Congratulations to the following Training for Victory 191 participants!

Alexander Espinosa
Abigail Tenorio
Alfonso Dela Rosa III
Analyn Cuevas
Andrew Aleta
Ma. Angelica Go
Angeline Esther Alagan
Angelo Gervacio
Aniceta Santos
Anna Belly Garrido
Annabelle Magdaleno
Annabelle Sanchez
Annaliza Antonio
Anne Lauren Ardena
Antonio Sillona
Antonio Manilay
Ariane Tagarao
Arlene Mago-Gallardo
Art Alera II
Augustus Alagan
Bernadette Hurtado
Bernadette Rotoni
Candy Fernandez
Carlo Maranan
Carlyn Jayne Casten
Catherine Carlos
Cathy Grace Tanriosa
Charina Nola
Chloe Hilario
Christian Amazona
Christopher Tomas
Concepcion Salaum
Cynthia Quinia
Desiree Gay Canares
Diana Imperial
Diana Rose Yupo
Domingo Casten
Dominique Tanchanco
Don Tamayo
Donna May Sambajon
Dwight Bautista
Ed Garsula
Edward Bayta
Eileen Lorenzo
Elaine Angelica Malto
Ellen Raquel
Elmer Esteban
Elmer Fajardo
Emerita Esteban
Emilie Ann Subida-Bonifacio
Emmanuel Dagta
Ercel Limos
Eric Paguio
Ericson Gallardo
Erika Grino Nadal
Ester Macha
Evangeline Dugay
Evia – Evelyn Almadrones
Farrah Ellaine Aaliwin
Franklin Cerezo
Fritzie Acuna
Froilan Castaneda
Genevieve Deveza
Glenn Tamoy
Gretchen Cristobal
Hanna Udaundo
Hannah Camille Mabalatan
Iris Palogan
Ivin Cabatic
Jack Malasaga
Jackie Trinidad
Jaclyn Ruth Mabalatan
Janelyn Sibayan
Janice Alojado
Jed Villanueva
Jeddah Abing
Jen Esguerra
Jeni Pua
Jenice Joy Sumaway
Jennet Cancino
Jennifer Laad
Jennifer Rabanal
Jennylene Ones
Jesamin Oliveros
Jessica Mallari
Jimilinda Lopez
Joanne Sanchez
Jocelyn Deuna
Jocelyn Yap
Joeffry Tan
John Mark Lizano
John Matthew Aleta
Karl Rudolph Acuna
Karla Padrelanan
Kazuo Otake
Kenneth Rhoel Rola
Kirsten Santos
Kristina Marie Raga
Lady Garcia
Larry Pimentel
Lea Nazaire
Lea Martin
Lenilyn Combis
Lenny Dela Cruz
Leonard Fernandez
Leonardo Angcajas Jr.
Li Juaneza
Lito Casia
Lolita De Vera
Luz Paredes
Ma. Angela Escabusa
Ma. Angelique Hizon
Ma. Elizabeth Loria
Ma. Jessibel Pinol
Ma. Luisa Tui
Ma. Meliza Sina-on
Ma. Sarah Dacio
Ma. Theresa Rimando – Sy
Ma. Victoria Onato
Maan Villanueva
Marco Taduyo
Marilen Magundayao
Marisol Fernandez
Marissa Padua
Mark Oliveros
Mark Anthony Magat
Mary Ann Dy
Mary Joyce Habitan
Mary Precil Cu
Mary Sheene Sarvida
Marycris Fallarme
Maurice Ann Alcantara
May Marie Moldes
Medy Millar
Mel Andrew Palogan
Melanie Rodriguez
Melanie Ann Magat
Michael Linga
Michelle Dalida
Michelle Papa
Mikko Clauor
Mila Biol
Miriam Anne Lalas
Mischelle Alcantara
Myrna Lalas
Nelson Lorilla
Nemia Velitario
Nepthalie Caja
Nerissa Penalosa
Nicole Nisperos
Norene Lizano
Oliver Vivero
Pamela Pabuayon
Paul Bautista
Pauline Parayno
Perla Casia
Peter Mark San Gregorio
Philip Jay De Guzman
R-jay Ocampo
Rachel Lynn Lalas
Ramon Bicaldo

Ray Anthony Rodriguez
Reg Mendoza
Reji Mariz Limbag
Renato Javier
Renz Baltazar
Resza Chrisia Lacsamana
Rhea Crieta
Rhodora Palermo
Rhona Eslava
Rina Amoranto
Rod Millar
Roland Santos
Ron Samala
Ronel Gayumali
Rosalia Parcon
Rosally Ty
Rosario Dominic Rocha
Rosemarie Sandoval
Ryan N. De Torres
Sarah Madrinan
Sheila Taduyo
Sylvester Pinol
Teresita Balajadia
Terry Santos
Theresa Fulguencio
Thomas Caja
Timothy John Medalla
Tracy Valdez
Veronica Adecer
Wendell Yap

Jeremiah 31:31-34

³¹                   “Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah,

³²                   not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, my covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, declares the LORD.

³³                   But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the LORD: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people.

³⁴                   And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the LORD. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.”

In a passage detailing the character and benefits of the New Covenant – it was mentioned that it will different form the Mosaic covenant because of three things:

1. His law will be living in their hearts. It is written in their hearts.
2. Each member will experience intimacy and knowledge of the Lord.
3. Their sins will be forgiven-an no longer remembered. This is justification.

A distinguished Reformed teacher –Dr Pratt affirmed except the 2^nd-saying that this points to the need for teachers which is still in current need until now. And so he deducted that this prophesy will be fully fulfilled at the end of time. How he can interpret this –without ignoring the surrounding contexts which speaks of current blessings within the New Covenant under Jesus? For the new covenant was inaugurated by the death of Jesus Christ and symbolize by the bread and the wine:

Matthew 26

²⁸ for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.

Mark 14

²⁴ And he said to them, “This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many.

Luke 22

²⁰ And likewise the cup after they had eaten, saying, “This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood.

And as for the Law and His presence in the lives of New Covenant believers-

Hebrews 10:10-13

¹⁰                   For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my laws into their minds, and write them on their hearts, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.

¹¹                   And they shall not teach, each one his neighbor and each one his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest.

¹²                   For I will be merciful toward their iniquities, and I will remember their sins no more.”

¹³                   In speaking of a new covenant, he makes the first one obsolete. And what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away.

And as well as the Lord and Aposttle John mentioned regarding teachers:

Matthew 23: 8-10

⁸  But you are not to be called rabbi, for you have one teacher, and you are all brothers. ⁹ And call no man your father on earth, for you have one Father, who is in heaven.  ¹⁰   Neither be called instructors, for you have one instructor, the Christ.

1 John 2: 26-27

²⁶                   I write these things to you about those who are trying to deceive you. ²⁷                    But the anointing that you received from him abides in you, and you have no need that anyone should teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about everything, and is true, and is no lie—just as it has taught you, abide in him.

 Clearly this is a present reality –not waiting for an Israelite kingdom to be installed at Palestine or for eternity to come. If they will push this to the end-consistent hermeneutics will also entail that the forgiveness of sins and abiding presence of the Holy Spirit is still future. But what does Scripture says:

Galatians 3

² Let me ask you only this: Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law or by hearing with faith?

³ Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh?

Galatians 5

¹⁸ But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.

The Holy Spirit is one of the benefits of the New Covenant which was limited under the Law of Moses.

For Jesus must be born within that covenant:

⁴                      But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law,

⁵                    to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons.

And so after His death –the New Covenant is now in force:

¹⁵                   Therefore he is the mediator of a new covenant, so that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance, since a death has occurred that redeems them from the transgressions committed under the first covenant.

¹⁶                   For where a will is involved, the death of the one who made it must be established.

¹⁷                   For a will takes effect only at death, since it is not in force as long as the one who made it is alive.

I wholeheartedly agree with its critique of tithing teachers

The trial of Pastor Jones

Judge: Mr. Jones you have been charged with multiple counts of extortion. Your crime spree covers 20 years and thousands of victims. You have defrauded people out of their money with fear and manipulation, telling them they had to tithe 10% of their income to your church and that God would bless them if they did. You also told them that if they didn’t tithe God would curse them. How do you plead?

Mr. Jones: I plead not guilty your Honor, I have done nothing wrong. I have only preached what the Bible says. In the Bible Abraham tithed to Melchizedek and God blessed him for his faithful giving. The Bible even says he was rich in silver and gold.

Judge: Is it not true, Mr. Jones, that in Genesis chapter 13 verse 2 the Bible says Abraham was rich with livestock, silver and gold?

Mr. Jones: Yes, you are exactly right, that’s what I just told you.

Judge: Ok, we read about Abraham being a rich man in chapter 13 but it is not until Genesis chapter 14 that we read about Abraham’s tithe to Melchizedek. So Abraham was already a rich man before he tithed to Melchizedek, wasn’t he?

Mr. Jones: Yes, I suppose you are right.

Judge: So his riches were not the result of his tithe to Melchizedek?

Mr. Jones: No.

Judge: Mr. Jones, you also say God blessed him for his faithful giving. How many times is it recorded that Abraham gave tithes to Melchizedek?

Mr. Jones: Well, just once.

Judge: So the Bible never said that he gave week after week?

Mr. Jones: No it does not.

Judge: Where did Abraham get the things that he gave to Melchizedek?

Mr. Jones: Well the Bible says it was from the plunders of war?

Judge: So you are telling me that he gave from the plunders of war?

Mr. Jones: Yes that’s what the Bible says.

Judge: So he basically took things that were not really his in the first place and gave them as the tithe?

Mr. Jones: That is what the scripture seems to indicate.

Judge: Is it recorded that he ever took anything from his own possessions
and tithed them to Melchizedek or anyone else?

Mr. Jones: I guess not

Judge: You guess not, you are a Pastor and you are only guessing, is it or
is it not written that he ever gave any of his own possessions as a tithe to
anyone?

Mr. Jones: No it is not written anywhere that I have seen.

Judge: Is it recorded as to what exactly Abraham did give Melchizedek?

Mr. Jones: I believe it says plunder?

Judge: So plunder could be any number of things?

Mr. Jones: Yes, I suppose

Judge: It could have been food, cattle, sheep, the people’s
possessions or any number of things. It does not say it was all money
correct?

Mr. Jones: Yes you are correct, it does not say just money

Judge: As a matter of fact money is never mentioned in that account at all
is that correct Mr. Jones?

Mr. Jones: Yes your Honor, money is never mentioned just goods and food and
people.

Judge: So there is no way you can say with any certainty that Abraham in
fact gave Melchizedek any money at all?

Mr. Jones: That is right.

Judge: I only have one last question for you Mr. Jones, did God command Abraham to give this plunder tithe to Melchizedek?

Mr. Jones: No, it appears that he did this voluntarily.

Judge: So are you trying to tell me that because of this voluntary, one time gift by Abraham, that may not have even consisted of money, all Christians everywhere are obligated to bring 10% of their weekly paycheck to a local church?

Judge: Considering all the evidence I would say you are beyond any shadow of a doubt guilty of deliberately trying to make the scriptures says things they have not said for financial gain.

Mr. Jones: Ok your Honor, I can see how foolish I was to try and use the story of Melchizedeck to try and get the people to tithe money. But there are many other verses that will support my belief on tithing. Jacob said he would give God 10% of everything. I think we should follow his example.

Judge: Let’s see what Jacob said. Please read the verse you are talking about for me Mr. Jones.

Mr. Jones: In Genesis chapter 28 starting at verse 20 it says. Jacob vowed a vow, saying, “If God will be with me, and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat, and clothing to put on, so that I come again to my father’s house in peace, and Yahweh will be my God, then this stone, which I have set up for a pillar, will be God’s house. Of all that you will give me I will surely give the tenth to you.”

Judge: You said we should follow Jacobs’s example, is that right Mr. Jones?

Mr. Jones: Yes that is right, he vowed to give a tenth and we should too.

Judge: Let me point out one thing for you Mr. Jones, Jacob said he would Give God a tenth, ONLY if He blessed him first. So as you said previously, we should follow Jacob’s example and tell God that we will only give him a tenth if he blesses us first. Is that right?

Mr. Jones: That is not what I meant.

Judge: What did you mean then?

Mr. Jones: That we should give God a tenth also.

Judge: There you go again, trying to make the scripture say what you want it to say for your benefit. I would also like you to tell me the scriptures that say that Jacob kept his vow with God. I would also like to know where he gave the tenth to because there was no temple or levites to give it to at that time.

Mr. Jones: I can not think of any scriptures that say where or if he ever tithed after his vow.

Judge: It seems fairly obvious to me that Jacob made a voluntary and conditional vow to God. This in no way can be used as a reason to demand others to bring their income to you or any other place.

Mr. Jones: I do have a few more scriptures that I believe will show that we are supposed to tithe.

Judge: You have not said anything yet to convince me one little bit that people are obligated to tithe money to the local churches and that you were justified in what you were doing. You have taken scripture and misapplied it to your beliefs and for your gain. But in order to be fair to you I will allow you to present more evidence.

Mr. Jones: In the book of Malachi chapter 3 starting at verse 8 it says, will a man rob God? yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, In what have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings. Ye are cursed with a curse: for ye have robbed me, even this whole nation. Bring ye all the tithes into the store-house, that there may be food in my house, and prove me now with this, saith the LORD of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it. So you see your Honor, we are commanded to bring the tithes into the storehouse or God will curse us.

Judge: Answer me this Mr. Jones, were you aware that God never required anyone to tithe money?

Mr. Jones: No I didn’t know that.

Judge: The tithe spoken of here was always edible products never money.

Mr. Jones: well your Honor that is because they didn’t have money at the time so God had them tithe food instead.

Judge: Not true, money is first mentioned in Genesis and Malachi was written hundreds of years later. God had them bring food in so that the levites, the fatherless and widows may eat and be satisfied. The tithe was used mainly to take care of people. Also notice it says in the verse you quoted, that there may be food in my house. How do you completely overlook the word food in those verses?

Mr. Jones: I don’t know

Judge: I also want you to know that these verses speak to people under the Old Testament law. As you may or may not know Jesus fulfilled the law, it is no longer binding. Tithing was part of that law that has been abolished.

Judge: Once again you have tried to completely take a scripture out of context and apply it to others for your benefit. Can you give me a single scripture where God changed the tithe from food to money?

Mr. Jones: I do not know of any.

Judge: So if God never changed it from food to money who did?

Mr. Jones: Man must have.

Judge: So far all you have done Mr. Jones is take Old Testament scriptures out of context and try to apply it to believers under the New Covenant. Is this all the proof you have?

Mr. Jones: I do have a New Testament scripture that will show that Jesus told us to tithe.

Judge: Ok let me hear it.

Mr. Jones: Jesus said in Matthew 23:23 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint, dill, and cumin, and have left undone the weightier matters of the law: justice, mercy, and faith. But you ought to have done these, and not to have left the other undone. See Jesus said we should be tithing.

Judge: Let me ask you a question, who was Jesus talking to?

Mr. Jones: The scripture says the scribes and Pharisees.

Judge: Are you a scribe or Pharisee?

Mr. Jones: Of course not.

Judge: Jesus also said in that passage, you have left undone the weightier matters of the law. Are we under the law Mr. Jones?

Mr. Jones: No.

Judge: Why not?

Mr. Jones: Because Jesus fulfilled it.

Judge: When did Jesus fulfill the law?

Mr. Jones: When He was crucified.

Judge: So the law was still in effect until Jesus death?

Mr. Jones: That is correct.

Judge: I think you know where I am going with this don’t you?

Mr. Jones: Yes your Honor. Since Jesus had not yet been crucified and the law was still binding the Pharisees were required to tithe because it was part of the law. Once the law ended, tithing ended also.

Judge: I want you to take a look at that verse again. Also tell me, what were they tithing?

Mr. Jones: The scripture says it was mint, dill and cumin.

Judge: Is money mentioned?

Mr. Jones: No it was not.

Judge: Once again it was edible products that they were tithing, not money. Do you have anything else you would like to say?

Mr. Jones: If people only tithed edible products like the scripture says, then how would the church survive? We have our mortgage payment, utility bills, my salary and a host of other things that we have to pay each week. We depend on the money from the people.

Judge: The need does not justify the means. In other words, just because you have all these debts does not give you the right to twist and manipulate scripture and cause people to give under fear of being cursed by God to meet your needs. In closing, let me recap a few things for you Mr. Jones. The tithe was never money; the tithe was an Old Testament law, which is no longer binding. When it was binding the tithe was used to take care of people, not buildings. We are under a new covenant now. Paul instructs the Corinthian believers how they are to give. He says in second Corinthians chapter 9 verse 7, Let each man give according as he has determined in his heart; not grudgingly, or under compulsion; for God loves a cheerful giver. So each believer is supposed to give as he or she has determined in his or her heart. If you are trying to make people give under the threat of being cursed or any other reason you are wrong. Someone can not give cheerfully if they are being forced to give. If your church can not survive on freewill offerings maybe God is not part of your church at all.

Mr. Jones: I never realized all these things, I have always been taught that we had to tithe money to the local church and that is what I have always taught. I can see now that I was completely wrong. I did not study the scripture for myself, I only took mans word for it. Yes I am guilty. I will not teach this error anymore.

Judge: Mr. Jones, I can see that you done this in ignorance and are repentant, this court will not hold you accountable. It is your responsibility to know the truth. I would advise you and everyone else in this courtroom to really start studying the Bible and seeking God on the subject of tithing and your eyes will be open. Do not just take mans word any longer. Start seeking God as to how and where He would have you give. Court adjourned.

Makati Submerge by Storm Surge from Roxas Blvd

Areas not usually affected by floods-were flooded-and some are still under flood-because 4-5 dams have to release overflowing waters coming from denuded mountains.

US embassy flash flooded

Other pictures of Roxas Boulevard flooded:

SM MOA Area-during the Storm Surge:

 What is New Covenant Theology?

Here’s an update to an ongoing work in progress. The
recently concluded 2011 John Bunyan Conference in Lewisburg, PA was a good place
to think about these things, and an update to this project was a necessary
outcome. Again, I am indebted to John Reisinger, Gary Long, Fred Zaspel, Steve
West, and Blake White for some of the verbiage contained herein.

What is New Covenant Theology?

Friday, May 06, 2011

11:38 AM

Interpretation of the Bible

1. New Covenant Theology insists on the priority of
   Jesus Christ over all things, including history, revelation, and
   redemption. New Covenant Theology presumes a Christocentricity to the
   understanding and meaning of all reality.
2. Jesus Christ, who reigns in heaven, has not only
   reached the goal of history and its reality, he Himself is the goal of
   history and reality, giving meaning to all that has occurred in human
   history and will occur in human history. Since it is Christ who gives
   meaning to human history, he is the One who interprets all of the deeds
   and acts of God in history.
3. Special revelation, comprised of the 66 books that we
   call the Sacred Scriptures, not only informs us about God, but redeems us
   and makes God present to us, focusing on the person and work of Jesus.
4. New Covenant Theology interprets Scripture after the
   manner of Christ’s and the New Testament writers’ use of the Old
   Testament. Jesus and the inspired New Testament writers, by their use of
   the Old Testament Scriptures, have left us a pattern by which to interpret
   not only the Old Testament prophecies, but its history and poetry.
5. The way that Jesus, the Apostles, and the prophets
   used the Old Testament is normative for this age.
6. All of the Old Testament scriptures are inherently
   prophetic in that the entire Old Testament, the Law, the Psalms, and the
   Prophets, point forward to and anticipate the WORD Incarnate, Jesus Christ
   (Hebrews 1:1-2). New Covenant Theology presumes that Jesus Christ, in his
   person and his saving acts, is the hermeneutic center of the Bible.
7. A careful study of the way Jesus and the New
   Testament writers understand and write about the Old Testament shows that
   the Old Testament’s anticipated Messiah (and His work) is revealed in the
   types and shadows of the revelation of the Old Testament, both in God’s
   speech-revelation and God’s acts.
8. The Old Testament Scriptures are God’s revelation of
   Himself as the eventual Messiah in Word and Deed, or in Speech and Act. In
   the Old Testament, divine activity accompanies divine speech, and vice
   versa, prophetically foreshadowing the activity and work of the coming
   Messiah. In the revelation of God’s word and deeds, the Old Testament
   provides the eschatological and salvation context for the person and work
   of Jesus.
9. Because the Word and its accompanying events are
   anticipating the coming of the seed of the Woman, Messiah, the Old
   Testament is thoroughly typological. Old Testament events, persons, and
   institutions have a typological relationship to Jesus, the antitype. Jesus
   Christ, the antitype, is the final, climactic expression of all God
   ideally intended through the types in the Old Testament.
10. The Old Testament, including its types, Israel’s
    history, and revelation, betrays an organic progress of history moving
    toward its end in Christ. Old Testament history is God’s revelation of the
    history of salvation proceeding toward its full realization in Jesus Christ.
    Each era of the Old Testament is both interconnected with and builds on
    the era preceding it, with all of the eras and their metanarrative finding
    their culmination in the Christ era, the end of days, the age to come. As
    history and revelation progress through the Old Testament toward their
    goal in Christ, there is increasing intensity in the types and increasing
    illumination of the nature and work of the Messiah.
11. All of the Old Testament authors are writing from a
    Messianic consciousness. The Old Testament Scriptures are thoroughly
    Messianic, and therefore interpretation of the Old Testament is
    comprehensively Christocentric and Christological. Jesus provides the
    fullest and final meaning to the Old Testament scriptures because all of
    the Old Testament Scriptures are about Jesus. Christ is the endpoint for
    the types and the shadows because those types and shadows in their
    original form were ultimately about Him. All of God’s activities and works
    recorded in the Old Testament revelation are ultimately saying something
    about the Person and Work of Jesus Christ. This does not mean every verse
    is about Jesus, but it does mean that Christ and the Christ event are the
    context for every passage in the Old Testament.
12. The Old Covenant scriptures, what we call The Old
    Testament, are to be interpreted in the light of their new covenant
    fulfillment in Jesus Christ. Jesus is not only the interpretive key to
    understanding the Old Testament; the terminology of the Old Testament must
    be understood through and defined in light of Christ’s fulfillment. The
    New Testament scriptures bear witness to the Christ event (Christ’s life,
    death, resurrection, exaltation) and interpret the Old Testament through
    the lens of that Christ event.
13. The Old Testament scriptures, its words, and its
    deeds are thoroughly and intentionally eschatological. The end of all
    things in Christ is always imposing itself into the present, and this is
    true of the Old Testament age and its revelation.
14. The New Testament scriptures provide a definitive
    interpretation of the Old Testament. The end and goal of all things in
    Christ gives meaning to and provides interpretation for all that precedes
    it. The New Testament use of the Old Testament presumes the hermeneutical
    and eschatological priority of the Christ event in interpreting the Old
    Testament. The New Testament use of the Old Testament shows that the New
    Testament authors are interpreting the Old Testament in a way that the Old
    Testament events, persons, institutions, and Scriptures have found their
    fulfillment and final goal in the Person and Work of Jesus Christ.
15. New Covenant Theology is based upon a
    redemptive-historical approach to interpreting the Bible, understanding
    the fulfillment of all of God’s promises in Jesus Christ as they are
    progressively unfolding from Genesis to Revelation.
16. The rhythm of the redemptive history and revelation
    of the Old Testament scriptures occurs in the form of Promise and
    Fulfillment. Just as the Word accompanies and interprets God’s salvific
    events in the Old Testament, so too Promise is consistently and faithfully
    followed by fulfillment. This divinely orchestrated pattern that threads
    together the events and revelation of the Old Testament becomes, for the
    New Testament authors, the pattern by which he has interpreted the Person
    and Work and Word of Jesus Christ, the Promised Messiah – the Yes and Amen
    – who fulfills, or fills up, the meaning of all of the Old Testament
    promises.
17. The New Covenant, Jesus Christ, has inaugurated the
    New Covenant age which is the hermeneutical context for the New Testament
    scriptures. The New Testament authors are operating with a presumption
    that they are living in the New Covenant age. New Testament writers bear
    witness to the Christ and the Christ event with a belief that the old
    covenants of the Old Testament have given way to a new and better
    Covenant, Who fulfills (fills up) their meaning to its fullest.
18. Obsolescence is a fundamental hermeneutical
    principle in interpreting the Old Testament through the New Covenant lens
    of the New Testament. The obsolescence of the Old Testament types and
    shadows, including the covenants, is grounded in the emergence and
    inauguration of the New Covenant in Christ.
19. New Covenant Theology presumes that the “now-not
    yet” principle of interpretation is essential to understand the teaching
    of the NT.
20. The organic historical connection, and the
    Christocentric unity that exists between the Old and New Covenants,
    guarantees the usefulness of the Old Testament for the church.
21. In the term New Covenant Theology we declare
    that God, for his own delight, has revealed himself and manifested his
    glory ultimately in the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ and his complete
    and perfect work on the Cross through which he has established a New
    Covenant in his blood. (Heb. 7:22; 8:6; 9:11; 10:14)
22. The pinnacle of God’s unfolding revelation comes to
    us in the Incarnate Word, Jesus Christ himself, by the New Testament
    Scriptures.
23. The two testaments proclaim the same Christocentric
    message, but from differing standpoints.
24. The New Covenant documents, interpretive of and
    informed by the Old Covenant documents, are binding for the new people of
    God until the end of this age.

Covenants

25. God’s plan to glorify himself in Jesus Christ
    through the redemption of his people is revealed and administered through
    the unfolding of biblical covenants in the flow of redemptive history.
26. God’s promise of the New Covenant was that the
    Messiah would be Himself the embodiment of an everlasting covenant with
    His people. This promise, typified in the covenants, is fulfilled in
    Christ. (Is. 42:6-9; 43:19; 45:21-25; 46:9-13).
27. The Old and New Covenants are two different
    covenants in terms of both form and function. The one is an administration
    of death, and the other is an administration of life (2 Cor. 3:6-8).
28. The New Covenant is distinct from, while typified
    by, previous covenants in the Old Testament. The New Covenant, personified
    by and having put on flesh and blood in Christ, fulfills all previous
    covenants making them obsolete, including the Abrahamic and Sinaitic
    Covenants.
29. Christ has fulfilled the Adamic, Noaic, Abrahamic,
    Mosaic, and Davidic covenants in his life, death, resurrection, and
    exaltation. While he has completely fulfilled them, they yet will be
    consummated in him in the New Heavens and New Earth.
30. The New Covenant is a new covenant in its own right.
    The New Covenant is not the Abrahamic Covenant or a recapitulation of the
    Abrahamic Covenant. The New Covenant is not a new administration of the
    Mosaic Covenant.
31. The New Covenant is not like the covenant made with
    the people through Moses. Embodied and personified in Christ, the New
    Covenant brought into existence through the life and cross work of Christ
    is made with his redeemed people through grace. God’s people do not enter
    the New Covenant by works, but by grace through faith; it is radically
    internal, not external; everlasting, not temporary.
32. The tearing in two of the veil in the temple was a
    decisive, supernatural act that visibly demonstrated the end of the Old
    Covenant and the establishment of the New. This end of the Old Covenant
    was consummated in the fall of Jerusalem and the destruction of the
    Jerusalem Temple.
33. As the fulfillment of the Old Testament promises of
    a New Covenant, Jesus Christ personifies, embodies, and incarnates the New
    Covenant. Thus, he Himself is the New Covenant (Isaiah 42:6, 49:8, Luke
    22:20).
34. All of Scripture is to be read, understood, and
    interpreted in light of the New Covenant, established in Jesus Christ
    (Matt. 5:17; Luke 10:23-24; 24:27, 44; John 5:46; 8:56; Heb. 10:7). The
    New Covenant has become the interpretive paradigm for understanding the
    church’s existence in temporal and redemptive history.
35. True biblical theology of the New Covenant is the
    recognition of God’s purpose, unfolding and weaving its way from Genesis
    to Revelation on the timeline of redemptive history, culminating in Jesus
    Christ.
36. Christ’s inauguration of the New Covenant brings in
    things that are both qualitatively and quantatively “newer,” expressed in
    developing the theological significance of such basic concepts as new
    wineskins, new teaching, new commandment, new creation, new man, new name,
    new song, new Jerusalem and all things new (Rev. 21:5).

The Law

37. The Law of Moses (as a totality) was connected to a
    particular covenant people. It was codified after a specific act of
    redemption, the Exodus.
38. In the ultimate purpose of God, this Mosaic economy
    was temporary, destined to exist “until the time of
    reformation” (Heb.9:10) when God would speak in a final way in His
    Son in the last days (Heb.1:1-2).
39. Everything going on in Israel, including the
    covenants and the law, was of a typical nature, and was fulfilled
    in the person and work of Christ (Heb.3:5; 8:5; 9:8-9) who is the New
    Israel of God (Matthew 2:15).
40. The Ten Commandments are not “eternal moral law”
    first written in the heart of man at creation and forever binding upon all
    mankind.
41. The Decalogue is not “transcovenantal”.
42. The Decalogue is specifically tied to the Mosaic
    covenant and is a covenantal expression of the two greatest commandments,
    loving God and loving neighbor (Deuteronomy 6:5, Leviticus 19:18, Matthew
    22:37-40).
43. The church no longer has to do with the law in any
    other way than in Christ, being onnomos Christou (in-lawed to
    Christ). The Old Covenant law, including the Decalogue, has been
    completely fulfilled in Jesus Christ which it typified in shadow and
    stone.
44. New Covenant believers are in-lawed to Christ
    through their union with Christ, and in the indwelling of the Holy Spirit;
    they are not under the OC law of Moses.
45. Because the Old Covenant law, including the
    Decalogue, has been fulfilled in Jesus Christ, New Covenant Theology
    denies that the Old Covenant law, including the Decalogue and its
    so-called “moral law”, is binding on New Covenant believers today. Yet, as
    the special revelation of God as fulfilled in Christ, the Old Covenant
    law, including the Decalogue, continues to inform behavior in the New
    Covenant.
46. New Covenant believers, no longer under the law but
    in-lawed to Christ, are under the grace personified by, expressed in, and
    given through Jesus Christ. This means that New Covenant believers are no
    longer under the covenant of Moses and its terms. Since New Covenant
    believers are no longer under the covenant of Moses, they are no longer
    under its covenantal law.
47. All behavioral norms, including those detailed in
    the Decalogue, are ultimately defined by and expressed in the person and
    work of Jesus Christ.
48. While at times it may be helpful to distinguish
    between the ceremonial, civil, and moral aspects of Old Testament law, all
    laws of the Old Covenant were moral since right relationship with the God
    of the covenant was at stake in the keeping or breaking of those laws.
49. While at times it may be helpful to distinguish
    between the ceremonial, civil, and moral aspects of Old Testament law, the
    New Testament treats the law as a singular unit and does not distinguish
    between these aspects.
50. Just as the law cannot justify, the law cannot
    sanctify. Just as it is impossible to be justified by the law, one cannot
    be sanctified by the law. The background problem being addressed by Paul
    in 2 Corinthians 3, Galatians 3-5, and Romans 7 (albeit in 3 different
    church situations) is the attempt to be sanctified by the law.
51. Regeneration does not change the inability of the
    law to transform. “Walking” in or by the law is the antithesis
    of “walking” in or by the Spirit (Galatians 5).
52. God’s Old Covenant law is fulfilled in Christ
    Himself and obeyed by those who, in Christ, fulfill the greatest
    commandments to love God and their neighbor.
53. New Covenant Theology insists that the law of Christ
    is not to be equated with the Decalogue, nor is it to be equated with that
    work of the law which was on the heart of Adam and all natural men. The
    work of the law on all men (Romans 2:14-16) causes all men to perceive
    God’s power and divine nature (Romans 1:20) so that the natural man’s
    conscience does what the law requires (Romans 2:14) and he is without
    excuse.
54. The New Covenant law is called the law of Christ
    which is distinguished — both in substance and in form — from the Mosaic
    law.
55. Christ is the Law of the New Covenant, incarnating
    the new standard of judgment as to what “has had its day” in the
    law and what has abiding validity (Col. 2:17). The Holy Spirit is the
    indwelling Law of Christ, causing New Covenant members to obey Christ the
    Law in conformity to His image.
56. God also promised that each New Covenant member
    would have His law written on their hearts. This promise, typified by
    circumcision, is fulfilled by the Holy Spirit who dwells in believers to
    guide their steps and conform them to Christ.
57. Just as the Old Covenant community was structured by
    written revelation which centered in Moses, so the New Covenant community
    is ordered by the “law of Christ” as personified and incarnated
    in the person of Jesus Christ, applied by the Holy Spirit, and given in
    the writing of the Apostles and prophets (Eph.2:20).
58. The indwelling Holy Spirit, the law written on the
    heart, is the norm for Christian living.
59. New Covenant Theology emphasizes that it is the
    Spirit, the indwelling “law” who both causes (Ezekiel 36:27) and
    enables the Christian to be conformed to and transformed into Christ’s
    image, Who is the Imago Dei, the perfect image of God.
60. “Do this and live” (Leviticus 18:5, Ezekiel
    20:11,13,21, Luke 10:28, Romans 10:5, and Galatians 3:12; also Matthew
    5:48 via Leviticus 19:2) is the fundamental principle of obedience to the
    law, expressing both Israel’s obligation to the law of God as well as all
    men (Romans 3:19-23). Because his people could not fulfill the fundamental
    principle of obedience to the law, Christ obeyed the law on behalf of his
    people in order to fulfill the obligations of the law and release his
    people from the condemnation of the law (Romans 5:1, Romans 8:1-2).
61. Christ’s perfect obedience to the law and
    fulfillment of the obligations is the necessary grounds for the
    righteousness imputed to his people, without which there is no right
    standing with God.
62. Because Christ has obeyed the law on behalf of his
    people and has become a law for his people, unlike the external Mosaic
    law, the Law of Christ as the Spirit applied to the redeemed is able to
    effect and enable the obedience and love that is in accord with Christ’s
    obedience and love.
63. For the New Covenant church, the law of God is no
    longer an external standard that demands compliance with the will of God.
    The Law of Christ as the indwelling Spirit is now an internal person who
    causes and inclines us to obey God from the heart.
64. The New Commandment of the New Covenant, the Law of
    Christ, expresses the indwelling of the Spirit through belief in Christ
    and love for one another (John 13:34, Galatians 6:2, 1 John 3:23). The
    work of the Spirit as the new covenant law applied to the heart of the
    believer (Jeremiah 31:31-34, Ezekiel 36:27) is manifest in love for God
    and one another, in following the examples set by Christ and his apostles,
    and in living out an ethic informed by the whole of the canon. Love is
    central to the law of Christ.
65. The New Testament and New Covenant Theology do not
    teach that the Ten Commandments are the objective standard for evaluating
    the Christian life. Christ is now the objective standard by which all
    holiness in the Christian life is measured.
66. The progression of history to a final New Covenant
    guarantees the “law of Christ”, as personified and incarnated by
    Jesus Christ, and applied by the Spirit who is written on the heart, to be
    sufficient for the church.

The
Sabbath

67. The Old Covenant Sabbath day was the divinely
    ordained sign of the Mosaic Covenant. With the rest of the Mosaic
    Covenant, the Old Covenant Sabbath commandment has passed into
    obsolescence in the inauguration of the New Covenant in Christ. The Old
    Covenant Sabbath has been typologically and eschatologically fulfilled by
    Christ for the people of God who rest in Him by faith (Romans 14:5;
    Colossians 2:16,17; Heb. 4:9-10).
68. New Covenant Theology denies that Sunday is a
    Christian Sabbath after the manner of the Old Covenant. New Covenant
    Theology denies that the Sabbath principle of physical rest in the Old
    Testament has been transferred to the first day of the week. New Covenant
    Theology also denies the so-called “floating day” principle, or one day in
    seven, since the Sabbath principle has passed into obsolescence with the
    rest of the Mosaic Covenant and its so-called “moral law”. New Covenant
    Theology denies that the physical principle of Sabbath-keeping can be
    transferred to the first day of the week, or any other day, without doing
    violence to the so-called moral aspect of the Sinaitic Covenant’s Sabbath
    commandment.
69. New Covenant Theology affirms that every Christian
    is a Sabbath-keeper because every Christian has entered in a rest from
    works in Christ the Sabbath Rest (Hebrews 4). Sabbath Rest for the New
    Covenant believer consists of resting or ceasing from works of the law or
    works of sin and resting by faith in Christ. Christ is our Sabbath Rest
    because having finished his work on our behalf he now sits at the right
    hand of the Father. Because Jesus Christ has become Sabbath Rest for his
    people, every moment of every day is Sabbath for the New Covenant
    believer.

The church

70. The dominion of Christ over His Kingdom (the church,
    Matt. 16:19, 18:17,18), typified and foreshadowed in Israel’s Old Testament
    theocracy, has been inaugurated in the New Covenant, is expressed in the
    New Testament, and is effectively carried out in the life of the local
    assembly, the visible New Covenant church.
71. The visible and local New Covenant church is the
    primary means by which the invisible church is expressed and manifested in
    the New Covenant.
72. The church on earth is located in the local church.
    New Covenant Theology recognizes that Christ exercises his Lordship in and
    through the local church.
73. The New Covenant church is a local, visible colony
    of the universal gathering in heaven. The universal gathering of God’s
    redeemed people has begun on earth in the form and expression of the local
    church. Thus by intent and design, the local church as a gathering of New
    Covenant people who participate in faith, mirrors the universal gathering
    of the redeemed.
74. It is through the New Covenant church that God’s
    wisdom for the ages and his purposes throughout revelation and history –
    having been fulfilled in Jesus — are most visibly expressed.
75. New Covenant Theology posits that the Church, which
    is the body of Christ (Eph. 1:22-23; Col. 1:18), first came into visible
    existence in history when the Spirit descended and was poured out at
    Pentecost, not in past history under the Old Covenant. There is only one
    redemptive purpose for the people of God, which is the Church, the good
    olive tree (Rom. 11), the body of Christ (Eph. 2:13-22; 3:1-12), the
    visible expression of which is the local church.

Israel

76. The New Covenant is now in force and finds its
    fulfillment in Jesus, the antitypical New Israel.
77. New Covenant Theology sees in Christ a fulfillment
    of promises that, in their Old Testament context, seemed to be addressed
    to Israel as a nation. It is in Christ, the New Israel, that the church
    enjoys the blessings of the promises that seemed to be addressed to Israel
    as a nation in the Old Testament Scriptures.
78. New Covenant Theology denies that there is a one to
    one correlation between Israel and the New Covenant church. Israel was not
    the church in the Old Covenant, which consisted of an admixture of those
    who participated in faith and those who did not. In Christ, the New
    Israel, the church is not an admixture of believer and unbeliever, but is
    entirely by faith.
79. Under the Old Covenant, Israel was the people of
    God. Under the New Covenant, the church is the people of God anticipated
    in and foreshadowed by national Israel in the Old Testament scriptures.
80. In the Old Covenant, Israel, the second Adam, was a
    demonstration and proclamation of Jesus as a type. Israel typified the New
    Israel and His redeemed New Covenant people of God. That which was true of
    Israel, in type, is now true of Jesus as the federal head of His new
    covenant people in fulfillment. Thus, the supreme covenantal formula
    promised to Israel is now true of the church: Jehovah is our God, and we
    are His people. Christ, the New Covenant, now dwells among His people.

However-we must-at one point or another must learn to frame our own-based on our readings of the Bible. Now-how to go about it?

What doctrines then are important? Start with NT Epistles of Apostle Paul- He is the Apostle to us Gentiles- And write what he tries to expound and defend- those things will be the content of your preliminary NT Statement of Faith.

Some pastors or churches keep saying that the Bible is their creed-and then acts like the Pope-since no one can know what the church stands for-and no one can contradict him. He-the pastor is the church statement of faith. Stop saying the “Bible is my creed” -without specifying what the contents of that creed. Emphasize what the NT emphasized . And then carry it to practice. Especially within the local church.

Some pastors will not define their church government or polity-so they can have freedom of movement -without accountability to the elders nor the congregation. Neither congregational nor Presbyterian- not even Episcopal. Not being accountable-they stray more and more to tyranny and dictatorship-and use Apostle or Prophet as their titles.

If they had read the new Testament epistles on Paul,John,Peter and Jude-they will see that defining what “the Faith” is a matter of obedience and ministry. It is just a matter of obedience-and some pastors wants their own agenda-and are plain disobedient.

I will post my own research sometime-and I need your own feedback and research too.

And the aftermath? Bicol area inundated with water from rivers that overflowed its estuary. The next stop is Central and Northern Luzon-and it also rained in Quezon Province as well as the Ilocos Region.

My son-Raviel and I prayed through all the time -supported by a cadre of prayer warriors so that it will not wreak more havoc through its path. Meaning -no more winds and rains and that it will veer away from areas that don’t need its water. And it did- passing through Bataan -Zambales area instead.

Thank God in Jesus-that He can still hear our prayers. Next time we must remain vigilant and not sleepy guarding the gates. And we need to be systematic about this Prayer Ministry.

I am a cautiuous cessationist. Though John Macarthur had already discussed the exegetical grounds for cessationist stand-some had always brought unnecessarily healing and other gifts to the cessationist position- when in fact it does not. The other gifts are deemed to have ceased because of its connection as a Sign of Apostles who wrote the New Testament Scriptures.

Prophecies, knowledge and tongues will pass away or ceased when the perfect comes-and then we will see “face to face” -an adverb of manner -not objective noun. The whole Scripture was completed before AD 70 when Apostle wrote “Revelation”-and thus the “perfect” had really come-and through it we can have a better understanding of our Lord and His ways. Through the Scriptures we can ‘see’ the Lord “face-to-face” because through it  we can know His heart and mind for this generation. It does not nullify the need for enlightenment from the Holy Spirit-but it precludes a new revelation- a new additional-and required knowledge from the Lord to understand our world.

Tongues and Prophecies-if they ever exist in our times can no longer be revelatory-authoritative and “Thus saith the Lord” type of revelation. It still points to Hid Diuvine intervention into our situation-but it is in the secondary meaning. It tends to illuminate what the Scripture had already revealed. Thus -tongues-especially Pentecost Day-type of tongues had served its purpose as witness to the 1st Century Jews who rejected their Messiah.

New “prophets’ are needed only to make clear and relevant the previous revelation shown by the Lord-and this is being done by preachers and pastors who are faithful to the Scriptures and are listening tot he Holy Spirit how to apply it to God’s flock. This has been done by Augustine, Calvin, Spurgeon, Wesley, Barth and the like. But they don’t want to be called “prophets” out of respect for the priority and necessity of Holy Scriptures.

If we will turn away from the Scriptures- Old and New Testament-we will remain like children. Scriptures will help us speak, think and reason to our Lord like mature men. Let us not run after so-called “apostles and prophets” that will go against the mature wisdom of the Scriptures. Their tongues and prophecies is no match to a full-orb exegesis and application, using the help of the Holy Spirit ,of the revealed Scriptures.

Let us not despised and grieved the Holy Spirit by neglecting the priroty and necessity of the Scriptures. Only there can the secondary place of the so-called modern tongues and prophecies have their place.

In 1961, a Cybertronian spacecraft crash lands on the far side of the moon. Known as the Ark, it was the last ship to escape a Cybertron devastated by war. Piloted by Sentinel Prime, it carried “the Pillars”, technology that could save the Cybertronians once and for all. On Earth, the crash of the Ark is detected by NASA, and President John F. Kennedy authorizes the mission to put a man on the moon as a cover. In 1969, Apollo 11 lands on the surface of the Moon to investigate the Ark.

My Take: Spielberg and Bay shouldn’t have tinkered out the character of Megan Fox- it devalued the storyline -and turned Sam Witwicky one jealous and frustrated man-when in fact with Megan Fox-he is already assured of her love-and the Autobots were witnesses to that. She is essential to the story.

The historical convolution regarding the manned Apollo flight sot the moon was exciting at first until it was gutted down by Witwicky’s new love interest. It seems love is truly fickle -and even licentious. There is intimacy in the first installment -but not as non-GP rated gyrations made by the new model/actress did. James Bond’s girls are more essential than her.

The alien race story is getting stale now-and we are now happy that they won’t be making another Transformer movie. This is not unlike the third Spiderman or Superman (Christopher Reeves) -it eventually run out if steam.

Better to view the 1st and 2nd Transformer movie in 3D!

The reason for the accusation is the dreaded Black Plague attributed to the rats that infested Europe. But here the real reason is that the Devil wants to destroy the “Key of Solomon” -a Jewish (but Renaissance-myth) book of prayers against the devil and evil.

A girl-Anna was demonized and was thought to be a witch-a usual accusation for different persons. Here the demon makes use of the weakness of men in order to reach his goal of destroying all copies of his nemesis book of Solomon.

The fight scenes are really engaging. The character interplay between Cage and Pearlman was believable. And the eerie atmosphere of Germany was scary. It is a shame that this movie was not well received by critics. It is supernatural film-filled with doubts and mistrust of church officials-but in the end it is God and true valor that wins the day. What I like about is that it explains the Black Plague as something supernatural-when nowadays with scholars and the like they will explain every historical events in etrms of politics and economics. So different.