All Articles For Decker, Robert D

Prof. Decker is professor of Practical Theology in the Protestant Reformed Seminary. A Decision That Satisfies Neither Side The Synod of the Christian Reformed Church (CRC) took just such a decision last June, a decision that satisfies neither side in the dispute concerning women in office raging across that denomination. In 1990, the reader will recall, the CRC synod decided to admit women to the special offices of minister and elder in the church. Whether women would be admitted to the office of elder or minister was to be left to the discretion of the local congregations. This decision was...

Prof. Decker is professor of Practical Theology in the Protestant Reformed Seminary. Thou therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also. II Timothy 2:1, 2 This text speaks of the task both of the professors and of the students. What the apostle says here to Timothy he says to the professors in the seminary. What you have “heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to...

Prof. Decker is professor of Practical Theology in the Protestant Reformed Seminary. *In the previous installment of this sermon (Nov. 15, 2003) we answered the question, “To whom must the truth be committed?” In this installment we answer two questions. The first is, “What must be committed to these men?” The second is, “How is it possible to commit the truth to these men?” Committing what To these faithful men who are able to teach others, the truth must be committed. The text says, “the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses … commit thou to faithful...

Roundtable: Evangelicals in Conversation with Hinduism, Buddhism, and Islam, by Timothy C. Tennent. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2002. Pp. 270. No price given. (paper). [Reviewed by Prof. Robert Decker.] To his credit Dr. Tennent rejects the notion that, “The Christian gospel is … one among many different paths to God. Christianity is ranked side by side with religions such as Islam, Hinduism, and Buddhism…” (p. 9). The author believes that Christianity is the only true religion. He is an “Exclusivist.” Tennent does, however, believe that there must be honest, open dialogue with the adherents of the world’s religions. This honest,...

A Critical and Expository Commentary on the Book of Judges, by Andrew R. Fausset. Edinburgh: Banner of Truth Trust, 1999. Pp. viii-340. $19.99 (cloth). [Reviewed by Prof. Robert Decker.] Here is a fine commentary of the book and era of the Judges. The work is detailed and complete. The exposition is correct for the most part. Ministers and lay persons alike who are looking for good, solid exposition of this book of the Bible will find it in this commentary. The Rev. A. R. Fausset correctly views this period as one during which the Lord chastised His people for their...

Prof. Decker is professor of Practical Theology in the Protestant Reformed Seminary. “Holy Laughter” or “The Toronto Blessing” Ever since January 20, people have been traveling long distances to a modest warehouse in an industrial district near Toronto’s Lester B. Pearson Airport. These people are attending meetings of a group called Airport Vineyard. They are seeking what is being called “the Toronto blessing.” Apparently the “Toronto blessing” is a special anointing of a person by the Holy Spirit, an anointing marked by “holy laughing.” People from a wide spectrum of churches attend: Pentecostals, Presbyterians, dispensationalists, Roman Catholics, and others. Meetings...

Prof. Decker is professor of Practical Theology in the Protestant Reformed Seminary.

Prof. Decker is professor of Practical Theology in the Protestant Reformed Seminary. John Calvin condemned the Mass of Roman Catholicism in no uncertain terms. “Of all the idols, he knew none so grotesque as that in which the priest called down Christ into his hands by ‘magical mumblings’ and offered him anew on the sacrificial altar, while the people looked on in ‘stupid amazement.'”1 Calvin proceeded to formulate his ideas on worship (liturgy) by basing them on the clear warrant of Scripture and appealing to the invariable custom of the ancient church.2 The Reformer concluded, “No assembly of the church...

Prof. Decker is professor of Practical Theology in the Protestant Reformed Seminary. In the passage from which the title of this rubric is taken (II Corinthians 8:1-7) the apostle Paul exhorts the saints in Corinth to give liberally to the relief of the poor. Paul begins by holding before the Corinthian saints the example of the saints of the churches in Macedonia, i.e., the churches in Philippi, Thessalonica, and Berea. The saints in Macedonia in the midst of great affliction, and we take affliction to mean persecution and extreme poverty, had exceeded their ability in the contributions they had made...

Prof. Decker is professor of Practical Theology in the Protestant Reformed Seminary. “And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also.” II Timothy 2:2 God has done great things for us! He has given us another professor. Our new professor is a gifted man, a man committed with all his heart to the Reformed faith. This means that our seminary can not only continue, but also progress and grow. What a blessing this is. In these days when the foundations are being shaken...