Vol 32 Issue 06

Missionary Notes  It is interesting and sometimes saddening to note that in those church circles where the teaching of the Heidelberg Catechism is clung to, although they are not of the Reformed churches as they descend from Netherlands, that controversies arise over the question of the relationship of salvation by grace alone and the good works of thankfulness.

Before we proceed to discuss the various elements of Article 23 of our church order as we wrote that we would do in our last article, we wish to comment on a question received from one of our readers, which concerns Article 22 and deals with the matter of the approbation of elders mentioned in that Article. The question as we received it is: 

Article 3. The death of the Son of God is the only and most perfect sacrifice and satisfaction for sin; and is of infinite worth and value, abundantly sufficient to expiate the sins of the whole world. 

At last the Roman bishop, on the ground of his divine institution, and as successor of Peter, the prince of the apostles, advanced his claim to be primate of the entire church, and visible representative of Christ, who is the invisible supreme head of the Christian world. This is the strict and exclusive sense of the title, Pope. 

It will be challenged, but we will say it anyway: There is so very little celebration of Christmas left in the world today. 

How strongly Paul feels about this schism and party strife in the congregation of Corinth, and with what righteous and holy concern it fills his apostolic heart may be gathered from what he writes in the verses 13b through verse 17 of this first chapter of this epistle. 

1. In the eighth month, in the second year of Darius, came the word of Jehovah unto Zechariah, the son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo the prophet, saying, 2. Angry (was) Jehovah at your fathers with anger. 3. Therefore say thou unto them, thus saith Jehovah of Hosts, Return unto me, saith Jehovah of Hosts, And I will return unto you, saith Jehovah of Hosts.

Whether the wheels of industry shall be idle or busily spinning, whether there shall be labor for our hands or whether we will be without employment, whether we shall be able to work and provide for, ourselves and those that are dependent on us,—all these things depend not ultimately or really on us or on the wisdom and ingenuity of man, but on the Word of our God in Christ Jesus our Savior. And therefore, according to Scripture, it is literally true that our heavenly Father feeds us and clothes us and gives us shelter.

By the apostates of 1953 I refer, of course, to those that departed from us and from the Protestant Reformed truth.  And by the Three Points I mean the three doctrinal tenets adopted by the synod of the Christian Reformed Church in 1924 relative to the matter of so-called common grace.