All Articles For Bruinsma, Wilbur G

Rev. Bruinsma is Eastern Home Missionary of the Protestant Reformed Churches, stationed in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Previous article in this series: November 15, 2007, p. 89. In the last article we defined missions. We also began our treatment of the biblical foundation on which all mission work must be built. If the church is to be zealous in her mission work, she must understand that the Bible teaches the indispensable need to carry on such work. We concluded our last article stating that the necessity of missions rests upon the truth of the covenant. There are two means that God employs...

Rev. Bruinsma is Eastern Home Missionary of the Protestant Reformed Churches, stationed in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It is an age-old question. Is the fourth commandment still in effect for the New Testament church? “Remember the sabbath day to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labor, and do all thy work: but the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work . . .” (Ex. 20:8-10). Most of the church world no longer concerns itself with this commandment. Most officebearers, as well as lay members, cannot even say which commandment it...

Rev. Bruinsma is Eastern Home Missionary of the Protestant Reformed Churches, stationed in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Many are the complaints which issue forth, not only from the mouths of the ungodly citizens of this world but also from the mouths of children of God, concerning the leaders of our countries. We complain about the ever-rising costs of living. We readily criticize many of their policies, such as Salt II, the Soviets in Cuba, governmental regulation of prices. We become rather upset and irritated over what goes on in our courts of law—and sometimes rightfully so. We raise our eyebrows and justifiably question their attitude toward abortion or toward minority groups such as the homosexuals.

Previous article in this series: December 1, 2010, p. 115. In the last several articles we have raised the idea of whether some families of established churches of a denomination ought to consider moving to a mission field. We studied the biblical and historical precedent that reveals that families of the church did this in the past. It was, in fact, a powerful means Christ used to build His church in the world. The suggestion of families or individuals moving to and becoming a part of the life of a mission does not mean that every family ought to make...

Previous article in this series: March 1, 2010, p. 254. It has been some time now since our last article on this subject. We asked the question in the last article whether or not it is proper for families or confessing individuals in existing churches to move to a place of an established mission field? Our answer to this question is: yes. We recognize, however, that there are objections to this position. There are legitimate questions that arise in this connection. It is for that reason we are trying to examine the issue a little more closely. Before extolling the...

Rev. Bruinsma is Eastern Home MIssionary of the Protestant Reformed Churches, stationed in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. God is pleased to gather His church and to save a people unto Himself by means of the mission work of the church. The church institute officially calls a missionary to go out and preach the gospel. He performs the work of missions. God by His grace and Spirit uses the preaching of the gospel to save those lost in their sin. But does this mean that mission work belongs to the church only through her offices? Does this preclude the members of the church...

Rev. Bruinsma is Eastern Home Missionary of the Protestant Reformed Churches, stationed in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. In our last article (vol. 84, number 18, p. 424) we examined parachurch missions in light of God’s Word. Most of the article was spent defining what parachurch organizations are. They are organizations that take on work related to the church but refuse to be under the authority of any particular church institute. Most often they involve members of church institutes, but they maintain their own autonomy. They are para (alongside of) church organizations. We also found in the last article that many organizations that...

Today’s society is one in which the specialist plays an important role. In almost every sphere of labor one must have received a great amount of special training in order to be known as a professional in his field. As a result, much of the simple way of life as we once knew it has vanished. For example, instead of the one-room school house of long ago wherein could be found only one teacher who instructed all the grades, many schools today embrace a large faculty of teachers, each specializing in his own field. The same has become true in...

Rev. Bruinsma is Eastern Home Missionary of the Protestant Reformed Churches, stationed in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Satan wages war against the church of Jesus Christ. He does so by setting up his earthly kingdom of man in an attempt to displace the heavenly kingdom of God and Jesus Christ. The citizens of God’s kingdom are called by Jesus Christ to do battle against the kingdom of unbelieving man. This battle is to be fought not by means of a physical, earthly warfare, but by means of the gospel. The church and her members must go forth wielding the sword of the...