Dr. Ron Gleason and Reformation Day 2014

In the following video, taken at the Talbot School of Theology on the occassion of Reformation Day 2012, Dr. Ron Gleason (author of Herman Bavinck: Pastor, Churchman, Statesman, and Theologian) gives a good and solid lecture on the basic tenets that undergirded the Reformation.




However, what impressed me the most was what he said at the 7:15 mark:

"In 1980, the Lord called me to take the casket of my 4-month old son and put it into the ground as my last earthly duty as his father. And I recall going back to our home in the Netherlands, to a little village in Kampen, and literally just falling back on the bed and wiping the tears, and that verse came to my mind and I said, 'This, too, Lord?' And he said, 'Yes, this, too. This will mold you and shape you into a better person, a better Christian. This will conform you more to the image of Christ. You will be able to comfort others with the comfort with which I am going to comfort you.'"

I was reminded of an old post:

"John Calvin lost his wife and son.

John Owen had eleven children. All died in early youth, except one daughter.

Francis Turretin had four children. Only one survived." (Underdog Theology: Personal Tragedy to Apostasy, Oct. 29, 2012)

Personal Tragedy to Apostasy

I write this post from a position of not having experienced a personal tragedy of the magnitude that would rock the foundations of my faith to the core. In a way, I speak from ignorance, and yet the lives of some of those who have gone before me seem to speak ministration on this issue.

John Calvin lost his wife and son.

John Owen had eleven children. All died in early youth, except one daughter.

Francis Turretin had four children. Only one survived.

More recently, Michael Horton discloses in "A Place for Weakness" how one of his prematurely-born triplets, when older, experienced an accident wherein this elongated toy got jammed down the child's throat. The doctor gave a grim prognosis, but thankfully, the child survived.

As a father, I have often ruminated on the idea of the Lord taking back one of my kids. The same with Him taking back my wife. I have often wondered what my reaction would be. I do not know my heart well enough.

In a way, such thoughts are unwise, for it smacks of the attempt to peer into God's decretive will, and yet it is also wise in that reflection on one's faith, on one's devotion to the Lord, on the depth of one's love for Him, at the time when all is calm, may just be one of the ways in which stability may be had when the storms do come.

There's no minimizing the devastation of losing a family member. Imagining the possibility has often brought me to tears. But should it lead to apostasy? Should it drive one to the despair that leads to destruction? If the Lord Jesus Christ is our treasure, then we should mourn for the loss of a loved one with the passion that is due that love, but then that excruciating pain must be turned sacramental. It should lead us to Christ, whose life and death have redefined "death" for the Christian, with the promise of life forever restored in the future age of glory. Even if we think that the departed is lost by virtue of not being a Christian, our affinity with Christ and His promise of embodied eternal life should prove the stronger tug to renewed rejoicing.

May I love my Lord Jesus Christ more than my wife and children, that I may love them truly while they are here with me in this present age.

The Cost Is Everything

I would like to believe that every Christian family man shares my dilemma.

I love my wife and children more than myself, but I must love Christ above them.

I often find myself wondering what my reaction would be if God, in His sovereignty, decides to take back His gift of any member of my family. I do not know my heart well enough.

But the witness of men of God of ages past must instruct me. Job tearfully exclaimed, "The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord" (Job 1:21). Abraham went through the same convulsions of soul, and the following by Edmund Clowney on the former's convictions serves as wise encouragement:

Abraham was ready to give everything in devoted obedience. Because he feared God, he would pay the price. The Angel stayed his hand. On the mount, Abraham looked up and saw a ram caught by its horns in a bush. He took the ram and offered it in the place of his Isaac. Abraham called the place 'The Lord Will See (to It).'

The cost to Abraham was everything, yet as he clung to the Lord in faith, the cost was nothing. He declared that the Lord would provide, and the Lord did provide. Abraham’s obedience was the obedience of faith. Isaac was given to Abraham a second time. He was his by birth and his by redemption. The offering of the sheep symbolized not only consecration but atonement in the blood of a substitute.

In the total commitment of faith the cost is everything, but in the simple trust of faith, the cost is nothing. Abraham worshiped as God renewed his covenant with him.

The demand that the Lord made of Abraham is not unthinkable. He makes that same total demand of you. Jesus asks it of everyone who would follow him. Whoever loves father, mother, son, or daughter more than the Lord is not worthy of him. Indeed, only as we are ready to receive our own death sentence and take up our cross do we receive everlasting life (Matt. 10:37-39). Much as we need the power of his grace to deny ourselves and follow him, his demand has not changed. Look at the cost: it’s everything. (Preaching Christ in All of Scripture [Wheaton, Illinois: Crossway, 2003, 75, emphasis mine)

All Things Every Year

I began last year, 2011, with some reflections on divine providence.

I was full of care at the time, especially in the area of material provision, but God saw us through. The piece of real estate that I was selling finally got sold to good people, and our youngest, Cauvin Caleb Antonio Cruz, was born in August, big and healthy. I even got promoted at work! The year ended with a big smile on my face.

This year, 2012, I expect divine providence to be no different.

Allow me to share with you this absolutely edifying piece from John MacDuff (1818-1895) entitled, The Greatest Gift:

"He who spared not His own Son — but delivered him up for us all; how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?" Romans 8:32

These are amazing words! God — the Infinite God — identifying Himself (so to speak) with the experiences of human sorrow; silencing every murmur with the unanswerable argument "I spared not my own Son. I gave my greatest gift for you! Will you not cheerfully surrender your best to Me? Can you refuse to trust Me in lesser things — after this unspeakable gift of My love? My greater gift is surely be a pledge for My bestowment of all needed subordinate good!"

He promised to give "all things" — and these "all things" are in His hand. They will be selected and allotted by His loving wisdom: crosses — as well as comforts; sorrows and tears — as well as smiles and joys. Mourning one, this very trial which now dims your eye, is one of these "all things." Trust His faithfulness. He would as soon wound the Son of His love — as wound you!

"Will not God, who gave us His beloved Son — also give us all lesser things?" There is a "blessed impossibility," after the bestowment of the Gift of Gifts, that He will inflict one unnecessary trial, or withhold one needed benefit! Think of His love when He offered His beloved Isaac on the cruel altar. It is the same at this hour, infinite and immutable! Yes! We may well be reconciled, even to the denial of any earthly blessedness, because all is ordered by Him who gave Jesus to die for us! Lying meekly in the arms of His mercy, be it ours to say in filial confidence, "Lord, anything with Your love; anything but Your frown!"

"All things." The whole range of human needs and necessities is known to Him. The care He invites me to cast upon Him — is "all my care"; the need "all my need!" This is His own special promise. "And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work." He will give me nothing, and deny me nothing — but what is for my good! Let me not question the appointments of infinite wisdom. Let me not wound Him by one dishonoring doubt. Let me lean upon Him in little things — as well as in great things. After the pledge of His love in Jesus, nothing can come wrong — which comes from His hands! If tempted at times to harbor some unkind misgivings, let the sight of the cross dispel it. Looking to the Rainbow in the cloud gleaming with the words, "He loved me — and gave Himself for me!" be it mine to say:

Lord, though You bend my spirit low,
Love only will I see;
The very hand that strikes the blow,
Was wounded once for me.

A Reformation Day Review: The Quest for Comfort (The Story of the Heidelberg Catehchism)

First and foremost, I would like to offer my sincerest thanks to the author, William Boekestein, for being generous enough to send his little book to a virtual stranger like myself, pro bono. We've only known each other through the Internet for a short while, and I am both humbled and honored by his good gesture.

The thing about the book that hit me like a freight train was the new information that I received from it. I have indeed gone through the Heidelberg Catechism, and have been unanimously edified by the Gospel truths contained in it. However, I was not very well acquainted with its three authors, and this little biographical book has shown me that, once again (!), God has proved Himself to favor the Underdogs when it comes to the carrying out of the work of the Gospel! The Heidleberg Catechism was forged by Underdogs Caspar Olevianus, Zacharias Ursinus, and Frederick III.

Pat Robertson: The Monster-Maker

I'm sure you're aware of the infamous "advice" that Pat Robertson gave this husband about the legitimacy of divorcing his "walking death" wife who suffers from Alzheimer's. See video below:






Square that with Paul's own "advice":

But if anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for members of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever (1 Tim. 5:8).

Got me thinking: What sort of being is actually worse than an unbeliever? Van Til's antithesis gives us only two kinds of human being, the believer and the unbeliever, so there must be something outside of this binary construct. Then it dawned on me: DEMONS.

John Calvin deemed this third kind to be MONSTERS:

He says that they who do not care about any of their relatives, and especially about their own house, have 'denied the faith.' And justly; for there is no piety towards God, when a person can thus lay aside the feelings of humanity. Would faith, which makes us the sons of God, render us worse than brute beasts? Such inhumanity, therefore, is open contempt of God, and denying of the faith.

Not content with this, Paul heightens the criminality of their conduct, by saying, that he who forgets his own is worse than an infidel This is true for two reasons. First, the further advanced any one is in the knowledge of God, the less is he excused; and therefore, they who shut their eyes against the clear light of God are worse than infidels. Secondly, this is a kind of duty which nature itself teaches; for they are natural affections. And if, by the mere guidance of nature, infidels are so prone to love their own, what must we think of those who are not moved by any such feeling? Do they not go even beyond the ungodly in brutality? If it be objected, that, among unbelievers, there are also many parents that are cruel and savage; the explanation is easy, that Paul is not speaking of any parents but those who, by the guidance and instruction of nature, take care of their own offspring; for, if any one have degenerated from that which is so perfectly natural, he ought to be regarded as a monster. (Commentary on 1 Tim. 5:8)

So Pat Robertson is actually asking us to become DEMONS and MONSTERS given the right circumstances. Can't get more ANTI-CHRISTIAN than that!

The Idolization of Children Is the Hatred of Them

"Whoever spares the rod hates his son, but he who loves him is diligent to discipline him" (Prov. 13:24).

"Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it" (Prov. 22:6).

I must admit that I grew up fearing my mom (quite typical of the Filipino household wherein the father is mostly concerned with putting food on the table). I rendered obedience mostly out of fear of chastisement than love and respect.

While I am of the opinion that the ideal scenario should be that children obey their parents out of love, respect, and gratitude, discipline (be it physical or otherwise) is nonetheless warranted. I can honestly say that I am better off on account of my mom's strictness than I would have been had she "idolized" her children to the point of neglecting this key aspect of a parent's job.

In the article reproduced below, Carl Trueman offers some good commentary on the predicament of "child idolatry" that is all too prevalent in present society.

Divorce: Always Disallowed?

Mention "divorce" to the common "born-again" evangelical and you most likely will be greeted with raised eyebrows, dilated pupils, an elevated heart rate, and a hasty blurting out of the following verse: "What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate" (Mark 10:9).

But is divorce really absolutely disallowed for the Christian? Are there not instances wherein Scripture permits the dissolution of marriage?

My pastor, Rev. Nollie Malabuyo, sheds crucial light on this very sensitive and important matter: No Divorce: Only in the Philippines…

"God Doesn't Give a Pat Answer About Contraception"

Another fine, Christian and Reformed resource on the issue of contraception, brought to my attention by Ptr. Wes Bredenhof:





Also available here

And another by my pastor, Rev. Nollie Malabuyo: How Should Christians View Birth Control?

Contraceptives: The Balanced, Christian View

The RH bill is currently the rave in Philippine news. Celebrities flank both sides of the debate, with Manny Pacquiao adopting the con side.

What does a balanced, Christian view on contraceptives look like? Read on:

"'May Christians use birth control?' That is our question for tonight’s question box. I take it for granted that this question has married Christians in mind; to ask this question in any other context is to presuppose sin. So, may Christians who are married use birth control without sinning or otherwise dishonoring God? This is an emotional issue to many people, so I will try to be especially sensitive in my handling of it.

The Love Letter of All Love Letters: Guido de Brès to His Wife

This year marks the 450th anniversary of the framing of the Belgic Confession. This historic church document is unique in that it is the only one of its kind written by a martyr—Guido de Brès.

Knowing of his impending martyrdom, de Brès wrote a letter to his wife that I can only describe as probably the best love letter that I've ever read: God-glorifying, God-dependent, full of faith and assurance, full of Scriptural truths, and expressing the kind of selfless love that a husband must have for his wife (in imitation of Christ's love for His Bride, the Church).

Some Reflections on Divine Providence

What better way to start off my blog this year than with some reflections on divine providence, and what better source of Scripture's teaching on the subject as understood by the Reformed consensus than the fifth chapter of the Westminster Confession of Faith?

As the father of a 6 yr. old daughter and a 2 1/2 yr. old son—with another child in its 8th week of brewing who I hope will  be a boy so that I could name him "Cauvin Paul"—providence has weighed heavily upon my mind these days. I must also confess that I am of the sort that is not endowed with a measure of imperviousness to anxiety and worry, especially as pertaining to the welfare of my family, so reviewing Scripture's teachings on this subject has been a tremendous comfort to my soul.

The Family Likeness

"And I—in righteousness I will see your face; when I awake, I will be satisfied with seeing your likeness" (Psalm 17:15).

The Westminster Larger Catechism, in its first inquiry asks, "What is the chief and highest end of man?" The answer comes, "Man's chief and highest end is to glorify God, and fully to enjoy him forever."

The Psalm speaks of satisfaction, the Catechism of enjoyment. Both documents ground the subject's experience to an external object, that being God.

To see the likeness of God is man's ultimate experience. But to be able to be in this experience, man must be endowed with His likeness, for without the "family resemblance" man is to be rejected and destroyed.

The Gospel is the proclamation that God has made a way for man to be "part of the family" and thus behold His beauty. Those chosen by God to be His sons and daughters attain the family name solely through Christ. By His atoning death on the cross, the children are counted as justified in God's forensic sight; and by His perfect life and obedience, the same are clothed in His righteousness, thereby gaining the status of "children of God."

In the present age, the likeness of God in His chosen ones is imperfect at best. But the Holy Spirit is not slack in His work of sanctification, bringing every facet of the child of God to conformity with the family likeness. It is an eschatological certainty that the present "Frankenstein-ish" state of the children will give way to the full expression of the family likeness, when we will then be able to see God face to face, to enjoy Him and be satisfied—forever.

The Family Best

I have realized that it is part of my role as a husband and father to work hard to provide for the needs of my family. But I have also realized that it is God who ultimately provides for everything pertaining to me and my family, be it the strength and intellect that I utilize in the dispensation of my tasks, to the faith that I need to see all of this. I have realized that it is not for me to carry the burden of provision.

What, then, is the sole purpose that I must strive for? It is liberating, soul-freeing, and empowering. It is simply this: THE PURSUIT OF CHRISTLIKENESS.

If I devote the totality of my being to this end, then I am seeking that which is the reason for my creation and nothing else matters. In this pursuit, I am released from the shackles of the worldly mindset of "keeping up with the Joneses" and thinking that anything less is a disservice to my family. Our worth and well-being are bound up in the promises of God. In this, I am being the husband and father that God wants me to be, the kind that pursues Christ, and the best possible kind to my wife and children.

Abraham's Dagger

"The parting with my Wife and poor Children hath often been to me in this place [jail], as the pulling of the Flesh from my Bones; and that not only because I am somewhat too fond of these great Mercies, but also because I should have often brought to my mind the many hardships, miseries, and wants that my poor Family was like to meet with, should I be taken from them, especially my poor blind Child, who lay nearer my heart than all I have besides. O the thought of the hardship I thought my blind one might go under, would break up my heart to pieces...But yet, recalling my self, thought I, I must venture you all with God, though it goeth to the quick to leave you; O I saw in this condition, I was a man who was pulling down his House upon the head of His wife and Children; yet thought I, I must do it, I must do it." - John Bunyan

I am the husband of a beautiful woman, and the father of a daughter and a son. I love my family so much that laying down my life for them--literally--would be the easiest decision that I could make. And yet, I love Christ more, or at least I should. The Lord has not tested me and revealed my heart in this matter, and I pray that He wouldn't have to; but I love Christ, and to love Him means to have other affections seem like hatred in comparison.

Bunyan's statement moves me to tears. It is Abraham with his dagger poised over Isaac, ready and willing to lose a love over a greater Love--No, the greatest Love. And it is the Father laying down His Son, for the redemption of man, and for the showcasing to the universe of what love essentially means.

Loving Christ more than our families is loving them the best that they could be loved.