Vol 62 Issue 08

David Harbach is a teacher at Adams St. Prot. Ref. Christian School, Grand Rapids, Michigan. Six years may seem like a long time to be away from home but for Rev. Arie den Hartog and his family this time has passed quickly. In the year ahead, Rev. den Hartog will be seriously considering what the will of the Lord will be for them as far as staying in Singapore or returning to the States is concerned. Here is the latest news in regards to their work on the island. “December as usual will be a busy month in the church....

Steven R. Houck, a missionary of the Protestant Reformed Churches, is currently laboring in Ripon, California. The Proper Emphasis “Know ye that the Lord he is God . . .” (Ps. 100:3). Are not these words of the psalmist the expression of the faith of every true child of God? The Christian believes that his God is indeed GOD. He is the absolutely sovereign God of heaven and earth. It is He Who has created the world by His sovereign power. It is He Who even now upholds the world and all that is within it. It is He Who...

Ronald L. Cammenga is pastor of the Protestant Reformed Church of Loveland, Colorado. Last time we cited the three Scripture passages that are often appealed to by those who teach the right of the “innocent party” to remarry: Deuteronomy 24:1, 2; I Timothy 3:2, 12; and Matthew 19:9. In this article we want to take a closer look at these passages and see that they do not in fact support this position. First of all, this is true of Deuteronomy 24:1, 2. The statement at the end of verse 2, “she may go and be another man’s wife,” is incorrectly understood when it is interpreted as...

Barrett L. Gritters is pastor of the Protestant Reformed Church of Byron Center, Michigan. Our children need to be disciplined when they sin. As children of God and members of the church, we need in our life the discipline of Christ directly with His chastening rod and heavy hand, making us repent from our deviant ways and return to the right relation with Him and our fellow believers. But He also gives the church the responsibility to discipline its members. That is, Christ uses at least two methods to bring us to our senses when we are pursuing an unhindered...

Thomas C. Miersma is pastor of the First Protestant Reformed Church, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Reformed Bible Study—2 We began in the last article in this column to consider the application of the principle, Scripture interprets Scripture, from the viewpoint of the text of Scripture. We raised the question, where do you begin the study of a text or passage of Scripture? We did so moreover with the qualification that we would seek to answer this question from the viewpoint of someone who does not have access to the original languages but only to the English Bible. Last time we made...

james D. Slopsema is pastor of the Protestant Reformed Church of Randolph, Wisconsin. Our Part in the Covenant According to the Baptism Form the third principal part of the doctrine of baptism is as follows: Whereas in all covenants, there are contained two parts: therefore are we by God through baptism, admonished of, and obliged unto new obedience, namely, that we cleave to this one God, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost; that we trust in him, and love him with all our hearts, with all our souls, with all our mind, and with all our strength; that we forsake the...

Herman Veldman is a minister emeritus in the Protestant Reformed Churches. We concluded our preceding article with the observation that we must believe in God, the Father, Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth. No sinner can or will or can will to accept a general, well-meaning offer of salvation (almost universally proclaimed and taught today). God must speak as He alone can speak and as He spoke when He created the heavens and the earth. Indeed, I believe, I mustbelieve in God, the Father, Almighty, the Maker of heaven and of earth. Then I believe, I must believe in Jesus Christ,...

Herman Hanko is professor in the Church History and New Testament departments at the Protestant Reformed Seminary. John Jefferson Davis, in his book, Evangelical Ethics, begins Chapter 1 with a story, which goes this way: “In some of this research,” noted Dr. Robert Foote of Cornell, “I am reminded of a story where the pilot came on and said, “This is your captain speaking. We are flying at an altitude of 35,000 feet and the speed of 700 miles an hour. We have some good news and some bad news. The bad news is that we are lost. The good news...

What then should be our approach with respect to the attitude of the child of God toward rock music? It is my position, in the first place, that our fundamental approach should not be what I would call a kind of empirical approach, according to which we base our judgment on experience and garner all kinds of evidence and supposedly weigh the wrongs and the rights, the pros and cons, and come to a conclusion. Practically speaking, such an approach might lead to a ringing condemnation; but with some it might also lead to a partial approval. That approach has also sometimes been...

Cornelius Hanko is an emeritus minister in the Protestant Reformed Churches. Ques. 101. May we then swear religiously by the name of God? Ans. Yes; when the magistrate demands it of the subjects; or when necessity requires us thereby to confirm fidelity and truth to the glory of God, and the safety of our neighbor; for suck an oath is founded on God’s word, and therefore was justly used by the saints, both in the Old and New Testament. Ques. 102. May we also swear by saints or by any other creatures? Ans. No; for a lawful oath is calling...