Here are some of my notes from the Metro Manila Year-end Conference. I hope you could all find time to read them. 😊
*Conference duration: December 29-30, 2020; January 1-2, 2021
Salvation
Crucial Truths in the Holy Scriptures Msgs. 6-10
Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, an unashamed workman cutting straight the word of the truth. – 2 Timothy 2:15
Upon repentance and believing, the first thing we receive is God’s forgiveness. Because of Christ’s death on the cross, God’s righteous requirement has been fulfilled as said in Hebrews 9:22. He can and must forgive us. His forgiveness means forgetting our sins (Jeremiah 31:34), and sending away our sins and even our record of sins.
Second is cleansing. Cleansing means removing our record of sins as if we have never sinned. And nothing can wash our sins and the stains of our sins but the blood of Jesus. We must also realize that this cleansing is not just once for all matter. We need a continual cleansing, because whether we are saved or not, we still sin. This continual cleansing has two aspects: life (Ephesians 5:26-27, 2 Corinthians 7:1, 1 John 3:3) and blood (1 John 1:7, 1 John 1:9, Revelation 7:14). After cleansing, we will be white as snow (Isaiah 1:18).
Third is sanctification. Before we are saved, we experienced seeking santification. When we get saved, we had the positional sanctification, the separation aspect. This is a change in position and usage. Before, we are just one of the worldly people, but God has separated us from these things. Before we were for the world, but now, we are for the Lord. After our regeneration, there is the dispositional sanctification, the saturation aspect. Day by day, we are being sanctified by being saturated with the Lord. John 17:17 says, “Santify them in the truth; Your word is truth.”
We also have justification. Justification is to be made righteous. Before God, through faith, we are justified (Romans 3:28) and not out of our works (Titus 3:4-7). But it is not enough. We must live a justified life. This is where our works matter. Before men, we must also be justified (James 2:24, Matthew 5:16). This makes us His proper testimonies.
Fifth, there is reconciliation. Reconciliation is to have a complete change in our being toward God. We needed this because we are not just sinners before God, we are even His enemies (Colossians 1:21-22). If we would read the entire Bible, we will not see a verse that says that God has been reconciled to us. It is always “we are reconciled to God.” God does not have a problem with us. It is always us who have problem with Him. But because He loves us, He still made a way for us to be reconciled back to Himself. He has done everything for us. He doesn’t require us to die or do any work.
By believing, we can receive and enjoy all these items of Hid judicial redemption. This does not happen sequentially, but simultaneously. Praise the Lord for the objective aspect of His salvation!
Further Reading: Crucial Truths in the Holy Scriptures Vol. 1
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Hebrews 9:22 – And almost all things are purified by blood according to the law, and without shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.
Jeremiah 31:34 – And they will no longer teach, each man his neighbor and each man his brother, saying, Know Jehovah; for all of them will know Me, from the little one among them even to the great one among them, declares Jehovah, for I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.
Ephesians 5:26-27 – That He might sanctify her, cleansing her by the washing of the water in the word, that He might present the church to Himself glorious, not having spot or wrinkle or any such things, but that she would be holy and without blemish.
2 Corinthians 7:1 – Therefore since we have these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all defilement of flesh and of spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.
1 John 3:3 – And everyone who has this hope set on Him purifies himself, even as He is pure.
1 John 1:7, 9 – But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from every sin. … If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Revelation 7:14 – And I said to him, My lord, you know. And he said to me, These are those who come out of the great tribulation, and they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.
Isaiah 1:18 – Come now and let us reason together, Says Jehovah. Though your sins are like scarlet, They will be as white as snow; Though they are as red as crimson, They will be like wool.
Romans 3:28 – For we account that a man is justified by faith apart from the works of the law.
Titus 3:4-7 – But when the kindness and the love to man of our Savior God appeared, not out of works in righteousness which we did but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and the renewing of the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, in order that having been justified by His grace, we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.
Crucial Truths in the Holy Scriptures Msgs. 1-5
Not that I have already obtained or am already perfected, but I pursue, if even I may lay hold of that for which I also have been laid hold of by Christ Jesus…. I pursue toward the goal for the prize to which God in Christ Jesus has called me upward. – Philippians 3:12, 14
CRUCIAL TRUTHS IN THE HOLY SCRIPTURES
Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, an unashamed workman cutting straight the word of the truth. – 2 Timothy 2:15
Before salvation came to us, man was really in a pitiful condition before God, in himself, and even before Satan. We were constituted sinners. We were under God’s wrath, judgment and condemnation, and destined to die. Truly, the fall of man is the greatest tragedy in the whole universe. God’s plan was ruined. This is why there is a great need for us to be saved.
But praise the Lord! His love is so great! Although His righteousness condemns us, His holiness rejects us, but His heart loves us. John 3:16,” For God so loved the world…” God SO loved us. And this great love with which He loved us is the source of our salvation.
This salvation was accomplished through the redemption of Christ. And this includes His death, resurrection, ascension, and second coming. Through His death, He solved all our problems with God, in ourselves, and with Satan. In His resurrection, He imparted His life to us and this serves as an official “receipt” that God has already accepted His death as payment for our debt. His ascension causes us to be above every negative, worldly thing and even above the enemy. And at His second coming, we will be glorified with Him.
And for all these attainments to be received by us, there is the work of the Holy Spirit. This work has four aspects: regeneration, indwelling, outpouring, and inspiration. Regeneration causes us to obtain His divine life. His indwelling fills us with the Spirit as life. His outpouring empowers us with the Spirit as our boldness and authority for the Lord’s work. And spiritual inspiration imparts gifts to us for us to become more useful to the Lord.
The Triune God has done everything for us. Now, what must we do? For us to be saved, we must repent and believe. Repentance is to turn back to God and have a change in mind. Believing is to receive God into your life (John 1:12). REPENT! BELIEVE! CALL ON THE NAME OF THE LORD! O LORD JESUS!
In His Perfecting Hands 