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Rev. Hanko is a minister in the Protestant Reformed Churches. Milking a Ram with a Sieve: Works Righteousness Rejected In the previous article (October 15, 2001) we examined the essential points of Luther’s Reformed and reforming doctrine of justification. In this article we wish to look at some supplementary points, and, first of all, a little further at his opposition to the pernicious doctrine of justification by works. In his own inimitable way he expresses his opposition to the doctrine of justification by works:

Rev. Hanko is pastor of the Protestant Reformed Church of Lynden, Washington. Previous article in this series: February 15, 2009, p. 226. Wisdom as “She” That wisdom in Proverbs is identified with Christ is something not at all difficult to prove. One objection to that identification might be that wisdom is also repeatedly described as “she” or “her” in the book (Prov. 1:20, 21; Prov. 2:4; Prov. 3:15, 16, 17, 18; Prov. 4:6, 8, 9; Prov. 8:1, 2, 3;Prov. 9:1, 2, 3, 4, etc.), and is even referred to as a sister and a kinswoman (Prov. 7:4). There are several reasons for this, and...

Rev. Hanko is pastor of the Protestant Reformed Church of Lynden, Washington. Previous article in this series: December 15, 2008, p. 127. Wisdom’s Doctrine The most important parts of the book of Proverbs are Wisdom’s three speeches, found in Prov. 1:20-33,Prov. 8:1-36, and Prov. 9:1-18. In those three speeches Wisdom identifies Himself as the Son of God and demands a hearing of all who come within the range of His voice. In those speeches is found the principal doctrinal content of Proverbs, the doctrine applied in all the wise sayings of the book. The doctrines taught in these discourses are especially two:...

Rev. Hanko is minister in the Protestant Reformed Church of Lynden, Washington. Calvin as a Preacher Calvin is always remembered as a theologian, not always as a preacher. From the sixteenth to the twentieth century his sermons remained for the most part unpublished, and many of the manuscripts of his sermons were sold in the early nineteenth century for waste paper. Many, while extolling his virtues as a theologian and commentator, bewail his deficiencies as preacher. One writer, who seems not to have read Calvin’s sermons, says:

Rev. Hanko is pastor of the Protestant Reformed Church in Lynden, Washington. Introduction The prophecy of Haggai, though little known, is a book of enormous value, not only as a record of God’s dealings with His people in the Old Testament, but also as a reminder of God’s regard for and faithful care of His church in the New Testament. The book of Haggai is a book about the church, about the calling that every member of the church has within the church, and about God’s faithfulness to His church. It is, therefore, a book that very much needs to...

Rev. Hanko is minister in the Protestant Reformed Church of Lynden, Washington. We have seen in the previous article that the book of Haggai contains four prophecies, each introduced by the date on which it was delivered. The first prophecy is a call to be busy with the work of building the temple, accompanied by a warning against further neglect of the work. In that warning God points out the sins of His people and shows them how He was punishing them for those sins. Though they did not recognize the fact, many of the troubles they were suffering in...

Rev. Hanko is minister in the Protestant Reformed Church of Lynden, Washington. The First Prophecy (continued) We have seen that the Old Testament temple and the New Testament church have the same name in Scripture. They are both called the house of God because they are the place of God’s covenant, the house where God and His people live together under one roof and as one family—where He is their Father and Jesus is their elder Brother through the communion of the Holy Spirit. This identity of temple and church is our point of contact with the prophecy of Haggai....

Rev. Hanko is minister in the Protestant Reformed Church of Lynden, Washington. The First Prophecy (cont.) 3. Then came the word of the Lord by Haggai the prophet, saying, 4. Is it time for you, O ye, to dwell in your cieled houses, and this house lie waste? That the Israelites to whom Haggai preached showed more concern for their own homes than for the house of God is not just an old problem. All too often God’s people seem to be concerned only for their own homes and families in their finances, in the use of their time, in...

Rev. Hanko is minister in the Protestant Reformed Church of Lynden, Washington. The First Prophecy (cont.) 7.Thus saith the Lord of hosts; Consider your ways. 8.Go up to the mountain and bring wood, and build the house; and I will take pleasure in it, and I will be glorified, saith the Lord. As in verse 5, the Lord again admonishes His people and calls them to self-examination and repentance with the words, “Consider your ways.” All too often because we are so sluggish the Word of God must come repeatedly before we are roused from our sloth and begin to...

Rev. Hanko is pastor in the Protestant Reformed Church of Lynden, Washington. The First Prophecy (cont.) 9.Ye looked for much, and, lo, it came to little; and when ye brought it home, I did blow upon it. Why? saith the Lord of hosts. Because of mine house that is waste, and ye run every man to his own house. 10.Therefore the heaven over you is stayed from dew, and the earth is stayed from her fruit. 11.And I called for a drought upon the land, and upon the mountains, and upon the corn, and upon the new wine, and upon...