hospital in Sara, was among those who participated in the blood donation drive in the capacity both as organizer and donor. “It’s truly risky, as the nature of my job entails being exposed to any kind of disease. Extra care is a must so I won’t be infected with whatever illness it is that we’re examining,” he said.
Despite being busy caring for Covid-19 patients, he is also always there when Church duty calls. He said, “I firmly believe that, as I actively perform my Church duties despite the pandemic, the Lord God will keep me safe.”
Brother Eroberto Cadigoy, the Christian Family Organizations (CFO) overseer of the district, led the event. On behalf of the congregation, he said, “We thank the Church Administration for allowing us to conduct this activity. It aims to help not only Church members but even nonmembers who are in need of blood.” — With reports from INC News Section
San Pablo City, Laguna enlists new officers
San Pablo City, Laguna enlists new officers
By KATHLEEN BELENA and VINCE T. BASCO
Date Posted: March 6, 2021
New officers from the Ecclesiastical District of San Pablo City, Laguna in the Philippines were sworn in to various duties during a special gathering of Church officers at the house of worship of the Local Congregation of San Pablo City on February 28, 2021.
Brother Wilfredo Gonzales, district supervising minister, officiated at the holy occasion wherein he expounded about the importance of accepting Church duties and to keep on improving in performing these duties.
With the increase of membership in the district, more officers are needed to take care of the brethren and to strengthen their faith.
The Church officers said that they will intensify their effort to help the Church Administration to give glory to the Lord God. — With reports from INC News Section
South Korea holds evangelical mission on-air and online
South Korea holds evangelical mission on-air and online
By CHRIS ANTONETTE PUGAY and RONNIE H. MUTYA
Date Posted: March 4, 2021
In celebration of the 52nd anniversary of the Christian Era Broadcasting Services International (CEBSI), the Ecclesiastical District of South Korea conducted an evangelical mission on-air and online in collaboration with the INC Radio South Korea Satellite Studio.
It was carried out on February 21, 2021, in unity with the intensified works of propagation launched by the Church Administration.
Led by the district supervising minister, Brother Jerick dela Cruz, the brethren and their guests tuned in to the programs that were livestreamed through DZEM 954 kHz and INC Radio official Youtube channel.
The study of God’s words was led by Brother Arnel Solano, a minister of the gospel. He expounded on the truth written in the Holy Scriptures that man’s decisions and actions, especially in serving God, should be based and done only in accordance with His will.
Prior to the appointed time of the virtual evangelistic event, brethren sent out video invitations and links of radio broadcast to their friends, colleagues, and relatives. Some brethren even took the extra mile by visiting them, while adhering to health protocols, to hand out free copies of the Pasugo: God’s Message magazine.
Most of the guests expressed interest in listening further to the biblical doctrines upheld by the Church Of Christ, while some have enlisted as doctrinal instructees with the intention of joining the Church. — With reports from INC News Section
Iglesia Ni Cristo gives aid to an Orthodox Church in Tanza, Cavite
Iglesia Ni Cristo gives aid to an Orthodox Church in Tanza, Cavite
By MARK ANDRO T. MILAN
Date Posted: March 3, 2021
Through an Aid to Humanity on February 23, 2021, the Iglesia Ni Cristo (Church Of Christ) handed out 6,000 relief packages for the parishioners of the Holy Theotokos Mission Church in Tanza, Cavite, Philippines.
This was in response to the request of the St. Francis of Assisi Mission Church in Baras, Rizal to which the Church Of Christ also gave aid on December 5 last year as they were affected by recent typhoons not to mention the Covid-19 pandemic.
Both mission churches are under the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Mission in the Philippines.
Luisa Toribiana, a recipient, said, “Thank you very much. This is a big help, mostly to our members who barely have enough.”
“We’re surprised. We only asked for 3,000 packages but there’s 3,000 additional. We’re very grateful as we have members in this area, most of them belongs to the poorest of the poor. It’s a miracle to us,” Mr. Yitzhak Pascual Monsanto Jr., their Vicar General, said.
On behalf of the said church, he and Mr. Melchizedeck Alberto Batac, the parish priest, awarded the Iglesia Ni Cristo a certificate of recognition and gratitude.
“I did not expect that the second wave of your giving aid to our Church would surpass the previous one,” Mr. Batac said. “We thank you for this is a great help to our community.” — With reports from INC News Section
Knowing the true God
Knowing the true God
Is it really immaterial to know who the true God is as long as one renders service and worship to a god? What does the Bible say about man’s duty as God’s creation?
By RUBEN D. AROMIN
TO SERVE AND honor God is man’s inherent duty. This is the purpose of his creation. However, before man could render valid service or worship, he should first be certain that it is the true God whom he really serves or worships. He should be more certain that he is not serving a different god. There are people who think that discussions on who the true God is are trivial and useless. What matters to them is that man recognizes and worships a god regardless of who he may be. Is it really immaterial to know who the true God is as long as one renders service and worship to a god? What does the Bible say about man’s duty as God’s creation? In Psalms 100:2-3, this is written:
“Serve the LORD with gladness! Come into his presence with singing! Know that the LORD is God! It is he that made us, and we are his; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.” (Revised Standard Version)
Those who render worship should know first that the Lord they are serving is God, the one true God who made or created man. Why is it important to have knowledge of the true God? The Book of Psalms gives us this answer:
“Oh, continue Your lovingkindness to those who know You, And Your righteousness to the upright in heart.” (Ps. 36:10 New King James Version)
Those who have come to the knowledge of the true God will continue to receive His lovingkindness. Surely, this is no small matter for this assures man His blessings.
The Father alone is the true God
Many professing Christians believe that God is a Trinity. They tenaciously cling to the concept that God consists of three persons, namely, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and that each person is God, yet all in all, there is only one God. Is this doctrine in consonance with the teaching of the Bible? Christ’s words recorded in John 17:1-3 enlighten us, thus:
“Jesus spoke these words, lifted up His eyes to heaven, and said: ‘Father, the hour has come. Glorify Your Son, that Your Son also may glorify You, as You have given Him authority over all flesh, that He should give eternal life to as many as You have given Him. And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent’.” (NKJV)
The only true God introduced by Christ is the Father. He never introduced a Trinitarian god. Neither did He introduce Himself as the true God nor teach that He is one of the persons in the so-called Trinity. And when He introduced the true God, never did He mention that the Holy Spirit is also God.
Learning from Christ, the apostles also taught the same thing about the true God:
“Yet there is for us only one God, the Father, who is the Creator of all things and for whom we live; and there is only one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things were created and through whom we live.” (I Cor. 8:6 Good News Bible)
For the true Christians, the Father alone, and no other else, is the true God. The apostles never taught of a triune God. They never taught the Son and the Holy Spirit as other gods or persons of the so-called Trinity.
Not a new doctrine
That the Father alone is the true God is not a new teaching. This dates back to the early people of God. Moses said to the people of Israel:
“For I will proclaim the name of the LORD. Ascribe greatness to our God! … Do you thus requite the LORD, you foolish and senseless people? Is not he your father, who created you, who made you and established you?” (Deut. 32:3, 6 RSV)
The God of the Israelites is the Father whom they also recognized as the Creator. This belief has been held by them since ancient times (Isa. 64:4, 8 New International Version; Mal. 2:10 RSV).
The true God Himself recognizes no other God besides Him. And neither does He recognize any equal. He said: “I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me” (Isa. 46:9 NIV). Who are we to insist then that aside from Him, there are still other gods who are like Him?
The Trinity is unscriptural
Although countless people in Christendom embrace the doctrine of the Trinity, those in the know readily admit that this is not found in the Bible. Joseph Pohle, a Catholic author in his book entitled, The Divine Trinity: A Dogmatic Treatise, wrote that, “It cannot therefore be seriously maintained that the mystery of the Divine Trinity was early revealed in the Old Testament” (p. 20). And neither can this doctrine be read in the New Testament as testified to by a catechetical book, The Teaching of Christ: A Catholic Catechism for Adults (p. 177). The writers of this book categorically state that, “The word ‘Trinity’ does not appear in the New Testament …”
The above testimonies are concurred to by Augustus Hopkins Strong, Doctor of Divinity, who says in his book, Systematic Theology, “the term ‘Trinity’ is not found in Scripture.” Strong also informs us that, “The invention of the term is ascribed to Tertullian.” (p. 69)
Thus, it should come as no surprise that the doctrine of the Trinity is not found in any part of the Bible. Believers of the Trinity, themselves, candidly admit that the doctrine is nowhere written in the Old and New Testaments. Such Trinitarian concept of God was only invented by Tertullian who lived sometime in the late second and early third century. Christ then had long ascended into heaven and His apostles had long been dead. Hence, they did not have anything to do with the evolution of such doctrine about God.
The evil of not knowing the true God
Those who belittle the importance of knowing who the true God is are committing a grave error. The absence of the true knowledge about God has been the cause of man’s present sorry state of life in this world:
“Because those people refuse to keep in mind the true knowledge about God, he has given them over to corrupted minds, so that they do the things that they should not do. They are filled with all kinds of wickedness, evil, greed, and vice; they are full of jealousy, murder, fighting, deceit, and malice. They gossip and speak evil of one another; they are hateful to God, insolent, proud, and boastful; they think of more ways to do evil; they disobey their parents; they have no conscience; they do not keep their promises, and they show no kindness or pity for others.” (Rom. 1:28-31 GNB)
All the wickedness and iniquities present in the world today are the consequence of man’s refusal to keep the true knowledge about God. The world has been cursed because of such people and God has given them over to corrupted minds and left them to do evil deeds. What misfortune awaits those who have not known God and have worshiped a god other than the true one? What will God do to them?
“In flaming fire taking vengeance on those who do not know God, and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. These shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power.” (II Thess. 1:8-9 NKJV)
God will exact vengeance on those who have not known and recognized Him. He will punish them with everlasting destruction on the Second Advent of our Lord Jesus Christ. Such eternal punishment will be in the lake of fire (Rev. 21:8).
The fortune of those who know God
Whereas those who have not known God will receive His vengeance and punishment, on the other hand, those who have known and recognized the Father as the only true God will receive His love. Christ said so Himself:
“Righteous Father! The world does not know you, but I know you, and these know that you sent me. I made you known to them, and I will continue to do so, in order that the love you have for me may be in them, and so that I also may be in them.” (John 17:25-26 GNB)
Christ’s earnest desire in making known that the Father alone is the true God is for us to receive His love. God’s love and that of His Son will abide in those who have received and believed in such knowledge. Above all, they shall receive the blessing of eternal life (John 17:1, 3).
Indeed, knowing and believing that the Father is the only true God is of paramount importance. This has something to do with the attainment of God’s love and the promised life everlasting. The Church Of Christ upholds and teaches this doctrine. Thus, its members have received God’s love and, certainly, eternal life awaits them.
This article was originally published in the Pasugo: God’s Message magazine, May – June 1993 issue.
For more articles, visit www.pasugo.com.ph