Bible verses twisted by the INC Part 2

by Jerry

"Then Peter said to them, "Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit." -Acts 2:38 NKJV

This verse is being twisted by the Iglesia ni Cristo. Baptism is supposed to be in the name of Jesus Christ, but, the Iglesia baptizes all their members in the name of the Iglesia ni Cristo (Church of Christ). Printed below is the Membership Oath that a new member is required to recite before receiving water baptism:

IGLESIA NI CRISTO
CHURCH OF CHRIST
District of _____________

MEMBERSHIP OATH

I,___________________________________residing at _____________________________________declare the following:

That I voluntarily accept membership in the Iglesia ni Cristo (Church of Christ) motivated by faith and a pure conscience and no other purpose but to love our Lord God, our Lord Jesus Christ, and His Holy Church;

That I was taught and understand fully all the fundamental doctrines of the Iglesia ni Cristo (Church of Christ);

That I faithfully received all these doctrines without any doubt whatsoever;

That being a member of the Iglesia ni Cristo (Church of Christ), I promise with all sincerity that I will submit myself to all these doctrines and discipline of the Church, and that I will fulfill all my duties and obligations;

That I will accept any disciplinary action taken against me if I will be found guilty of transgressing any of these doctrines.

SO HELP ME GOD.

In view of this, I affixed my signature on the _____(date) of ________ (month), in the year ______ in the locale of _________________________.

Member's Signature: ___________________________

WITNESSES

_________________________ _____________________

BASED ON THE ABOVE membership oath, the member is being baptized in the name of Iglesia ni Cristo (Church of Christ) NOT in the name of Jesus Christ.

One very remarkable evidence that all members of the Iglesia ni Cristo are only CASUAL MEMBERS is the stipulation in the membership oath that the member ACCEPTS ANY DISCIPLINARY ACTION FOR TRANSGRESSING THE DOCTRINES (referring to the fundamental indoctrinations received). Any minister, bishop, deacon, deaconess, and any officials can be fired or expelled from the Iglesia for anything that displeases Manalo. It is easy to trump up charges on any member whom Manalo or his ministers wants to be expelled from the INC.

Another important element of the baptism membership oath is the fact that it imposes DUTIES AND OBLIGATIONS but without any RIGHTS whatsoever. IT IS A ONE WAY TICKET TO SLAVERY! Lastly, swearing or taking an oath is prohibited by Jesus Christ (Mt.5:34).

8) ACTS 4:10-12 - NAME GIVEN BY GOD FOR SALVATION

"let it be known to you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, by Him this man stands here before you whole. This is the 'stone which was rejected by you builders, which has become the chief cornerstone.' Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved." -Acts 4:10-12 NKJV

In this verse, the Iglesia ni Cristo twists the name of Jesus Christ into Church of Christ. To the Iglesia, it is the name of Iglesia ni Cristo (Church of Christ)that saves. To the Iglesia, all other names are useless because according to Manalo, Christ will only save the Iglesia ni Cristo (Church of Christ).

TRUE CONTEXT OF THE VERSES:

It is unmistakable that the name Jesus Christ is different from the name Church of Christ. The name Jesus Christ of Nazareth is the only name that saves. According to the verse, there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved. Therefore, the name of Jesus Christ is the exclusive name given by God to people if we ever want to be saved. Also, according to the verse, Jesus Christ, the chief cornerstone has been rejected by builders (such as Felix Y. Manalo who had built his own church).

The name Iglesia ni Cristo (Church of Christ) is only a name created by Felix Manalo that came into existence only in July 27, 1914, the date when FYM registered his founded church as a corporation sole in the Philippine government. A corporation sole is a corporation owned by only a sole or one individual--Felix Y. Manalo. When FYM died in 1963, ownership of the Iglesia ni Cristo has passed on to the Manalo clan headed by his son, Erano (EGM).

9) ACTS 10:1-4 - HOW CORNELIUS WAS CALLED:

"There was a certain man in Caesaria called Cornelius, a centurion of what was called the Italian Regiment, a devout man and one who feared God with all his household, who gave alms generously to the people, and prayed to God always. About the ninth hour of the day he saw clearly in a vision an angel of God coming in and saying to him, "Your prayers and your alms have come up for a memorial before God. Now send men to Joppa, and send for Simon whose surname is Peter." _Acts 10:1-4 NKJV

How does the Iglesia twists the saving by God of Cornelius? First, the Iglesia makes it appear that the prayers and giving alms by Cornelius did not please God at all, or, did not contribute to his salvation. To the Iglesia, the phrase, "Your prayers and your alms have come up for a memorial before God," means God is ignoring the good works of Cornelius.

TRUE CONTEXT OF "COMING UP AS A MEMORIAL":

The phrase, "Your prayers and your alms have come up for a memorial before God," really means God was pleased with these christian-like work demonstrated by Cornelius. Because God was pleased, it lead to God's mercy and allowed Cornelius to become a believer of Jesus Christ. Since there was not yet a New Testament written and there was a living apostle that has the gospel of Christ in the person of Apostle Peter, therefore, Cornelius can hear the gospel of Christ through Apostle Peter who was commanded by God to entertain the men sent by Cornelius. The twisted phrase by the Iglesia is made more understandable if we will read the Today's English Version:

"He stared at the angel in fear and said, "What is it, sir?" The angel answered, "God is pleased with your prayers and works of charity, and is ready to answer you." -Acts 10:4 TEV

Therefore, the bringing of Apostle Peter is through the mercy of God given to Cornelius. The Apostle Peter has nothing to do with it. It was God who gave instructions to Apostle Peter to go to Cornelius.

10) ACTS 10:43 - RECEIVING REMISSION OF SINS

"To Him all the prophets witness that, through His name, whoever believes in Him will receive remission of sins." -Acts 10:43 NKJV

How does the Iglesia twists this verse? The Iglesia has created an elaborate scheme that will serve as a solution to the sins of mankind. Using Eph. 2:15, Col. 1:18, Ezek. 18:4, Manalo had created a fable so that people can have their sins disappear. The fable goes this way:

You are a sinner (Rom. 5:12). Jesus Christ is sinless (1 Pet. 2:22). Jesus Christ can not pay for your sin because of the standing law of God that no one can pay for the sin of another (Ezek. 18:4). In order not to violate the law of God so that He can pay for the sins of people, He has created a ONE NEW MAN from the two (Eph. 2:15). The two that compose this one new man are the Head and the body (Col.1:18). The Head is no other than Jesus Christ while the body is the Iglesia ni Cristo. Upon joining the Iglesia ni Cristo, Christ will now assume your sin. Christ being the Head is responsible for the sins of his body (INC). Example: Pedro's hand stole the wallet of Willy. If Pedro is apprehended, Pedro being the head of his body will pay for the crime committed by his hand which is a part of his body.

TRUE CONTEXT OF THE VERSE:

Plainly, the verse (Acts 10:43) says, whoever believes in Him (Jesus Christ) will receive remission of sins," therefore, there is no need for the Iglesia ni Cristo. What we need is just to believe in Jesus Christ (assuming you were given the grace by God to believe in Him). Upon believing, you will receive the Holy Spirit(Eph. 1:13) and you will receive the remission of your sin. Of course, those not given mercy by God will never believe Jesus Christ (Jn. 10:26). The Iglesia fable is a scheme invented by Felix Manalo. FYM has twisted the two that compose the one new man. Actually, the two that compose the one new man mentioned in Eph. 2:15 are the Jews and Gentiles (Eph. 2:11-14). Col. 1:18 has no relation whatsoever to Eph. 2:15.