All Articles For Hoeksema, Herman

An overflow audience greeted Dr. K. Schilder, when on the 8th of February he entered the auditorium of the First Protestant Reformed Church of Grand Rapids to deliver his lecture on the subject of Common Grace. The large auditorium had been filled to capacity with numerous extra chairs. Loudspeakers had been installed in the basement for those that could find no room upstairs. In the auditorium every seat was taken, and many remained standing during the entire lecture. And more than one hundred made use of the loudspeakers downstairs. Without a doubt it was easily the largest audience the professor...

At the last meeting of the classis of our churches a plan was adopted to divide the classis into two classes, a classis east and a classis west, and to arrange for the annual convocation of a synodical meeting. A previous gathering of the classis entertained an overture from the First Protestant Reformed Church of Grand Rapids, proposing that classis appoint a committee to work out a plan with a view to such division and organization of a synod. This overture was adopted and the committee was appointed. The report of this last mentioned committee was before the classis at...

According to a review in the Calvin Forum the theory of Common Grace was given an airing in a meeting of the Calvinistic Philosophical Club, held at Westminster Theological Seminary on October 8, 1941. Dr. C. Van Til, who had recently returned from spending a sabbatic year in truly sabbatic Redlands, California, was the speaker. And his subject was supposed to have been: the bearing of common grace on non-theistic thinking. But the time was too limited to do justice to the whole theme, hence he discussed the question of “common grace” proper. He divided his subject into four parts:...

It cannot be claimed that the distinction: “image of God in a wider and in a narrower sense,” is confessionally Reformed. Our Three Forms of Unity rather leave the impression that they favor the idea of limiting the image of God to man’s original integrity, true knowledge of God, righteousness and holiness. This is true of our Catechism in the Lord’s Day we are now discussing. In answer to the question: “Did God create man so wicked and perverse?” it states: “No; but God created man good, and after His own image, that is, in righteousness and true holiness.” It...

For, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy. . . .Luke 2:10b. A word of great joy? Can we hear it? A thing has happened, a word has come to pass that is very really a cause of great joy. And from heaven appeared an ambassador with the tidings concerning this thing that came to pass, in order that these tidings as a word of great joy might be heard by us and the joy of it might fill our hearts! Do we hear it? That is the question of chief concern! Do we so hear it that...

Chapter 1: After The Image of God However, man was originally created so that he actually possessed the image of God. He was not only formally adapted to bear the image of God, but he was also materially endowed with the spiritual ethical virtues of that image. These virtues are usually distinguished as true knowledge of God, righteousness and holiness. The Catechism in its answer to question 6 directly mentions only “true righteousness and holiness”; yet, the element of true knowledge of God is clearly implied in what follows: “that he might rightly know God his creator.” Fact is, that...

Even though we did not agree with the policy that led to the involvement of our own Country in the world conflict, now the Government has declared war, and has received declarations of war, the Christian citizen can have only one duty: obey for God’s sake and for conscience sake. When the Government calls upon our sons to go to battle, we will send them and they will go. And whatever burden the Government may think necessary to place upon us, we will bear without murmuring. This does not mean that we have changed our personal opinion about this war...

Now our own country is involved in World War II, it may be of interest to pass in review the main events of this tremendous conflict. The first year of the war was on the whole characterized by the “Blitzkrieg” of Hitler’s forces in which the German mechanized forces scored brilliant victories, partly because of their overwhelming power and thorough preparedness over against the unpreparedness of Great Britain and France, partly because of repeated surprise movements of the German army in connection with a ruthless trampling under foot of the rights of smaller nations. The war was started when Hitler...

Many and serious objections may be raised against this rather generally accepted doctrine of the “covenant of works.” That the relation between God and Adam in the state of righteousness was a covenant relation, we readily admit. But that this covenant should be an established agreement between Adam and his Creator, consisting of a condition, a promise and a penalty, and that it was essentially a means whereby Adam might work himself up to the higher state of eternal life and heavenly glory that is now attained by the believers through Christ, we deny. First of all, there is the...

. . . . And set him at his own right hand in heavenly places, far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come.Eph. 1:20b, 21. O, that this prayer be ours! And that the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ may hear us! This prayer of the apostle in behalf of the Church at Ephesus, which is after all, the prayer which the Spirit of our Lord Jesus Christ wrought in his heart, in his mind, and...