Vol 34 Issue 15

As Based on the Canons of Dordt, Popularly known as the Five Points of Calvinism.  Reprobation (Continued) 

According to the confessions (Art. 29, Confessions of Faith) there are two churches. True and false. And these two churches are easily distinguished from each other. As for the true church the confessions teach that where the Word of God is purely preached there the church is. This means a church denomination that officially confesses nothing but truth (as the apostles and the prophets preached) and maintains, preaches, and teaches this truth is the true church. For where the truth is preached there Christ speaks and where Christ speaks the Church is. 

The wording of the above title is taken literally from the text in I Timothy 2:2. These words form part of an exhortation of the apostle Paul to his fellow-worker Timothy, which Timothy, in turn, is to direct to the churches for their instruction.

“Those who are delegated to the assemblies shall bring with them their credentials and instructions, signed by those sending them, and they shall have a vote in all matters, except such as particularly concern their persons or churches.” —Article 33 The following decisions pertaining to this article of the Church Order have been adopted by our Classes and Synod:

REJECTION OF ERRORS 

In his attempt to control the affairs of European states, he met with less success than failure, and in Philip the Fair of France he found his match.  In Sicily, he failed to carry out his plans to secure the transfer of the realm from the house of Aragon to the king of Naples.

“Only in His fear do we have freedom from fear.”  So we wrote in the first installment of this matter of freedom from fear. Only those who fear God can possibly have freedom from fear of either what man can and shall do to man or of what God has decreed as the punishment for sin. 

Introduction  The attentive reader will have noticed that it is the intention of the writer of this rubric to attempt an exposition of two chapters from the Gospel according to Matthew, which give the exegete reason for real consecrated and devoted study. 

8. And it shall come to pass in that day, that living waters shall go out from Jerusalem, half of them to the eastern sea, and half of them to the western sea, in summer and winter shall it be.  9. And Jehovah shall be king over all the land; in that day Jehovah shall be one and his name one.

And yet, if we look a little more closely, and consider these two expressions of the redeemed and of the angels more carefully, we will soon find that they belong together both in farm and in contents. As far as the form is concerned, let us notice that the part which the angels sing is really a reply to the shout of the redeemed throng. This is clear from the fact that they begin their song with the corroborative “Amen.” This “Amen” evidently means to be an answer to the outcry of the redeemed.