Often Discriminated, Transgender People Are Accepted by God

7/25/2020 40 Comments

Transgender People Can be Saved

A certain transgender told me that by regularly watching our television program, he was able to develop an understanding of the teachings of God and the Lord Jesus Christ. And then the time came that he felt a fervent desire in his heart to serve God and to be a part of the Church of God because, like most of us, he also wants to be saved.

But because of his gender identity, he had questions; he was asking if a transgender like him would still be accepted by God and if he could have a place in the Church of God.

It turns out that these negative thoughts were brought about by the harsh and disparaging statements that he has heard from other religious leaders and pastors about those who are transgender, and about the members of the LGBTQ community as a whole, such as that they are of the devil and that they can never be saved unless they become “straight” men and women. Hearing such pronouncements directly from the very mouths of preachers who claim to be of God made him think of himself as someone who is unworthy and undeserving of salvation.

But I told him that those were just mere words of preachers who hardly have any understanding of the words of God because if they do, they would not have said such words at all — for such statements are against the will of God.

According to the Bible, what God wants is for all men to be saved.

As it is written in 1 TIMOTHY 2:4 (KJV),

Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.

The verse says “all men” therefore, it encompasses the whole of mankind. It is not exclusive to the “straight” men and women but it includes the LGBTQ (lesbians, gays, bisexuals, transgender, and queer) community and other gender identities.

God is giving all people, including those who are transgender, a chance to salvation — even if a transgender person happens to have undergone surgery or whatever medical procedure in the past. Primarily, this is because he had committed that thing when he had not known the Christian doctrines yet, when he had no knowledge of the truth yet. And people like him have a place in the Church of God.

Actually, one member of the Church had once confessed to me that he is transgender. He was born male but years before he became a member of the Church, he underwent an operation which made his genitalia match his gender identity or the gender that he feels inside. Hence, his male genitalia had been removed and had been replaced by a female’s.

But upon accepting the doctrines of the Lord Jesus Christ and after submitting himself to holy baptism, wherein all his past transgressions had been forgiven, he obtained God’s mercy. And from then on, he started anew. He turned his back from his former way of life and he started spending his life in faithful service to God and the Lord Jesus Christ, without pretending to be a “straight” man, but strictly observing the Christian moral standards that he has understood. And with God’s help, until now, he remains steadfast in faith.

God is considerate, just, and merciful. He will not hold anyone accountable for an act which he did ignorantly. And no less than the Apostle Paul experienced His mercy and consideration.

1 TIMOTHY 1:13 (KJV)

Who was before a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and injurious: but I obtained mercy, because I did it ignorantly in unbelief.

The Apostle Paul committed grievous sins in the past. He used to be a blasphemer and a persecutor of the early Christians. Nevertheless, he obtained mercy from God; he was forgiven because he did all those things “ignorantly in unbelief.”

A transgender person who submitted himself to a medical procedure, which offered him the gender identity that corresponds with the gender that he feels inside, can also obtain God’s mercy if it was committed prior to his understanding of the word of God and while he was still outside the jurisdiction of the Church of God. He may still be forgiven the same way that the Apostle Paul was forgiven.

Definitely, if he has undergone an operation, he cannot undo the modifications that doctors have done to his physical body anymore, and neither can he restore what has been removed from it. But that does not outrightly disqualify him from being saved because, like the Apostle Paul, he did them “ignorantly in unbelief.”

We just can’t help that many religious organizations today are full of pretenses and hypocrisies, as though they are all blameless and sinless, and as if all of them have no gender identity issues. A pastor and pretended song, for instance, do not accept gays or homosexuals in their organization because, according to him, people who belong to the third sex were created, not by God but by the devil.

Such a cruel pronouncement only shows his ignorance about the will of God; it is without any biblical basis. Actually, it is even contrary to what the Bible says because according to the verse cited earlier, God wants all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.

The Bible tells us that the moment a person submits himself to the teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ, regardless of his gender identity, he becomes a new person.

He just has to see to it that after learning and accepting the teachings of God and the Lord Jesus Christ, and upon submitting himself to the jurisdiction of the Church of God, he should no longer do the things that he used to do. Meaning, he should no longer engage in same sex relationships, he should not wear make-up anymore, he should not dress-up gaudily, and he should no longer spend his life in worldly pleasure. Instead, he should start to live a life that is in accordance with the teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Anybody who is in Christ is now considered to be a new creature.

2 CORINTHIANS 5:17 (KJV)

Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.

Formerly they were:

1 CORINTHIANS 6:9-11 (KJV)

9 Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind,
10 Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God.
11 And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.

So, if a transgender person is now in Christ, he automatically becomes a new creature. He is considered a new creature in the sense that there are now noticeable positive changes in him, not necessarily in his physical appearance nor in his gender identity, but more on his way of life. He does not smoke and drink alcoholic beverages anymore, he no longer goes to bars and casinos, and he no longer speaks and behaves roughly. His way of life has changed as it is now disciplined by the teachings of Christ, and his whole person is now being molded after the person of the Lord Jesus Christ. Only fools would dare say that this “new creature,” although a transgender person, would not be accepted by God.

God is welcoming all of those who would return to Him, including those who are transgender and the rest of the LGBTQ community. That being the case, they are also welcome in the Church of God, where they can be happy and gay Christians.

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A Popular Tagalog Proverb Gets a Biblical Makeover

7/18/2020 99 Comments

God shows mercy and works on us

There is a popular Tagalog proverb, “Nasa Dios ang awa, nasa tao ang gawa,” (God grants the mercy. Man does the work.) that implies that man has to work first before he obtains mercy from God.

I’m sorry, but I do not completely conform to that saying because it is not biblical. Instead, we should believe that it is God who works, and it is also God who grants mercy.

First of all, when you work, you do not merit mercy; you merit a reward or compensation. This is precisely the reason why it is called mercy — it is because you did not work for it.

To obtain God’s mercy, a person needs to repent first. Afterward, God shall work in him. It is God who works.

As it is written in 1 Corinthians 12:6 (KJV),

And there are diversities of operations, but it is the same God which worketh all in all.

We, humans, are incapable of doing every good work, but it is God who works in us all.

God works in a person in various ways. If he starts to feel a desire in his heart to do good works, it is proof or a manifestation that God is working in him.

Philippians 2:13 (KJV) says,

For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.

God gives people the desire to do good works. Nowadays, what many people like doing are the things that will only benefit themselves. Doing good works for others does not always spring out of people’s hearts naturally or spontaneously, so God fills their hearts with the desire to do good works for others.

Again, we obtain mercy not because we worked for it, but because God has forgiven and accepted us when we repented. We feel the desire in our hearts to do good deeds because God is working in us. And He will not only urge us to do good works — He will also help us in accomplishing the good works that we desire to do. Because without Him, we cannot do anything.

John 15:5 (KJV) says,

I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.

That is why it is unbiblical to say that it is man who works. It is God who works, and it is also God who grants mercy. Man cannot do anything all by himself; he needs God’s help. It is God who sustains him with life, strength, resources, and the will to do what is good. Indeed, humans, in general, are dependent on divine providence.

God is merciful. In fact, He is even more merciful than an ordinary father who is also merciful to his subservient son.

Malachi 3:17 (KJV) says,

And they shall be mine, saith the LORD of hosts, in that day when I make up my jewels; and I will spare them, as a man spareth his own son that serveth him.

The only thing that God asks from men is to return to Him and to keep His ordinances.

Malachi 3:7 (KJV) says,

Even from the days of your fathers ye are gone away from mine ordinances, and have not kept them. Return unto me, and I will return unto you, saith the LORD of hosts. But ye said, Wherein shall we return?

We need to repent, return to God, and accept His words. When we have accepted His words, only then will we be able to work on the things that we ought to do in order to merit — not God’s mercy — but God’s reward. Remember, we do not work to merit God’s mercy, but we should work to merit God’s reward.

Another manifestation that God is working in a person is when he feels remorseful and repentant of the sins that he has committed in the past.

Romans 2:4 (KJV) says,

Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance?

It is God’s goodness and graciousness that lead a person to repentance.

Also, when you feel repentant of a sin that you have committed, it also signifies that you are acknowledging a powerful Being — unto whom you are submitting yourself to be under subjection, knowing that you are helpless without Him.

Our sincere repentance is very important for us to merit God’s mercy. Remember, the people of Nineveh merited God’s mercy because they sincerely repented of their transgressions. He spared them from the destruction that He planned to bring them.

Jonah 3:10 (KJV) says,

And God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God repented of the evil, that he said that he would do unto them; and he did it not.

The people of Nineveh were misguided during that time. They were engaged in violence and sexual offenses, just like the people of Sodom and Gomorrah.

That was why God sent them the prophet Jonah to warn them of the impending doom that was to befall them. But upon hearing the words of the prophet, the people of Nineveh immediately repented — they turned away from their evildoings, they fasted, and they prayed fervently.

Jonah 3:5 (KJV) says,

So the people of Nineveh believed God, and proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them even to the least of them.

The people of Sodom and Gomorrah continued with their exceedingly sinful lives; hence, brimstone and fire rained upon them.

But unlike them, the people of Nineveh were spared from God’s punishment because they acknowledged God, repented, and turned away from their wickedness.

I just hope that the people of this generation will also do what the people of Nineveh had done, so that we, too, will merit God’s mercy; so that we will also be spared from the pandemic that troubles the world today.

It is God who works; it is God who grants mercy. And by His mercy, we can be saved.

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Shining a Light on the Misconceptions About Christ's Return and the Judgment Day

7/11/2020 21 Comments

Truth about Second Coming and Judgment day


If there is one thing that almost all religions today have in common, it is their belief that when the Lord Jesus Christ returns, it is going to be His second coming, and that day would already be judgment day. I am sorry, but I strongly disagree to that!

First of all, there is no such phrase as “second coming” in the Bible. The belief in the “second coming” was a result of Lamsa’s reckless and erroneous translation of the Bible. Actually, of the numerous translations of the Bible available today, only Lamsa’s used the term “second coming” — all the other translations did not. Unfortunately, Lamsa was able to influence and mislead many religions, that is why many people today think that Christ’s would-be return on earth will be His second coming.

While it is true that the Lord Jesus Christ will come yet again, it is not going to be His second coming — and neither is it going to already be judgment day. Christ shall come again. And when He returns, He will resurrect, not all of the dead, but only those who are of Him — those who have died fulfilling His teachings. This is called the first resurrection; however, it is not yet the day of the final judgment because a thousand-year reign of Christ on earth still remains.

REVELATION 20:6 (KJV) says,

Blessed and holy is he that has part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.

The first resurrection of the dead will happen when Christ returns. Those who will be part of the first resurrection shall be made priests of God and of Christ and they shall reign with Him on earth for a thousand years.

1 CORINTHIANS 15:24-25 (KJV) says,

24 Then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power.
25 For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet.

During the one-thousand-year period, Christ shall put down all rule, all authority, and all power; He shall vanquish all evils.

After the one-thousand-year period comes the final judgment. Christ shall judge.

As written in 2 CORINTHIANS 5:10 (KJV),

For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.

We have to prepare for His coming. To be among those who will be considered blessed, it is very important that when the Lord comes, He finds us doing His will.

MATTHEW 24:46 (KJV) says,

Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing.

Before the Lord Jesus Christ ascended to heaven, He left the apostles with a specific instruction of teaching all nations His commandments.

MATTHEW 28:20 (KJV) says,

Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.

Christ wants us to observe all of His commandments. When He finds us fulfilling His teachings and commandments during His return, we will be considered blessed because we will receive a reward that He prepared for those who abided by His words.

As written in REVELATION 22:12 (KJV),

And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be.

Yes, Christ will come again. But let me reiterate, it is not going to be His second coming because He had already come to earth more than twice. For instance, during the time that the Israelites were in the wilderness, He was following them and He had shown Himself to them in the form of a rock.

1 CORINTHIANS 10:3-4 (KJV) says,

3 And did all eat the same spiritual meat;
4 And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ.

The Lord Jesus Christ was the Rock that followed the Israelites, the Rock that provided them water to drink while they were in the wilderness. Meaning, before He manifested Himself in the flesh, He had already come to earth (in the form of a rock).

Another instance of His coming here was when Mary gave birth to Him, when He assumed human form, to redeem us from our sins.

And when He comes again, it will not just be His second coming.

Actually, in addition to the instances that I have cited, Christ had already been descending to earth and ascending back to heaven even before.

PROVERBS 30:4 (KJV) says,

Who hath ascended up into heaven, or descended? who hath gathered the wind in his fists? who hath bound the waters in a garment? who hath established all the ends of the earth? what is his name, and what is his son’s name, if thou canst tell?

As we all know, all things were created by God and His Son. And during the creation, Christ had been descending to earth and ascending to heaven. Therefore, it is an impertinence to say that when Christ comes again, it will only be His second coming.

The Lord Jesus Christ shall come again. There is no doubt about that. But as to whether it is going to be His third, or fourth, or fifth “coming,” we do not exactly know. But one thing is for sure, it is not going to be His second coming, and it is not going to be the final judgment day yet. 

21 Comments:

To Love Is to Let Others Live Safely

7/04/2020 , 19 Comments

Repentance and Cremation In Time of Covid 19

The whole world today is utterly helpless as the Covid-19 pandemic continues to pose a threat to humanity. Although experts never stop conducting clinical trials and research aimed at finding the right medicine and vaccine for this disease, it seems that the global health crisis is still yet to end, at least, not in the nearest future. 

As there is a limit to what humans can do, there is no question that what we need now is God’s divine intervention. There are things that are beyond the control of man but they can be controlled by God; and there are things that are beyond human capacity but they could easily be handled by the Almighty God.

In numberless occasions, God has proven His might and power to both believers and nonbelievers. For instance, during the time of Moses, many marvelous acts of God were witnessed by the Egyptians, who were then nonbelievers. When the pharaoh refused to set the Israelites free, God sent swarms of flies in the land of Egypt which filled the house of every Egyptian, including the pharaoh’s. The pharaoh called on Moses and requested him to entreat God to drive away the flies. Moses agreed on the condition that the pharaoh would liberate the Israelites at once.

Exodus 8:31 (KJV) says,

And the LORD did according to the word of Moses; and he removed the swarms of flies from Pharaoh, from his servants, and from his people; there remained not one.

Considering how powerful a nation Egypt was at that time, yet, it was not able to do anything to drive away the swarms of flies. But when Moses prayed to God, all the flies were driven away and not a single fly was left.

Flies are among the creations of God. As the Creator of all living creatures, God has absolute control over all of them. Thus, He drove away not only the flies but even the locusts that went up over all of the lands of Egypt when the pharaoh continued to break his promise of freeing the Israelites.

Exodus 10:19 (KJV) says,

And the LORD turned a mighty strong west wind, which took away the locusts, and cast them into the Red sea; there remained not one locust in all the coasts of Egypt.

With a simple command coming from God, a mighty strong west wind blew and drove away the locusts and cast them into the Red Sea, and not one of them was left.

Undoubtedly, by God’s infinite power, He can also do the same with this new coronavirus that infests the world today; He can also drive it away, and cast it into another planet, perhaps. And why not? All viruses are too minute to resist the power of God.

However, let us first show God our genuine repentance for our transgressions and our willingness to accept and abide by His teachings. And when He sees our sincerity, He will surely grant us mercy and save us from this pestilence.

Plagues and pestilences come as consequences of man’s sinfulness. That is why our sincere repentance can be a factor for God to consider in putting an end to this plague. If we can only emulate what the people of Nineveh did, undoubtedly, we will also merit God’s mercy the way they did.

When they learned from the prophet Jonah that God was going to bring them destruction, the people of Nineveh wasted no time — they repented for their wrongdoings, they fasted, they turned away from their evil ways, and they fervently prayed to God. When God saw what the people of Nineveh did, from the king down to the lowliest of citizens, He withheld the destruction that was supposed to befall them, thus, the whole Nineveh was saved.

This is the reason why I am constantly appealing to everyone to pray unceasingly. Let us invoke God’s mercy as He is the most powerful and the mightiest of all. Only He can save us from this pandemic; only He has the power to drive away and even eradicate the deadly coronavirus.

At present, the number of fatalities still number in the thousands per day, and there are places where those who died of Covid-19 were no longer being given a proper burial.

Actually, this is not really the first time that such a thing has happened. Even the Bible mentions that there are dead people who were no longer buried anymore and their loved ones were not given the chance to lament and mourn for their deaths.

Jeremiah 25:32-33 (KJV) says,

32 Thus saith the LORD of hosts, Behold, evil shall go forth from nation to nation, and a great whirlwind shall be raised up from the coasts of the earth.
33 And the slain of the LORD shall be at that day from one end of the earth even unto the other end of the earth: they shall not be lamented, neither gathered, nor buried; they shall be dung upon the ground.

Humanity had already experienced this during the previous pestilences, specifically, during the onslaught of the Spanish flu and the bubonic plague, when they buried all the dead in a mass grave without giving them traditional funeral or burial ceremonies. Families were likewise not given the chance to lament and mourn for their loved ones who passed away. And there is a very great possibility that the same thing will happen again in our generation.

As it is written in Ecclesiastes 3:15 (KJV),

That which hath been is now; and that which is to be hath already been; and God requireth that which is past.

What had happened in the past will happen again — there is a possibility that the good or bad things that had happened in the past will happen again to people. It all depends on our attitude toward our Creator and how we regard Him. If we are hard-hearted and rebellious to God, then bad things will be repeated; but if we return to God and show Him our genuine repentance and our desire to follow Him, then, good things will be repeated.

We can see that the world today is desperate in finding the vaccine that could fight Covid-19. But while there is still none, the best thing that we can do is to pray, aside from religiously observing the health protocols imposed by the government. Let us pray that we’ll be able to overcome this very difficult chapter of our existence, that is, if it is God’s will that we survive this pandemic. But if God wills it otherwise, we wholeheartedly accept it because our lives are in His hands. Besides, the Almighty God knows what is good for His servants.

As it is written in Romans 8:28 (KJV),

And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are called according to his purpose.

God can turn all things for the good of those who love Him; to love God is to obey His commandments, and one of which is to love our fellowmen.

Many nations have made it compulsory for all those who died of Covid-19 be cremated. Probably not everyone wants to have their loved ones who passed away be cremated but, nonetheless, they have to yield to the directive of health experts since it is one way to help stop the contagion. Because if they insist in observing their traditional burial rites, there is a great possibility that the family members and all of the people who would condole with them, will get infected.

Actually, the practice of cremation or the burning of a deceased body dates back to the time of the Old Testament. However, it was done under a different circumstance. If today, the Covid-19 victims are cremated to prevent the virus from infecting more people, during the time of the Israelites, to be burned with fire was God’s punishment to those who committed a vile or a wicked act.

Leviticus 20:14 (KJV) says,

And if a man take a wife and her mother, it is wickedness: they shall be burnt with fire, both he and they; that there be no wickedness among you.

A man taking both mother and her daughter to become his wives is an abomination to God. Hence, the three of them – the man, the mother and her daughter – are punished with death by being burned with fire.

Giving this kind of punishment was God’s way of deterring the Israelites from committing any abominable act, and for them to develop fear in God.

However, not all dead were burnt; there were also cases wherein the body of the dead was buried, like what they did to King Asa.

2 Chronicles 16:12, 14 (KJV) says,

12 And Asa in the thirty and ninth year of his reign was diseased in his feet, until his disease was exceeding great: yet in his disease he sought not to the LORD, but to the physicians.
14 And they buried him in his own sepulchers, which he had made for himself in the city of David, and laid him in the bed which was filled with sweet odours and divers kinds of spices prepared by the apothecaries’ art: and they made a very great burning for him.

Lazarus, also, whom the Lord Jesus Christ resurrected, was also interred in a tomb.

In our present situation, cremation of people who died because of COVID-19 seems to be both a logical and noble thing to do. If you care about the welfare of other people, if you truly love them, you will sacrifice personal sentiments in favor of the safety of many.

We have a biblical basis in doing that.

1 Corinthians 13:3 (NKJV) says,

And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not love, it profits me nothing.

If, because of your love to your fellowmen, you give your body to be burned because you do not want to infect others, you are doing something very heroic. It is, in fact, a gesture of love.

There are instances when people were burned because they stood by their faith and principle. Like what happened to the 300,000 people, mostly Christians, who were burned because they refused to embrace the Catholic faith.

In fact, before Pope John Paul II died, he begged forgiveness for the cruelty that the Catholic Church had committed against those people. It was published in the Foreign Post, March 16-20, 2000; Volume 8, No. 370.


“PLEASE FORGIVE US. THE VATICAN — Pope John Paul II, embracing the Crucifix in Saint Peter’s Basilica in penance — in a public confession unprecedented in the history of the Roman Catholic Church — begged forgiveness on Sunday for the sins of the church over the past 2000 years. The pontiff referred specifically to the Crusades and to the 300,000 people who were burned at the stake in the Inquisition.”

Those who were against the Catholic Church, those who did not want to worship false gods and idols were regarded as heretics; thus, they were burned at the stake through what they called Holy Inquisition.

In itself, there is really nothing wrong with cremation, or having one’s body burned, especially so if you are doing it because of your love for others. At least, even in death, you were still able to do something for the good of your fellowmen because you love them; and because you love them, you do not want to infect them.

To further emphasize the importance of love for others, let me cite again 1 Corinthians 13:3 (NKJV), which says,

And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not love, it profits me nothing.

If you have love, you will let others live safely.

19 Comments: