Question:

Hi! I have this friend. He keeps on telling me that God’s requirement for salvation is through having full faith and trust in God’s commandments and obeying them. He told me that If we love Him we must keep his commandments. And that’s why we must worship on the seventh day, God’s chosen day to worship.

Answer:

The Bible says in Galatians 2:16, “nevertheless knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the Law but through faith in Christ Jesus, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, so that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the Law; since by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified.”

Notice how it mentions 3x for emphasis the fact that we will not be justified before God by obeying the Law (referring to the commandments and the other legalistic requirements in the Old Testament).

Notice also that the verse mentions how man is justified before God—it is “through faith in Jesus,” a declaration that the verse also mentions repeatedly. The Apostle Paul says that “even we have believed in Christ” to stress the fact that he himself has put his faith in Jesus “so that we (meaning Paul and the others who likewise believe in Jesus) may be justified by faith in Christ.”

You can say that the Apostle Paul was MAKULIT (annoyingly persistent)! He was repeating himself so that there won’t be any mistaking what the Word of God really teaches about this matter.

Please also look at Galatians 1:6-9. The “gospel of Christ” mentioned by Paul in verse 7 is what is spelled out in 1 Corinthians 15:1-4, which is “Christ died for our sins” (v. 3)! That is the simple gospel preached by the apostles “by which also you are saved” (v. 2).

Paul’s letter to the Galatians chapter 1 exposes the false teachers who come and distort that simple truth for which Jesus died. Concerning these false teachers Paul says if they teach another gospel or a distorted gospel, “he is to be accursed!” (vs. 8, 9 NASB).

We do not suggest that you confront your friend and declare him anathema or accursed. You need to be sensitive in approaching him. First you need to pray about God giving you the power to explain, share and witness to him. Pray also for the Holy Spirit to prepare his heart. You need also to prepare yourself by studying the Bible (the GLC can help you in this). Your friend may have been preparing himself for maybe a period of time in “sharing” to you. If you are just starting to prepare now he might make you look silly because you might not be able to defend your faith from the passages that he shows to you which, in the first place are taken out of context, And worse you might be converted by him. As a good soldier of Jesus you need to be ready “accurately handling the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15).

Concerning worshiping on the 7^th day, again we see that he is coming from a theology of obedience to the law to merit salvation. We are not saying that the Law or the ten commandments are bad. In fact the ten commandments, just like the other commands in the Bible continues to provide for us a moral standard for us to follow. We still are guided by them and follow them because of our love for Jesus. We do not follow the commandments believing that in doing so we will be saved! We follow them BECAUSE we are saved! It is through faith in Jesus that we are saved not by obeying the ten commandments (Galatians 2:16), not by deeds of righteousness (Titus 3:5), and not by good works (Ephesians 2:8-9).

By the way, this subject will be expounded more by Pastor Peter in the coming weeks starting around the third Sunday of September when he begins a new series of messages based on the book of Galatians. We suggest you invite your friend to CCF when the series starts. God bless!

Question: Catherine asks – I want to have a tattoo on my hand saying “By the Grace of God” so every time I do something I always remember this is God’s work not mine and I’m offering it to Him. Is it okay to have a tattoo? I asked my mom if I can have a tattoo and she replied, “It’s okay if it’s okay with God.” I asked Christian friends about having a tattoo and they say it’s okay. But my mom wants an answer not based on what I want but she wants it to be biblically based.

Answer: To tattoo or not to tattoo? This is a question that I believe falls under “gray areas” or areas/issues where the bible is not very clear. There is a verse in Leviticus 19:28 which says, “do not cut your bodies for the dead, and do not mark your skin with tattoos. I am the Lord.” However, in looking at this verse in context, we see that the whole passage in Leviticus deals specifically with the pagan rituals of the people living around the Israelites. In particular, this verse on tattoos refers to the custom among the pagan nations to pierce themselves or tattoo themselves when a member of the family died. This tattooing or piercing was done to appease the idols they worship to accept their departed relative. God therefore gave this command (and other commandments in the other surrounding verses) to set apart his people from the pagan cultures. The focus is to prohibit heathen worship and witchcraft. He does this to protect His chosen people, because He knows this will lead them away from Him.

Although this is a brief treatment of this subject, the bottom line is that the Bible does not clearly define tattoos and body piercing as a sin. Because the Bible does not clearly define tattoos as a sin, we should look at other verses that may lead us to the right decision.

Romans 14 talks about the weak and the strong in faith. Although the focus of the examples given in this chapter is on clean and unclean food, the principle that we can get from the chapter is summarized in verses 13 to
18: “Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in your brother’s way. As one who is in the Lord Jesus, I am fully convinced that no food is unclean in itself. But if anyone regards something as unclean, then for him it is unclean. If your brother is distressed because of what you eat, you are no longer acting in love. Do not by your eating destroy your brother for whom Christ died. Do not allow what you consider good to be spoken of as evil. For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit, because anyone who serves Christ in this way is pleasing to God and approved by men.” In short, if there is anything that you will do that will make your brother/sister stumble, then you are no longer acting in love, as you may destroy your brother/sister’s faith by what you do.

Your intention to be tattooed “By the Grace of God” to remind you that what you’re doing is God’s work and your offering to Him may be very clear to you and very good for you. But to other people who may not know you or your intentions, Romans 14:16 reminds us “do not allow what you consider good to be spoken of as evil.” The questions you may want to ask yourself are: Will my tattoo be a source of contention among my loved ones, brothers and sisters in Christ, and non-believers I would be ministering to? Will my tattoo cause someone who is weak in the faith to stumble? Do I have freedom in Christ and a clear conscience before the Lord regarding the decision to get the tattoo? Will I want this tattoo years from now (consider too the effects of skin sagging and aging)? Is my decision based on faith and will the result be glorifying to God? Will my parents and family approve, and/or will my future spouse want me to have this tattoo?

Since people react to tattoos, smoking, short skirts, partying, smoking, and other things in unpredictable ways, you must determine what your “audience” (Christian and non-Christian) will think about Christians (using you as the example of their admiration or scorn) if they appear or behave in some way.

You may also consider the health risks involved in getting a tattoo, such as MRSA, allergic reactions, keloids, hepatitis, HIV, among others. People with tattoos also cannot donate blood. We should remember that our bodies are not our own, and whatever we do with it, it should first pass through the approval of its owner, God. 1 Corinthians 6:19 says, “Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price.Therefore honor God with your body.”

Ultimately, the decision is between you and God. Though it may not be a black and white issue, there is a right choice for each individual. Take some time to honestly pray about it and the Lord will show you what to do. (Jaymee Bernardo)

Question: Loida asks – My sister once asked me that if I don’t believe in purgatory, where would people go when they die? And if we receive our judgment whether to go to heaven or hell upon our demise, what is the purpose of Jesus’ second coming? Would he judge the dead and throw them back to hell a second time?

Answer: Hi Loida! Thanks for your question. The Bible talks about Heaven more than 100 times, and Hell more than 40 times, but never does it mention Purgatory even once. Instead, in Hebrews 9:27, it says, “It is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment.” What this verse means is that after physical death, men are judged. The judgment will be in 2 “phases” – an initial judgment and a final judgment.

The 1st judgment will immediately determine our destination. The Bible talks about an intermediate Heaven and Hell. Both places are pretty close to the eternal Heaven and Hell which are the ultimate destinations of mankind, depending on their response to Jesus. The account of the rich man and Lazarus in Luke 16:19-31 gives us an idea of these intermediate places.

From this account, we learn at least 3 things: (1) there are only 2 destinations: intermediate Hell (a place of torment) and intermediate Heaven (Abraham’s Side – a place of comfort); (2) both Lazarus and the rich man are fully aware of their situation, both are fully conscious, feeling the torment or comfort; and (3) there is a great and fixed chasm between the 2 destinations so that one cannot move from one place to another. Such is the finality of these destinations. It is nothing like the concept of purgatory where people supposedly have another chance to gain entrance to heaven through the intercession and/or good works of people on earth.

Let me emphasize that the 1st judgment will be a judgment of faith, not works. “This initial judgment depends NOT on our works but on our faith. It is NOT about what we’ve done during our lives but about what Christ has done for us. If we have accepted Christ’s atoning death for us, then when God judges us after we die, He sees His Son’s sacrifice for us, not our sin. Salvation is a free gift, to which we can contribute absolutely nothing.” (Randy Alcorn, “Heaven” p 47. Do also review some verses on salvation/justification: Ephesians 2:8-9, Romans 3:20-28)

The 2nd and final judgment will be a judgment of works. “Both believers and unbelievers face a final judgment. The Bible indicates that all believers will stand before the Judgment Seat of Christ to give an account of their lives (Rom 14:10-12, 2 Cor 5:10)… this is a judgment of works, not of faith (1 Cor 3:13-14). Our works DO NOT affect our salvation, but they do affect our rewards. Rewards are about our work for God, empowered by His Spirit. Rewards are condition, dependent on our faithfulness (1 Tim 2:12, Rev 2:26-28; 3:21)… Unbelievers face a final judgment of works as well. The Bible tells us it will come at the Great White Throne Judgment (Rev 20:11 -13), at the end of the old Earth and just before the beginning of the New Earth.” (Randy Alcorn, “Heaven”, p 47)

As regards to your other related question, “What is the purpose of Jesus’ 2nd coming?”… The purpose of Jesus’ 2nd coming is to establish His reign on earth. “At the 1st coming, Christ was blasphemed, denied, betrayed; at His 2nd coming, every knee will bow, acknowledging Him as King of kings and Lord of Lord.” (J. Oswald Sanders, “Just Before Heaven”, p10)

These things might be too much for your sister to understand now (honestly, I too, have limited knowledge on this). There are some things in the Bible that are not (or not yet) very clear. For such things, God reminds me of Deuteronomy 29:29 – “The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may follow all the words of this law”. In other words, let us not worry about the things we don’t understand; let’s worry about the things we understand and do not deal with. What the Bible has made clear is that our choice of eternal destination (which is by faith alone) is determined during our life on earth – there will be no purgatory; hence, no 2nd chance after death. As an additional information purgatory was defined as a dogma only in AD 1439. The first century Christians did not believe in its existence. Christ never taught about it. I hope your sister will make the right decision soon. God bless you and your sister!–Avi Gan

Question: Jan writes in response to the article “The Christian Response to the Gay Today Forum”: God bless this kind of ministry. I am encouraged by your passion in reaching out to them. I have some concern related to this. Every first Saturday of December, there’s a LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender) parade in Malate area, what should Christian churches do with this? Should a church just keep silent and watch them?

Answer: With regard to the question raised about whether our church should respond to the gay parade, I personally believe that meeting these people there head-on and trying to stop their parade may just produce negative results. Some kind of confrontation may just make them more adamant and defiant about exercising their “rights” to engage in this sinful bondage/lifestyle.

The approach we have been taking is to focus on God’s love and the presentation of the gospel, in line with CCF’s overall thrust. What we can do is to send some people to these parades and try to invite select individuals into our programs and evangelistic seminars. We invite people, like Jan, to get involved. If anyone out there has a burden for these “deceived” souls to make time and become active and to join us in our activities to be able to influence a greater number of people. At the moment, we are understaffed and need to have more people join us in our ministry. Thanks very much! (Alberto Rodriguez)