Rev. G. Vanden Berg, of Oak Lawn, has declined the call which came to him from Hope Church, in Grand Rapids. Rev. J. Kortering, of Hull, Iowa, declined the call from Southwest Church in Grand Rapids. Rev. R.C. Harbach, Lynden’s pastor since 1955, has declined the call from Loveland, and has accepted the call from Kalamazoo. The Publication Committee of Oak Lawn and South Holland churches is regularly mailing pamphlets to outsiders, under the general theme, “Word of Life.” The current series is on “The Lord’s Prayer” which has been written by Rev. J.A. Heys, the titles of which suggest...

PROTESTANT CONFESSIONAL A committee of the United Church of Canada has recently suggested in a report entitled, “Church Membership, Doctrine and Practice in the United Church of Canada,” that Protestants should return to the Roman Catholic practice of making confession to some man. They suggest either a minister or some trusted Christian friend. They quote Calvin and Luther in support of their contention; although neither wanted the confessional of Romish religion. Especially Calvin merely spoke of the need of confessing to one another our sins when we had offended by them. The committee admitted that the idea of confession of...

“Secret sins of which the sinner repents, after being admonished by one person in private or in the presence of two or three witnesses, shall not be laid before the consistory.” Art. 73, D.K.O. “If any one, having been admonished in love concerning a secret sin by two or three persons, does not give heed, or otherwise has committed a public sin, the matter shall be reported to the consistory.” Art. 74, D.K.O. It will be evident that Articles 73 and 74 of the Church Order, quoted above, are closely related. They both deal with the manner in which the...

It is to be noted that this article does not merely present proof from Scripture in support of the doctrine of the Trinity. This is plain from the opening statement of Article IX: “All this we know, as well from the testimonies of holy writ, as from their operations, and chiefly by those we feel in ourselves.” Hence, the evidence of which the article speaks is two-fold: proof from Holy Scripture and evidence from experience. Undoubtedly this is to be connected with the later statement of this same article: “In all which places we are fully taught, that there are three persons in...

In distinction from the Protestant view, the Roman Catholic Church lays all emphasis upon the sacraments. Whereas the Protestant view stresses the priority of the Word of God, Roman Catholicism assumes that the sacraments contain all that is necessary for the salvation of the sinner, need no interpretation, and therefore render the Word completely superfluous as a means of grace. According to Rome, the sacrament of baptism is the sacrament of regeneration. They declare accursed who claims that the sacraments do not contain the grace which they signify, or do not confer that grace on those who do not place...

There is no advantage in giving cold statistics. It makes no difference either just what the cause of all this increase in the number of heart ailments, heart attacks and deaths due to them is. Whether it is because of our way of life, our soft living, our sheltered life, or whether it is due to the fact that men live longer than in years gone by, and the wear and tear on this ever-active muscular organ makes itself evident because man lives to a ripe old age. Maybe others who died of other diseases at earlier ages, if they...

We saw in our former installment on these verses that the man of godly contentment is rich in God. And it alone is true riches, affording satisfaction for the entire man, body, soul and spirit, and that, too, for time and for eternity. When this is applied to our present existence here on earth it can be summed up as is done by the apostle in verse 8 “But having food and raiment, with these things let us be content.” It should be observed that the apostle employs the present active participle “having.” This underscores that this is a having...

But the children of Israel committed a trespass in the accursed thing: for Achan, the son of Carmi, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, took of the accursed thing: and the anger of the LORD was kindled against the children of Israel . . .  And they raised over him a great heap of storm unto this day, So the LORD turned from the fierceness of his anger. Wherefore the name of that place was called, The valley of Achor (i.e., trouble) unto this day.  Joshua 7:1, 26 It was a miracle beyond...

And once more, they quote from Hebrews 6:4-8, where we read: “For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost, And have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come, If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame. For the earth which drinketh in the rain that cometh oft upon it, and bringeth forth herbs meet for them by...

Rank Arminianism in Calvin Seminary We still have to examine and discuss what Prof. Dekker in his article in The Reformed Journal has to say on the question whether the atonement of Christ is limited or unlimited. In other words: did Christ die for all men, or for the elect only? As Dekker put the question: “If God’s love in giving Christ is universal, is the atonement universal? Or is it limited? . . . Just what is the Reformed doctrine of limited atonement?” In answer to this question Dekker, first of all, quotes from the Systematic Theology of Berkhof. According to the latter,...