All Articles For DeJong, J.D.

Much could be said about the subject assigned to me, because it is very import­ant, besides it is a very broad subject when applied to our Christian life. How­ever, I fully realize that I am not the only speaker of the day; my time is limited and so is your patience. Furthermore, I also realize that I am speaking to Pro­testant Reformed young people. This makes my subject still more specific. I would like to emphasize from the outset that you must consider it a great privi­lege that you are Protestant Reformed young people. You are instructed and trained in...

I well remember that when I was a boy we had a rather large family living in our neighborhood to which my mother and several neighbors often referred as “Een huishouding van Jan Steen.” When I was a rather small boy I never had heard who Jan Steen was, but I certainly knew what was meant by the expression “A household of Jan Steen.” The particular family I am speaking of at present, was not a well-regulated family. The father was a drunkard, and the mother of the home was slouchy and always gadding with the neighbor ladies; she was...

It stands to reason that when one writes a short article on the above mentioned subject he can not enter into every detail hence, several things must be taken for granted. Not having chosen this particular subject myself the undersigned does not know what was exactly in the mind of him who assigned it. Hence, it is very well possible that to a large extent I will miss the particular point which was in the mind of our editor-in-chief who assigned all the subjects to the various contributing editors. When we speak of submission to church government we have assumed...

When one writes an essay on the subject “Doctrinal Instruction and the Christian School” one will undoubtedly be guided by his conception of the main and fundamental purpose of the Christian School. You must have definite convictions on questions such as these: “Is the Christian School an extension of the home or is it an extension of the Church? Does the School find its origin in nature or in grace? Is the School earthly or is it heavenly? Does it deal directly and principally with matters spiritual or temporal? Is it a God appointed institution or is it an institution...

Anyone who might think that the subject Prohibition and Temperance is not up to date, is wholly mistaken. The writer of this article also thought that the above subject was really out of date. However a little investigation was sufficient to make him change his mind. It is true of course that the prohibition era is a matter of the past. However, that does not mean that all citizens of our country are satisfied with the present situation, Fact is that there are still millions of prohibitionists who would like nothing better than to once more force the prohibition yoke...

We confess in Art. 12 of our Belgic Confession: “He also created the angels good, to be His messengers and to serve His elect; some of whom are fallen from that excellency, in which God created them, into everlasting perdition; and the others have, by the grace of God, remained steadfast and continued in their primitive state.” From, this quotation it is plain that among other things we believe concerning the angels: 1. That all of them were created good. 2. That some of the angels fell into everlasting perdition. 3. That others remained steadfast. 4. That the angels are...

International Conferences Of late we have been hearing a great deal about international conferences. No less than three such conferences were held, the last of which has just come (to a close according to a dispatch from Moscow. First there was the Moscow conference. At this conference the foreign ministers of England, China, Russia, and our own Secretary of State, Mr. Cordell Hull, were the principal parties. This conference was hailed as a great success and the American Press certainly gave Mr. Hull a large share of the credit for the accomplishments at Moscow. We were told in glowing terms...

What do we mean when we speak of “public opinion?” Consulting the dictionary one finds that an opinion is: “A conclusion or judgment held with confidence, but falling short of positive knowledge.— Favorable judgment or estimation.—An opinion is a general conclusion held as probable, though without full certainty. —A conviction is a fixed opinion sustained by such evidences as removes all doubt from the believer’s mind.” From the foregoing it is plain that the word “conviction” is stronger than the word “opinion.” The word “opinion” from the Latin opinio means think. When one expresses his opinion about something, he states...

The entire verse of this second chapter of II Peter reads as follows: “But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false, teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction.” The problem of the particular phrase which is the topic of this article is not that these false teachers denied the Lord. That of course is rather characteristic of false teachers. But the point is we are told by the apostle Peter that these false teachers denied the Lord...

Our subject implies that the hardening of Pharaoh’s heart went through a process of progressive development. The hard heart of Pharaoh became as it were harder in the measure that the mighty strokes of God’s judgments came down upon the head of Pharaoh and his servants. Exodus 4-14 gives us a description of that process. And in the New Testament Romans 9 sheds light upon the subject under discussion. The interested reader would do well to read the above mentioned chapters before reading this article. We are all acquainted with the fact that the hardening of Pharaoh’s heart is ascribed...