All Articles For John

Rev. Haak is pastor of Georgetown Protestant Reformed Church in Hudsonville, Michigan and radio pastor for the Reformed Witness Hour, on which this message was aired. “A glorious high throne from the beginning is the place of our sanctuary.” Jeremiah 17:12 These words are a very beautiful and powerful affirmation of faith made by Jeremiah in a day of deep darkness and personal anguish. There are very few who have suffered the sorrows and difficulties in the service of God that Jeremiah did. His words, which he faithfully delivered from God, were opposed and ridiculed every inch of the way...

Prof. Engelsma is professor emeritus of Dogmatics and Old Testament in the Protestant Reformed Seminary. Previous article in this series: December 1, 2008, p. 132. Introduction With the subject of the millennium, we turn from “personal eschatology” (the truth of the intermediate state of the believer) to “cosmic,” or “general,” eschatology. The intermediate state concerns the end of the believer personally at death. The subject of the millennium begins the treatment of the end of the human race, of history, and of the present form of the universe in the second coming of Jesus Christ. Of course, the believer also...

Prof. Hanko is professor of Church History and New Testament in the Protestant Reformed Seminary. Introduction Although I have used the name Berengar in the title of this article, there are two reasons why this choice of names might be misleading. The first reason is that Berengar was not by any means the only one to enter the debate over the doctrine of transubstantiation. In fact, in this article we will be talking about two others: Paschasius Radbertus and Ratramnus. Both are important names in the debate. The second reason why the use of his name in the title is...

Prof. Hanko is professor of Church History and New Testament in the Protestant Reformed Seminary. Introduction During the Middle Ages two controversies were carried on over the doctrine of Christ’s presence in the bread and wine of the Lord’s Supper before the view of transubstantiation was finally adopted. One controversy occurred in the ninth century; the other in the eleventh. The controversy in the ninth century was between Radbertus and Ratramnus, both monks in the monastery in Corbie, France. Radbertus taught that the bread and wine were literally changed into the body and blood of Christ, while Ratramnus taught that...

Mr. Wigger is an elder in the Protestant Reformed Church of Hudsonville, Michigan. Congregation Activities If you can remember back to the February 15th issue of the “News,” then you might remember an item about a committee being appointed by the consistory of the Hudsonville, MI PRC to look at possible solutions to their overcrowding “problems.” This committee was contacted by the Hudsonville Reformed Church to inform them that their present building is for sale. This church is located on the northwest corner of School St. and Van Buren in Hudsonville. Some of you “older” readers may remember that the...

Rev. Laning is pastor of Hope Protestant Reformed Church of Walker, Michigan. Before proceeding next time to the subject of the order of salvation, we take one more article to look at the Spirit’s saving work as a whole. We have contrasted this work of the Holy Spirit with the work of the devilish spirit that moves among the Charismatics. We now turn to consider how this work of the Spirit contrasts with work of the powerless spirit of which the Arminians speak. The Arminians often speak about the work of the Holy Spirit convicting the sinner of his sins...

On a Distinctive Reformed Doctrine of Salvation I have a couple of questions and comments about “Distinctively Reformed Soteriology” by Rev. Laning in the February 15 issue of the Standard Bearer. First, at the end of the “Limited Atonement” section, we find this phrase: “…and that He did not die for those whom God had reprobated.” I find it more accurate to put it this way: “…and that He did not die for the non-elect.” The difference? I understand that we are all born as reprobates (original sin) and that only the sovereign electing love of God converts us from...

Rev. Kortering is a minister emeritus in the Protestant Reformed Churches. In obedience to Christ’s command to make disciples of all nations, the church sends forth missionaries. The task of making disciples is both joyful and difficult. We experience the blessings of this activity when God gives converts. The early church rejoiced when they learned by firsthand experience that the Lord added daily to the church such as should be saved (Acts 2:47). Many a missionary, along with his sending church, experiences that joy today as well. It is a never-ending wonder of God. Mission work does not end with...

Prof. Engelsma is professor of Dogmatics and Old Testament in the Protestant Reformed Seminary. The Current Justification Controversy, by O. Palmer Robertson. Unicoi, Tennessee: Trinity Foundation, 2003. 107 pages. $9.95 (paper). A Companion to the Current Justification Controversy, by John W. Robbins. Unicoi, Tennessee: Trinity Foundation, 2003. 185 pages. $9.95 (paper). If there could still be such a thing in our doctrinally indifferent and apostate day, O. Palmer Robertson’s The Current Justification Controversy would be a bombshell in reputedly conservative Reformed and Presbyterian churches in North America. The well-known and highly regarded Presbyterian theologian reveals the seven years of struggle...

Rev. Laning is pastor of Hope Protestant Reformed Church in Walker, Michigan. It is easy to find references that explicitly say that there is one church, and that this church is holy, but the word “catholic” is not found in Scripture. The term means “universal in extent” or “throughout the whole,” and is used to describe the church as a body of believers that is universal in extent, gathered throughout the whole human race out of all the nations of the world. The term is found in the titles that have been given to the epistles of James, Peter, John,...