Christ: Greater than the angels - Hebrews 1:4-2:18

These days it is not difficult to find angels in popular culture. One only has to turn on their television sets and find shows like Touched by an Angel or Saving Grace, where angels are portrayed as powerful beings that intervene in human affairs, and those shows are just the beginning of our fascination with angels movies, magazine articles, novels, comic books have portrayed angels in shapes and sizes. In fact, even if you’d look at the ‘religious’ section of an average bookstore you’d even find non-fictional books about angels that most of the time deviates from how they were revealed to us in the Bible. However it is interesting to note that if one would browse those books it would not be very difficult to see Jewish underpinnings in them, after all angels are a Judeo-Christian concept, but as mentioned earlier these are far from Biblical revelation as most of them trace their theology from the mysticism of the Jewish Kabbalah.

Like many people today, many Jews had this thing about angels.

Many Jews had a superstitious or idolatrous respect for angels, because they had received the law and other tidings of the Divine will by their ministry. They looked upon them as mediators between God and men, and some went so far as to pay them a kind of religious homage or worship. Thus it was necessary that the apostle should insist, not only on Christ's being the Creator of all things, and therefore of angels themselves, but as being the risen and exalted Messiah in human nature, to whom angels, authorities, and powers are made subject.¹

What are angels?

• Angels are indeed special but they are like us also created beings.

• They are Spirit beings. Psalm 104:4

• Angels are at times referred to as the ‘sons of God’ (Job.1: 6; Genesis 6:1)

• They are often God’s messengers. Throughout the Old Testament and even into the New Testament, angels delivered messages from God.

• The angels, in some special way, were involved with the giving of the law. Acts 7:52-53

• In spite of how special angels may be, the Lord Jesus is better than they are.

Looking at the Word

Hebrews 1:4 - Being made so much better than the angels, as he hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they.

• Names in the Bible were more important than they are today. Often names reflected a person’s character.

• When Jesus had purged our sins, that is died on the cross, was buried and rose again, he went back to Heaven and sat down on “the right hand of the majesty on high.” No angel ever sat at God’s right hand. That position was reserved for the One who God called “Son”.

Hebrews 1:5 - For unto which of the angels said he at any time, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee? And again, I will be to him a Father, and he shall be to me a Son?

• This portion of Hebrews contains many quotes from the Old Testament. Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee is a quote from Psalm 2:7.

• Jesus has always been God, the Son.

• But there was a time of special declaration that Jesus is God the Son. That took place at the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. Acts 13:33, Romans 1:3-4

• The second quote in Hebrews 1:5, I will be to him a Father, and he shall be to me a Son, is a quote from 2 Samuel 7:14. This quote, though it partially refers to Solomon, looks ahead to David’s Greater Son or descendent, the Lord Jesus Christ. There is a tremendous father/son relationship within the Trinity.

Hebrews 1:6 - And again, when he bringeth in the firstbegotten into the world, he saith, and let all the angels of God worship him.

• Jesus is called “the firstbegotten” or “first born”.

• According to Warren Wiersbe “The title is one of rank and honor, for the firstborn receives the inheritance and the special blessing. Christ is the “Firstborn of all creation (Col. 1:15) because He created all things; and He is the highest of all who came back from the dead (Col. 1:18).” ²

• When Jesus came into the world, the angels worshipped Him, showing His superiority.

• Now you may be asking, “So Jesus is the Son of God, why should I be so thankful?”

• You should be thankful if you know Jesus as your Savior, if you’ve been born again. This means that as the Son Jesus sits at the right hand of God. As the Son Jesus has special access to the Father.

• Be thankful because the Lord Jesus is at the right hand of God interceding for you! Hebrews 4:14-16, Hebrews 7:24-25, 1 John 2:1-2

Hebrews 1:8 - But unto the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom. (A quote of Psalm 45:6)

• What is a scepter? A scepter is a staff held by a ruler. It is an emblem of authority.

• Our Lord Jesus has an emblem of authority. His scepter is a scepter of righteousness. He rules and will rule in righteousness. Isaiah 11:1-5

• Be thankful! There is coming a day when nobody will be able to legitimately say that there is any unrighteousness anywhere. And what’s neat about this is that we, as Christians, are going reign with Christ in His kingdom!

Hebrews 1:9 - Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated iniquity; therefore God, even thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows. (Ps. 45:7)

• We are again reminded of Christ’s superiority because of His love for righteousness and hatred of iniquity.

• If we know Jesus as Savior, we should love righteousness and hate iniquity also! We carry His name as Christians and should act accordingly. 1 John 2:6

Hebrews 1:10 - And, Thou, Lord, in the beginning hast laid the foundation of the earth; and the heavens are the works of thine hands: (A quote of Psalm 102:25)

Why does the universe exist? Why does the world exist? Why do the wonders of nature exist? Why do we exist? It is because the Lord laid the foundation of the earth and everything is the work of His hands.

Hebrews 1:10-12 - And, Thou, Lord, in the beginning hast laid the foundation of the earth; and the heavens are the works of thine hands: [11] They shall perish; but thou remainest; and they all shall wax old as doth a garment; [12] And as a vesture shalt thou fold them up, and they shall be changed: but thou art the same, and thy years shall not fail. (A quote of Psalm 102:25-27)

• Why this world is not even stable.

• There is coming a day when this old world will be taken off and discarded like an old garment. It shall be replaced with something new. 2 Peter 3:10, Revelation 21:1-2

• Through this Christ will continue to exist but thou art the same, and thy years shall not fail.

• Hebrews 13:8 - Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and forever.

• Now why should you and I be thankful for this stability of our Lord?

• What has He promised to those that believe on Him for forgiveness and salvation?

• He has promised eternal life! John 10:27-28

• Jesus would not be able to give us eternal life unless He himself is eternal. He will never die. He is stable! Be thankful!

Hebrews 1:13 - But to which of the angels said he at any times, Sit on my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool? See Psalm 110:1

Jesus is superior to the angels. Jesus is waiting for His enemies to be made His footstool and He will reign for all eternity.

The angels, however, are not waiting to reign.

The angels are serving now and will serve in the future. In fact, we are and will be served by angels.

Angels are servants. God will use them to pronounce, protect and provide. But there is better news than this.

Be thankful because Jesus is superior to the angels. It is Jesus who sits at the right hand of God.

It is Jesus who is to be thanked and worshipped. If it weren’t for Jesus, the angels wouldn’t even exist!

CONCERNING SAINTS AND SINNERS: Look Out by Heeding the Word and Don’t Drift (2:1-4) (Warning to the Intellectually Convinced)

Saints and Sinners alike are to "take heed".

Hebrews 2:1 - (first of five great warnings interjected throughout the book of Hebrews) We (writer must be Jewish) must therefore (for this reason; because of Jesus’ superiority) pay even more attention to what we have heard (the ministry, death, and resurrection of Jesus), so that we will not drift away (slip away slowly)

Saints and Sinners alike are not to "neglect so great salvation".

Hebrews 2:2-3 - For if (a fulfilled condition) the message spoken through angels was legally binding (unalterable), and every transgression (willful act against God) and disobedience (sin of neglect and omission) received a just punishment (by God’s very nature, He can never be unjust; the law punished every sin, Jude 5 and James 2:10), how will we escape (the wages of sin is death; see Rom. 3:23; 6:23) if we neglect such a great salvation? It was first spoken by the Lord (See John 10:38 and Acts 2:22) and was confirmed to us by those who heard Him.

Signs, wonders, and miracles confirmed the message to Saints and Sinners.

Hebrews 2:4 - At the same time, God also testified by signs and wonders, various miracles, and distributions [of gifts] (miraculous gifts, like given to the apostles, not promised to believers in general, included healing, miracles, tongues and interpretation of tongues) from the Holy Spirit according to His will.

The message to Saints and Sinners was that of victory

Hebrews 2:14-15 – Since the children have flesh and blood, He too shared in their humanity so that by His death He might destroy him who holds the power of death – that is – the devil – and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear off death.

The final authority of death is in the hands of our God (Deut. 32:39; Matt.10: 28; Rev. 1:18). Satan can do only that which is permitted by God (Job 1:12, 2:6). But because Satan is the author of sin (John 8:44), and sin brings death (Rom. 6:23), in this sense Satan exercises power in the realm of death. Jesus called him a murderer (John 8:44). Satan uses the fear of death as a terrible weapon to gain control over the lives of people.³

We who trust in Jesus Christ have once and for all been delivered from Satan’s authority from and from the fear of death. The death burial and resurrection of Christ has given us victory! (1 Cor. 15:55-58)⁴

1 _{Henry, Matthew – Commentary on the Epistle to the Hebrews}

2 Wiersbe, Warren W. – Be Confident, How to keep your balance in the day we live p.22

3 _Ibid

4 _Ibid

The Church and the Gospel

'The appointment of Jesus to be the Christ takes place in the Spirit and must be apprehended in the Spirit. It is self-sufficient, unlimited, and in itself true. And moreover, it is what is altogether new, the decisive factor and turning-point in man's consideration of God. . . . To the proclamation and receiving of this Gospel the whole activity of the Christian community — its teaching, ethic, and worship — is strictly related. But the activity of the community is related to the Gospel only insofar as it is no more than a crater formed by the explosion of a shell that seeks to be no more than a void in which the Gospel reveals itself. The people of Christ, His community, know that no sacred word or work or thing exists in its own right: they know only those words and works and things which by their negation are sign-posts tot he Holy One. If anything Christian (!) be unrelated to the Gospel, it is a human by-product, a dangerous religious survival, a regrettable misunderstanding. For in this case content would be substituted for a void, convex for concave, positive for negative, and the characteristic marks of Christianity would be possession and self-sufficiency rather than deprivation and hope. If this be persisted in, there emerges, instead of the community of Christ, Christendom, and ineffective peace-pact or compromise with that existence which, moving with its own momentum, lies on this side of the resurrection. Christianity would then have lost all relation to the power of God."

– Karl Barth, Epistle to the Romans

The Revelation of God in Christ - Hebrews 1:1-3

C. S. Lewis memorably portrayed the growing Christian's experience of an ever-enlarging Christ in his Chronicles of Narnia. Lucy, caught up in her spiritual quest, saw the lion Aslan — Christ — shining white and huge in the moonlight. In a burst of emotion Lucy rushed to him, burying her face in the rich silkiness of his mane, whereupon the great beast rolled over on his side so that Lucy fell, half-sitting and half-lying between his front paws. He bent forward and touched her nose with his tongue. His warm breath was all around her.

She gazed up into the large, wise face.

"Welcome, child," he said.

"Aslan," said Lucy, "you're bigger."

"That is because you are older, little one," answered he.

"Not because you are?"

"I am not. But every year you grow, you will find me bigger."

Expanding souls encounter an expanding Christ! The book of Hebrews has a double dose of growth-producing power — first, because it presents the greatness of Christ as no other New Testament writing does, and, second, because it repeatedly demands a response from the reader. Seriously considered, Hebrews will make us grow and find a bigger Christ.¹

In this text we see God giving the greatest communication of all, the message of His wonderful Son, The Lord Jesus Christ.

Background of the passage

“Hebrews” was the name given to the Jews who lived in Palestine, unlike the majority who had emigrated to other countries. This letter is addressed to the first Christian communities of Palestine, formed by Jews – by race – who had been persecuted and punished and whose possessions had been confiscated, all because they had become followers of Christ. ²

Moreover, the epistle was also written in order to prevent apostasy. Some have interpreted apostasy to mean a number of different things, such as a group of Christians in one sect leaving for another more conservative sect, one in which the author disapproves. Some have seen apostasy as a move from the Christian assembly to pagan ritual. In light of a possibly Jewish-Christian audience, the apostasy in this sense may be in regard to Jewish-Christians leaving the Christian assembly to return to the synagogue. In light of Pauline doctrine, the epistle dissuades non-Jewish Christians from feeling a need to convert to Judaism. Therefore the author writes, "Let us hold fast to our confession" (4:14).

In light of these we can now see that the letter, although it specifically pertains to a Jewish audience who are familiar with the Old Testament, it is also for the entire Church at large as it serves to confirm our faith, the letter shows us that the Jewish religion with its imposing ceremonies, were just the foreshadowing of something greater. The pardon of sin and the spirit of religion – the aspiration of the entire Old Testament – was to be the work of Jesus, the Son of God. There is no other sacrifice but His, which begins on the cross and ends in glory.

On hindsight, we can see the as it was originally written, the letter is addressed to people who are very much like us, for are there not many “Hebrews” in today’s world? The sick who no longer have hope, the persecuted Christians, the people who are deprived of justice in a mediocre society in which we live.

Lastly, it shows how the church in the 1^st century responds to the challenges posed to them at the time from both a without and within: and that is they study theology.

Affirmation to the Believer

The Book of Hebrews is a book that is constantly showing us something better. It is a book written to Jewish Christians who were tempted to bail out on Christianity and go back to Judaism. In this book we find lessons that show us that because Jesus Christ is better, there is a better way for us to live now.

You might even be like the Hebrews to whom this letter was written. You may be considering bailing out on your traditional faith and going back to something you once knew, or leaving your traditional faith for something more modern or trendy. You shouldn’t do this, because Christ is better and the true Christian life is better than anything anyone else can offer. The Book of Hebrews shows us this.³

I. We have a better message: Christ and the Old Testament

_{“In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways”}

... the Epistle opens with the solemn announcement of the superiority of the New Testament Revelation by the Son over Old Testament Revelation by the prophets (Hebrews 1:1-4). ⁴

The statements on the verse are very doctrinal as it points towards the Doctrine of Revelation which is according to Matthew 11:27, an act of God communicate Himself and His will to humankind. The term “revelation” comes from the Greek word apokalupsis, which means “a disclosure” or “an unveiling.”

Knowing that God sought from the beginning to reveal Himself to us we are now lead to conclude that since the first word of Scripture was written down there has always been a good message. We have a good message because God has spoken!

In a way this is how God revealed Himself:

Long ago (prior to the birth of Christ) God spoke to the fathers by the prophets at different times and in different ways (thirty-nine books in the Old Testament; God spoke directly to a man and told him to write, He communicated through a vision, parable, and symbol; it was always God who spoke.)

The Old Testament was written over a period of fifteen hundred years by more than forty writers, each book having its own element of truth. The Old Testament is progressive revelation. ⁵

As good as the Old Testament is there is a problem. For starters it is an incomplete message, because God had more to say to us. The Old Testament speaks of promises that were yet to be fulfilled.

Children are first taught letters; then they worry about the words and the sentences. God gave His revelation in the same way. His spelling book began with types, ceremonies, and prophecies and progressed to final completion in Christ.⁶

God spoke in past times to the “fathers”, the Jewish ancestors. Today He has spoken to us through His Son. We now have a completed message with the addition of the New Testament.

We now have the “Good News” of Christ as recorded in the Gospels. We now have the theology of Christ in the Epistles. And we have a description of Christ’s culmination of all things in the future in the Book of Revelation. We now we have a completed Scriptures.

There is the Incarnate, revelation of God in the Church, which gathers around the reality of the Risen Lord, proclaiming God’s salvation in their corporate worship as they celebrate the Communion and corporately re-live and proclaim the bigger story of the entire universe in the proclamation of the Word of God in Scriptures. As Matthew 18:20 God is in the midst of people gathered in His name, Hebrews 10:25 tells us not to forsake our gathering in the name of Christ, because we as Hebrews 12:1 we are part of that great cloud of witnesses that helps one another to persevere in the faith for Christ. Which is the very case and point why Epistles are written to churches because it is Christ’s body which was as 1 Corinthians 11:24 puts it Christ’s body which was broken for you.

II. We have a better Messenger: Christ the Son of God

^{But in these last days He has spoken to us by His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom He made the universe.}

God sent a special envoy from Heaven to speak to us. This is Who the New Testament writers speak of. This special envoy is the better messenger that the Old Testament did not have: The Lord Jesus who has done more than any prophet or any other person.

In these last days (days of fulfilled prophecy), He has spoken to us by [His] Son (God is fully expressed in Jesus, Col.1:15), whom He has appointed heir of all things (legal rights in inheritance and authority; see Eph.1:9-10; Phil.2:8-11) and through whom He made the universe (agent of whom all things are created; see John 1:3; Col.1:16-17; Rom. 11:36).

In Hebrews 11:2 we are told that it is by the Lord Jesus that God made the worlds. I owe my existence to the Son of God. Hebrews 11:3 tells us that He is upholding all things by the word of His power. Colossians 1:17 states that He is before all things, and by him all things consist.

You and I can count on order in the natural world around us simply because Lord Jesus holds it together!

The Old Testament was promise; the New Testament is fulfillment. Christ said, "I am not come to destroy [the Law], but to fulfill it." (Matt. 5:17).

III. Jesus Christ: God Incarnate

^{The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of His being, sustaining all things by His powerful word. After He had provided purification for sins He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in Heaven.}

Creating everything and holding them together are certainly great performances. But there is one more thing that He did that is absolutely amazing. Hebrews 1:3 tells us that He has by Himself purged our sins.

As we go further we are now asked: Who is Jesus Christ?

Mark 1:1, John 1:1-2 says He is the eternal Son of God. Jesus Christ is God in the flesh, as John 1:1,14 and Philippians 2:6-7, puts it.

When God chose to save a sinful, rebellious world… When God chose to communicate what He is like… When God chose to show us Himself… He sent His Son!

One of the great prophecies of Christmas is Isaiah 9:6.

In this verse God shows us just how great the person is whom He sent to us. Isaiah 9:6

As the passage puts it:

He is the radiance of His glory (expresses God to us by sending light), the exact expression of His nature, (He is a stamp or seal of God’s image) and He sustains all things by His powerful word (He holds all things together) After making purification for sins (Christ paid the penalty of death for our sins) He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high ( He is the exalted Christ at the right hand of God)

Application

If these are truly our “last days”...with Jesus accomplishing everything our salvation demanded and the impending second coming of Him, what will you do to change or modify your priorities, relationships, and behaviors? If someone says to you, “Jesus is only a prophet”, what would your response be?

Notes:

1 _{Stewart, Hal -The Supremacy of Christ Introduced}

2 _{Introduction to the Letter to the Hebrews from the Christian Community Bible}

3 _{http://sermonseeds.org/hebrews%20materials/Hebrews%201.htm}

4 _{http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/07181a.htm}

5 _Ibid

6 _Ibid

9-mile

I haven't written a blog for a long time. Frankly, because since Jeanie's left I have somewhat lived a very uninteresting life. And maybe last Saturday would have been the same, if not for a gig that I played both as part of my  longtime punk band, PayItForward, and as  DeathToPuberty, Ellen Degenerate was also supposed to make a debut in that gig but our last practice at Albertos made us realize how  we are yet unprepared as a musical unit to perform.

But just the same Ten and Jen decided to watch the gig (and also to sell Shinda Ningyo dolls), and it was not only them but also Roni and Luwi and most specially Leyza whom I last saw the day before Jeanie went to the Netherlands.

Before I would go further I would also like to express gratitude to the kind folks of Zero Mass Productions, for accomodating both PayItForward and DeathToPuberty and for patiently bearing with us that night.

Punk and Disorderly
To sum it up it was a night of fun filled punk rock courtesy of Bad Omen and Albert Ascona's side project with Aji Adriano (of The Wuds); that played those very cool classic punk rock covers of The Clash and Stiff Little Fingers, and The Wuds.It was really good to hear those guys and not to mention to see the forebears of the scene make an appearance in a gig where you're playing, imagine seeing members of legendary pinoy punk bands like that of Betrayed and Private Stock. Kieth Dador was also there to take pictures, maybe soon I can post some of those images here.It's also noteworthy that I'm The Bridge, one of my favorite Q.C. punk bands weren't able to join, (too bad...)

DeathToPuberty
The original plan was for Ellen Degenerate (a punk rock cover band that composes of me, Reggie, Ten, Mark and Jen),to ditch DeathToPuberty and play DTP's supposed set, but we're not yet ready I decided to honor my previous commitment to play a set there, but since we've focused on pumping up Ellen Degenerate, to play I've altogether took forgranted practicing with the rest of the members of DTP, so I decided to just play solo, which I've done before on a number of occasions. All in all I think a played a fairly decent set, (I mean its just plain stupid to play a sloppy set if you're alone…)

PayItForward
This is a different story, we were supposed to play  right after Bad Omen, but as I was about to bring my bass onstage the bassist of  The Wuds brushed me aside saying that its 11PM and that's their preferred time play their set so I asked Mark and we both agreed okay, cool after all they're punks. Too bad though we're not that much of a fan of their music basically since they played their newer songs which were already a way to far departure from the punk rock music they played that I for one come to love, so I decided to step out of the room and have a chat with the nice folks of Bad Omen.Once The Wuds played their last song Inosente Lang Ang Nagtataka (a song which was recently covered poorly by River Maya,) we stared to make our way into the room but Joe of Ginseng the gig's organizer asked if its okay if Oh Man Oh God, would play their set first since that's only fair to them since they were the first band to arrive in the venue.So we said okay, after all, they're DeathToPuberty's friend in MySpace, and once they started I can't help but feel a bit weird at their set basically since for starters they don't have a bass player and they're a freakin' 3-piece unit; another was the fact that they played this eerie hardcore/grind/thrash whatever kind of music that maybe I'm just too old or happy shinny to appreciate, (I really am no fan of aggressive, and angry music).Oh Man Oh God's set was quite quick with each song they basically played lasted only for about 2-minutes max.

So again I tried to make my way onstage with the rest of the band outside Laix decided to call them again as I and Peejay (of Slumber Army Productions) who was helping me carry the other guitars to the stage were making our way there those douchebags from Purple Chickens stepped in with their guitars and started their set to the astonishment of Joe who was about to introduced us.I stepped out of the room pissed of basically because they elbowed their way around the lineup, and that's plain wrong. Outside we had a chat with Peejay reminiscing the good old days of Slumber Army. So after those assholes played their set  we  stepped on stage and played a very sloppy set which you can read in more detail at PayItForward's blog.

Purple Chicken Kups
Under normal circumstances I don't ditch other bands even those whose genre of music I do not fancy, for them I would like to make an exception.First off, I am not a fan of plain old rockn 'n' roll, hard rock, pop rock or whatever cheapshot rock genre it is that you play. I don't like your music plain and simple.Another is that you act as though like you're rock stars.

Reality check: you're not rockstarts. Dressing up like one or acting like adolescent assholes doesn't make you a rockstar.

Let us be clear that there is a lineup, and provisions as to the bands who get to decide about their place on the lineup are given to those established bands who already have proven themselves, namely The Wuds and Bad Omen.
What about you?

Maybe you already get paid on gigs or whatever, but plain and simple you're not underground legends like Bad Omen nor are you counter cultural icons like The Wuds. You're just an obnoxious band that play in obscure productions like this one.

Think about it?

Because you have messed up the lineup schedule K.D. Sistema and another band walked out off the gig altogether.

Has anyone among you experienced being bullied?

Well, I have and the way you acted there reminded me of the good old high school days when I was a geek in a world of basketball-playing jocks. Or of the numerous times that our band was forced out of the stage by Rap-Metal bands and fans because we chose to play MxPx rather than the manufactured angst of Korn and their contemporaries.

I don't know where you came from during that time but like you I supposed we were all tired as well and would have really loved to go home early as we also have our own schedules to meet the following day, and I think we pretty much deserve to play ahead of you since we did our damn best to be on the venue on the preferred call time.

What about you?

You haven't even spent more than 30-minutes in the venue and there you go, stealing PayItForward's set on the schedule, and right at the moment we've set  stage you step out of the bar  like the assholes that you are.Thankfully, the organizers are smart not to invite you guys again. Douchebags….

Bad Omen
Bad OmenOne of the highlights of that night was also the release of Bad Omen's new album entitled God is Everywhere, which were sold there along with Ginseng and All Wound Up's split EP.Personally what I find special is that Bad Omen's bassist Albert Sy who was kind enough to put me and Gato in the album sleeve's acknowledgment, which made the night worth it...Thanks guys...

Thanks
Gracias! also to Joe and Joel of Zero Mass who invited DeathToPuberty and PayItForward to play, also to the nice folks of AWU and Ginseng

Here's to more gigs to come!
Cheers

The Power of Words

Last Sunday I was blessed to have the opportunity to give a short talk on creative writing at Grace Bible Church. Below are excerpts from the presentation that I gave to the audience:

Words

Everything that we know or like, as in stories, movies, cartoons, etc. is written by someone.

We would think about Frodo of The Lord of the Rings or of Aslan of Chronicles of Narnia and we would not think that they simply spawned into existence they were created by someone who had a story in his or her head who decided to put it into writing using words.

It is words that break our solitary confinement and saves us from isolation.

Words are powerful. They are really very powerful and Biblically speaking it is so powerful that God’s Word became incarnate in the person of Jesus Christ, as Christ is the Word of God, (John 1:1,14 – Christ the Logos) as testified to in the entire narrative of the Bible. Moreover they are powerful enough to change the lives of men. (Hebrews 4:12)

And it is all because word communicates and it is because God is the first and greatest communicator and His Words in Scripture is His written communication to His intelligent creation.

Today, we will dwell more into words, as we would study them and try our best to use them to articulate our thoughts, feelings and our faith, as we will have a study of creative writing. Now I cannot guarantee that you will become good or shall we say ‘creative’ writers (as I also am not good), but what I can guarantee you is that in knowing the power of words it is my prayer that you will be challenged to write but also to read and understand the value of communication as it is creatively articulated.

Write it well

We write because we want others to read it.

Knowing that others would read it we must then know how to write well. Especially in this day and age where writing down our thoughts has sort of become a chic especially with the advent of weblogs or blogs, which honestly speaking a majority of them lack literary value as most of them tend to focus on the mundane and the disinteresting, because it just serves our vanity in which we believe that people are interested with our lives.

It is a sad truth that even if the Philippines prides itself with its proficiency in the English language we are also at the same time guilty of not being able to speak or for this matter write well.

Write for God

God gave us this talent so that we can use them to glorify Him and bring honor to His name.

If we would have a study of church history we will be surprised at how God used people to write down His will.

It is my prayer that as we would now take time to study the lesson that we will be led by the Holy Spirit to be challenged to not only write but write well for the Lord.

Note: The slides below serves as guide to the entire flow of the lesson as it was originally presented during the lecture.

click here to download the slides in Microsoft Powerpoint

Theology according to Leonardo Boff

Theology, as the word suggests, is a discussion about God and all things as seen in the light of God. It constitutes a singularity in our species that, in some moment during millions of years of evolution, the consciousness of God appeared. With this word, “God,” is expressed a supreme value, a final sentiment of the universe and life and an original Source from which all other beings came.

This God inhabits the universe and accompanies human beings. The sacred texts of religions and spiritual traditions testify to the permanent action of God in the world. He always acts in favor of life, defending the weak, offering forgiveness to the fallen and promising eternal life in communion with Him.

It belongs to the faith of Christians to affirm that God approximated Himself to human existence and made Himself man in Jesus of Nazareth. In this the promise of blessed union with Him is anticipated and will be the destination of all the beings of the entire creation.

Among the many functions of theology today two are most urgent: how theology collaborates in the liberation of the oppressed, who are today’s “crucified Christs,” and how theology helps to preserve the memory of God so that we do not lose the sentiment and sacredness of human life which is threatened by a culture of superficiality, consumption and entertainment. We should always unite faith with justice, where a perspective of liberation is born, keeping the flame of our sacred lamp burning so that it can feed the hope for a better future for the Earth and all humanity.

from http://www.leonardoboff.com/site-eng/lboff.htm

Rancid: ...And Out Come the Wolves...

A couple of weeks ago in a forest area a couple of miles outside Jakarta I was playing Rancid's Roots Radicals in an acoustic guitar together with a young Indonesian computer hacker doing the lead guitar part and a Dutch anti-nukes activist singing the vocals, we weren't able to finish the song though since the other folks who were with us then insisted that we ought to play a song that they all know and could sing along to so we were then forced to play Oasis' Wonderwall instead.

What's interesting with that jam session is that it reminded me of an afternoon sometime in 1996 where in the midst of a summer storm I along with my friend Jarme (who was my constant record shopping buddy at the time) bought two of the most influential records at the time, as it would determine the musical direction that we'd individually pursue in the subsequent years.

What is a Christian?

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. 2 Corinthians 5:17-19

Relationship, not deeds

In understanding what makes one a Christian, it is critically important to know that it is the relationship which counts for everything; it is the means by which we “are born again” into a son/daughter relationship with God the Father through the power of he Holy Spirit, (Who is God present with us today.)

God's salvation is not earned by our merits, good deeds, attendance at church, personal morality or anything of human origin. These are all important fruits of the new creation in Christ by God's initiative valid only as relationship.

The question then is that if Christianity is about having a personal relationship with God, how then do we enter into that relationship? The answer there can be found our personal response to the good news of Jesus Christ as encapsulated in the Gospel, but what is the Gospel anyway? Translated from the original language it means 'good news'. Good news? Good news about what?

It is the good news of God's love manifested in Jesus Christ.

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16

It is about Jesus Christ and His deity and humanity.

I and the Father are one. John 10:30

He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. Colossians 1:15-17

Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death— even death on a cross! Philippians 2:6-8

In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe. The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven. Hebrews 1:1-3

It is about God's act of reconciling the world to Himself through Christ's life, death and resurrection.

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. By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain.

For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures. 1 Corinthians 15:1-4

I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. Romans 1:16

Why is this important?

First is the fundamental truth that we are all sinners and that sin separates the human race from God.

For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. Romans 3:23

Sin is our deeply rooted tendency to selfishness which taints even our best intentions and implicates us all in the web of human evil.

As it is written: "There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands, no one who seeks God. All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one." Romans 3:10-12

In sin we turn our backs to God and find ourselves on the well frequented highway that leads us ever further from God. In our consciousness of sin we know that God the absolute God must oppose and condemn our evil. As sinners we are the godless – in the real sense of that word: alienated from God.

Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned. Romans 5:12

For the wages of sin is death. Romans 6:23 a

Finally there is death. Death may be seen as the end to which our culpable failure in life must lead. Death may also be seen as the final surd which threatens everything else in life with meaninglessness.

Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment. Hebrews 9:27

For God will bring every deed into judgment, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil. Ecclesiastes 12:14

But the Bible says that it doesn't end in death, being sinners we are therefore accountable to answer back to God for our sins. The passage speaks about a postmortem judgment that will determine our eternal destiny. This is the ultimate human predicament we all face.

God's grace in Christ reestablishes the broken relationship: Retelling the story of Jesus

This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement,through faith in his blood. He did this to demonstrate his justice, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished. Romans 3:22-25

Christianity deals with human sin and how to get rid of it. Only those who admit that they share in the problem of all humanity are eligible for God's redemptive love in Jesus Christ. Sin is the problem; God's grace in Christ is the answer.

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. 2 Corinthians 5: 19

God sought to do this through the work of Christ in the Gospel. The depth of our alienation is such that God is not to be found by us, (Romans 3:10-12) unless God enters that alienation and finds us there. This God did in Jesus Christ

For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. John 3:17

Jesus lived a life of loving identification with others, in all sorts of conditions of human life. In other words, He practiced the kind of love which is not mere benevolence, wishing people well from a distance, that that love which enters people's situations and makes their plight sympathetically its own, this was done so in the Incarnation.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. No one has ever seen God, but God the One and Only, who is at the Father's side, has made him known John 1:1-3,14,18

And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death— even death on a cross! Philippians 2:8

But it did not end in mere identification with us, in full understanding of our situation Christ took up God's judgment on our behalf.

But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5:8

He died the kind of death which symbolized God's verdict on sinful humanity: condemned to death. He did so in consequence of the loving choice of identifying with others which He made in His life and sustained in His death. He died our death, sharing our failure, condemnation, despair and godforsakeness.

To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps. 1 Peter 2:21

Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed. We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth. By oppression and judgment he was taken away. And who can speak of his descendants? For he was cut off from the land of the living; for the transgression of my people he was stricken. He was assigned a grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death, though he had done no violence, nor was any deceit in his mouth. Yet it was the LORD's will to crush him and cause him to suffer, and though the LORD makes his life a guilt offering, he will see his offspring and prolong his days, and the will of the LORD will prosper in his hand. After the suffering of his soul, he will see the light of life and be satisfied; by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many, and he will bear their iniquities. Isaiah 53:4-11

He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed. 1 Peter 2:24

For the crucified Jesus was not just one more godless, godforsaken human being, dying as all of us must He was the man who chose to identify Himself in love with the godless and godforsaken. It was His mission from God to do this. As the one who came from God, the Incarnate Son of God, it was God's love He expressed and enacted in His identification with humanity by entering human history. Therefore the crucified Jesus brings the love of God into the depths. God's work of reconciling the world to Himself, the good news of salvation from the power of sin and death accomplished and made known in His word.

Not only is this so, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation. Romans 5:11

Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies John 11:25

And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you. Romans 8:11

By his power God raised the Lord from the dead, and he will raise us also. 1 Corinthians 6:14

Only because He died can His resurrection also be ours. Because Jesus died our death, identified with us in death, God's love reaches even the dead and raises them to new life. Because Jesus died our death, death need not be the fate it otherwise is. The light of Jesus' resurrection dispels the shadow death casts over life.

Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. John 14:6

Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved. Acts 4:12

All this available to us in Christ alone.

From His Story to Our Story

But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life. Titus 3:4-7

But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast. Ephesians 2:4-5;8-9

The importance of all this is encapsulated in the word 'grace'. It means God's unmerited favor for us, regardless of who we are ad what we have done. God by actualizing His love for us in Christ therefore invites us to partake of this grace by responding to the Gospel on the basis of what God has done in Christ.

So to answer the question how does one become a Christian can be answered by thoroughly understanding and committing to three action words: Repent-Believe-Accept

Repent

Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death. 2 Corinthians 7:10

If our human dilemma is sin, we need to be sure we understand what sin is. A modern definition of sin is: “anything which we think, believe or do that is less than God's best intention for us.” Thus, sin can be right things left unthought or undone; sin can be bad things thought or done. Sin is our mismatch with God's perfect expectation for His human children. Sin can involve attitude as well as action, hear as well as hand.

The first step towards becoming a Christian is to face the fact that each one of us is a sinner in the eyes of God, needing His redemption, correction and salvation. God has taken the initiative through His love in sending His Son Jesus to take upon Himself all the penalty due us for our sin.

For the broken relationship between God and humankind to be reknit, God has taken the first step. Our first step is admitting that we have erred, sinned, failed, fallen short of His expectation or glory.

Such an admission requires repentance. To repent in Greek means “to change one's mind” or “to alter one's direction” or “to turn around and go another way”.

Believe

"The time has come," he said. "The kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news!" Mark 1:15

Repenting from our sin is the first step in entering into right relationship with God. But in a sense repentance is a negative; it is doing something about the obstacle between God and us.

The second essential step in becoming a Christian is a positive, believing that God has already a provided a bridge between humankind and God in the Cross of Jesus Christ! We are called to believe in Jesus Christ as our personal Savior and Lord.

There is something weak in our usage of the English word believe, while the Greek word translated believe is always much stronger. In English believe may indicate simple “an inclination to agree,” “to acknowledge that something may be true.” It sometimes is a “cheap word.” Not so in Greek, for in Greek the verb believe always takes a different preposition than we use in English. In English we say “I believe in”; in Greek the language says “I believe into.” There is commitment; indeed, often a commitment of life!

Accept

Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God. John 1:12

For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 6:23

To accept means to personally appropriate Him as our own personal Savior and Lord and not just the theoretical Savior and Lord of “the world” or of “somebody else.” There are 3 things that a person must do to “appropriate” God's gift: (1) take it, accept it, “accept” as it, really meant for me; (2) thanks God for it; and (3) open the gift and put my personal acceptance mark on it.

Then Jesus said to his disciples, "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. Matthew 16:24

I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. Galatians 2:20

Another way at looking at it is basically to sum it up in a single word: faith which is basically the only apt response. To respond in faith means to identify ourselves with Christ who identified Himself with us. In faith, we respond to the God who has already grasped us, and we discover that the reality of God is the meaning of our lives. Faith occurs as my whole self responds to the reality of God. Faith is thus the total transformation of my existence. God addresses me; God confronts me; God calls me; God summons me into fellowship. God becomes more real to me than I am to myself, so that my whole existence is placed in a new context – in the context of God!

And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life. I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life. 1 John 5:11-13

Have you already “repented, believed into, and accepted” God's way of salvation? Are you now ready, perhaps for the first time, to “repented, believed into, and accept” God at his word?

Simply said a Christian is a person whose life is lived in relationship with God through Jesus Christ, and in common with other Christians in the church seeking to deepen that relationship and to follow the way that Jesus taught.

Oasis: What’s The Story Morning Glory?

Released during the time of the infamous Battle of Britpop (which is the unofficial title given to the 1995 singles chart battle between Blur and Oasis.) The success of Morning Glory catapulted Oasis from being a successful Britpop band to being one of the biggest bands in Britain. (It's also noteworthy that in spite of the apparent victory of Oasis in the Battle of Britpop, Blur would a year later strike back with a vengeance through their self-titled album, which I would hopefully write something about soon)

I remember getting the knack to buy this record because I was able to watch the video of Wonderwall, on the now defunct Citynet 27's sporadic broadcasts of music videos from Channel V.

whatever...

"sometimes your loyalties are put to question when the ones you love are made to experience of the unjustness of the institution you serve..."