The gift of understanding the words of God

THE HOLY BIBLE indisputably contains the words of God, and its importance
to man's life is beyond measure. With the wide array of knowledge and wisdom
that the Bible contains, it is the most read book ever written for all
time.

According to Apostle Paul, the Holy Scriptures not only teaches the wisdom
of God for salvation but it also serves as a guide for reproof, for
correction, and instruction in righteousness (II Tim. 3:15-16).
Furthermore, Apostle John attested that all the things contained in the Scriptures are written for us to believe, and by doing so, we can have life in the name of Christ (Jn. 20:30-31).


The great difference
Unfortunately, many people have not come to the right
understanding of the words of God written in the Bible. The proof of this is the proliferation of various religions having different and often contrasting doctrines
notwithstanding the fact that they are using only one Bible. How has this
happened? Many preachers have misunderstood the knowledge and wisdom of
God, which according to Apostle Paul is so profound as to allow human intellect
to fathom it. He wrote:

"Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge
of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out!" (Rom. 11:33,New King James Version)

Man can learn and understand human knowledge with his
intelligence. However, understanding divine wisdom or the words of God is not by means of
human intelligence because God's wisdom is a mystery. Apostle Paul said:

"But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, the hidden
wisdom which God ordained before the ages for our glory." ( I Cor. 2:7,Ibid.)

The profound wisdom of God cannot be discerned or understood
by just any man according to his mental capacity. In fact, from ages and from
generations, such mystery has been hidden from man. Apostle Paul attests:

"Of which I became a minister according to the stewardship
from God which was given to me for you, to fulfill the word of God, the mystery which has been hidden from ages and from generations, but now has been revealed to
His saints." (Col. 1:25-26, Ibid.)

If God has hidden His wisdom from all ages and generations,
then how could it be preached by anyone? Anyone who assumes the right to teach the words of God without receiving His revelation does not preach the truth but his
personal opinion. In effect, what he would be preaching is not God's
commandments but human commandments instead. It is not surprising then that
so many different churches with conflicting teachings have multiplied
nowadays.



Not anyone can understand

Although the Bible has been translated into many different
languages so that many people may be able to read it, its translation does not guarantee that it is being understood. In fact, even the very translations, at times,
fall into error. How much more if man interprets the words of God? There is
always a danger of misinterpretation, because those who attempt to explain
or teach the words of God on their own end up twisting them. Apostle Peter
says:

"As also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these
things, in which are some things hard to understand, which those who are untaught and
unstable twist to their own destruction, as they do also the rest of the
Scriptures." (II Pt. 3:15, Ibid.)

Twisting the Scriptures is a grave offense: Anyone who does
this brings destruction upon himself, and to anyone who listens to him.
Being learned does not guarantee a correct understanding of the words of
God. Illustrating this fact is the case of the eunuch described in the Book
of Acts:

"So he arose and went. And behold, a man of Ethiopia, a eunuch
of great authority under Candace the queen of the Ethiopians, who had charge of all
her treasury, and had come to Jerusalem to worship, was returning. And
sitting in his chariot, he was reading Isaiah the prophet. Then the Spirit
said to Philip, 'Go near and overtake this chariot'. So Philip ran to him,
and heard him reading the prophet Isaiah, and said, 'Do you understand what
you are reading?' And he said, 'How can I, unless someone guides me?, And
he asked Philip to come and sit with him." (Acts 8:27-31, Ibid.)

The eunuch, despite his learning, failed to understand the
Scriptures. So when Philip approached and asked him whether he understood what he was
reading, the eunuch humbly admitted that he could not. Thus, even though
one is earnest in knowing the wisdom of God that is written in the Bible, and
even if he undergoes training at seminary or a Bible college, without
proper guidance from the preacher sent by God, he will not be able to
understand the truth. Apostle Paul wrote:

"Always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of
truth." (II Tim. 3:7, Ibid.)

Furthermore, earning a degree or obtaining a certificate in
religious training from a seminary or Bible college does not make one an authority on
the Bible and in preaching the gospel. So, one who listens to a preacher
must be careful and must examine the teachings that such preacher presents.
Why? Because a preacher who teaches a twisted gospel will lead the
unsuspecting and indiscriminate listener into the wrong church, which
upholds false beliefs.

Unfolding the mystery of His words

Fortunately, there is away by which we can understand the
wisdom and knowledge of God, which He has hidden in mystery through ages and
generations. Our Lord Jesus Christ explains:

"And He said to them, 'To you it has been given to know the
mystery of the kingdom of God; but to those who are outside, all things come in
parables'." (Mk. 4:11, Ibid.)

A secret cannot be known, much less understood, unless it is
revealed and explained by the one who truly know it. Likewise, the wisdom that comes
from God cannot be learned from institutions or seminaries established by men
because only God holds the key that unlocks the mystery of His words. God
Himself confers the understanding to those whom He sends to preach, like
the apostles. As messengers of God, they bear His truth, the teachings
concerning the true Church, faith, doctrines, and salvation. Our Lord Jesus
Himself attest to this, "For He whom God has sent speaks the words of God,
for God does not give the Spirit by measure" (Jn. 3:34, Ibid.). Therefore,
only those whom God has sent have been bestowed the knowledge, the gift of
understanding, and the authority to preach the wisdom of God.

On the other hand, those whom God has not sent but who dare to
teach His words will preach twisted teachings of false faith. Such preachers belong
to false religions, which uphold erroneous doctrines, and which will bring
eternal damnation to those who listen and accept them. We should neither
listen to the preaching nor accept the teaching of those who are not sent
by God. Why? Apostle Paul answers:

"And how shall they preach unless they are sent? As it is
written: 'How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace, who bring glad tidings of good things!'" (Rom. 10:15, Ibid.)

Those who are not sent by God do not understand His wisdom.
So, how can they truthfully preach the words of God if they have not received true
understanding?

The messenger in these last days

Since the apostles already passed away and the Lord Jesus
Christ already ascended to heaven, who will give us today the right understanding of the words of God written in the Holy Scriptures? The Book of Revelation
prophesied another angel having the seal of the living God whose work is to
seal the servants of God:

"Then I saw another angel ascending from the east, having the
seal of the living God. And he cried with a loud voice to the four angels to whom it
was granted to harm the earth and the sea, saying 'Do not harm the earth, the
sea, or the trees till we have sealed the servants of our God on their
foreheads'." (Rev. 7:2-3, Ibid.)

The word "angel" in this verse literally means messenger.
Angels can be spiritual beings like angel Gabriel whom God sent to Zechariah, the
father of John the Baptist (Lk. 1:19) who are sent from heaven to deliver short
messages to specific individuals or groups of people at a particular time
and specific place (Heb. 1:13-14). Angels can also be human beings, like
John the Baptist (Mt. 11:7-10, Douay-Rheims Version), whom God sends to
preach the gospel to people.

The fulfillment of the "other angel" described in Revelation
7:2-3 pertains to a man whom God had sent to preach the gospel, because his work is to seal the servants of God. He and his companions would carry out the task to seal
the servants of God, as stated in the third verse," till we have sealed the
servants of our God." As to how the sealing would be carried out, Apostle
Paul explains:

"In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth,
the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the
Holy Spirit of promise, Who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the
redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory." (Eph.
1:13-14, NKJV)

Sealing is the preaching of the true gospel to receive the
Holy Spirit. The angel or messenger described in Revelation 7:2-3 preaches the gospel of truth, which is the word of God for salvation. He is a man whose work is to
preach to words of God. Those who listened and believed in his preaching
were sealed and received the promised Holy Spirit. The place where this
prophecy would be fulfilled is in the East or the rising of the sun,
fulfilled in the Philippines, which is in the Far East (Asia and the
Philippines, p. 169).

The Church of Christ firmly believes, based on biblical
prophecies and their fulfillment, that the messenger of God in these last days is Brother Felix Y. Manalo. He was given the right to understand the knowledge of God,
which is hidden in mystery. Through him, together with the ministers and
evangelical workers in the Church of Christ, the wisdom and knowledge of
God is made known to us in these last days, that we may be guided toward the
path that leads to Christ and to our salvation.

Mga personalidad na nagugustuhan ng Babae sa Lalake.

Bawat babae ay may kanya kanyang trip. At ang bawat lalake eh meron namang kanya kanyang ugali.

Sa tingin ko lang ha. Papangalan natin silang MR.

1. Mr. Mindman -

Ito yung mga taong matatalino talaga. Simulat sapul. Simula elementary hanggang college. Hanggang gumraduate dala nila ang utak nila at napaka intelehentong tao naman talaga. Marami siyang ambisyon sa buhay. Masikap siya sa trabaho. Ito yung mga taong mahihilig magbasa ng libro. Mga dyaryo at kung ano ano pa basta may lamang impormasyon at kaalaman.

2. Mr. Player -

May mga babaeng gusto ang adventure. Mas gusto nilang kumuha ng boyfriend na babaero. Siguro aasa silang sila ang makakapagpatino nito? Kung baga ito yung mga babaeng gusto ay yung “chick boy” na lalake. Yung isang ngiti lang eh nakakalaglag panty na. Ang mga babaeng mahilig sa Mr.Player personality ay yung mga taong hindi handa sa long term relationship. Kundi sa mga fling fling lamang.

3.Mr.Buddy-

ito ang personalidad ng lalake na madaling makakahanap ng kaibigang babae. Dahil ang babae eh karamihan ay madrama sa buhay o kaya naman ay puno ng problema. Kaya kailangan nila ng lalakeng masasandigan at malalambing. Ang lalake ang tatayong sandalan ng babae. Lalakeng maiiyakan. In short, Lalakeng masasabihan ng problema.

4. Mr.Action Man-

ang mga lalakeng hilig ay adventure. Nagugustuhan ito ng babae dahil alam nilang hindi ordinaryo ang kaibigan o magiging boyfriend nila sa hinaharap. Laging makaasa ang babaeng may kakaibigang gagawin si lalake. Dahil hindi takot si Mr.Action Man na magkamali hanggat hindi niya napapasaya itong babaeng ito.

5. Mr.Blogger -

AHEM AHEM AHEM. Ito naman ang ibang gusto ng ibang babae. Dahil sa may humor na ito. Minsan nagiging malalim pa ito. Malakas daw ang appeal ng mga taong ito. Dahil maraming nalalaman. Hindi man sa kanila nanggaling yung iba. Iba naman daw yung maraming nababasa. Gusto nila yung personalidad nilang ito dahil alam nilang iba ang mararating nila kapag kasama ang taong ito.

6. Mr.Loverboy-

Rare na daw ito. Ito ang mga taong sino nga ba naman hihindi kung ikaw ay makakahanap ng isang lalakeng alam ang bawat kiliti ng babae? Ang bawat kilig? Ang bawat effort na gusto ng babae? Mala john lloyd effort nga ika ng karamihan.

7. Mr.Humor-

Nagugustuhan ito ng babae dahil sa gusto nilang laging tumawa. Kapag kasama nila ang taong ito nakakalimutan nila ang problema. Para bang laging may ngiti sa kanilang labi. Nakangisi ka lagi. Mga lalakeng mahilig sa cheesy lines at jokes. Kung baga hindi nauubusan ng bala sa utak at bibig.

8. Mr. Thinker -

 Ito yung mga ugali ng kalalakihan na katulad ng Mr.Blogger malalim mag isip. Mahilig mangarap kahit umaga. Mahilig mag isip ng mga bagay na imposible. Minsan misteryoso. Minsan hindi mo alam kung ano ang iniisip. Minsan nasa isang sulok at sobrang tahimik. Pero hindi mo alam puro ikaw lang pala ang nasa isip. Nag iisip siya ng mga bagay na maaring magpasaya sayo araw araw. Hindi lang niya mahal ang sarili mo. Kundi ang mga taong nakapaligid sayo.

9. Mr.Big Daddy -

Ito yung mga long term relationship na tao. Ito yung mga taong gusto ng stable na relasyon. Ito ang mga gusto ng babae na ayaw pang masaktan. Kaso paano nilang malalaman na tama na pala yung lalakeng napili nila? Ito ay yung pag sasakripisyo ng babae at nang lalake para sa relasyon mapaganda lang ang takbo. Kaya tinawag na Big Daddy. Dahil malaki ang iyong puso. Mataba ang iyong puso.

10. Mr. Computer -

Ito naman ay nagugustuhan ng babaeng kapwa gamer. Gusto nila ng partner na makakaintindi sa ginagawa nila. Mga sabay kayong mag papalevel. Sabay kayong maglalaro. Dito iikot mundo niyo. Dito kayo magiging masaya. Dito kayo mag bobonding. At kapag patay na oras. May mapagkwekwentuhan kayo. Habang kumakain pwede niyong pag usapan ang mga susunod niyong lalaruin at pag papalevelan.

Salvation, justice, and the Church

God's justice is evidently expressed in His laws. 

MANY PROFESSING CHRISTIANS criticize the teaching that God's salvation through Christ is granted to only one specific group of people or Church. To them, such teaching suggests that God is unjust. Furthermore, they argue that God will not reward salvation to only one Christian group because others also serve Him and believe in His Son, and that He is not lacking in mercy or grace as to forget their faith and good deeds.

The Bible teaches, however, that God's granting salvation to only one religious organization or Church is in perfect harmony with His nature as a just and righteous God.

The righteousness of God
God is righteous and just (Ps. 119:137; Gen. 18:25). His justice is evidently expressed in His laws, one of which is on the passing of judgment to the one guilty. In Deuteronomy 24:16, this is written:

"Fathers shall not be put to death for their children, nor shall children be put to death for their fathers; a person shall be put to death for his own sin." (New King James Version)

This law demonstrates divine justice and righteousness. It forbids the act of punishing an innnocent person on account of another's guilt. On the basis of this law, all men are condemned to die the second death in the lake of fire because all have sinned (Rev. 21:8; Rom. 6:23; 5:12).

But, the salvation for sinners, through His Son, does not violate His own righteousness. Jesus Christ, the Savior, acted according to that law: The Lord Jesus said:

"Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill." (Mt. 5:17, NKJV)

Jesus came to save men in such a way that He fulfilled what the law of God concerning sinners requires - that each man shall die for his own sins. The apostles testify that the salvation Christ carried out is based on the righteousness of God:

"For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek.
"For in the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, 'The just shall live by faith'." (Rom. 1:16-17, Ibid.)

The gospel is the power of God to salvation through His Son. In it is revealed His righteousness, which Christ took into full account in affecting salvation for sinners.

Salvation for sinners
Christ is sinless; He is the only man who has not committed any sin (I Pt. 2:21-22) and, therefore, does not deserve death having not even a single sin to account for. Why did he die then? His death is in behalf of the sinners. Indeed it was, according to Apostle Peter:

"For Christ died for sins once and for all, a good man on behalf of sinners, in order to lead you to God. He was put to death physically, but made alive spiritually." (I Pt. 3:18, Today's English Version)

Christ did not violate God's righteousness when He died for other men's sins because He came to fulfill not only the Law but also the prophecies about His having to endure being despised, rejected, afflicted, stricken, and bruised for the sake of those whom He will save, that they may have peace with God(Is. 53:3-5, NKJV).

Christ's act of taking upon Himself the guilt of men by dying in their behalf is the very act of salvation. It is the act of setting them free from condemnation.


One new manWhy is it that Christ's suffering and death did not at all violate the rigtheousness of God? Apostle Paul explains:

"For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him." (II Cor. 5:21, Ibid.)

It is the Father's will that the sinless Christ had to die in behalf of sinners. Although Christ is without sin, His act of taking the burden of their sins through His death is in accordance with, divine justice.

Since Christ fully met the demands of God's justice in carrying out salvation, the people whose sins He died for could not be distinct or be separated from Him. They and Christ are one in the eyes of God.

The group of people Apostle Paul referred to as "us" in II Corinthians 5:21 is a new creation in Christ. In verse 17, the apostle says:
"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new." (Ibid.)

In Ephesians 2:15, he explains how those who are in Christ became a new creation:

"Having abolished in His flesh the enmity, that is, the law of commandments contained in ordinances, so as to create in Himself one new man from the two, thus making peace." (Ibid.)

According to Apostle Paul, Christ created in Himself one new man from the two, namely, Himself as head and the Church as His body:

"And He is the head of the body, the church." (Col. 1:18, Ibid.)

By means of His Church, the salvation for sinners that Christ carried out meets the conditions of God's righteousness. According to God's law, Christ is not allowed to pay or die for the sins of another. So, He had to make Himself and those He will save as one man. He did this by gathering them together as parts of His body, the Church, He being its head.

In the sight of God, Christ and the members of His Church are not distinct or separate from one another, but are joined together as one new man. In taking the blame for the guilt of those included in His body or His Church, He did not defy God's justice because He did not die for the sins of another. As the head of the Church, He died for the sins of His own body.

The salvation Christ provided in accordance with divine justice benefited only one body or group of people - the Church of Christ:

"Take heed therefore to yourselves and to all the flock over which the Holy Spirit has appointed you overseers, to feed the church of Christ which he has purchased with his blood." (Acts 20:28, Lamsa Translation)

Granting salvation to a single, unified group of people - the Church of Christ - by no means makes God unjust or unfair. What would be unjust and unrighteous is for Him to allow His Son to save churches, which are not Christ's bodies or to save individuals who are not part of that one body or Church, because that would mean that Christ died for the sins of other men.


Enter the Church, says ChristWhat further proves that Christ commands anyone who wants to be saved to enter or join the Church of Christ? Christ said:

"I am the door; anyone who comes into the fold through me will be safe." (Jn 10:9, Revised English Bible)

Entering in Christ means entering in the fold or flock, which is the Church of Christ (Acts 20:28, Lamsa Translation).

Having faith in Christ is absolutely necessary, but it is not enough for one to attain salvation. Faith must go with membership in the Church of Christ, which the Savior requires anyone who wishes to be saved to join. The Church of Christ, therefore, is indispensable to man's salvation because it is the one the Lord Jesus Christ will save.

While salvation is God's mercy or grace, it must be based on His justice and righteousness. The Church of Christ is the way in which salvation through Christ can be attained. This is in accordance with God's justice and righteousness.

The Loving-kindness of God to sinners

SOCIETY GENERALLY LOOKS at offenders, especially the callous ones, with abhorrence and repulsion. Which is why, when one commits an offense or an act that is considered to constitute a crime against a person or the society-at-large, the perpetrator is condemned, ostracized, and sometimes immediately punished or meted out with a punitive measure by his fellowmen. Sad to say, more often than not, many offenders are not given by society the chance to reform and redeem themselves from their wrongdoing. Because of this, there are those who have lost hope of changing their life an of being absorbed back in the mainstream society. They think that there is no way out of their predicament but to revert to committing evil, which eventually causes them to ruin their lives completely. However, ever the righteous judge that He is, God has a different way of dealing with offenders or sinners. He continues to extend His loving-kindness to all men, though all have fallen into sin (Rom. 5:12), either through commission – by transgressing His laws or commands (I John 3:4), or through omission – by not doing them (James 4:17; Rom. 7:12). The Bible describes God’s loving-kindness to a person who sinned against Him this way:

“The LORD is gracious and full of compassion, Slow to anger and great in mercy.” (Ps. 145:8, New King James Version)

The testimony of those who have experienced God’s compassion and mercy is this:

“Through the LORD’s mercies we are not consumed, Because His compassions fail not.” (Lam. 3:22, Ibid.)

Because of God’s mercy and compassion, sinners are not consumed immediately. But this does not mean that God is slack toward or is condoning the wrongdoings of sinners. There is something in God’s compassion that keeps Him from allowing the sinners to be destroyed or consumed immediately. Apostle Peter explains:

“The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.” (II Pet. 3:9, Ibid.)

God is giving sinners the chance to repent. He does not want anyone to perish on account of sin. Had he not been full of compassion, all of us sinners would not have been given the chance to repent and we would have certainly been destroyed.

God’s judgment on sinners
God does not want the sinners to be judged and end up in destruction, which is why He wants everyone to come to repentance. As the righteous judge, God will, at an appointed time, mete out judgment to every one according to what he has done. He emphatically declared this to His early people, the Israelites:

“Now I, the Sovereign LORD, am telling you Israelites that I will judge each of you by what he has done. Turn away from all the evil you are doing, and don’t let your sin destroy you.” (Ezek. 18:30, Today’s English Version)

Destruction shall surely come on the sinners who do not take heed and ignore the chance God is giving them to turn away from their evil acts and repent. Concerning the stubborn-hearted, Apostle Paul points this out, thus:

“Or perhaps you despise his great kindness, tolerance, and patience. Surely you know that God is kind, because he is trying to lead you to repent. But you have a hard and stubborn heart, and so you are making your own punishment even greater on the Day when God’s anger and righteous judgments will be revealed.” (Rom. 2:4-5, Ibid.)

The sinners who hate God’s great kindness, tolerance, and patience by hardening their hearts and refusing to repent will surely suffer punishment on Judgment Day. They will perish and will be consumed by fire on that day as testified to by Apostle Peter:

“But the heavens and the earth which are now preserved by the same word, are reserved for fire until the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.” (II Pet. 3:7, NKJV)

The sinners’ conflagration will be followed by the lake of fire, in which they will suffer eternal punishment (Rev. 20:14). Inasmuch as the Bible testifies that all men have sinned (Rom. 5:12) and, because of this, they have been separated from God and have become His enemies (Isa. 59:2, Col. 1:21), it behooves us therefore to rethink our condition to avoid His punishment. We should not ignore the chance God is giving us so that we may avoid the dire consequence of our sins. God calls our attention to this:

“ ‘Yet from the days of your fathers you have gone away from My ordinances And have not kept them. Return to Me, and I will return to you’, says the LORD of hosts. ‘But you said, “In what way shall we return?”’” (Mal. 3:7, NKJV)

Since the fall of man from God’s grace because of sin, he has been separated from God. Hence, he has to return to Him so that God will again be with him. Without returning to God, man on account of his sins will remain in his precarious condition of being under God’s judgment, which is the eternal punishment in the lake of fire.

The path leading back to God
God, ever loving and forbearing, teaches us what to do in order to avoid punishment and find rest for our souls. The Bible records:

“Thus says the LORD: ‘Stand in the ways and see, And ask for the old paths, where the good way is, And walk in it; Then you will find rest for your souls’. But they said, ‘We will not walk in it’.” (Jer. 6:16, Ibid.)

God instructs man who has turned away from His ordinances to look for the good way. Once he has found the good way, he should walk in it to find rest for his soul. Our Lord Jesus Christ testified that He is “the way, the truth, and the life” that would lead man back to the Father (John 14:6). For man to benefit from Christ as the way to God, it is not enough that he profess faith in Him as His Lord and Savior. He must prove His faith by coming into the fold through Christ as the doorway. As the Lord declares:

“I am the door; anyone who comes into the fold through me will be safe. …” (John 10:9, Revised English Bible)

Those who have come into the fold through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ are His sheep in His flock (John 10:16), which is the Church of Christ as testified to by Apostle Paul, thus:

“Take heed therefore to yourselves and to all the flock over which the Holy Spirit has appointed you overseers, to feed the church of Christ which he has purchased with his blood.” (Acts 20:28, Lamsa Translation)

Therefore, in order to return to God through our Lord Jesus Christ, one should join the sheepfold of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Church of Christ, which He redeemed with His precious blood.

The need to be redeemed
The importance of being redeemed by joining the Church of Christ can never be overemphasized. Apostle Paul eloquently essayed that this is God’s loving-kindness to sinners – His mercy in order for us not to perish in God’s anger”

“But God has shown us how much he loves us – it was while we were still sinners that Christ died for us! By his sacrificial death we are now put right with God; how much more, then, will we be saved by him from God’s anger!” (Rom. 5:8-9, TEV)

Those redeemed by our Lord Jesus Christ through His precious blood are forgiven of their sins. Through Christ’s sacrificial death, they have been put right with God – back I His grace and loving care – and thus they are assured of their salvation from God’s anger or from perdition on Judgment Day. Although any Christian-professing person would readily claim that he has been redeemed by Christ by virtue of his faith in Him, only those who are in Christ’s Church have benefited from His sacrificial death. This, Apostle Paul clarifies:

“For a husband has authority over his wife just as Christ has authority over the church; and Christ is himself the Savior of the church, his body.” (Eph. 5:23, Ibid.)

Christ the Savior will save the Church which is His body. So if one is not in the true Church of Christ, he will not benefit from the sacrificial death of our Lord Jesus Christ. On the other hand, if a person joins the Church of Christ, this means that he does not discount God’s loving-kindness and compassion for the sinners.

Not a license to sin
That members of the Church of Christ have been freed from the bondage of sin through the redemptive act of our Lord Jesus Christ does not mean they are already free to commit sin. On the contrary, Apostle Paul emphasized that this is the very reason they should no longer live in sin:

“What shall we say, then? Should we continue to live in sin so that God’s grace will increase? Certainly not! We have died to sin – how then can we go on living in it?” (Rom. 6:1-2, Ibid.)

Thus, the true members of the Church of Christ strive to renew their lives completely in order to enjoy God’s loving-kindness and not to waste their opportunity to be saved. Never do they take their membership in the Church as a license to commit sin for they know that if they sin willfully after having received the knowledge of the truth, “there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a certain fearful expectation of judgment, and fiery indignation which will devour the adversaries” (Heb. 10:26-27, NKJV).

And if sometimes they still fall into sin, despite their striving to fulfill God’s commandments an to live a life that is worthy before Him, Apostle John writes them this reassuring lines:

“I am writing this to you, my children, so that you will not sin; but if anyone does sin, we have someone who pleads with the Father on our behalf – Jesus Christ, the righteous one.” (I John 2:1, TEV)

Indeed, the members of the Church of Christ are truly fortunate, for even if they also sinned, they have received God’s loving-kindness and found redemption and forgiveness of their sins in the Church. And should they fall into the sin of either commission or omission, God will cleanse them if they sincerely repent, and earnestly return to Him, and turn away from their evil and wicked ways, for Apostle John says assuredly that “if we confess our sins to God, he will keep his promise and do what is right: he will forgive us our sins and purify us from all our wrongdoing” (I John 1;9, Ibid.)

True service

WHENEVER WE MENTION something like true service or true worship, some of our friends become annoyed. They feel upset not because they hate the idea of true worship, but because they do not agree that there is such thing as false service or false religion.

Many people consider it rather strange to believe that there is false religion or false service to God because they have been raised into believing that God accepts all services rendered to Him. “As long as you are serving the God,” they say, “God will accept you.” What is important, for them, is “to whom” one is rendering service and not “how” he does the act of worship.

Sadly, many of those who believe that all services are acceptable to God have become complacent. They have lost the motivation to examine their religious practices. They find no reason to search for the true religion as though such search were frivolous or unnecessary.

The Bible says that there are many who will be in for a rude awakening on Judgment Day – including those who believe all along that they will be saved and will receive the promises of God.

Cain and Abel

It may come as a surprise to some, but there are many examples in the Bible that prove that God does not accept every kind of service rendered to Him. One of such examples is contained in the first book of the Bible, Genesis:

“After some time Cain brought some of his harvest and gave it as an offering to the LORD. Then Abel brought the first lamb born to one of his sheep, killed it, and gave the best parts of it as an offering. The LORD was pleased with Abel and his offering, but he rejected Cain and his offering. Cain become furious, and he scowled in anger.” (Gen. 4:3-5, Today’s English Version)

Cain and Abel, sons of Adam and Eve, served God. Both of them offered to the Lord. But, while the Lord was pleased with Abel and his offering, He rejected Cain and his offering.

Nadab and Abihu

There are other incidents in the Bible showing that God rejected people who were trying to serve Him, such as what happened to Nadab and Abihu:

“Then Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, each took his censer and put fire in it, put incense on it, and offered profane fire before the LORD, which He had not commanded them. So fire went out from the LORD and devoured them, and they died before the LORD.” (Lev. 10:1-2, New King James Version)

Nadab and Abihu were two servants of God who offered sacrifices to Him. But, since they offered a “profane fire which He had not commanded,” the Lord God rejected their offering. Instead of accepting their offering, the Lord God sent a fire that devoured and killed them. Therefore, it really matters “what” we are doing in our service to God. If it didn’t, then God would have accepted Nadab and Abihu.

One lesson we learn from this is that we should not break God’s commandments if we are to serve Him. Those who say something like, “God can read my mind,” and that “He knows my intention,” while going against His commandments, are mistaken. For instance, many kneel before graven images and worship those images, saying that in their mind, they believe that what they do is for God. However, nowhere in the Bible are we commanded to bow and worship images. Such practice is strictly prohibited by God (Exo. 20:3-5). Thus, the millions of people who believe that kneeling before images is acceptable, since they believe it is for God, are gravely mistaken. They are just like Nadab and Abihu who offered something that was not commanded by God.

Christ’s declaration

Often, when we talk to our friends about this topic, they would say, “we now live in the dispensation of grace.” This to them means that since we live in the Christian era, we are no longer under any obligation to follow God’s law. Also, for many so-called “Evangelical Christians,” it is enough to believe or have faith in Christ to be saved.

Even in the Christian era, there is such a thing as false religion and false service to God. There are people who profess belief in the name of Christ but in the end will be rejected by Him and, thus, will not be saved. Christ declares:

“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord’, shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven.” (Mt. 7:21,NKJV)

Since, according to Christ, not everyone who calls Him Lord will go to heaven, then not all Christian-professing religions or churches will be saved on Judgment Day.

Who then will be saved? Who will go to heaven? Christ our Lord declared, “but he who does the will of My Father in heaven.” Thus, if we do the will of the Father, we will enter the kingdom of heaven. But even if we believe in God and in Christ yet do not obey the will of the Father, we will not be saved.

God’s will

The Bible teaches one of God’s will, that everyone must do:

“Having made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Himself, that in the dispensation of the fullness of the times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth – in Him.” (Eph. 1:9-10,Ibid.)

It is God’s will that all be gathered together in Christ. Thus, no one could truly say that he has completely followed the will of the Father if he has not been united with Christ. To be in Christ is to be inside the body headed by Him:

“For as we have many members in one body, but all the members do not have the same function, so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another.” (Rom. 12:4-5, Ibid.)

It is God’s will for us to be members of the body of Christ, which is the Church:

“And He is the head of the body, the church.” (Col. 1:18, Ibid.)

The apostles called this Church, the Church of Christ:

“Take heed therefore to yourselves and to all the flock over which the Holy Spirit has appointed you overseers, to feed the church of Christ which he has purchased with his blood.” (Acts 20:28, Lamsa Translation)

Those who were redeemed by the blood of Christ obtained the right to serve the living God (Heb. 9:14), therefore, they could now render true service.

God wants all people to be gathered together “in Christ.” To be in Christ is to be inside or to become part of His body or Church, which is the Church of Christ. Therefore, it is God’s will for us to be members of the Church of Christ.

Let us always remember that we are not free to do just about anything we have in mind in serving God. Even our Savior Jesus Christ tells us that we should follow God’s will.

Certain of salvation

While some people do not believe in the necessity of joining the Church of Christ to be saved, the Bible teaches otherwise:

“Praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved.” (Acts. 2:47, NKJV)

If we want to be counted among those who will be saved, we must join the Church, for the Scriptures teaches that “the Lord added to the Church daily those who were being saved.”

We are not teaching here that the Church is the Savior. Christ is the Savior, as the Bible teaches. But the Bible also teaches that it is the Church which Christ will save:

“For a husband has authority over his wife just as Christ has authority over the church; and Christ is himself the Savior of the church, his body.” (Eph. 5:23, TEV)

Those who follow God’s will are assured of receiving salvation on Judgment Day, inasmuch as the worship they render to Him is acceptable.

The Historical Roots of Catholicism

History and Catholic literature show that the Church of Christ and the Catholic Church are not one and the same entity.
AS A CATHOLIC seminarian, I was imbued with a lot of Church and secular history. Armed with this knowledge, I was of the same thinking as my friend, Oblate Priest Rev. Ben Carreon – indeed as other Catholics worthy of the name – that the historical Church of Christ which was established in Jerusalem in 33 A.D. is the Catholic Church. I was firm in that historical conviction. Until 1981, I thought the claim of the Iglesia Ni Cristo as being the true Church founded by Jesus Christ in Jerusalem was presumptuous, preposterous, if not downright deceptive and vicious. Why then am I now a member of the Iglesia Ni Cristo?


Catholic Claims of Historicity

The Catholic claims of being the historical Church of Christ is written in a host of history books and encyclopedias. Thus, my friend Rev. Ben Carreon, whose historical errors have already been exposed, feels so confident in asserting that no other church existing today can validly claim any historical linkage with Christ and the Apostles except the Catholic Church. A survey of such books reveals that Rev. Carreon is right.

“Roman Catholicism – a Christian church characterized by its uniform, highly developed doctrinal and organizational structure that traces its history to the Apostles of Jesus Christ in the 1st century AD.” ¹

“ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH, collective designation for the portion of Chistendom that acknowledges the supremacy of the pope and considers submission to papal authority in matters of faith an indispensable condition of membership in its ranks. The Roman Catholic Church regards itself as the only legitimate inheritor, by an unbroken Episcopal succession descending from Saint Peter to the present time, of the commission and powers conferred by Jesus Christ upon the twelve Apostles.” ²

These two passages coincide with Rev. Carreon’s claim of Catholic historicity. Yet the next passage states that the Church founded by Christ is not just the Catholic Church but other churches as well:

“Founded in the 1st century AD by Jesus of Nazareth (the Christ), Christianity has become the largest of the world’s religions. Geographically the most widely diffused of all religions, it has a membership of over 1,000,000,000. Its largest groups are the Roman Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox churches, and the Protestant churches; in addition to these churches there are several independent churches of Eastern Christianity as well as numerous sects throughout the world.” ³

Thus, the New Encyclopedia Britannica disputes Rev. Carreon’s claim that only the Catholic Church is founded by Christ. This is more in tune with what the New Catholic Encyclopedia states:

“Since Christ intended His Church to be universal, all those who claim to be members of the Church must profess Catholicism at least implicitly… the word Catholicism is applied to that Christianity that owes allegiance to the pope… those who do owe allegiance to the pope often see in this designation Catholic an implicit admission that they alone are the true Church of Christ. They do not realize that the term is often used merely as a convenient label and no deep signification or recognition of the papal claims is intended.” ⁴

The Church Founded By Christ And The Catholic Church

Catholic Church authorities make use of Matthew 16:18 to assert that Christ founded a Church. Yet nowhere in the Bible does it say that the members of the Church of Christ owe allegiance to the pope as stated in the citations above. Nowhere in the Bible does it say that the name of the Church established by Christ is called Catholic Church nor that this Church is fragmented into sects.

The biblical Church founded by Christ has Christ Himself for its rock foundation (Acts 4:8-11; Eph. 2:20) and not Peter as the Catholic Church claims. It could not be Peter because no other foundation can be laid other than that of Christ (I Cor. 3:11). The name of the Church founded by Christ is not Catholic Church but Church of Christ (Acts 20:28, Lamsa). This fact a Jesuit priest states very clearly:

“5. Did Jesus Christ establish a Church?

“Yes, from all history, both secular and profane, as well as from the Bible considered as a human document, we learn that Jesus Christ established a Church, which from the earliest times has been called after Him the Christian Church or the Church of Christ….This Church, founded and organized by Christ and preached by the Apostles, is the Church of Christ, …It is the only true Church, and the one which God orders all men to join.” ⁵

The Church of Christ as written in the Bible is holy and without blemish (Eph. 5:26-27) and is compared to a chaste virgin (II Cor. 11:2). This is a far cry from the record of the Catholic Church which has shamed herself in history with all kinds of heinous crimes.

Although it asserts that indeed there were other things done by Christ which were not written (Jn. 21:25; Rev. 10:4; Dan. 12:4), the Church of Christ considers what was written is enough to save man (Jn. 20:30-31), that what was written was inspired by God and should be used to teach men perfection (II Tim. 3:16-17), that what is not written was not necessary and ordered forgotten (Rev. 10:4), that one should not go beyond what was written (I Cor. 4:6), and that most of all, there is a dire warning on those who add to or subtract from what has been written (Rev. 22:18-19). This is a far cry from the Catholic Church which has these claims:

“ ‘Without the Scripture,’ says Mohler, ‘the true form of the sayings of Jesus would have been withheld from us.’… Yet the Catholic does not derive his faith in Jesus from the Scriptures.” ⁶

“We Catholics acknowledged readily, without any shame, nay with pride, that Catholicism cannot be identified simply and wholly with primitive Christianity, nor even with the Gospel of Christ…” ⁷

Where then does the Catholic Church get her teachings? From paganism!

“In her methods she has borrowed from many sources…from the Jewish ecclesiastical system, from Roman, and hence pagan, religious and civil procedures…” ⁸

“Thus it is true, in a certain sense, that some Catholic rites and ceremonies are a reproduction of those of pagan creeds…” ⁹

Thus, history and Catholic literature show that the Church of Christ and the Catholic Church are not one and the same entity. Why then does the Catholic Church claim to be the true Church of Christ?



What Happened To The Original Church of Christ?

The claim of the Catholic Church that it is the original Church of Christ lies on the assumption that the Church of Christ as originally built by Christ was a tiny acorn – primitive and undeveloped – but now has grown and developed into the great oak called the Catholic Church:

“We Catholics acknowledged readily, without any shame, nay with pride, that Catholicism cannot be identified simply and wholly with primitive Christianity, nor even with the Gospel of Christ, in the same way that the great oak cannot be identified with the tiny acorn. “ ¹⁰

This is the key to their claim that the Catholic Church is the original Church of Christ ( a tiny acorn when built by Christ) but now grown and fully developed as the Catholic Church( the great oak). That’s why Catholics are proud of being Catholics and scoff at the claim of the Iglesia ni Cristo as being the true Church of Christ.

“Apostasy? How can this be?” they ask. “Did not Christ promise in Matthew 28:19-20 that He will be with His Church up to the end of the world? Did He not say in Matthew 16:18 that not even the gates of hell will prevail against the Church of Christ? Apostasy? Impossible!” Is it?
`

Such promise, however, is premised on the Church’s keeping all the commandments of Christ. Read closely and attentively Matthew 28:19-20. John 8:31 is even more specific. In order that Christ will be with the Church up to the end of the world, her elders and members must teach and obey everything taught by Christ – no more, no less. If the Church ceases to obey Christ in everything, then the members have rejected Christ and thus, He will not have any reason to be with this Church anymore. In fact, Apostle Paul vehemently says that:

“…though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed. As we said before, so say I now again, If any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed.” (Gal. 1:8-9, King James Version)

Strong words from Christ’s Apostle!


The Metamorphosis

That the Church of Christ gained a foothold in Rome through the missionary works of Apostle Paul is indisputable. But even during his lifetime Apostle Paul spent a lot of energy warding off false teachings as can be seen in his sometimes very angry letters. And when he died, history records that false teachers, now rid of the presence of the Apostle, finally succeded in infiltrating the Church of Christ:

“At first the history of the Roman Church is identical with the history of Christian truth. But unhappily there came a time when streams of poison began to flow from the once pure fountain.” ¹¹

The poison referred to are the false teachings which came from the false teachers who were now in positions of authority in the Church after Paul’s death – poison because such false teachings will lead to man’s eternal damnation.

Apostle Paul warned that this poison would come from the overseers of the Church of Christ who would do the evil work after his death (Acts 20:29). This was fulfilled.

“When the original Apostles died, the leadership of the Church was taken over by local pastors, known as bishops. Under them were ministers of lower rank, known as the presbyters and deacons. The Church organized the area of the Roman Empire into provinces. The bishops at the head of the Christian communities in the large cities such as Rome, Antioch, Alexandria, and Carthage ranked highest.” ¹²

A stream of poison flowed from one of these bishops:

“ ‘Catholic’…was first used by St. Ignatius, bishop of Antioch in Syria, who was martyred about A.D. 110. The Church founded by Christ is here, for the first time, called ‘the Catholic Church’,…It was to stress the unity of the universal Church that St. Ignatius invented the name.” ¹³

This is lethal poison! The only name through which man can be saved – the name Christ (Acts 4:10,12) was rejected by this bishop and replaced by an invented name! How can you now expect Christ to be still with this Church that has now rejected His own name? This Church has now become poisonous!

Both God and Christ abhor paganism (Jer. 10:2; I Cor. 10:19-22). This makes paganism poison. But what did the first-century Church of Christ, now transformed into the Catholic Church, do with this poison of paganism? It absorbed such poison into its very own system!

“Christianity did not destroy paganism; it adopted it. The Greek mind, dying, came to a transmigrated life in the theology and liturgy of the Church; … the Greek mysteries passed down into the impressive mystery of the Mass. Other pagan cultures contributed to the syncretist result. From Egypt came the ideas of the divine trinity…the adoration of the Mother and Child…From Phrygia came the worship of the Great Mother; from Syria the resurrection drama of Adonis;…The Mithraic ritual so closely resembled the eucharistic sacrifice of the Mass…Christianity was the last great creation of the ancient pagan world.” ¹⁴

“The cult of a host of saints and martyrs sprang up to take the place of the many local gods of pagan mythology. The pagan who had relied on the protection of the homely gods of the hearth found similar comfort from the adoption of a patron saint. Christian celebrations were created to replace the feasts and holidays of the older religions. The assimilation by Christianity of so much of popular belief and practice was in no small degree responsible for its almost universal acceptance during this period, but at the sacrifice of its early purity and simplicity.” ¹⁵
Loss of Divine Guidance

Before ascending into heaven, Christ promised the Apostles that He would send the Holy Spirit to guide them and to remind them of whatever He had taught them (Jn. 14:26;16:13). Such divine guidance is very evident in the Book of the Acts of the Apostles (Acts 2:4-11; 8:29-31; 13:2-4; 15:28-29; 16:6-7). Even when disputes arose, no division resulted because of the decisions from the central administration were accepted with gladness (Acts 15:1-31).

But now with the Apostles gone and with the apostasy of the first-century Church of Christ a matter of fact, such divine guidance was totally absent.

“When Nero died and Titus demolished the Temple, and again when Hadrian destroyed Jerusalem, many Christians hailed these calamities as signs of the second coming. When chaos threatened the Empire at the close of the second century, Tertullian and others thought that the end of the world was at hand; a Syrian bishop led his flock into the desert to meet Christ halfway, and a bishop in Pontus disorganized the life of his community by announcing that Christ will return within a year. As all signs failed, and Christ did not come, wiser Christians sought to soften the disappointment by reinterpreting the date of his return. He would come in a thousand years, said an epistle ascribed to Barnabas; he would come, said the most cautious, when the ‘generation’ or the race of the Jews was quite extinct, or when the Gospel had been preached to all gentiles; or, said the Gospel of John, he would send in his stead the Holy Spirit or Paraclete….Even the belief in the millennium – in the return of Jesus after a thousand years – was discouraged by the Church, and was ultimately condemned.” ¹⁶

This belief in the millennium was revived as the year 1000 A.D. drew near when the Church saw that it was materially profitable to do so. A rumor was spread that the world would end by the year 1000 A.D.

“As the year 1000 drew nearer, they go rid of their possessions with increasing speed. How? By donating them to what they were told was Christ’s bride on earth, the Roman Church. And so it came to pass that monasteries, nunneries, abbeys, bishops’ palaces and the like bustled with activity. Believers came and went, not only to confess their sins, to repent and to prepare for the end of the world in purity and poverty, but also to donate and give to the Roman Catholic Institution all they had. They gave her their money, their valuables, their houses, their lands. Many of them became total paupers, since what would it avail them to die as the owners of anything when the world was destroyed? Whereas, by giving away everything they were gaining merit in the eyes of the Great Judge!

“The Church, via her monastic orders and clergy, accepted the mounting offers of earthly riches. This she did by duly recording them with legal documents, witnesses and the like…To prove with matter-of-fact concreteness and the possessions of those who had given were, from then on, the possessions of the papacy!

“When, following the long night of terror of the last day of December 999, the first dawn of the year 1000 lit the Eastern sky without anything happening,…Those who had given away their property made for the ecclesiastical centers which had accepted their ‘offerings,’ only to be told that their money, houses, lands, were no longer theirs. “¹⁷

This loss of divine guidance has been replaced by false prophets and false teachers who refused in to fill the void! This also resulted in the divisions of the Church. The Bible states that divisions are works of the flesh and hostile to God (I Cor. 3:3; Rom. 8:7-9). And the resulting divisions that followed after the death of the Apostles are again the work of false prophets!

“…the followers of Christ, in the first three centuries, divided into a hundred creeds. “¹⁸

Such divisions resulted after disputes which could not be settled. In the biblical Church of Christ,disputes were settled by central authority whose decisions were gladly accepted by all. But in this transformed Church it resulted in schisms.

“As a consequence of the christological disputes, the national churches beyond the eastern frontiers of the Empire separated themselves from the imperial Byzantine church, while Germanic Christian kingdoms of both Arian (Ostrogothic and Visigothic) and Roman (Frankish) observance were formed in the western Empire. The rise of the specifically Roman Church of Gregory the Great and the Arab invasions of the seventh century marked the turning point…the Germano-Roman West became estranged from Byzantium.” ¹⁹

And how were disputes settled? By political considerations!

“The distinction between orthodoxy and heresy, between opinions accepted or rejected by the church authorities, was often decided partly by political considerations and after a bitter struggle between the opposing parties.” ²⁰


How Did The Church of Christ Disappear? Reappear?

The disappearance of the first-century Church of Christ came so gradually that it was almost indiscernible. It changed so gradually as it became the Catholic Church. That’s why Catholics can claim historical affinity with the Church founded by Jesus Christ in Jerusalem, but they cannot show the same with the doctrines of the original Church. What Christ built as the Church of Christ was transformed into the Catholic Church whose official name was formed only at the Vatican Council I in 1870. It was not a case of a tiny acorn becoming a great oak but rather of an oak tree being transformed into a different tree. Such transformation was so gradual that the members failed to notice it as the fact of apostasy.

This disappearance, however, was complete. The two-thirds – the converted Gentiles and Jews of the first century – disappeared. The third part, claimed by Jesus as His “other sheep not yet of this fold” – those still to be called into the Church (Jn. 10:16), identified by Apostle Peter as from afar off (Acts 2:39), specified by the Prophet Isaiah as from islands in the Far East (Is. 41:1-5; 43:5), and to be called at the ends of the earth (Is. 43:6), will appear. This third part arose in the Philippines in 1914, the Iglesia ni Cristo preached by Brother Felix Y. Manalo.


NOTES

1. The New Encyclopaedia Britannica, Micropaedia, Vol. VIII, p. 644.
2. Funk and Wagnalls New Encyclopedia, Vol. 20. p. 349.
3. The New Encyclopaedia Britannica, Micropaedia, Vol. 4, p.459.
4. New Catholic Encyclopedia, Vol. III, p. 338.
5. Francis B. Cassilly, S.J. Religion:Doctrine and Practice, pp. 442,443,444.
6. Karl Adam, The Spirit of Catholicism, p. 50.
7. Ibid., p.2.
8. John Gilland Brunini, Whereon to Stand: What Catholics Believe and Why, p. 316.
9. Rev. John C. O’Leary, Ph.D. The Externals of the Catholic Church, p.226.
10. Karl Adam, op.cit. p. 2.
11. The World’s Great Events, Vol. II. Pp. 163-164.
12. The New Book of Knowledge, Danbury, Conn: Grolier Incorporated, Vol. 3, p. 281.
13. Rev. Edward K. Taylor, ‘Roman’ Catholic, p. 3.
14. Will Durant, The Story of Civilization III – Caesar and Christ, New York:Simon & Schuster, p. 595.
15. Wallace K. Ferguson and Geoffrey Bruun, A Survey of European Civilization, 3rd ed. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, p. 92.
16. Will Durant, op. cit. pp. 603-604.
17. Avro Manhattan, The Vatican Billions, USA: Chick Publications, pp. 55-56.
18. Will Durant, op.cit. p. 604.
19. Karl Baus, History of the Church, Vol. 1. From The Apostolic Community To Constantine, p. 7.
20. Ferguson and Bruun. op. cit. p. 92.