Article: As a Christian, how to face political crisis in the Philippines

The important thing in life is not where you stand now, but where you are going. Jesus Christ says, “I Am the Way, the Truth, and the Life; no one can come to the FATHER, except through Me.” (John 14:6)

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MY STAND ON PHILIPPINE POLITICAL CRISIS

Concerning The President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo

And Her Allies In The Government

by Paul L. Fuentes

 

Many people ask me why I don’t join the so-called “Street Protest Prayer Rallies” led by prominent Christian leaders of this nation. If you will listen to them, you will realize that they are not only praying to GOD, but they also mouth slanderous accusations against various people, particularly in the government.

 

 

There is a Biblical passage that quite sums up an overview of this:

 

 

Now does this mean that Supreme Court judges, fiscals, lawyers, police & military are to be out of job? No, otherwise, we’ll end up in anarchy, which is clearly not a will of GOD for us, for it is also written, “GOD is not the author of disorder, but of peace, as in all churches of the redeemed”.(1Cor 14:33)

 

Here is another example, a rather earthly scene:

 

But is it not also GOD who authored the Law of Moses which commanded stoning of adulterers, how come JESUS seems to be contradicting the law & letting the “sinners” escape unscathed?

This was exactly the contention of the Jews which formed part of their legal case against JESUS, thus wrongly condemning Him to crucifixion; as they argued, He blasphemed, calling Himself the Son of GOD, & disregarded the Law of Moses.

But we know in Bible’s standpoint that the Jews were wrong & JESUS was right; though we do not fully understand why.

To confine to our topic, I’ll not drift away, but will just give a glimpse why JESUS acted that way, which appeared to be in violation of the Law of Moses.

We must understand that GOD deals with man in terms of Dispensations. The Jews argued on the strength of previous Dispensation, while JESUS acted on the new one. That’s why JESUS appeared to be violating the Law, but we read in the Bible that He sinned not.

What is “Dispensation”? The word itself is not found in the Old Testament, but mentioned 4 times in the New Testament. Its Greek equivalent is “oikonomia” which means ‘administration or guardianship’. It refers to a period of moral probation of mankind under which GOD tests us for obedience & responsiveness if will remain faithful to Him & His governance.

This setup is needed because man is endowed with freedom of choice or free moral agency. Also we must understand that GOD works in a timeframe spanning eternity; thus, it may appear that what’s important or priority to us, humans, may not, at the moment, appear like so in the eyes of GOD.

Then we accuse Him of negligence, while in fact, GOD is prioritizing things affecting us which are matters of eternal consequence. For example, you want to send your child to college, but in doing so you opt to work as a prostitute. GOD forbids, of course. Then you will argue that this is the only way; but this is not so; there are countless ways. Perhaps this is just the “easy” way.

Then your child failed to enter college, & she begins to curse GOD for not reaching her ambition. But for GOD, it would have been well should your child remain unschooled, if only to prevent you ending up in dire misery and in hell, should you fail to come to repentance & faith in Jesus Christ.

In the plan of GOD for eternal ages, there are 7 Dispensations for man prior to reaching the endless future state GOD designed for all His created beings, as follows:

 

GOD’s 7 DISPENSATIONS FOR MANKIND

 

Presently, we are in the Dispensation of Grace, # 6, in the table, above. The overwhelming beat of GOD’s heart, now, is to save as many souls as possible, using love, kindness, & grace to draw sinners to Christ. On the contrary, Satan’s thrust is to drive souls away from Christ & His followers at all costs by using negative factors such as worldliness, lusts, vices, division, anger, hatred.

So you see, if I am a follower of Christ, I will do everything within my power to draw sinners to Christ by sharing the Gospel with meekness, gentleness, kindness, patience, long-suffering, & even self-sacrifice.

Am I suppose to judge, condemn, malign, slander, defame the unbelievers of this world or this nation simply to prove my point that they are corrupt, doing wrong & evil practices, only to uplift my image in the eyes of the public, gaining adulation or great following, while the sinners in the government grow fuming mad at me & the Gospel I represent?

 Think about it. If Jesus did that gruesome & most painful self-sacrifice at the cross, just to win the souls of men, who am I to drive sinners away by my arrogance & self-righteousness at this very crucial point of human history where billions of lost souls hang in the balance?

Whatever is the motive of these so-called Christian preachers roaming the streets & inciting the public to rebellion against the government, whether legitimate or merely to buoy their political image for the next election, I do not know.  But one thing I do know, you cannot bring these “corrupt” unbelievers to repentance, by slandering them, instead, it will make their hearts hardened & turn away from Christ.

Pres. Arroyo is allegedly not a follower of Christ or Christian, if the accusations against her are true; then, how much more are we not supposed to judge her, her Cabinet, her allies in the government, they are merely acting out the sinful nature.

And if we are really that serious in eradicating evil in our society, why just pick on the President alone? We should move heaven & earth, protest & fight all the other evildoers, with greater if not equal intensity, like what these rallyists are showing now. Let’s fight the:

 

ADVANCES OF KINGDOM OF DARKNESS

 

 

OTHER BIBLICAL VERSES

SHOWING WE MUST RESPECT THE GOVERNMENT

 

BUT PRES. ARROYO ALLEGEDLY STOLE HER WAY TO POWER

Is Romans 13:1-2 applicable to our nation, whose President allegedly stole her way into Presidency?  Many say PGMA lost political & moral ascendancy to govern due to her committed crimes including graft & corruption with her allies in the government.

True, we cannot accept a corrupt regime. And we must intercede to GOD to remove this in our midst; for righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people.

But the point here is this, we are admonished by the Bible never to rebel or usurp authority from the government by means of uprising whether armed or not. Do you remember how GOD used Moses to liberate the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt in the book of Exodus?

GOD specifically told Moses to ask the permission of Pharoah to let His people go. He did not bypass the free-will of Pharoah, who was the authority that existed at the time.

President Arroyo is clearly the authority that presently exists. Is PGMA in Malacanang? Yes. Has she been proclaimed by Congress & Supreme Court in her public inaugural , as having won the election? Yes. Does it matter how she got there, as far as Romans 13:1-2 is concerned? No.

Is the military behind her? Yes. Does the international community of nations reckons her as the Philippine President? Absolutely, yes. Now are we to respect such authority which the Bible says as having been instituted by GOD Himself? A resounding YES.

Likewise, GOD’s arch-enemy, Satan, is said to have stolen his way to his present status as the “prince of this world” by deceiving Eve, yet even the Lord JESUS acknowledged that Satan is the pseudo-ruler or god of this world in the wilderness.  Because the transfer from Adam to Satan of the original dominion on earth when Adam fell in sin, was “legal”; though the means used was evil.

“The devil said unto Jesus, ‘All earthly power will I give thee and the glory of them; for it was delivered unto me. And to whomever I will, I can give it. If thou will only worship me, all shall be thine.’ But Jesus replied, ‘Get out of here, Satan. For it is written, thou shall worship the LORD your GOD, and Him only thou shall serve.’” (Luke 4:6-8) [Note: Jesus did not refute it]

And what did Jude, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, says, in verse 1:9? Well, you may read it again. Even the archangel Michael dared not speak slanderously against this usurping “vogus god of this world”.

Yes, we often hear some preachers shout, “We cannot accept a ‘vogus’ President.”

Why? Are there any other ‘Presidents’ proclaimed by Congress except PGMA? Is there any other ‘President’ issuing orders to the military & police that they obey, except her? 

Let’s settle this fact:  Power & authority do presently emanate from Mrs. Gloria Arroyo. And only GOD, thru our prayer, can remove or replace her, as He wills. Otherwise, we’re courting disaster.

 

ONLY GOD CAN REMOVE

OR REPLACE HER AS HE WILLS 

I don’t condone the alleged wrongdoings of the President nor any government officials past & present; they surely would find their day in GOD’s judgment seat, unless they repent & accept the Lord JESUS as LORD & SAVIOR of their lives.

Believe in the Lord JESUS CHRIST, and you will be saved and your household. (Acts 16:31)

However, the infallible Word of GOD also says,

Do not take revenge, my brethren, but leave room for GOD’s wrath, for it is written, ‘It is mine to avenge; I will repay,’ says the LORD of HOST. On the contrary: If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him a drink... (Romans 12:19-20)

Look at the spirit of the letter of the Holy Bible, the Word of GOD, amazing. Do you want to be like the ALMIGHTY? Well this is the prescribed way, “be ye perfect, for I the LORD your GOD is perfect”.

This is not to say that we ought to do nothing & blindly allow graft & corruption to flourish. But isn’t it more powerful & effective, if we spend more time fasting on our knees & interceding for our people in government, instead of street protests and joining forces with the leftists & trouble-makers, in whose point-of-view, any government must be toppled down?

 

CONCLUSION

When Dr. Billy Graham, the foremost American Evengelist, was being urged by millions of followers to run for US Presidency during the peak of his career, Billy Graham was said to have replied, “What a demotion! Don’t you know that preaching the Gospel of our Lord JESUS CHRIST is the highest position that anyone can occupy in his lifetime?”

I’d like to end with an admonition from Charles G. Finney, one of the greatest revivalists mightily used by GOD for the conversion of millions of people to Bible-based Christianity, before the close of 19th century. Here he addressed his fellow preachers:

 

“Brethren, our preaching will bear its legitimate fruits.

If immorality prevails in the land, the fault is ours in a great degree.

If there is a decay of conscience, the pulpit is responsible for it. If the public media lacks moral discrimination, the pulpit is responsible for it. If the Church is degenerate and worldly, the pulpit is responsible for it. If the world loses its interest on things of GOD and if Satan rules in our Congress, the pulpit is responsible for it.

Let us not ignore this fact my dear brethren. But let us lay it to heart & be thoroughly awake to our responsibility in respect to the morals of this nation and of the world.”

Not less than the Lord Jesus Christ Himself attested to this fact by saying:

“I tell you the truth, whatever you prohibit on earthly realm shall be prohibited in spiritual realm; and whatever you allow on earthly realm shall be allowed in spiritual realm.” (Matthew 18:18)

 

TO GOD BE ALL THE GLORY, AMEN.

 

- Thank you for your time -