All Articles For Hoeksema, Herman

The apostle Paul writes to the church at Rome (Rom. 16:17, 18): “Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them. For they that are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly; and by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple.” The context of this passage is peculiar. We would not expect such an exhortation here. It occurs in the midst of greetings and salutations and blessings. Admonitions to watch and beware of false teachers are, of course,...

Just what is a sect in distinction from the Church, or even from a church? This question would appear to be of practical interest, both for the Church in general, and for our churches in particular. For, we surely believe one holy catholic Christian Church. Yet, always in the history of the Church of Christ in the world there were schisms, divisions, separations, secessions, and the one Church was divided into so many separate groups, distinct from one another in their confession of the truth, that it is difficult to maintain the oneness of the Church on earth, that, at...

Let thy mercy, O Lord, be upon us, according as me hope in thee. Ps. 88:22 New Year’s morning! Yet, there is nothing new under the sun! Old things have not passed away, all things have not become new. Still we move about and whirl around, with all men and all things, within the vicious circle of vanity, hemmed in on all sides by impenetrable darknesses, limited everywhere by things earthly and temporal, and there appears to be no way out. . . . Vanity of vanities! It is still true, also on New Year’s morning, that our eyes open...

For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, the mighty God, the everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace. Isa. 9:6 Wonderful, indeed! Wonderful, that the Church of the old dispensation, while the mystery was still hid, could thus sing and shout for joy at the prospect of His coming, the coming of the Prince of Peace! And wonderful is He, as in the light of prophecy He is here beheld, in his power and dominion, in his marvelous virtues...

In the same issue of The Banner from which we quoted above we also read the following item: “The discussion of the subject at the synod of Sneek led to an incident which will interest our readers. Prof. K. Schilder remarked that they should seek contact with the Protestant Reformed Church of the United States, especially because they correspond with ehurch.es with which they have much less in common, for instance the Reformed Church in America, which has Free Masons among its members. Prof. G. Ch. Aalders, who represented his Church at our synod this year, was of a different...

And I myself also am persuaded of you, my brethren, that ye also are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge, able to admonish one another. Rom. 15:14 Full of goodness! Amazing fruit of God’s marvelous grace! For such it is, indeed! Fruit of the wonderful grace of Him, Who quickeneth the dead and calleth the things that are not as if they were, is this goodness of which the Church of the Lord Jesus is said to be full. And in order to see a little of the wonder of it, just recall whence this same Church, that is...

We can probably do many of our younger readers a service if we publish a brief resume of the article by Dr. Schilder that appeared in De Reformatie recently and in which the writer clearly reveals his attitude towards the Protestant Reformed Churches. Many a reader cannot read the Holland language. Yet, he is deeply interested in these matters. Very frequently I have heard the suggestion, even received requests to discuss these matters in the English language. He, no doubt, heard of this article in question, for it was the subject of many a conversation. And he would like to...

What is the proper attitude of the Christian with respect to the wars of the world, to war as such; may the Christian ever actively participate in war; may he ever refuse to serve in war when his country calls him? On these questions we wrote a few articles in our Standard Bearer about four years ago. The practical interest and significance of them appears much more real today, now another war broke out in Europe, and we do not know as yet how the conflagration may spread. And now we learn from The Calvin Forum that the Synod of...

Now the God of patience and consolation grant you to be likeminded one toward another according to Christ Jesus: that ye may with one mind and one mouth glorify God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Wherefore receive ye one another, as Christ also received us to the glory of God. Now I say that Jesus Christ was a minister of the circumcision for the truth of God, to confirm the promises made unto the fathers; and that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy. . . . Rom. 15:5-9 God is glorious! His alone is the...

At the time of the writing of this article there still is something about the present European war that makes one wonder and creates a feeling of suspicion and doubt. Whether or not a general European conflict is in the offing is somewhat doubtful. From the very beginning there was something strange about this war. The bone of contention or, at least, the immediate occasion of the outbreak of the war was Poland. Germany demanded Danzig and a passage through the “Corridor.” Poland refused. She formed an alliance with England and France, who encouraged her in her stand against the...