Vol 22 Issue 03

* Address delivered at the Convention of Protestant Reformed Young Peoples Societies, Aug. 30, 1945. Considered in this light, as a gift of grace, our steadfastness consists in the fact that we are rooted in Christ. Christ is the sure ground of our steadfastness. He Himself was steadfast in the covenant of God, and He endured even to the extreme. All the powers of darkness were ever gathered against Him, but He remained the faithful witness, the steadfast representative of the party of the living God in the world. The reproach and fury of men were heaped upon Him, but...

“Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, to the saints which arte at Ephesus, and to the faithful in Christ Jesus: Grace be to you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.” Eph. 1:1-2 The time and place of the writing of Paul’s epistle to the Ephesians is approximately the same as of the epistles to the Colossians, Philippians, and’ Philemon— this is generally accepted. These epistles were written during Paul’s imprisonment at Rome. Of interest is a comparison between the epistle to the Ephesians and that to the Colossians. A...

Since the complete proceedings of the Conference between the ministers and students of the Reformed Church in the U. S. and the ministers and students of the Protestant Reformed Churches will be published, we intend to give only a brief resume of the meetings. Our own Churches were well represented by all the ministers, except one, and all the students, plus several consistory members and visitors from our various Churches. The Reformed Church in the U. S. also had a sizable representation of ministers and an especially large number of lay members present. The average attendance throughout the two days...

(From the speech delivered by the Rev. Herman Veldman at the recent conference of our Protestant Reformed ministers). It’s Necessity Our own Christian school is necessary, first of all, in the light of the history of our Protestant Reformed Churches. We must remember that the origin of the latter is inseparably connected with the theory of Common Grace. Common Grace is that theory which would teach us that concord, agreement between the church and the world is possible in all things earthly andcivil. It is the bridge which spans the gulf which otherwise exists between the Church and the world....

It will be recalled ‘that a heinous sin had been committed at Gibeah, Benjamin. A wayfaring Levite with his concubine had retreated for the night into the shelter of the home of a resident of this city. When it was dark, “sons of wickedness” assaulted the house and shamefully avowed their pederastic purposes. The Levite they would compel to co-operate with them in committing that lustful abomination at which Paul strikes in Romans 1 and that formed the curse of heathendom. Sparing himself, the Levite led forth his concubine and the wantons were”-satisfied. They abused her all night’ till daybreak...

The matter to be dealt with in this and the following essay is the mighty change by which the Christian public worship, or culture, was affected in the period under consideration (311-590). This change was from simplicity to multiplicity and complexity and from a non-splendorous to a splendorous appearance. The former was affected by the increase in the number of church festivals and by the introduction of a number of customs and ceremonies; the latter by the change in the legal and social position of Christianity with reference to the temporal power. Both, it is worthy of notice, went hand...

The resurrection of Jesus Christ on the third day is of central significance for the economy of salvation. Even in the brief answer of the Heidelberg Catechism concerning this glorious truth, though it views Christ’s resurrection entirely from the aspect of our profit, this is expressed. For, according to the Catechism, the resurrection is, principally, the victory over, the swallowing up of death; it is the realization of our righteousness, the righteousness of which He makes us partakers; it is the power of a new life for all that are His; and it is the sure pledge, while it is...

In our discussion of the decisions of the Synod of the Reformed Churches of the Netherlands, we will, for the moment, pass by those that concern the problem of “common grace”, in order to focus our attention at once upon the declarations concerning the doctrine of the covenant of grace. We do this, not because we are, not vitally interested in the former, but because they received little attention in the Netherlands; while the latter became the bone of contention, and the cause of the dissension and schism. Let us consider these decisions point by point. The first point declares:...