MURCIA, Negros Occidental – The historic Bi-Union Biblical and Theological Conference at Central Philippine Adventist College (CPAC) entered its second day on Sept. 25, shifting into intensive plenary sessions focused on stewardship, homiletics, remnant theology, last generation doctrines, and others.
Following a dynamic opening evening, delegates reconvened at the CPAC SDA Church for a packed schedule of presentations by guest speakers with doctoral degrees in biblical theology.
Morning Plenary Sessions
The morning session featured deep theological discourse interspersed with musical presentations.
Dr. Daniel Bediako took the floor to deliver a presentation focusing deeply on the biblical theology of the sanctuary, the covenants, atonement, and the pre-advent judgment, connecting Old Testament sanctuary types and prophecy directly to the person, work, and ministry of Jesus Christ in the Heavenly Sanctuary.
Dr. Aniel Barbe discussed a message centered around Christian stewardship, identity in Christ, and God’s original design for humanity.
He emphasized that God created humanity with a specific design, establishing a relationship where God acts as the Creator, Model, Provider, Master, and Companion. In contrast, humans act as dependent creatures, representatives, and relational beings.
Later in the afternoon, he returned to the platform to discuss mobilizing partners for mission through education.
When humanity falls away from this design—represented by the temptation to “be as gods”—people attempt to become their own creators and independent of God, leading to spiritual conflict and a departure from God’s original intentions.
Through Jesus Christ, a person’s identity is reconstructed. Much like the biblical transformation of the demon-possessed man who moved from chaos to sitting at Jesus’ feet and being sent out on a mission, believers are made new creations and reconciled with Him.
Also tackling stewardship, Barbe added, “Faithful stewardship goes far beyond managing money, time, and talents. It is about living according to the standards of Eden, acknowledging God as the Giver of all things, and allowing God to use stewardship as a process to shape believers into the image of Christ.”
Next, Dr. Clinton Wahlen took the stage and explored Last Generation Theology and core questions about God’s acceptance, transformation, and final judgment. It frames sin as a universal cosmic power affecting all humanity in a fallen condition.
On the other hand, he also defined justification. He touched on historical perspectives from the 1888 message on justification by faith, while noting the practical danger in Last Generation Theology of tying spiritual assurance to personal performance. Finally, it examines sanctification through biblical terms (qādōš and hagios) denoting being holy, sacred, and set apart for God.
Afternoon Plenary: Traces of History, Homiletics, and the Last Generation
As the conference resumed for the afternoon block at the CPAC SDA Church, Dr. Donny Chrissutianto delivered a deep presentation on the Last Generation Theology. This theological movement emerged within Adventism to explain the delay of Christ’s Second Coming.
It asserts that Christ will not return until a final group of believers achieves absolute sinless perfection, thereby vindicating God’s character before the universe and demonstrating that human beings can completely keep God’s law.
Traditional viewpoints caution against the perfectionist and legalistic tendencies of LGT—such as those seen in Montanism or medieval penitential systems—emphasizing instead that salvation and righteousness are gifts of grace received through faith, not an achievement of human perfection by a final generation.
The topic then shifted to training on sermon planning and calendar development. Dr. Chad Stuart explained that a sermon calendar helps church leaders move beyond favorite subjects, take the congregation through the entire Bible (from Old Testament narratives to epistles), and allow adequate time to study and live with a passage before preaching.
Preachers are encouraged to build calendars around the world their people live in by addressing seasonal and cultural moments when people naturally ask spiritual questions, such as Semana Santa, Undas, and the “Ber months”.
The process moves from macro to micro—planning 12 months at a time, refining quarterly (3 months out to choose specific texts, titles, and big ideas), and executing weekly exegesis.
Meanwhile, Dr. Kelvin Onongha addressed the congregation on preparing the last generation to meet the Lord. He emphasized that the human quest for righteousness ultimately culminates in the righteousness that comes from Christ, not from personal human efforts.
True righteousness functions like a verb, compelling believers to seek the welfare of others, and moving from “being” to “doing.”
“Human righteousness is insufficient for salvation apart from what has already been accomplished at the cross,” he said, stressing the concept of righteousness.
Dr. Carl Cosaert then led the session with his presentation, “Living in the New Humanity.” His message addressed a fundamental question of Christian identity: Who is truly part of God’s family?
Paul’s confrontation with Peter in Antioch exposes a deep fracture over whether human works or ethnic boundaries dictate inclusion. To solve this, Paul first diagnosed the human problem: sin is not merely rule-breaking, but a cosmic, universal power that traps all humanity.
The “good news” is justification—God’s legal act of declaring helpless sinners to be in the right through Jesus Christ, completely apart from human effort. We moved past our old identity under sin to fully embrace our new identity as members of God’s family in Christ.
Conclusion
The day’s events officially drew to a close as delegates transitioned into a reflective vespers worship service led by Dr. Rodney Palmer, whose message on the Good Samaritan challenged attendees to embody active, selfless compassion.
Palmer highlighted the Samaritan’s promise to return—drawing a powerful parallel to Christ’s promise to return for His church.
“When Jesus returns, there will be no more crises, no more pain, no more suffering, no more sickness,” Palmer declared.
Leaving the delegates with a searching question, he asked, “When Jesus comes again, will He find you faithful? Let us be a people who love and care for the broken, so that when He comes, He will find us faithful.”
As day two closed, the blend of rigorous scholarship and spiritual introspection left leaders well equipped to guide their congregations back home.
By Lyn Lucero ⎸ East Central Philippine Union Conference Communications