Vol 18 Issue 13

Dear Mr. Editor, Please allow me some space in our Standard Bearer to comment on the article of S. D. V., appearing under the heading “News From Our Churches” in the issue of February 15. Permit me first of all to express that I fully agree with Mr. S. D. V. in regard to his feeling that what he writes is really not news. (Surely there must be sufficient news that could be gathered from our churches to fill the space allotted to him. If that were done the department would answer its purpose and Mr. S. D. V. would...

Creston is one of the churches in our Protestant Reformed group that neither receives nor gives much publicity. Although we are a little star in the church firmament, we still remain a light amidst a crooked and perverse generation. Being small in number (for we count only about twenty-five families) and young in years as yet, nevertheless we are making history. So it was, that on July 28, 1941, our pastor, the Rev. H. Veldman, made known that he had received a call from the Protestant Reformed Church of Kalamazoo, which he, after prayerful consideration, accepted. On September 21 of...

Jesus frequently used expressions such as, “Have ye not read,” or, “Have ye never read?” or, “Have ye not so much as read?” this or that passage from the writings of God. These passages are explained by that one upbraiding word of the Lord, “Ye do err, not knowing the Scriptures.” Have ye not read? The world is full of literature, but “have ye read.” We fairly stumble our way through a jungle of literature, but, “have ye read?” The capacity to read is the work of God whereby He adapts us to as well as confines us to His...

This general expression scarcely needs introduction because of its familiarity. However in general we may and usually do use it to differentiate and to express the general, the peoples’ view of things as distinct from the private opinion, that is, the opinion which private persons hold for themselves, of the initiates the opinion of persons who are in a position to know what the general public does not. The possibility of public opinion lies in the fact that people, men taken together are an essential unity, created to live in relation to each other and to be mutually or to...

A brother sen[t] the following questions for me to answer. Rev. G. M. Ophoff, Dear Brother: I read with considerable interest your article, in the February 15 issue of the Standard Bearer, entitled, “The Author of the Book of Ecclesiastes.” In general, I agree with your conclusions, especially in regard to the Solomonic authorship of the book. I believe that the article is very instructive and therefore serves toward a better understanding of the book of Ecclesiastes. There are, however, a few questions that I would like to have answered. They are as follows: In the first place, how must...

This article is a continuation of the article appearing in the previous issue under the title “The Prophets.” The title should have been the one appearing above this article. In these articles I address myself to the task of ascertaining: The doings of the Lord in “that day.” The significance of “that day.” Its successive and final appearing. What was that day to these prophets? It was the day of the Lord, thus a day filled with His doings. And these doings were the fulfillment of all the predictions of each and every prophet of God. In this day all...

No less explicit and clear are the Canons of Dordrecht on the truth of the depravity of the natural man. In III, IV, 1, 3 we read: “Man was originally formed after the image of God. His understanding was adorned with a true and saving knowledge of his Creator, and of spiritual things; his heart and will were upright; all his affections pure; and the whole man was holy: but revolting from God by the instigation of the devil, and abusing the freedom of his own will, he forfeited these excellent gifts; and on the contrary entailed on himself blindness...

The previous issue of the Standard Bearer sent many of our readers on a wild goose chase for an article to which they found a reply in our paper, but which they could not find. Some took the trouble to look through the preceding issue. Others wondered whether it could have appeared in the Church News. All in vain. Now, it is not, and never will be, the policy of our paper to publish replies to articles that are not printed. Nor is it our custom to print replies first, in order to print the original articles later. That the...

The Christian is naturally interested in the events that are taking place in the world today. And although his interest does not exclude, but rather include, things temporal, such as the social problems, the economic situation, the political setup, it is not centered on these things as such, but considers these in the light of and with relation to something that far transcends them all: the kingdom of God. Even in and through the present world crisis and universal madness of the nations, the believer is mindful of the word of the Lord Jesus: “Seek ye first the kingdom of...