All Articles For I Timothy

Prof. Decker is professor of Practical Theology in the Protestant Reformed Seminary. The Church’s Response to Homosexuality Again, as it had at three previous synods, the Reformed Church in America (RCA) dealt with this issue at its General Synod which met in June at Central College in Pella, Iowa. Jeff Japinga reports that the RCA did, “. . . what no other mainline denomination has been able to do: find some common ground on one of the most divisive issues facing the North American church today—the issue of the church’s response to homosexuality.” In study papers and statements adopted by...

Mrs. Lubbers is a wife and mother in the Protestant Reformed Church of South Holland, Illinois. “Even as Sara obeyed Abraham, calling him lord…” I Peter 3:6 Wife. Strife. Not many words rhyme with wife; this is one of the ugly ones which does. With divorce in America at an all-time high (one out of four marriages ends in divorce), many today would also agree that this word most aptly describes their marriages. Irreconcilable differences. Enmity in the home. War in the bedroom. Strife. And what more can one expect when a daughter of Eve marries a son of Adam?...

In a sermon on II Timothy 2:2, John Calvin remarked that our sons’ sons must also hear the truth long after we are gone. Therefore, the church must always be training men in her seminary. In this passage of Scripture, the aged apostle, who says of himself in II Timothy 4 that his course as a preacher of the gospel is finished, expresses his desire that the Word of God shall be taught after his departure. He commands the younger minister, Timothy, to intrust the sacred deposit of Truth to other men: “And the things that thou hast heard of me among many...

Mrs. Lubbers is a wife and mother in the Protestant Reformed Church of South Holland, Illinois. Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies.  Proverbs 31:10 There it lay. Rich. Rare. A dazzling treasure filled with fire and sparkle. Flawless, it glints and winks dispassionately inside the burglar-proof glass which encases it. The fabled Hope Diamond, now housed in the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C., continues to hold its myriad visitors in thrall. Crowns ablaze with pearls and clustered with diamonds; sapphires, and rubies of spectacular size and clarity. Bracelets of thick, shimmering gold. Tiaras...

Rev. Gritters is pastor of the Protestant Reformed Church of Byron Center, Michigan. No, we cannot know the day and the hour that Jesus is coming again to make all things new. We can’t know when He will return to take the church to glory. We may not try to determine the day or even the year. But, you say, if we cannot pinpoint the time the Lord will come, is there any profit in studying about those days, and even asking how close they are? Definitely, yes! It’s not for nothing that the Bible gives us information about the...

The task of the Protestant Reformed Churches with their Seminary, as argued in two preceding editorials, is training men to be able ministers of the Word of God. This task the Churches have as a mandate from the apostle of Christ: “And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also” (II Tim. 2:2). It is not the primary task of the Seminary to develop the science of theology. “Doing theology” is not even a purpose of the Seminary alongside the training of...

Rev. Lubbers is a minister emeritus in the Protestant Reformed Churches. (Note: The article of which this is a continuation appeared in the March 1, 1991 issue, pp. 261-263.) “Blow up the trumpet in the new moon, in the time appointed, on our solemn feast day. For this was a statute for Israel, and a law of the God of Jacob. . . . I am the LORD thy God. . .” (Psalm 81:3ff.). Our first essay on this subject ended with the promise that we would continue the discussion concerning a reference to Numbers 10:10: “Also in the day of...

Prof. Decker is professor of Practical Theology in the Protestant Reformed Seminary. Christ in Hollywood 1 “Christ can be found in Hollywood, and without having to view only such films as ‘Oh, God’ or ‘Last Temptation of Christ.’ His trail can be seen in movies such as ‘Superman,’ ‘Star Wars’ and ‘E. T., the Extra-terrestrial,’ says film critic Roy M. Anker.” Anker, an English professor at Calvin College, recently lectured at Third Christian Reformed Church in Kalamazoo about what he considers good and bad in the movies. Anker, according to the newspaper, “minced no words in talking about what was...

Gise J. Van Baren is pastor of the Protestant Reformed Church of Hudsonville, Michigan. That there is deep concern among the “conservatives” in the Christian Reformed Church becomes obvious in reading some of the publications, as The Outlook, and Christian Renewal. Again and again, these magazines decry the signs of growing apostasy (though few seem to dare to use the word) in that church. A recent issue of The Outlook, August 1987, is an example of that great concern. Several articles give instances of disturbing developments. In an article, “Creation and Evolution at Calvin College”, the Rev. Randal Lankheet expresses his own great...

Gise J. Van Baren is pastor of the Protestant Reformed Church of Hudsonville, Michigan. “Christian” Rock The young people of the church are often attracted to “rock music”. If these seek not the worldly sort, at least they would clamor for the “Christian” variation of this. The paper, World, August 31, 1987, reports on the decisions of the Assemblies of God churches: Christian rock singers whose performances are viewed as out of tune with the gospel were the target of criticism in this month’s national convention of the Assemblies of God here, . . .  “The church of Jesus Christ has...