All posts by Len Joson

Who is God?

Christ’s Finished Work: “It is Finished”

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A lot of discussions have been going on at Facebook regarding Steve McVey’s article on “Do We Proclaim a Potential Gospel or a Finished Gospel?” According to Steve McVey, he used to preach that when a person believes in Jesus Christ, then and only then will he receive forgiveness and get reconciled to God. In other words, reconciliation only becomes a reality when one believes the gospel. The person’s action (belief) creates reality (reconciliation). This is what Steve McVey called the “potential gospel.”

Years later, he learned that actually, the good news is that the work of Christ is already a finished work. Christ said on the cross, “It is finished.” Thus, Steve McVey called it the “finished gospel.” He realized he made a mistake in preaching a “potential gospel.” 

Dr. Mike Feazell and GCI

When I attended a conference in Tagaytay last February 2010, Dr. Michael Feazell, the vice-president of Grace Communion International, was there himself explaining what Trinitarian theology was all about. And the main title of his message was, “Christ’s Finished Work.” He explained to us that Christ’s work is a finished work.

C. S. Lewis

It is interesting to note that even the famous writer, C.S. Lewis believed in the finished work of Christ:

“What, then, is the difference which He has made to the whole human mass? It is just this; that the business of becoming a son of God, of being turned from a created thing into a begotten thing, of passing over from the temporary biological life into timeless ‘spiritual’ life, has been done for us. Humanity is already ‘saved’ in principle. We individuals have to appropriate that salvation. But the really tough work–the bit we could not have done for ourselves–has been done for us. We have not got to try to climb up into spiritual life by our own efforts; it has already come down into the human race. If we will only lay ourselves open to the one Man in whom it was fully present, and who, in spite of being God, is also a real man, He will do it in us and for us. Remember what I said about ‘good infection.’ One of our own race has this new life: if we get close to Him we shall catch it from Him.” (Mere Christianity, C. S. Lewis, pp. 156-157)

“It is Finished”

“It is finished,” as Christ said on the cross. In so far as God is concerned, from God’s point of view, we have already been reconciled to God through Christ (2 Cor. 5:18-19) and there’s nothing more that’s needed for us to do to earn salvation. Christ earned it for us. That’s the objective truth and reality. It is already real and true.

Our personal response to this objective truth is a subjective matter and experience which does not create reality. Our reconciliation in Jesus Christ is not potentially true and will only become a reality when we believe. It is already true. God through Paul said so in 2 Corinthians 5:18-19. We have already been reconciled. It’s already a reality. In view of this objective reality, we are urged to “be reconciled to God” (2 Cor. 5:20) as our fitting, rightful and positive response.

In view of God’s love that is given to us, we cannot but respond in love and with love in return. Let us respond positively and enjoy life and love with the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

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Who is God?

The True Gospel

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Penitents in Pampanga during Holy Week is a common sight all over the place.

For more than two decades, I knew that 1 Corinthians 15 was all about the resurrection–especially the latter half of the chapter. But it was only after some 20 or more years, that I learned and truly realized what was actually written in the first few verses of this chapter. I never noticed it though I read it many times. Somehow, this was never quoted nor taught by my former pastors and we all were blinded to this truth about the real gospel. But thanks be to God, he has now opened my eyes to the true gospel.

What the True Gospel Is

As we approach the holy week, let us again consider what the true gospel is. This is the true gospel that should be preached. Here is what the apostle Paul wrote:

  • “Now, brothers, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. 2 By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain. 3 For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures,” (1 Corinthians 15:1-4)

The gospel is all about Christ. It’s about his birth, life, crucifixion, death, burial, resurrection and his ascension. It’s all about him and his Kingdom of which he is King. It’s about God’s reign—God’s Kingdom. It’s all about his incarnation and atonement—his becoming flesh and his sacrifice on the cross. It’s all about Christ and his relationship with the Father. It’s all about Christ and his relationship with all of humanity and all of creation. He died for all. It’s about humanity’s adoption through Jesus Christ. It’s all about Christ.

Right after Jesus ascended, during Pentecost, the very first sermon that the apostle Peter gave was about Christ–about his crucifixion and his resurrection (Acts 2:22-36). He preached about Christ! Let’s take a look at some of the verses:

  • “Men of Israel, listen to this: Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs, which God did among you through him, as you yourselves know. This man was handed over to you by God’s set purpose and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross. But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him”(Acts 2:22-24).
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  • “Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ.” When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?” Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”(Acts 2:36-38)

Notice the apostle Paul’s focus:

  • “When I came to you, brothers, I did not come with eloquence or superior wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God. 2 For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.”(1 Corinthians 2:1)

This is the true gospel!

The gospel is not about God’s sovereignty although we acknowledge that he is sovereign. The gospel is definitely NOT about human free will, human freedom or about total depravity. The gospel is not about doing good works in order to get saved. Rather, through the Lord Jesus, the gospel declares that man’s sinfulness and depraved condition has been taken care of by the Lord. While we were still sinners, he died for all of us! (Rom. 5:8). He did not count our sins against us (2 Cor. 5:19) but rather, he reconciled all of us  (2 Cor. 5:18)—all of humanity and all of creation–to himself (Col. 1:19-20).

  • 14 For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again. So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. (2 Corinthians 5:14-21)

The gospel is all about Jesus Christ! All other “gospels” are false gospels.

Who is God?

Prediction Addiction

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The recent horrific tsunami that ravaged Japan was really devastating, very tragic. Previous to this, we had earthquakes too in New Zealand and that was tragic too. And then we also had previously, political unrest and change of leadership in Egypt. Civil war continues in Libya and trouble is brewing in other Arab countries too. These events around the world recently have awakened once again the interest of many about “the end of the world” or the “end times.” Prophets of doom have come out once again and their enthusiasm for “prediction addiction” has been heightened and re-awakened. They are once again coming out to preach “gloom and doom” because it is now “the last days.”

The truth is, when the author of Hebrews wrote in Hebrews 1:1-2, it was already the “last days” about 2,000 years ago! So, we need to have a balanced perspective about the “end times.”

“Last Days” Predictions Abound

While I believe in the second coming of Jesus Christ, I think that Christians should not be the cause of fear and panic for people who are already troubled and saddened by the series of calamities. Instead, we should encourage and comfort people to fully rely and trust God—despite calamities and adversities in life. We should comfort people encouraging them that whatever happens in our lives, God will always be there with us. He will never leave us nor forsake us.

Preaching doom and gloom is not the gospel. It detracts and diverts our attention away from preaching the true gospel of Jesus Christ. Preaching about the so-called “end times” is not the gospel. It is bad news—a false gospel. “Gospel” simply means “good news.” Prophets of doom only bring bad news making suffering victims conscience-stricken with fear, guilt and anxiety—really bad news.

Don’t be a prophet of doom and gloom too busy making predictions about calamities, finger-pointing and blaming people for their sins, blaming people for the series of calamities but rather, as a Christian, be a source of encouragement, comfort, faith, hope and love as they see Jesus Christ in your life in the midst of and despite calamities and adversities.

Suggested further reading materials:

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Life & Love, Who is God?

Arguments: A Lesson in Church History

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The Lord’s reminder is simple. We Christians are to be known as the Lord’s disciples by our love for one another (John 13:34-35). Definitely not based on our superior theological understanding. But what do we sometimes see in Christians when they talk about other people’s beliefs? We accuse, we put down, we belittle, we smear the other person’s reputation and show off our knowledge of the Bible. Isn’t that what happens once in a while in some Facebook discussion groups? Knowledge truly puffs up. Everybody can quote a lot of Scriptures. But no one gets edified. Neither is God glorified. It leads to confusion, hurt feelings and never-ending debate.

Theological Biases

One thing is sure. We all have our own theological biases — a lens through which we see things. We view the Bible based on our own understanding of it and oftentimes, we are sure of ourselves that we have the accurate interpretation of Scripture and all the others are wrong.

If you are a Sabbath-keeper, you look at everything with that perspective. Law-keeping, especially the Sabbaths and the festivals are paramount for salvation. If you are a 5-point Calvinist, you look at salvation from the lens of God’s sovereignty. There is no room for human freedom and free will. Some others believe keeping the commandments is important to have eternal life. For universalists, everybody gets saved regardless of what you do or not do — regardless of whether you believe or not. We all have filters and lenses through which we view and perceive everything. That’s our world view. So many differing views!

Made-Up Minds

With that in mind, can these discussions ever lead to something edifying and good? Well, it would seem doubtful but I would suppose it may still lead to something good — hopefully. But oftentimes, I have my doubts. From my experience, it often ends up with misunderstanding and hurt feelings. Why? Because actually, most of those who join these discussions have their minds already made up. As the saying goes, “My mind is made up. Don’t confuse me with the facts.” They are there to convince everyone else of their brand of “gospel truth.”

Learning from Church History

Let’s look at church history and learn lessons on how we should handle ourselves in the midst of differing theological views.

According to Earle E. Cairns, in his book “Christianity Through The Ages (third edition, revised and expanded)  on page 22:

  • “Ignorance of the Bible and the history of the church is a major reason why many advocate false theologies or bad practices.”

So let us go back to the history of the Church a few centuries ago.

Great Church Leaders and Soured Relationships

In this caricature, Calvin and Luther argues withe each other as they also argue with the pope haha!

Did you know that John Calvin and Martin Luther who were great church leaders during the 16th century had great disagreements over doctrine? On page 302 of Cairnes’ book it says, “Luther’s main emphasis was on justification by faith, whereas Calvin stressed the sovereignty of God.” 

And did you know that John Wesley and George Whitefield, both great leaders and founders of the Methodist movement during the 18th century also had their friendship ruined because of theological differences? Both leaders had great influence during their time in America and Britain. John Wesley believed in the Arminian view while George Whitefield believed in Calvinism. This led to a divided church.

Respect One Another At All Times

The lesson for me is clear. Let us all respect each one’s theological view and stop ruining relationships. Share your views nicely and let us maintain our friendly and loving relationships. That’s how it ought to be as the Lord has commanded. Let us love one another.

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Life & Love

Mindsets in the Local Church

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Local Church Mindsets, Bishop Ef Tendero

As the web designer and web administrator of the Philippine Missions Association (PMA) website, I was asked by the PMA national director, Dr. Rey Taniajura, to attend and observe their general assembly meeting. During that meeting, I learned some interesting information about “What makes a Church, a Church?” In a rather humorous way and in passing—to illustrate his point—Bishop Ephraim Tendero, the national director of the Philippine Council of Evangelical Churches (PCEC), explained that there are two mindsets prevailing among local churches. The first one he called the “ABC mindset” and the other one he called the “DEF mindset.” I thought it was funny but it really drove home the point.

The ABC Mindset in the Local Church

For the ABC mindset, this is what the letters A, B and C stand for: A is for Attendance, B is for Building and C is for Cash. Without having to explain it in detail, I readily understood that the focus of this kind of a church is on increasing its attendance—a numbers game of sorts. And secondly, while they may say they value sharing the gospel but this kind of a church is really more focused on their church building. Just check how much funds go into their church building! And lastly, they are so stingy about their church funds (it’s needed for the building, you see) and are wary to share it for other worthy causes.

The DEF Mindset

For the DEF mindset in the local church, D stands for Discipleship, E stands for Evangelism and F stands for Frontier Missions. The great commission is all about making disciples and yet discipleship is somehow missing in so many local churches according to Bishop Tendero. Evangelism is sorely lacking in many churches too. And, only a few give attention to missions—especially frontier missions. There are only a few churches that can be considered “sending churches.” That is, they send missionaries to go and make disciples in other nations.

Hmm… I thought it was a great observation from the PCEC national director himself on what goes on in the minds of local church folks across the country. This is really something worth thinking about.

Updated as of 9/24/2018: Bishop Ef Tendero is now the Secretary General of the World Evangelical Alliance (WEA) since March 1, 2015. Also, sometime in 2016, after having originally created and maintained it for a good number of years, I turned over control and maintenance of the website of the Philippine Missions Association to their own office staff.