All Articles For Kleyn, Daniel

The end of time is coming, and coming quickly. Soon this world and all that is in it will be subjected to a great upheaval and a violent conflagration. Soon we will be forever separated from every earthly possession, pursuit, and pleasure. For soon our Lord Jesus Christ will return on the clouds of glory in mighty power to fulfill His promise to bring the history of this world to its close. There will be no earthly utopia. There will be no earthly kingdom of Christ. Instead, the Lord the righteous Judge will destroy it all. We who confess such...

In previous articles we considered two significant differences between Reformed and Arminian missions, namely, the differences regarding the objects of mission work and regarding the goals of mission work. We now consider a third, namely, differences in missionary methods. Arminians are generally results-oriented in missions. They are interested in numbers. Their purpose is to persuade as many individuals as possible to accept Christ. They view it as their duty to stop sinners in their tracks, turn them around, and thus keep them from ending up in hell. I have often spoken with such missionaries, and it does not take long...

One of the joys of serving as a missionary in the Philippines is to see and hear firsthand the love for the truth that the Lord kindles in the hearts of His people. The zeal that is displayed by those who are new to the precious truths of God’s Word is often contagious. And admittedly, sometimes it even serves as a silent rebuke to us whose interest has often waned and whose light has at times grown dim. Their confession of the truth warms our hearts, especially when this confession is made in the midst of afflictions, such as typhoons,...

Previous article in this series: January 15, 2020, p. 14. In our previous article we noted that the significant doctrinal differences between Reformed and Arminian churches result in differences in their mission work. The overarching difference is that while the Arminian approach is individualistic, the Reformed approach is covenantal. This accounts for a difference with regard to the objects of mission work. In general, the objects of Arminian mission work are individuals, whereas the objects of Reformed mission work are families. Why? Because God, who is Himself a family God, has revealed to us that He wills to save and...

There is much that separates the Reformed faith from Arminianism doctrinally. Those doctrinal differences are expressed in the Can­ons of Dordt, which set forth the Reformed truths of unconditional election, limited atonement, total depravity, irresistible grace, and preservation of the saints, and that over against the Arminian denial of these biblical truths. Arminianism rejects the doctrines of sovereign grace and instead defends conditional election, uni­versal atonement, the free will of the sinner, resistible grace, and the possibility of falling away from salvation. As always, false doctrine affects every area of be­lief and practice. For that reason, the false Arminian doctrines...

Earlier this year my wife and I enjoyed an extended furlough in the USA. In the course of visiting our churches, giving presentations at our schools, and discussing with many of you our labors in the Philippines, I was asked numerous questions (and good ones, I might add) about the plans for and work toward the start of a seminary in the Philippines. These questions indicated, first of all, a lively interest in and support for this significant development in the Protestant Reformed Churches in the Philippines (PRCP). It is indeed a large undertaking for this small denomination. But they...

In our previous article we noted that the creeds are at times criticized for not saying enough about missions and are, therefore, to be blamed for the lack of missionary zeal in Reformed churches and their members. We noted, however, that the very existence and possession of creeds in Reformed churches means that those churches are (by God’s grace) mission-minded churches. We now turn our attention more specifically to the ways in which the Canons of Dordt speak about mis­sions. We do this especially in light of the 400th anniversary of the writing and adoption of this creed. Missions is to...

This year and next mark the 400th anniversary of the Synod of Dordt. One of the most significant labors of that Synod was to compose and adopt the Canons of Dordt. Although the main purpose and benefit of this creed was and still is to provide a clear, biblical response to the grievous, God-dishonoring heresy of Arminianism, surprisingly this creed also addresses, both indirectly as well as explicitly, the matter of the church’s calling to do mission work. As we commemorate the work of this Synod and the Lord’s guiding hand in that work, we do well to take a...

Our churches have undertaken something we have never done before in our mission work, namely, we have called and sent three missionaries to work together on one mission field. It was already a significant undertaking to begin calling (in 2008) and then to send (in 2009) two missionaries to the Philippines. Now we have three. From our perspective as missionaries, as well as from the perspective of the churches and saints here in the Philippines, this is reason for much gratitude to God. He, the Lord of the harvest, has answered our prayers and has provided the three men for...

Some missionaries today are foolish, and some are not. Some are considered foolish, who in reality are not. Others are considered not foolish even though they are. Many believe that a missionary is foolish who insists that his work is chiefly the work of preaching the gospel. They say it is foolish for a man to devote his life to preaching the Word of God. How foolish to spend forty or more hours each week making and preparing sermons—there are much better and much more important things to be done. How foolish for the missionary to make preaching central in...