Dapat bang magdamdam ang isang Kristiyano kapag napagsasabihan sa kanyang pagkakamali ng isa ring kapatid?

Dapat magpasalamat pag napagsasabihan tayo sa ating kamalian. Pero pag may pintas, dapat kayo lang dalawa. Kung minsan, hindi naman ipinagtatampo yung sinabi natin, kundi kung paanonatin sinabi. Mayroon talagang mga taong napakanipis, So handle them with care. Add a lot of prayer. Be suave and discreet. Sabihan nyo sa magandang paraan. Kung kayo naman ang nasasabihan, huwag kayong defensive. Dapat kayong magpasalamat at may naglakas-loob. Kaysa naman na confident na confident ka, yun pala pinagtatawanan ka na ng buong barangay. Mabuti nga minsan tayo na yung magtanong sa kapwa, ‘Meron ba akong mga kapintasang dapat kong maipanalangin at mabago? Tayo na mismo ang magtanong. Mahalaga na bukas ang ating isip sa ganyang mga bagay. Yang pagtatampo, form of pride yun.

Can anybody preach even if not qualified? Paano malalaman na ang isang preacher ay anointed?

Unang-una, kapag nagpi-preach siya, two things happen—one , the afflicted are comforted; and two, the overly comfortable are afflicted. Pag kayo ay masyadong down and out tapos napapataas ang inyong spirituality at nagkakaroon kayo ng pag-asa, anointed yun. O kung sobra kayong kumpiyansa at sobra kayong confident, bigla kayong na-rebuke, anointed din yun. One of the greatest ministries of the pulpit is to comfort the afflicted and to afflict the comfortable. Pag nanggaling ka sa isang worship service o Bible study, tuwang-tuwa ka dahil na-uplift ka o luksang-luksa ka dahil nabugbog ka ng Diyos. Pag anointed yung nag-preach, matapos kayong dutdutin, sugatan, paduguin, sasabihin nyo pa rin, Glory to God! Pag tinatamaan kayo ng Salita ng Diyos, nagpapasalamat kayo. Kaya nga tayo nakikinig ng Salita ng Diyos para tayo mapamukhaan sa pagkukulang natin. At yung mga kulang natin na hindi naman natin kasalanan, mapunan ng Diyos.

What is Day By Day’s stand on speaking in tongues?

We hold on to 1 Corinthians 14:27,28 where Paul says, if there is speaking in tongues, there are three considerations:

1.       That there should be simultaneous interpretation.

2.       That only one will speak at a time, hindi sabay-sabay

3.        That only two at most three will speak in tongues in any given occasion.

Pag na-satisfy na yung requirements ng 1 Corinthians 14:27,28, doon pa lang tayo pupunta sa second level of discussion. Dito natin tatanungin, Teka tongues ba talaga o gibberish ang usapan? At pag na-settle nay un, saka pa natin pag-uusapan na may tongues pa ba ngayon o wala na? Kasi 99% of the time hindi na makakalusot, sa 1 Corinthians 14:27, 28 pa lamang.

Yan ang ating official stand dyan, dahil yan ang nakalagay sa Scripture. Sabi ni Paul, nire-recognize natin na mayron pang tongue. Pero minsan, merong from God, merong from the evil one at merong arte lang pala. Kaya dapat ma-satisful mo yung three given requirements.

Some churches have women pastors who lead them. Is this acceptable?

Maaaring mag-deviate ako sa ibang school of thought, pero wala akong nakikitang kasalanan o masama na ang isang babae ay mamuno ng isang iglesia, lalo pa’t walang kakayanan yung mga lalaki na naroroon o walang lalaki all together. Sa Corinto, pinatigil yung mga babae na magturo at magdadaldal. Pero ang konteksto nun, dahil ang mga babae roon ay daldal nang daldal at ang iingay. Kaya sila pinatigil. Pero hindi pwedeng i-apply at gawan ng doktrina yan na hindi pwedeng magpastor ang babae kasi ang context ay Corinth. Pero ang reservation ko ay ito: hangga’t may lalaki na pwedeng mag-pastor at mag-lead, doon ako sa lalaki. If ever na ganun nga ang sitwasyon na mahusay ang babaeng magturo at talaga namang luting yung kanyang leadership, para sa akin, walang masama na mag-pastor siya. Mabuti na yun kaysa walang leader.

However, sa Day By Day churches, wala tayong female pastor dahil hanggang ngayon, we are still considering that doctrinal matter. And until things become very clear to us, we take a more conservative stand. Ang totoo niyan, as head pastor, and dami-dami kong pinanghihinayangan na mga babae na dapat sana ay naging mahuhusay na mga pastora. We recognize other churches na may mga pastors na babae and we recognize these women pastors as co-workers in the Lord. Hindi natin isinasara yung door permanently because our understanding of Scripture keeps on improving and going deeper over the years. So, may mga stand tayong tentative.

Kindly explain about the rapture because there was a preacher who proclaimed that there is no rapture.

What is the preaching in Matthew 24:40,41? “Two women will be grinding at the mill, one is taken, one is left. Two men are working in the fiels, one is taken and one is left.” And what is the evangelical interpretation of this passage? That before the Lord comes, His true believers will disappear from the earth because there will be tribulation on earth. That’s what rapture is all about. Yung nawawala ang mga believer.

Bakit ba may ipinanganak na abnormal? Why does God allow His children to get hurt? Is there a child of God who is poor?

Ang tanong siguro, bakit pinapayagan ng Diyos ang mga unpleasant things na mangyari  sa tao? Una, magtataka tayo kung bakit may pleasant and nice things happening to us. You know why? The whole humanity is under curse. Sin has brought humanity out of the protective umbrella of God. Sin has brought humanity out of the grace of God. Sin has brought humanity to the arms of the evil one whose work is to steal, kill and destroy.

The whole humanity is exposed to the destructive works of Satan. At hindi komo nagiging Christian tayo, exempt na tayo from that. Kasi nandyan na yan eh. Kailan tayo mai-exempt from the total control and destruction or yung pang-iinis, pang-aabala at paninira ng kaaway? When we meet the Lord face to face, that’s when we will be perfect. Dahil tayong human beings are fallen and sinful, we have opened many doors to the destructive work of satan. Ngayon, ang tinatamaan nun ay random. Hindi naman, ‘Ah sinful siguro ang magulang niya kaya naging mongoloid ang anak niya’. Hindi ganun. Humanity as a race has become subject to the whims of the evil one.

Sabi nga ni Solomon sa Ecclesiastes 9:11, Time and chance happens to all. Ang ibig sabihin, hindi lahat ng nangyayari ay mayroong specific personal reason. Collectively, the entire planet has plunged itself into the destructive path of the evil one.

What is your reaction about the headline statement of John Paul II that God will never destroy the earth again? He cited the covenant that God made with Noah after the great flood that was sealed with the rainbow.

Totoo yung promise ng Panginoon na hindi na Niya gugunawin ang mundo kagaya nung paggunaw ng ginawa Niya during the time of Noah. Pero mali naman na hindi na Niya gugunawin ang daigdig dahil lang sinabi ng pope. Merong isang katuruan ang Catholic church patungkol sa infallibility of the pope. Kung merong isang infallible, ang Lord lang yun. Yung Word Niya is the Bible. At ang Bible, nagtuturo sa atin na gugunawin Niya ulit ang daigdig pero hindi na sa pamamagitan ng tubig.

Pag pinag-aaralan natin ang book ng Revelation, yung opening of the seven scrolls, nakapasok roon yung paggunaw ng mundo by fire. So ang mas papaniwalaan natin ay yung itinuturo ng Bibliya. In fairness to the pope, this could be a misquotation or an editing error. Kung minsan limited space lang sa diaryo ang kailangang punuan ng mga reporters, kaya pinuputol-putol ang mga news items. Baka naman ang buong sinabi ng pope ay the Lord will destroy it by fire. Eh, wala nang space, kaya ilalagay na lang, the Lord will not destroy the world again. Kung minsan ganun. My point is, in the interest of truth, we should be fair to all concerned.

Paul wrote Timothy, Drink a little wine for your frequent illness. Unbelievers take this to mean that drinking is not bad at all. How can we explain this statement?

Unang-una, dapat talagang i-review what kind of drinking is bad.

The first miracle of the Lord was to turn water into wine. And do not forget that wine was a permanent fixture of the Lord’s supper and of every self-respecting supper in the Middle East and even in Europe.

But you’ve got to distinguish between wine and liquor. Ang wine ay katas ng ubas. Maliit ang percentage ng alcohol.

Liquor is what I think Christians should avoid dahil nakalalasing. Kaya sabi ni Paul kay Timothy sa 1 Timothy 5:23, dahil laging sira ang tiyan mo, mabuti pa, huwag ka lang inom nang inom ng tubig, baka may mga butete na yan at kung anu-ano pa.

Drink wine instead. Pero hindi naman siya pinaglalasing. Remember na nag-prescribe siya kay Timothy for medical purposes, hindi para paglasingin yung tao.

Before the second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ, the apostasy will come first and the anti-christ will reign and all the people will be marked with a number, will this happen after the rapture?

Ang Christian church ay divided concerning this and there are three major schools of thought. We believe that the Lord will come and before He comes, magkakaroon ng tribulation o paghihirap dito sa daigdig. During that time, tatatakan ang mga tao ditto sa planeta na ito ng number ng anti-christ. Without that number, you cannot buy or sell, you cannot participate in the economy. Ang tanong, mangyayari ba yung tatakan before the rapture? There are three schools of thought: pre-tribulation, mid-tribulation and post-tribulation.

Sa pre-tribulation, ang rapture daw ay mangyayari bago magkaroon ng tribulation o paghihirap sa daigdig. Yung school of thought naman midtribulation, ang church daw ay makakasama hanggang kalagitnaan ng tribulation at saka sila mara-rapture, hindi makukumpleto ang kanilang paghihirap. At may nagsasabi naman na pagkatapos pa ng lahat ng paghihirap at saka magkakaroon ng rapture. Ito ang post-tribulation.

Each school of thought has some points. Ang point ng pre-tribulation ay tinubos na ng Panginoon ang church sa kanyang kasalanan, so bakit pa siya masasali sa tribulation? To make the church suffer during the tribulation will be like making a person suffer twice for the same crime, because the Lord already suffered for us for our crimes. Ayon naman sa mid-tribulation, nag-umpisa na ang tribulation noong Roman times pa at hanggang ngayon ay tribulation pa rin. Pero hindi na mararamdaman ng mga Kristiyano yung matinding tribulation na parating dahil sa kalagitnaan noon mara-rapture na sila habang tuloy pa ang tribulation sa mga naiwan.

Is it in the Bible that priests should not marry?

The policy for Catholic priests not marry is not a biblical teaching but a Catholic tradition. Alam nyo kasi, ang malaking pinagkaiba-iba lang talaga ng evangelical Christians at Protestants, nakabase lang ang katuruan ng huli sa Bible, wala nang iba. (Pero marami na ring traditions ang mga Protestants na hindi biblical, kailangan ma-review.) Sa pinanggagalingan naman ng katuruan ng Catholic church ay una, Biblia; at pangalawa, tradition. And what is tradition? All the accumulated decrees and teachings of the popes in the last 2000 years. Kaya lang pag may conflict ang tradition at Scripture, tradition ang nananaig. Policy yun ng Roman church.

Kaya may mga katuruan at practices na sasabihin mo, Hindi yata biblical. Sasabihin nila, Traditional naman. At hinding-hindi kayo magkakaroon ng pagkakasundo. Sapagkat sa kanila, yung tradition, authority din. Tradisyon ang pagtuturo na ang pari ay di dapat nagpapakasal. In the first 600 years or so of Christianity, priest were allowed to marry. Hindi naman talaga apostolic tradition yun; na-develop lang later. May advantages at may disadvantages ang ganung klaseng mga policies. Pero kung tatanungin nyo sa akin kung mayroong verse na nagsasabing ganun dapat, wala tayong masa-cite na verse.

Bakit may mga churches na nagbabawal magpantalon ang mga babae?

There are churches who are very particular about the physical appearance of their members, especially with women who wear pants and shorts with matching short hair. Ito naman ay isang malayang bansa. Ngayon, kasama ng kalayaang yan ang kalayaan ng pagpapahayag. Maaari naman siguro na tawagin ninyo ang pansin ng pamunuan ng isang iglesia. Sabihin nyo, Bakit ba napaka-istrikto natin tungkol ditto, tungkol doon? At matapos nilang pag-aralan iyan at magbigay uli sila ng stand, susundin nyo yun dahil member kayo ng church. Ngayon kung ayaw nyong sumunod, magpakatao kayo at magpaalam nang maayos at pagkatapos nyan ay humanap kayo ng church kung saan kayo liligaya.

Maraming mga conservative churches ayaw nila yung babae nakapantalon. May mga babae naman kasing, Ay! Akala ko balat, pantalon pala! Pati bakukang nakabakat na. Hindi na nakaka-glorify kay Lord. Pero siguro naman kung dressy yung pants nyo, kung mukha naman kayong babae pa rin at hindi naman nakabakat pati inyong nunal, hindi naman siguro big deal.

Tandaan nyo, noong sinulat ang letter to the Corinthians, hindi naman kayo ang iniisip ni Paul. Pero kung yung context sa Corinthians kamukha nung context natin then we can apply it. Hindi literal ang paggamit ng Biblia. Dahil kung literal, magpapakamatay na rin kayo katulad ni Hudas o kaya’y magpapako na rin sa krus katulad ni Kristo o lalakad na rin kayo sa tubig. Kailangan, sound interpretation. The spirit of the law is more important than the letter of the law.

Please explain the number 144,000 in Revelations 14:36

144,000, is the number of people the Lord will use to evangelize the world after the rapture, which is during the tribulation.

This is not the number of people that will be saved. These are the people who will evangelize those who have been left behind by the rapture.

After the rapture, salvation will be through works, no longer through faith. Anong faith eh, nakita mo nang nag-rapture?

Bakit pa kailangan ng faith, eh may ebidensya na. So paano mase-save? By works alone. Huwag kang magpapatatak, huwag kang makipag-cooperate sa sistema. Kaya nga sabi sa Matthew 24:13, 'But he stands firm to the end will be saved.

Napo-possess ba ng evil spirits ang mga Kristiyano?

I don’t like to believe that it is possible but I have heard stories of people who are believed to be Christians pero napo-possess. So I don’t know but I don’t like to believe it. Dahil ang paniniwala ko kung nandoon na ang Holy Spirit, alangan namang paalisin pa ng evil spirit para siya naman ang lumagay. Merong mga estudyante sa mga Christian seminaries, Bible schools, napo-possess. So, ang tanong totoong Kristiyano ba sila o hindi? Hindi natin alam.