All Articles For denHartog, Arie

Rev. denHartog is pastor of the Hope Protestant Reformed Church in Redlands, California. In our two previous articles we have considered the importance of doctrine for our Christian faith. True Christianity is based on sound doctrine. Christianity is more than merely living by several vaguely defined principles of ethics taught by Jesus which have little more than human and earthly good as their object. Christianity without doctrine leads to humanism and modernism. True Christianity is knowing and believing, confessing and living by the true doctrine of God. Doctrine, according to Scripture, is nothing more than sound teaching. It is the...

Rev. denHartog is pastor of Hope Protestant Reformed Church in Redlands, California. “The consistories shall see to it that there are good Christian schools in which the parents have their children instructed according to the demands of the covenant.”  Article 21 of the Church Order of the Protestant Reformed Churches From the time of the Reformation, Reformed churches have been convinced of the urgency of promoting good Christian schools for the instruction of the covenant youth of the church. Faith in the truth of God’s covenant, according to which God gathers His church in the line of continued generations, convinced...

Rev. denHartog is pastor of Hope Protestant Reformed Church in Redlands, California. We have several times used the occasion of infant baptism in our congregation to preach on the calling of young women. Probably all of our ministers have done this. Hopefully we give equal and balanced emphasis in our preaching to give instruction regarding the calling of young men. There is urgent reason in our day to preach on the above named subject. The evil philosophy of feminism is widespread in the church at large. We need to guard against its insidious influences even in our own midst. The...

Rev. denHartog is pastor of Hope Protestant Reformed Church in Redlands, California. The Reformed religion has the biblical understanding of the place of good works in God’s scheme of salvation for His chosen people. There is in Reformed religion a proper emphasis on the need for good works because of this understanding. God has redeemed us in order that we might be zealous of good works. “Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Savior Jesus Christ; who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto...

Rev. denHartog is pastor of Southwest Protestant Reformed Church in Grandville, Michigan. Quite incredibly, for a second year in a row I was invited to be the speaker at the family camp of the Covenant Evangelical Reformed Church in Singapore. These family camps are held yearly by the church in Singapore. Over the years they have been a source of great blessing to many. I have attended at least ten such camps over the years, at many different places in Singapore and Malaysia, some with my wife and family. There were two reasons for which this opportunity again filled me...

Previous article in this series: December 15, 2011, p. 132. It cannot be overemphasized that our covenant children must be raised in a way that is antithetic to the philosophy of the world. This is as true for our daughters as it is for our sons. We need to warn our daughters continually about the ungodly philosophy, lifestyle, behavior, and even dress of the world. The truth and reality of the covenant is maintained in our home and our churches when our daughters are raised to be spiritually separate from the ungodly world in which we live, and radically different...

Rev. denHartog is pastor of Hope Protestant Reformed Church in Redlands, California. In our churches, catechism classes as well as the various Bible study groups and societies are well into another season. We as God’s people devote ourselves with renewed zeal to the study of the great truths of the Word of God. This is good and necessary. God calls us all to be Christian scholars. It is true that we are that in varying degrees. Not all of us have the same powers and gifts of intellect and understanding. The gift of God determines this. This does not make...

Rev. denHartog is pastor of Hope Protestant Reformed Church in Redlands, California. It is of greatest importance that we understand the way that the Lord deals with us when He chastens us. If we do not understand this there is a great danger that the evil one will lead us to discouragement and despair. Particularly at times in our life when we are experiencing great difficulty and trials, he will tempt us to deny the truth of God’s Word and to forsake the Lord. It has even happened in the lives of Gods people that failure to understand Gods way...

Rev. denHartog is pastor of Hope Protestant Reformed Church in Redlands, California. The subject of this article has been addressed before in this department. It is a subject, however, that needs to be addressed again and again because of its importance. It is customary in many of our churches that at the time of the opening of school our ministers preach a “school sermon.” The substance of this article was preached as such a sermon. I pray that it will be a reminder and encouragement to us all of the importance of covenant instruction in our homes. Even though the...

Rev. denHartog is pastor of Hope Protestant Reformed Church in Redlands, California. Deuteronomy 6 gives us a beautiful picture of how instruction should be given in our covenant homes. So that we have this passage before us again let me quote especially verses 6 to 9. “And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: and thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. And thou shalt bind...