International televangelist Bro. Eli Soriano once again gave Bible-based answers to various spiritual curiosities during the Ang Dating Daan Worldwide Bible Exposition held on January 26, 2018.
Guests from different remote points in the Philippines and abroad were able to ask their queries during the event. Among these remote points are Bataan, Oman, Taiwan, and Africa.
Forgiveness
From Taiwan, a Roman Catholic visitor asked about forgiveness, inquiring: “If I don’t forgive the people who have sinned me, will the Lord not also forgive me?”
Bro. Eli straightforwardly read what is written in Ecclesiastes 12:14 about the judgment day: “For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.” (King James Version)
Judgment is not something we can avoid, said Bro. Eli. And as written in James 2:13, God will not show mercy on judgment day to those who also showed none.
Bro. Eli then emphasized that God will show mercy only to those who have shown mercy (Matthew 5:7). With this, he gave a sensible advice to the guest and told her to grant forgiveness to whoever have sinned her.
God’s Justice and Fairness
A visitor from Muscat, Oman, meanwhile, asked Bro. Eli whether God is fair or not and whether people should believe the Apostle Paul and his teachings. Bro. Eli immediately took a biblically-based stand against the notion of such queries.
First, regarding Apostle Paul, Bro. Eli stated that if one has faith or believes in Christ, he or she should also believe in Paul because the Lord Jesus Christ was the one who sent him (Acts 26:16-17).
Bro. Eli also answered the other question of the guest, stating that the Almighty God is never unfair or unjust. Citing Ezekiel 18:20 and Romans 2:11, he explained that God does not practice favoritism.
When the guest mentioned the situation of Cain and Abel in which God seemingly favored Abel over Cain, Bro. Eli argued that there was a reason for that, and it was because of Abel’s righteous ways.
Reading Proverbs 15:8 which says: “The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the Lord: but the prayer of the upright is his delight. (King James Version),” Bro. Eli said that Cain was wicked and that was why the Lord did not accept his offerings. This is not favoritism, reiterated Bro. Eli.
Reading Different Bible Verses
In the Philippines, a guest from Mariveles, Bataan posed the question: “Why do you (Bro. Eli) read different verses from the Bible when you answer your guests?”
Bro. Eli simply explained that he is combining or bringing together the words of God written in the Holy Scriptures. The books in the Bible, he explained, were written during different times and eras. Given this, Bro. Eli reads various verses in order to fortify our beliefs regarding a certain topic or event. When there are more witnesses attesting, our view on that topic or event then becomes stronger.
Further, he expounded that some writings or details that are lacking in one book can be found in another. For example, there are some things that Matthew wrote but Luke did not. With this, reading different Bible verses to answer a question is just prudent, Bro. Eli suggested.
Women leading the Church
Meanwhile, a guest named Dorothy who is from Africa inquired about the rights of women to be church leaders.
Asking for the guest’s understanding, Bro. Eli promptly stated that first of all, it is prohibited in the Bible for women, and men, to establish churches (Psalms 127:1), as there is only one true Church and it is the one built by the Lord God Himself.
Other churches, then and now, which are founded by men are not the true Church of God. Bro. Eli cited examples such as the Seventh Day Adventist Church established by Ellen G. White and the Philippines’ Church of Christ (Iglesia ni Kristo) set up by Felix Manalo.
Regarding the rights of a woman to lead the Church, Bro. Eli read I Corinthians 11:3.
“But I would have you know, that the head of every man is Christ; and the head of the woman is the man; and the head of Christ is God.” (King James Version)
With no intention to offend anyone, Bro. Eli said that this is the order of power in the true Church. Even during the time of the Israelites, the first nation who served God, it was God’s will that His people be led by a man, and not a woman (I King 9:4-5). I Timothy 2:11-14 also says:
“Let the woman learn in silence with all subjection. But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence. For Adam was first formed, then Eve. And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression. (King James Version).”
Written by: Elizabeth Borromeo