Vol 16 Issue 10

The Word of God is very severe in its condemnation of false teachers. And this condemnation does not only concern their false doctrine, but also their motives and methods. Many Christians often are inclined to assume a sympathetic attitude to the preachers of false doctrines, even though they do not agree with their tenets. We speak of having respect for the opinions of others, and forget that the doctrine of the Word of God is not a matter of opinion. Or we take the charitable view that a man may honestly err, and that, therefore, you cannot ascribe the teaching...

But the prophecies further present us with the character of the gospel as well as of its author, and with a description of the extent of His kingdom as well as of His suffering. It was prophesied that the Messiah was to reveal the will of God to man, and to establish a new and perfect covenant,—“I will raise them up a prophet,—and will put my words in His mouth, and He shall speak unto them all that I shall command Him; and it shall come to pass, that whosoever will not hearken unto my words which He shall speak...

In my previous article, under the above caption, I pointed out that, according to Rev. D. Zwier, our gospel message—the gospel as we, ministers of Protestant Reformed churches preach it, lacked “aangenaamheid” pleasantness. Zwier, so I wrote, ought to tell his readers just what he means. What he means is not that our message for God’s believing people lacks “aangenaamheid.” He knows that our message to God’s people is that with body and soul, both in life and death, they are not their own but belong to Christ their faithful Savior with all that this implies. Now this message is...

And if it seem evil unto you to serve the Lord, choose ye this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your grandfathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house we will serve the Lord. Joshua 24:15 Apparently Joshua speaks foolishly here. He bids the children of Israel to choose—between Jehovah and the gods of the Amorites. As if Israel would choose anyone but Jehovah. Israel was the Lord’s portion. He found him in a desert land,...

The Puritans had always insisted in a strict observance of the Sabbath. This strict Sabbatism was aided by the publication of a work bearing the title, Doctrine of the Sabbath. In this work a plea was made for the perpetuation of the fourth commandment in Jewish rigor. In opposition to Puritanism King James issued his famous Declaration Sports in which he advocated the ‘old popular games and dances on the Sabbath. This action of the king aroused Puritanism and from this time on it began to grow into a political force. The king’s Declaration of Sports seemed to the Puritans...

The Word of God is very severe in its condemnation of false teachers. And this condemnation does not only concern their false doctrine, but also their motives and methods. Many Christians often are inclined to assume a sympathetic attitude to the preachers of false doctrines, even though they do not agree with their tenets. We speak of having respect for the opinions of others, and forget that the doctrine of the Word of God is not a matter of opinion. Or we take the charitable view that a man may honestly err, and that, therefore, you cannot ascribe the teaching...

But the prophecies further present us with the character of the gospel as well as of its author, and with a description of the extent of His kingdom as well as of His suffering. It was prophesied that the Messiah was to reveal the will of God to man, and to establish a new and perfect covenant,—“I will raise them up a prophet,—and will put my words in His mouth, and He shall speak unto them all that I shall command Him; and it shall come to pass, that whosoever will not hearken unto my words which He shall speak...

In my previous article, under the above caption, I pointed out that, according to Rev. D. Zwier, our gospel message—the gospel as we, ministers of Protestant Reformed churches preach it, lacked “aangenaamheid” pleasantness. Zwier, so I wrote, ought to tell his readers just what he means. What he means is not that our message for God’s believing people lacks “aangenaamheid.” He knows that our message to God’s people is that with body and soul, both in life and death, they are not their own but belong to Christ their faithful Savior with all that this implies. Now this message is...

And if it seem evil unto you to serve the Lord, choose ye this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your grandfathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house we will serve the Lord. Joshua 24:15 Apparently Joshua speaks foolishly here. He bids the children of Israel to choose—between Jehovah and the gods of the Amorites. As if Israel would choose anyone but Jehovah. Israel was the Lord’s portion. He found him in a desert land,...

The Puritans had always insisted in a strict observance of the Sabbath. This strict Sabbatism was aided by the publication of a work bearing the title, Doctrine of the Sabbath. In this work a plea was made for the perpetuation of the fourth commandment in Jewish rigor. In opposition to Puritanism King James issued his famous Declaration Sports in which he advocated the ‘old popular games and dances on the Sabbath. This action of the king aroused Puritanism and from this time on it began to grow into a political force. The king’s Declaration of Sports seemed to the Puritans...