Rome, we noted in our preceding article, contends that, whereas the Protestant conception of the sacrament of baptism is superficial, its own conception of this sacrament is rich and profound. The Canons of the Council of Trent on the subject of baptism are brief and comprehensive. The Canons anathematize those who teach that Christian baptism has no superior efficacy to that of John the Baptist; that true, natural water is not essential in the administration of this sacrament, or that the language of our Lord in John 3:5, “Except a man be born of water, etc.,” is to be understood metaphorically;...

Rev. G. Vanden Berg, of Oak Lawn, has received the call from Hope Church of Grand Rapids. Grand Rapids’ Southyest Church has extended a call to Rev. J. Kortering, of Hull Church in Iowa. The complaint is often heard among church-goers that seminary students sound so much alike that it is difficult to detect the identity of theiralma mater from their sermons. Sunday, January 27, First’s church’s pulpit was occupied by one of her sons, Seminarian Robert Decker, preaching on, “Come unto me all ye that are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” Contrary to the above mentioned complaint,...

NEWS FROM TRANS WORLD RADIO Towards the end of last year Trans World Radio gave our Reformed Witness Hour a more favorable half hour of broadcasting time. Formerly our program was scheduled early in the morning—from 8:00 to 8:30 Now it is being aired from 11:00 to 11:30. The result has been an increase in the amount of mail response. Some of this mail we wish to share with our readers. There is first of all a letter which was received from the station itself. This letter reads in part: I am enclosing some letters which reached us directly in...

Error in doctrine and offensive conduct are set forth in Article 72 of the Church Order as the two evils that necessitate ecclesiastical discipline. This has been the Reformed position since the days of the Reformation. Various synodical decisions of the past bear this out. The Wezelian Convention of Reformed Churches in 1568 decided “that one who advocated strange teachings and heresies, secretly or publicly, should be disciplined (Chap. VIII, 7), and also that one who led an evil life should be censured (Chap. VIII, 9).” The first regular Synod, Emden, 1571, maintained these two causes for discipline (Art. 26)....

All this we know, as well from the testimonies of holy writ, as from their operations, and chiefly by those we feel in ourselves. The testimonies of the Holy Scriptures, that teach us to believe this Holy Trinity are written in many places of the Old Testament, which are not so necessary to enumerate, as to choose them out with discretion and judgment. In Genesis 1:26, 27, God saith: Let us make man in our image, after our likeness, etc. So God created man in his own image, male and female created he them. And Gen. 3:22. Behold the man...

The love of God is a favorite subject in the church world of today. Hundreds upon hundreds of hymns are written that speak of the love of God. There is one in particular that expresses the idea in our theme, be it from the negative point of view. Its first line is addressed to that love of God in the words “O Love that will not let me go.” That is a love that conquers. And that is the kind of love that has value and comfort for the child of God. Sermons by the thousands are preached to extol...

We noticed in our former essay that Paul condemns very severely and justly those who teach another doctrine than what Paul has taught concerning the relationship of slave and master in this present world as sanctified in Christ our Lord. He dares to say that only his teaching is that according to godliness. It is the norm of all godliness in the social relationships. Those who teach otherwise, refusing to give heed to the sound words of Christ Jesus, are puffed up and they know nothing; such are men of corrupted minds; they are bereft of the truth in Jesus....

By faith the walls of Jericho fell down, after they were compassed about seven days.  Hebrews 11:30 To the inhabitants of Canaan, the fact struck home with a cold grip of terror. They saw and heard and heard again of Israel’s passage through the river Jordan. What could they do against power like that? Paralyzed with fright, they turned to their cities and locked the gates and waited. They dared not to stir. In contrast was the exultation which the children of Israel felt. Had any one had any hesitation about entering the land of Canaan, there was no longer...

In the confessions of the Reformed churches this truth is especially developed in the {Canons of Dordrecht, Chapter V. We must remember that Arminius himself, who died in 1609, did not directly deny or oppose the doctrine of the perseverance of the saints. But nevertheless he expressed serious doubts, and certainly wanted to have the doctrine of the perseverance of the saints settled at a synod. And the same is true of the Articles of the Remonstrance. It is in opposition to this that our fathers of Dordrecht composed the Canons. In the fifth chapter they emphasize that a final...

Arminius and Arminianism As to the divinity of the Son of God and the opinion of Arminius concerning this truth, we will be brief. This brevity is not because the subject is not important, for it is. Nor is this brevity observed because Arminius did not err in regard to this doctrine, for he did. But it is because we are rather interested in what he teaches concerning the truth of predestination and related doctrines such as sovereign grace, the free will of man. At the University of Leyden at the time, Arminius proposed the subject of the divinity of...