Vol 54 Issue 02

Rev. J. Slopsema has received the call to be pastor of our church in Randolph, Wisconsin. Randolph’s trio also included Candidate Kenneth Koole and Rev. Rodney Miersma. Rev. M. Joostens of our Faith Church has declined the call to be pastor of the Orthodox Presbyterian Church of Christchurch, New Zealand. Rev. Gise Van Baren has accepted the call to serve as pastor of our Hudsonville Church. Rev. Van Baren has served First Church in Grand Rapids for about 12 years. 

I BELIEVE IN THE HOLY SPIRIT, by Michael Green; William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1977; 223 pp., $2.95 (paper). (Reviewed by Prof. H. Hanko)  This volume is a part of a series of books being published by Eerdmans. On the back cover we are told:

A perceptive analysis Recently there appeared in two issues of the Banner a set of articles worthy of note. In the issues of Aug. 19 and 26, Robert De Lange, missionary at Charlotte, Michigan, sought to pinpoint some of the causes of the crises in the Christian Reformed Church. His analysis, to me, appears very accurate and to the point. Were his conclusions to be adopted within the CRC, I am convinced there would be a radical change in that denomination. The writer points to the evidences of Arminian approaches within his denomination.

In Revelation 6:5-6 we find the narrative of the opening of the third seal in the general context of the signs that point to and bring the coming of the end of all things. The content of that seal is a rider upon a black horse, which rider holds in his hand a pair of balances or measuring scales.

The Fifth General Assembly of the Presbyterian J Church in America, meeting in the auditorium of the First Baptist (that’s right folks, Baptist) Church of Smyrna, Georgia, was called to order by retiring moderator William A. McIlwaine on the evening of September 12, 1977. The Baptist facility was used because there is no PCA building in the Greater Atlanta area, nor in many other areas for that matter, large enough to handle the 600 plus commissioners who would eventually come together for this meeting. 

Dear Timothy,  It has been a while since we were discussing together some aspects of Paul’s teaching in his letter to Timothy. The summer months interrupted our correspondence somewhat; and we were temporarily distracted by our discussion on questions of the meaning of the inspiration of Scripture. 

As I view the ecclesiastical scene, especially the Reformed scene, I am impressed with two facts. The first is the fact that the truth is being sold on every side; one is not even shocked by it anymore. Consider how the truth is being sold. The truths of creation and the fall of man into sin as recorded in the first few chapters of Genesis are denied. These chapters, we are told, contain not a literal account but are teaching models. The truth of definite (limited) atonement is denied in favor of universalism.

Beloved Brothers and Sisters in our Lord Jesus Christ; Greetings from Seminary Hill! We thought that perhaps you would like to hear from us at the beginning of the school year.

In the previous article (Sept. 15 issue of The Standard Bearer) it was proved from Holy Scripture that the miracles alleged today by Pentecostalism are fraudulent. The Reformed faith disavows miracle working. Our faith is the doctrine of the apostles, who received it from Jesus. This doctrine has already been confirmed by many miracles. It does not need any further attestation. The only gospel that requires new miracles is a new gospel. 

Any veteran reader of our magazine knows that down through the years, even preceding my editorship, theStandard Bearer has repeatedly warned that those who oppose the Reformed doctrine of reprobation really do not want the Reformed doctrine of election, that it is a favorite stratagem of the opponents of sovereign election to attack this doctrine by attacking sovereign reprobation, and that, in fact, it is a reliable test of one’s commitment to the Reformed doctrine of election to inquire unto his commitment to the Reformed doctrine of reprobation.