All Articles For Romans

Rev. Slopsema is pastor of First Protestant Reformed Church in Grand Rapids, Michigan. And as they came out, they found a man of Cyrene, Simon by name: him they compelled to bear his cross.  Matthew 27:32 The gospel narratives record the events of Jesus’ arrest, trial, and crucifixion in great detail. Some of these details we might pass over as being unimportant. No doubt many who were eyewitnesses of our Savior’s agony did just that. But the very fact that the holy writers were inspired to record these details in the gospel narratives indicates that these details are of great...

Rev. Langerak is pastor of Southeast Protestant Reformed Church in Grand Rapids, Michigan. The Expository Genius of John Calvin, by Steven J. Lawson. Reformation Trust Publishing, 2007. ISBN 1567690858. 142 pp. Hardcover. Available at monergismbooks.com ($11.25), christianbook.com ($12.99), or publisher at Ligonier.org ($12.00). Reviewed by Rev. Douglas J. Kuiper. Steven Lawson, pastor of Christ Fellowship Baptist Church in Mobile, AL, begins a series of short books under the series “A Long Line of Godly Men Profile.” Upcoming books in this series will focus on Martin Luther, George Whitefield, Charles Spurgeon, and others. Lawson argues that the situation in the evangelical...

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. God has given to us a precious and wonderful gift. It is called prayer. As children of God, also as young people, there is nothing more important than to develop a regular life of prayer. The most important thing in your life is not your studies, work, business, rushing here and there. But the most important thing is to live truly a life of prayer. Without prayer, we would soon be off the path...

Rev. Langerak (“Bring the books” editor) is pastor of Southeast Protestant Reformed Church in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Joshua Engelsma is a member of Hope Protestant Reformed Church in Grand Rapids, Michigan. The Shack, by William P. Young. Windblown Media, 2007. ISBN 0964729237. Paperback. 264 pp. Available at christianbook.com ($8.99) orbarnesandnoble.com ($13.49). Reviewed by Joshua D. Engelsma. The Shack, a recently published New York Times best-seller, falls into the genre of Christian fiction. Since being published last year, it has gained widespread support, not merely from the population in general, but especially in the church world. Many churches advertise their discussion groups on the...

Rev. VanBaren is a minister emeritus in the Protestant Reformed Churches. A Time for Self-examination (2) Last time I quoted from articles from the secular press which, I thought, spoke eloquently of the dangers of smoking, of its addictive nature, and of its great cost. None, I dare say, can refute what the articles stated. Some might point out, however, “That’s not the Bible you quoted!” Others might claim, perhaps even correctly, that there are other and more serious problems in our “life style.” There are the evils of drunkenness and of worldly amusements and of materialism. Why “pick on”...

Prof. Engelsma is professor of Dogmatics and Old Testament in the Protestant Reformed Seminary. John Calvin’s description of the Christian life in book three of his Institutes of the Christian Religion makes every charge that the Reformed faith minimizes holiness of life, not so much false as absurd. What a grand, gripping, humbling, sobering, moving description of the Christian life this is. It is no wonder that this section of the Institutes was very soon published separately and that it still is published in English as a separate booklet, The Golden Booklet of the Christian Life. Our ministers must preach...

Hard Stands Thank you for your useful work Common Grace Revisited, originally a series of editorials in the Standard Bearer (March 15, 2002 — December 1, 2002). I am a member of the Orthodox Presbyterian Church and have struggled with the doctrine of common grace ever since I read A.W. Pink’s book The Attributes of God. I am especially grateful for your work in light of the desire of many within the church to blur the line between the church and the world. I am especially impressed with (or depressed by) the quotations of Mouw and Smedes at the end,...

If the Protestant world were informed that a publisher was soon to publish a hitherto unknown set of Calvin’s sermons on the entire book of Romans, there would be excitement and anticipation. Similar, I trust, will be the response by the readership of the Standard Bearer to the announcement that the Reformed Free Publishing Association (RFPA) is presently working on the publication of a complete series of sermons by Herman Hoeksema on the epistle to the Romans. This big project, involving considerable editing of the original manuscripts, is now a long way towards completion. The book will serve the church in a...

Our Goodly Heritage Preserved, published by the Protestant Reformed Churches in America, 2000. 136 pages, $15.00 (paper). [Reviewed by Prof. Russell J. Dykstra.] For a homey and personalized presentation of the Protestant Reformed Churches, the reader is encouraged to pick up Our Goodly Heritage Preserved. It is a commemorative book drawn up in connection with the seventy-fifth anniversary of the Protestant Reformed Churches in America. The soft-covered book is intended to be a companion volume to the work on the doctrinal history of the PRC, For Thy Truth’s Sake. Our Goodly Heritage Preserved was proposed as a “booklet” which would...

* This article was written on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the Protestant Reformed Churches. It appeared in the “Souvenir Album” of the celebration of the 25th anniversary. The article has been edited for publication in this issue of the Standard Bearer. Herman Hoeksema was the first editor of the Standard Bearer. On this occasion it is fitting to reflect on our calling. What is the general calling of the church in the world, both as an organism and as an institute? And what is the specific calling, if any, of the Protestant Reformed Churches, considered in the...