Vol 66 Issue 08

Mr. Wigger is a member of the Protestant Reformed Church of Hudsonville, Michigan. Mission Activities Rev. Ken Hanko, along with his family, returned home to Norristown, PA in the middle of December. You may remember that Rev. Hanko was on loan to the Covenant Reformed Fellowship in Larne, Northern Ireland for a period of approximately nine months. However, due to difficulties in .Norristown, Rev. Hanko returned home earlier than expected. We can also report that there is a group of about 40 people, including 19 children, which make up the group in Larne. Because of this interest, the Committee for...

Rev. Heys is a minister emeritus in the Protestant Reformed Churches. When Adam and Eve ate a piece of fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, it may have looked to us as a minor sin. It may even look strange that a “little sin” like this should call for death and everlasting punishment in the lake of fire. But if we realize that it was an act of hatred against God; a denial of His right to forbid man to do this or that; an act whereby man sought to dethrone God; and, as the devil...

Rev. Miersma is pastor of the Protestant Reformed Church of New Zealand, a sister-church to the Protestant Reformed Church of New Zealand. Christ is coming! This is a truth which every child of God knows, yet so often ignores as he is caught up on the whirlwind of today’s fast life. It has been so long ago that He was taken from us in a cloud to heaven that we do not daily live in living hope of His return. However, the Lord will not let us forget. He has given us many signs that show that He will come...

Mr. James Lanting, a member of South Holland Protestant Reformed Church, is a practicing attorney. “What would Sunday be today if professional football, baseball, basketball and tennis were barred. Today Sunday is not only a day for religion, but for . . . rest, recreation, business, industry and labor. Such a change is not surprising but is dictated by the American way of life. “  Frazee v. Illinois  (Illinois Appellate Court, 1987) Sunday Work. Do Christian employees have the religious freedom to refuse work on Sundays without fear of being fired or of other employer reprisals? The answer is a...

Prof. Decker is professor of Practical Theology in the Protestant Reformed Seminary. Four Significant Conferences The Calvin Studies Society (of which our professors are members), an international society which has as its purpose the study of John Calvin and Calvinism is sponsoring the “Fifth Colloquium On Calvin Studies” on January 19 and 20. The Colloquium is hosted this year by Davidson College. Among the subjects to be treated are: “The Doctrine of the Holy Trinity: Gregory of Nazianzen and Calvin,” “Heinrich Bullinger’s Theology: Thematic, Comprehensive, Schematic,” and “Calvin’s Doctrine of Eternal Life.” Two of our professors, David Engelsma and Herman...

Mr. Sugg is a ruling elder in the Protestant Reformed Church of Houston, Texas. (The following essay was originally prepared at the request of a Bible study society in one of our congregations as a guide for an after-recess discussion. The writer attempted an outline but fell into a kind of provocative meditation. This work was not intended for publication, but with this caution, and some minor editing, it is offered here.) Suicide, like all sin, is not just a matter of an overt act. It begins in the heart; and although it might not be committed outwardly, it is...

Mrs. Lubbers is a wife and mother in the Protestant Reformed Church of South Holland, Illinois. Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies.  Proverbs 31:10 There it lay. Rich. Rare. A dazzling treasure filled with fire and sparkle. Flawless, it glints and winks dispassionately inside the burglar-proof glass which encases it. The fabled Hope Diamond, now housed in the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C., continues to hold its myriad visitors in thrall. Crowns ablaze with pearls and clustered with diamonds; sapphires, and rubies of spectacular size and clarity. Bracelets of thick, shimmering gold. Tiaras...

Rev. Woudenberg is pastor of the Protestant Reformed Church of Kalamazoo, Michigan. The Lord is . . . not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. II Peter 3:9 Casuistry was once a respected area of Christian study. Among the early Puritans it had to do with the study of the conscience. Those were godly men, dedicated to living in good conscience before God. But they were realistic too, and, being good students of Scripture, realized that difficulties do inevitably arise. Of these cases they made a study and called their study casuistry. The great...

(Unfortunately, the brief series on the task of the Protestant Reformed Churches with their seminary, begun in the November 15, 1989 issue of The Standard Bearer, had to be interrupted. The first installment contended that the task of the seminary is the training of gifted men to be able Reformed pastors in the congregations, or missionaries. Because of the worth and necessity of the office of pastor, the seminary, though in the background, has an important place in the labor of the denomination. The third installment will follow directly.) The importance of the task of the seminary derives from the...

The first month of the new year is a good time to remind the reader of the policy concerning editorial response to letters that appear in The Standard Bearer. This policy was stated at the time that the “Letters” column was introduced (The SB, Nov. 1, 1988): The Editor will not feel himself constrained to respond to every letter, whether he agrees or disagrees, since the purpose of the column is not public debate, but to hear from our people. Response will not be given to every letter, even though the letter is in disagreement with some article in the magazine....