Vol 22 Issue 19

The Closed Shop. Because the question of labor unions and the ‘cloned shop’ is a question which is more and more confronting us as believers and as din relies, were much pleased, that us as believers and as churches, we were much pleased that the consistory of Creston called the attention of Synod to this vital question by way of an overture, Esteemed Brethren in the Lord: Due to the well-known fact that it becomes more and more difficult for the Christian (who desires conscientiously to live according to the principles of the Word of God) to obtain employment because...

“In whom also ye, having heard the Word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, in whom also (in which gospel also) having; believed ye were sealed.  . . .by the Holy Spirit of Promise unto the redemption of the (final) possession, unto the praise of His glory.” Ephesians 1:13, 14 There are two important elements in, this very rich portion of the Word of God to which we called attention in the former two articles. The first of these elements was that of the Scriptural idea of the “sealing” of the saints in Christ Jesus. This work of God...

Our Baptism Form starts out with speaking of the sacrament of baptism as a holy sign. It is more than that, for it is also a seal as well as a sign, but it is nevertheless first of all a sign. To the question, Of what is it a sign?, the answer can be given, that baptism is a sign of our entrance into God’s covenant through the washing away of our sins. By nature we are outside of God’s covenant, a part of the fallen human race, dead in trespasses and sins, without hope and without God in the...

Let us now turn to the book of Job and read at versos five and six of chapter 42 as follows, “Then Job answered the Lord and said. I have heard thee by the hearing of the ear; but now mine eye seeth thee. Wherefore I abhor myself and repent in dust and ashes.” Job was a true believer, tried perhaps, as no other believer—with, the exception of Christ—has ever been tried, the reason being that the Lord wanted to provide His people with an outstanding example of the indestructibility of their faith. Job’s case can be briefly stated. God...

*Address delivered on the occasion of the graduation of Candidate James Howerzyl. In the light of observation previously made we can understand the question that the church puts to the minister of the gospel when she ordains him, this question, “I ask thee, whether thou feelest in thy heart that thou art lawfully called of God’s church, and therefore of God Himself, to this holy ministry?” What the minister of the gospel feels in his heart, namely that he is called of God, is a matter of divine revelation, and this of necessity, as he is called of God. Hence,...

* Paper delivered at the Conference with the Brethren of the Reformed Church in the U.S., Sept. 1945. Since the time of the Reformation, the doctrine of the covenant has occupied an important place in Reformed theology, and a dominating position in the life of the Reformed churches. It is a peculiarly Reformed heritage, even more distinctively so than the doctrine of sovereign predestination, for while the latter truth. Is held by other than Reformed churches, the truth, of the covenant was developed exclusively by them. And we can agree with Dr. G. Vos when he finds the reason for...

*Paper delivered at the Conference of Protestant Reformed ministers in Grand Rapids, Michigan. In the first epistle to Timothy we find several passages that are of interest for our subject. In ch. 1:5 the apostle speaks of agapee ek suneideeseoos agathees, love out of a good, conscience, as the end of the commandment. The whole text reads as follows: “Now the end of the commandment is charity (love) out of a. pure heart, and of a good conscience, and of faith unfeigned.” We may remark here: 1. That the apostle is especially thinking of the love of believers to one...

2. A second reason, why we must answer the question of Mr. Van Putten with an unqualified affirmative, meaning that all our suffering and sorrow, and not only that which, is directly caused by persecution for Christ’s sake, lend to our salvation, is that all things come unto us, not by chance, but by the hand of our heavenly Father, This means: a. That the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, from before the foundation of the world, so planned all things, that they concentrate around Christ and His Church, and are conducive to the salvation of the elect. Nothing...