Vol 65 Issue 14

Mr. Wigger is an elder in the Protestant Reformed Church of Hudsonville, Michigan. It has been quite a few weeks since I included a church profile, and I have only two left. There doesn’t seem to be much news, so now would be a good time to slip one in. For several years, in the early 1970’s, there had been talk of the need for a new Protestant Reformed church in the Grandville-Jenison area of West Michigan. Not only were nearby P.R. churches crowded, but there were many new families, especially young growing families, moving into the area. On February...

Prof. Hanko is professor of Church History and New Testament in the Protestant Reformed Seminary. While we have, in previous articles in the Standard Bearer, discussed the major issues which arise in the field of Christian ethics, there are many subjects which could be treated in these articles, some of which are related to subjects we have already discussed and most of which do not warrant an entire article. We have decided, therefore, to write an article or two concerning various less important issues and concerning developments in various areas which we have already discussed. Custody Fight Over Fertilized Ova In...

Rev. Van Baren is pastor of the Protestant Reformed Church of Hudsonville, Michigan. The Horror of Abortion This past January we commemorated the 16th anniversary of the decision of the Supreme Court of the United States to legalize abortion. Much has been made of this. The presidential candidates in the last campaign took opposing sides on the issue. The new president has made it a point to show his own abhorrence of the practice. We hear the claim that the present Supreme Court will likely reverse the earlier decision. We await the outcome. In the meantime, the killings continue. One...

Rev. Heys is a minister emeritus in the Protestant Reformed Churches. In the mother promise of Genesis 3:15 the word translated as bruise is more correctly translated as crushed. The seed of the serpent’s head is going to be crushed and not merely bruised. The heel of the seed of the woman is going to be crushed and not merely suffer a bruise. Therefore take note of the fact that there is an amazing difference as to what happens to the seed of the serpent, and what happens to the seed of the woman. The head of one and the heel of...

Rev. Ken Hanko is pastor of the Protestant Reformed Church of Norristown, Pennsylvania. In early October of 1983 the Mission Committee of the Protestant Reformed Churches sent Ken Hanko, who had just graduated from seminary and was a candidate for the ministry, to the Norristown, PA area to work with a group of eight people who were interested in establishing a Protestant Reformed Church. Pastor Hanko was ordained home missionary in September, 1984, and has worked since that time with the group in Norristown. Though five of the original eight left, the group grew, and was organized in January of...

Rev. Lubbers is a minister emeritus in the Protestant Reformed Churches. That Awesome Breakfast At the Galilean Seashore (vss. 9-12) We may confidently affirm that this was in really no sense of the word a sacramental meal, though it was a very special heaven-sent breakfast on earth. Surely, it was different in nature from any common breaking of the fast. Literally the Greek text reads “come and break your fast” (deute haristeesate). The Greek term hariston properly is: the first meal. It is a meal in the early morning before the work of day. The term for supper is quite different in...

Rev. Cammenga is pastor of the Protestant Reformed Church of Loveland, Colorado. “If any minister, for the aforesaid or any other reason, is compelled to discontinue his service for a time, which shall not take place without the advice of the consistory, he shall nevertheless at all times be and remain subject to the call of the congregation.” Church Order, Article 14. Article 14 is closely connected to the preceding articles of the Church Order. Article 10 deals with dismission from a congregation by a minister who has accepted a call elsewhere. Article 11 deals with permanent dismission from service of...

My question is this: In I Corinthians 7:15 the apostle Paul instructs us, “Yet if the unbelieving departeth, let him depart: the brother or the sister is not under bondage in such cases: But God hath called us in peace” (ASV). Do we understand this passage to teach that a believing spouse who is divorced by an unbelieving spouse, because of the Christian profession of the believing spouse, is no longer under marital obligation to the unbelieving spouse and is hence free to remarry? A second question which follows this one is, have the Protestant Reformed Churches ever addressed this matter on...

We like what we read in The Standard Bearer. It’s instructional in the Scriptures, it’s edifying, and it sets forth the Reformed interpretations of the Word of God as we have received it from the fathers of the faith. How interesting to note that the magazine is being distributed and read in Ireland, New Zealand, Australia, England, and wherever the Lord in His good providence may want it read and reread. It is our hope and wish that more readers would get involved in airing their views and concerns about the contents, as well as their likes and dislikes of your...

In answer to a request from a reader in Northern Ireland, we are analyzing the views of the Scottish Presbyterian theologian of the 17th century, Samuel Rutherford, on the duty of the Reformed Christian towards the civil state. (Cf. the April 1, 1989 issue ofThe SB for a summary of Rutherford’s doctrine and for the first installment of the critique of this doctrine.) Particularly, the question is whether the Christian’s calling to submit to the state is conditional, so that whenever the state becomes unjust and tyrannical the Christian may revolt. This was the position of Rutherford in his book, Lex, Rex,...