Three Johns, Three Points, Three Subjects

Posted by Bernard Rosario On 11:15 PM 1 comments




 

John Wesley's Three Rules on Harmonious Living
(1) Do no harm
(2) Do good
(3) Stay in love with God






    John Calvin's Three-fold Use of the Law
         (1) The Pedagogical Use.  The Law is a teacher showing us GOD's righteousness and condemning us for falling short of GOD's glory.
         (2) The Judicial Use.  The Law threatens with punishments against trespasses exhorting us to sin less.
         (3) The Didactic Use. The Law serves as a normative guide to holiness and love, both for GOD and for others.



      John Owen's Three Choices on Atonement
      God imposed His wrath due unto, and the Son underwent the pains of hell for, either:
           (1) All the sins of all men.
           (2) All the sins of some men, or
           (3) Some sins of all men.
         In which case it may be said:
             If the last, some sins of all men, then have all men some sins to answer for, and so shall no man be saved.
             If the second, that is it which we affirm, that Christ in their stead and room suffered for all the sins of all the elect in the world.
             But if the first be true, why are not all men free from the punishment due unto their sins?

             You answer, "Because of their unbelief."

        I ask, "Is this unbelief a sin, or is it not? If it is, then Christ suffered the punishment due unto it, or He did not. If He did, why must that hinder them more than their other sins for which He died? If He did not, He did not die for all their sins!"

        (from: The Death of Death in the Death of Christ)



        For teachers like me, March is the most stressful month of the year. Students flood faculty members' offices for a vast variety of concerns: completion exams, unmet requirements, missing grades, picture takings, crying parents, etc. All for a single reason, "Sir, I am graduating."

        So I think it is timely to reflect on how Christians should let their light shine on the basis of graduating. You, as a believer, have a unique opportunity to show to the world that you are different.

        You waste your Graduation...
        1. When you are more concerned on how your name marks your diploma than how words mark your Bible. Because Psalm 119:103 is very far from saying, "How sweet is my name to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth!"
        2. When you are more excited in attending baccalaureate activities than going to church. Because Psalm 84:10 is very far from saying, "For a day in Stadia is better than a thousand elsewhere."
        3. When you are more worried in preparing for graduation pictures than evaluating the frame of your heart. Because 1 Cor. 10:12 is very far from saying, "Therefore let anyone who thinks that he looks good take heed lest he fall."
        4. When you are reflecting more of being freed from school works than being freed from sins' works. Because Romans 6:6,7 are very far from saying, "We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the works of school might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to school. For one who has graduated has been set free from school.
        5. When you have already mastered your song on graduation day but are still unsure what to sing when Christ returns a day before. Because Rev. 15:3 is very far from saying, "And they sang the song of Nikki, saying,  'I'm glowing, glowing inside with your love shining through. Thank you for everything you do. I'm glowing inside because of you."
        6. When you find more comfort in contemplating about your academic achievement than Christ's atoning achievements. Because 2 Cor. 1:5 is very far from saying, "For as we share abundantly in examination results, so through our transcript we share abundantly in comfort too."
        7. When you tell others more of your graduation than of the Christ's crucifixion. Because 1 Cor. 11:26 is very far from saying, "For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim that you are now a degree-holder."
        8. When you have a louder celebration over your graduation than over a sinner's salvation. Because Luke 15:7 is very far from saying, "I [Jesus] tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one student who graduates than over ninety-nine learned persons who need no study."
        9. When you cannot exchange a thousand diplomas for the salvation of your classmates. Because Romans 9:3 is far greater than saying, "For I could wish that I myself were undone and cut off from my diploma for the sake of my brothers, my kinsmen according to the flesh."
        10. When you forget that graduation is given to you to make it obvious to the world that graduation is not your treasure, Christ is. Because Matthew 13:44 is very far from saying, "The academic degree is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field."
        I know of a man who studied at the best school in the country. He stayed in it longer than everybody but a few. He had dozens of reasons to celebrate on his graduation day. But he did not come nor did he ask his parents for a party. Instead, he prioritized glorifying Christ in Vacation Church School for grade-schoolers... something that may boggle a natural mind.

        DON'T WASTE YOUR GRADUATION.

        A Note IN Authentic Beauty

        Posted by Bernard Rosario On 8:00 PM 10 comments





        As early as the 7th National Bible Quiz last January, my bestfriend Anna Manelle is dying to buy Leslie Ludy's "Authentic Beauty" but has always been challenged with her resources. As she celebrates her birthday today, I hand over a copy of the book to her. Inside she found the following note. May you enjoy reading.

        ===================================================

        March 9, Year 29, Reason 9

        Farcical was I by the age of fourteen
        When proposal I made to a girl from Palaming
        I know the shame being under that chico tree
        Don't laugh when now, to you, it's through poetry

        My antecedents here are generally childish
        Like a boy losing against Yuri's Skirmish
        But please endure and persevere to the end
        I am just setting the stage for my message to send

        First, you know that we both are already tired
        Of students and friends asking if we're tied
        Instead of stepping through miles of NOT
        At least it will already suffice with a nod

        Besides, Finals is near and fast approaching
        I need someone who will assist in the checking
        I don't want Mel, Anj, and Stan making a grin
        When my class records to them appear clean

        Allow me to state that I need a potential refuge
        From a skinny guy who maybe needs the dude Freud
        Don't want him to think of an imaginary reason
        That her beloved Jean Grey is my obsession

        For this next item, I fear to be misunderstood
        For I envy those whose kids are so good
        Christine Joy already has two nice Añonuevos
        While our bellies to pageants will surely lose

        I am perplexed how they change their status much
        Considering mine is the same since Game and Watch
        I am curious and to this river I want a sip
        And see in my Facebook, "...in a relationship"

        "Why on my birthday?" is a question you may raise
        But it's known that dates on my head can't place
        For one brain cubicle, March 9 will save me
        Less I forget and make you upset or even angry

        Moreover, March 9 is a perfect pocket asylum
        For anniversaries' expenses not being premium
        It will be nine days after we receive our last pay
        And we need to be thrifty until the sixth day

        I guess you now find it hard to follow through
        That reason eight states my pity for you
        Because today, you are just a step down 30
        Drawing nearer to the words of Carolyn McCulley

        Your bestfriend you know even before second grade
        You know there is no grim in these rhymes I made
        Enough of making these tiring stanzas silly
        For my mood changes, now I am drafting sincerely

        The Lord taught me how to see Authentic Beauty
        Eventhough, not like you, I don't read Ludy
        I fully rest on the Bible's infallibility
        Exciting me to see your charm even at fifty

        In you, united are orthodoxy and domesticity
        And even apologetics and catholicity
        I can't help but appreciate you to be pretty
        For the GOD of glory defines you as lovely

        You may doubt, as an abstract noun, it's not superb
        But I promise my love will be an active verb
        Times will be testing but there is a GOD of grace
        So won't you affirm and to courtship with me say Yes?

        flamenard, 9 Mar 2011

        ===================================================

        She said yes. ^_^ 







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