The Christian Think Tank PH

12/05/2026

WE MADE INTERNATIONAL NEWS

Hallelu... wait a minute.

Is this really what we want our country known for? What in the world is going on?

**For those of you don't know: this page was started by Filipinos and is primarily hosted in the Philippines. So, when things happen on our soil like this, we will comment on them. Feel free to engage if you are not Filipino!

The situation in our government (not just concerning Bato and the "outrunning") is shameful, especially for a "Christian" country.

Christ may be on our lips, but clearly Christ has not penetrated our hearts.

What is the church doing wrong?
What does the church need to do?
What are Christians missing?

How can the church *righteously* engage the political sphere such that we see genuine transformation in our country?

Many of our evangelical churches have "tried" to do this, but it does not seem that most of those efforts are succeeding...

Are we missing something?

1 Timothy 2:1-4 tells us to pray for those in power and authority... *for the purpose of the salvation of the world*.

Besides prayer, what else should we be doing?

We need answers, and we need them now.

Keep Thinking!

+ The Christian Think Tank PH +

04/05/2026

Discipleship is slowly becoming more about policing tone than proclaiming truth.

And it is killing our sanctification.

Now, let me be clear: your tone is important. The way you say things matters. It should be worked on.

But tone does not change truth.

And tone does not change whether you should receive the truth, believe the truth, and act on the truth.

Discipleship should be about training disciples how to receive, believe, and act on the truth regardless of how that truth is delivered.

Sometimes God delivers truth gently (Luke 5:31).
Sometimes God delivers truth strongly (Mark 14:30).
Sometimes God delivers truth harshly (Matthew 23:33).

But here's the problem: what appears "gentle" to one person may appear "harsh" to another. What appears "harsh" to one person may appear "gentle" to another.

If we are training disciples to only receive, believe, and act on truth when it is "delivered with the proper tone," we are making the truth about their personal preferences rather than objective reality.

If a murderer harshly commands you not to murder, you should receive that, believe that, and act on that.

It doesn't matter she is a murderer.
It doesn't matter she said it harshly.
It doesn't matter she acts hypocritically.

What she said is true, and therefore you should receive it.

Your responsibility is to receive the truth, their responsibility is to work on their tone (which is a character issue God is working out through a long-term process).

Rejecting the truth because of the tone of the truth-teller is like knowing the truth about Christ and rejecting it because the hypocrisy of Christians.

It may explain why you did it, but it does not justify that you did it.

The tone of others matters, but our primary task in discipleship is to help people receive, believe, and act on proclaimed truth... not police the tone of the truth-teller. So...

Work on your tone.
Proclaim the truth.
Receive the truth.

Keep Thinking!

+ The Christian Think Tank PH +

27/04/2026

DARVO AMONG CHRISTIANS

Gossip increases when truth increases.

There is a correlation between people being confronted with the truth, and then people gossiping about the person that confronted them with the truth.

Why is this?

People get offended when the truth exposes them.

That's because they would rather appear great, even if it's false, than appear low, even if it's true.

It's fundamentally insecurity, which can prevent maturity.

The person presenting the truth is always called "offensive."

Yes, they are offensive.

They offended your insecurity.
They offended your deception.
The offended your falsehoods.

The house of cards you've presented as a mansion has fallen, and now you are naked and ashamed.

When you're walking in the darkness of deception, the light of the truth enrages you.

How do you solve this rage?

By tearing down the one who exposed the truth through gossip, devaluing their character so you can convince others not to listen.

When your reputation matters more than God's glorification, you will exchange truth for lies, so long as it makes you look better.

This is what psychologists call DARVO - Deny, Attack, Reverse Victim/Offender:

Deny (you were the problem)
Attack ("you are offensive")
Reverse Victim and Offender ("the real problem is your tone to me, not what I did and got caught for")

People will "admit they were wrong" in front of the right people while simultaneously becoming furious you caught them and reversing the narrative.

The Pharisees did this to Jesus in John 8:45-59, and unfortunately our insecurity can lead us Christians to do it to one another.

DARVO hurts Christians.
DARVO hurts the church.
DARVO hurts non-Christians.

If you are confronted with the truth, it may be offensive. Their tone may even be offensive. *But do not reverse the narrative*. You were caught, and the truth was proclaimed. *That* is the focus of what happened.

Do not deny.
Do not attack.
Do not reverse victim.
Do not reverse offender.

If we're wrong, *then we're wrong*. We will deal with the other issues surrounding the exposing of our wrongness at another time.

The truth hurts because the truth transforms.

Don't stop its power because it is painful.

Keep Thinking!

+ The Christian Think Tank PH +

26/04/2026

INTIMACY OR MINISTRY?

Is it true that we shouldn't allow ministry to replace intimacy?

Well, yes, but...
..we shouldn't allow intimacy to replace ministry either.

Why?

Because both are biblical commands that we are called to obey.

Mark 12:30 gives us the command to intimacy.
Mark 12:31 gives us the command to ministry.

I know pithy sayings like these feel right and feel good, but they can be very dangerous... because they present to us that one should be valued above the other.

But if both are biblical commands, then valuing one over the other is choosing to disobey one and obey the other.

If we stop doing ministry for intimacy, we are intentionally disobeying doing ministry.

If we stop pursuing intimacy for ministry, we are intentionally disobeying pursuing intimacy.

Both are God's commands.
Both are acts of obedience.
Both are of equal value.

There may be times where we do one more than the other to rebalance our spiritual lives, but we can't intentionally say "No!" to God's commands because one feels better than the other.

Instead of thinking in terms of "replacing" one with the other, we should think in terms of balancing our spiritual lives.

Is your intimacy with God lacking because you're overwhelmed with ministry?

Don't stop doing ministry, but scale up your intimacy by balancing your time, spending more of it on pursuing intimacy (for a season).

Is your ministry to others lacking because you're comfortable with your intimacy?

Don't stop pursuing intimacy, but scale up your ministry by balancing your time, spending more of it on ministry (for a season).

So, don't let either replace either. It is both/and, not either/or.

May we never be guilty of implying one of God's commands is more valuable than another!

Obey God in intimacy AND ministry.

Then rebalance as necessary through repentance.

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(The original version of this was posted on a personal page and subsequently hit with copyright violation. Here is our recommendation: if you disagree, just disagree in the comments. Do not falsely report something. The image falls under FAIR USE because it is significantly altered for commentary.)

21/04/2026

HUSBANDS NEED THEIR WIVES

We always hear in the church, "Why don't more married men step up in ministry?"

But what we don't hear is this: it's because some wives beat them down at home.

We don't mean physically.

We mean they are controlling.
We mean they are combative.
We mean they are cutting.

Some married men are simply too mentally and physically stressed to have energy for anything else.

They are manipulated and controlled at home by a wife who is combative, using violent words to attack them, cut them down, and tell them they are nothing.

And then that man hears from others that he is the problem, he is evil, and he is the reason she behaves the way she does.
..because she has gossiped about him, telling only the part of the story that makes him look evil.

This is too much for most men to bear.

So what do men do?

They retreat, so they don't cause explosions.
They remain quiet, so they don't get attacked.
They become passive, so they don't implode.

They can't talk without being attacked.
They can't act without being demeaned.
They can't solve without being demonized.

Men become a shell of the man they used to be and can be so they can protect what remains.

This isn't every relationship. And this isn't to say wives are the only element of the problem. Men are too. (and men are responsible for their own decisions)

But what happens to men in private does not get talked about enough.

It is the least discussed reason why so few men step up in ministry, and why other men become less effective in ministry.

Wives, what you do and say to your husband and about your husband to others matters more than anything else in how effective they can be.

Proverbs 6:16-19 says God hates gossip and division, which means God will allow your gossip to be exposed, one way or another.

Your husbands need you. They need your encouragement. They need your support. They need you to be their boost to higher ground.

It will be excruciatingly difficult for them to get there if most of what you do is tear them down.

What you do and say has so much more of an impact on them than you think it does.

You are "Eve's": the givers and protectors of life.

Use that gift to give life to your husbands.

Keep Thinking!

+ The Christian Think Tank PH +

15/04/2026

chat, what did we think about this?

humor?
blasphemy?
no problem?

04/04/2026

THE RESURRECTION MUST BE SHARED

Because today Christ is risen! Truly He is alive; He has risen from the dead!

And it is this one event that all of Christianity hangs on. If there is no resurrection, there is no salvation. If there is no salvation, then there is no justification. And if there is no justification, then humanity is lost in the consequences and torment of their own sin. Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 15:14-18,

"...if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith. More than that, we are then found to be false witnesses about God, for we have testified about God that he raised Christ from the dead. But he did not raise him if in fact the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either.

And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is useless; you are still in your sins.
Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost.

If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied."

But there is resurrection. God did raise Jesus from the dead. And because Jesus raised from the dead, we too will raise from the dead if we are in Christ. Paul continues,

"But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have died. For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man.

For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive.

But each in turn: Christ, the first fruits; then, when he comes, those who belong to him. Then the end will come, when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father after he has destroyed all dominion, authority and power. For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death...
For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: “Death has been swallowed up in victory." (1 Corinthians 15:20-26; 53-54)

Today we celebrate our salvation.
Today we celebrate death's destruction.
Today we celebrate His resurrection.

Today, we rejoice knowing that because Jesus raised from the dead, death has been defeated. And if death has been defeated, that means death is not the end.

Jesus' victory is the end.
Resurrection to salvation is the end.
Eternity in paradise with Christ is the end.

The resurrection is the one event that changed everything. For you, for me, and for the whole world that places their trust in Christ.

The resurrection changes everything, because the risen Christ is our everything.

That is the message Jesus called Mary to share with the world (John 20:16-17).

And that is the message you are called to share with the world.

Keep Thinking!

+ The Christian Think Tank PH +

04/04/2026

Jesus didn't proclaim to the already free. Jesus set the *captives* free.

Probably a good idea to focus our time, talent, and treasure on unreached people rather than exchanging freed captives between denominations.

🤷‍♂️

Many churches invest time, energy, and money into what they call “outreach.” The events are well planned, the volunteers are committed, and the attendance looks encouraging. But too often, the people who show up are already believers, sometimes simply coming from another congregation.

When that happens, we are not truly reaching the lost. We are redistributing Christians. Growing attendance is not the same as advancing the Kingdom. Full seats do not automatically mean lives are being transformed.

Real outreach requires intentionality toward people who do not yet know Jesus, people who do not speak our church language, and people who may not feel comfortable in our environments. If we are honest, many of our strategies are designed to attract churchgoers rather than engage the unchurched.

Before planning the next event, it is worth asking a hard question: are we building our congregation, or are we truly reaching those who are far from Christ?

03/04/2026

HE "DESCENDED INTO HELL"?????

That is what is proclaimed on this "black" Saturday by many ancient Christian creeds and confessions.

But what actually happened?

Well, what happened was the hope for the redemption of the world.

The most confusing day of Holy Week is today... "black" Saturday. What happened when Jesus was in the grave? We don't know everything, but Scripture does give us a window into what Jesus did. Here's what we DO know:

Jesus' divine nature wasn't dead. His human body was dead, but Jesus, the second person of the Trinity, still had work to do.

"Following his death... Jesus journeys to Hades, to the City of Death, and rips its gates off the hinges.

He liberates Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, David, John the Baptist, and the rest of the Old Testament faithful, ransoming them from the power of Sheol (Psalm 49:15; 86:13; 89:48). They had waited there for so long, not having received what was promised, so that their spirits would be made perfect along with the saints of the new covenant (Hebrews 11:39–40; 12:23)." (Desiring God, He Descended Into Hell?, https://bit.ly/3GkQAdg)

Though His body lay in the tomb, Christ the God-Man descended into the realm of the dead ("hades" or "hell" used interchangeably at this time) to destroy the power of evil. His physical body was at rest, but His spirit was at work. He is Christ the Conqueror of Hell.

"In saying, 'He ascended,' what does it mean but that he had also descended into the lower regions of the earth?" (Ephesians 4:9)

The phrase "lower regions of the earth" meant something specific to Paul's readers-- it meant the realm of the dead (known as "hades"). For further understanding of the historical context, see Dr. Michael Heiser (https://bit.ly/3JHK8fp).

"For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit, in which he went and proclaimed to the spirits in prison, because they formerly did not obey, when God's patience waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely through water. Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body, but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers having been subjected to him." (1 Peter 3:18-22)

"I believe... in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord,
who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
born of the Virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died and was buried;
he descended into hell..."
(The Apostle's Creed, 300s A.D.)

And it is here where Jesus disarmed the powers, principalities, and rulers of the demonic realm. They no longer have authority over followers of Jesus. The only authority they have is the authority sinful human beings given them.

The demons may win battles, but Jesus has won the war.

On this day, Scripture says Jesus released those who had been waiting for Him, and defeated those who had been warring with Him.

It may be a day of darkness, but "the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness cannot overcome it." (John 1:5)

Keep Thinking!

+ The Christian Think Tank PH +

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(For more Evangelical and Reformed material on Black Saturday, see "The Gospel Coalition" article here: https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/reviews/confess-jesus-descended-into-hell/ and the Evangelical scholar book here: https://a.co/d/0iQhMFtf)