Vol 39 Issue 01

Rev. G. Vanden Berg, of Oak Lawn, received the call from our Loveland congregation; Southeast called the Rev. M. Schipper, of Southwest Church, from a trio which included the Revs. C. Hanko and H. Hanko. Kalamazoo’s consistory announced the following trio: Revs. H. Hanko, G. Vanden Berg, H. Veldman. The catechism classes are again started in most of our churches. A notice regarding this was found in Hope’s bulletin and carried this provocative sentence: “In this important part of the ministry of God’s Word to the covenant seed it is essential that parents do all in their power to aid...

THE RANKS GROW THIN We have heard in recent years that religion is on the upswing and that revivals are sweeping the world. There are men who claim that Christianity is marching from conquest to conquest with irresistible momentum. This claim is questioned in, an article written by Gordon Gould originally appearing in the Chicago Sunday Tribune Magazine and quoted inChristianity Today. The author of this article claims that facts exactly deny this; that the truth of the matter is that the lights of Christianity are going out, that the religious revivals of the 1950’s were “will-o-the-wisps,” and that our age is...

Marriage is a sacred institution. In the land of our forefathers, Reformed people consummated marriage in three stages. First there was the engagement. This was followed by the solemnization of the marriage by the civil authorities. And, finally, the confirmation of the marriage by the church took place. Each stage has its own significance. To each we will give separate attention briefly. The Engagement The engagement consists of a reciprocal promise or pledge on the part of a man and woman that they will take each other to be their lawful spouse in marriage. This promise is sealed with the...

We believe that those Holy Scriptures fully contain the will of God, and that whatsoever man ought to believe, unto salvation, is sufficiently taught therein. For, since the whole manner of worship, which God requires of us, is written in them at large, it is unlawful for any one, though an apostle, to teach otherwise than we are now taught in the Holy Scriptures: nay, though it were an angel from heaven, as the apostle Paul saith. For, since it is forbidden, to add unto or take away anything from the word of God, it doth thereby evidently appear, that...

The marks, by which the true Church is known, are designated in Article 29 of our Confession of Faith as the preaching of the pure gospel, the maintaining of the pure administration of the sacraments and the exercise of church or Christian discipline. The Reformers were unanimous in their determination that the Holy Scriptures were the only norm or standard of the Church, and they designated accordingly (according to the Holy Scriptures as the only norm) the marks whereby the true church could be distinguished from the false church. However, there was a slight difference among them. Luther enumerated 7...

Let our covenant youth remember that God is interested in them. Very frequently God speaks directly and personally to you, Covenant Youth. He does that in His law when, in the fifth commandment, He declares, “Honor thy father and thy mother, that thy days may be long in the land which the Lord Thy God giveth thee.” Certainly this is addressed directly and personally to children and to youth. It has, this commandment, its implications and demands also of the parents. But surely in its very form it is spoken to youth. Paul writes in Ephesians 6:1, “Children, obey your parents...

We noticed in our last essay that double honor should be ascribed to those who rule well, particularly to those who labor in the Word and doctrine. We believe that it is of importance to take a bit closer look at the implications of this phrase from the apostle’s pen. The first matter that forces itself to our attention is what is meant by the terms “word” and “doctrine.” There is an interpretation which holds that this refers to “preaching” and “teaching.” The term teaching would then underscore that the chief characteristic of the preaching is that it is instructive...

At times the hope of the children of Israel to enter the promised land must have appeared almost futile to them. It had been full forty years since they had come into the wilderness from Egypt, and according to God’s own words it was time for them to enter Canaan. But the land of Edom stood between them and the entrance into Canaan; the king of Edom forbade them passage through his land, and the Lord forbade them to fight. It meant that they had to circumvent the whole of the land of Edom, an extensive additional journey. When they...

The same is true of Rahab the harlot. Rahab by the God-given power of faith clung to the promise, and chose the party of the living God against the whole world, and was saved. Her faith, too, was perfected by works. But in her case too it was the work of faith, whereby she clung to Christ and to God, Who justifies the ungodly. Hence, the truth remains that all Scripture emphasizes justification by faith only. Nor is the relation between faith and justification to be conceived as that of a benefit on God’s part and a condition on our...

Election and Reprobation According to Barth We must still answer the question: how does Barth explain Rom. 9:18? The text is well-known: “Therefore hath he mercy on whom he will have mercy, and whom he will he hardeneth.” Barth uses many words to explain this text, even though the words, especially in the context, are very clear and simple to understand. The trouble is that Barth insistently denies the truth of reprobation and that, although the Bible teaches this very plainly and although it is maintained in all the Reformed Confessions. As far as the context is concerned, let vs. 13...