Vol 68 Issue 05

(The previous editorial closed by contending that a living, genuine holding of the traditions fakes place only in the way of our constant, free interpretation of the Bible. The church holds fast what has been handed over to her by going back to Scripture.—Ed.) When this free interpretation of Scripture goes on, it is possible that the tradition that has come down to a Reformed church is both corrected and developed. Holding the traditions is not a static activity. It is not the same as preserving a family heirloom. We ‘may not hold the traditions as the servant of Luke 19 kept...

The recent book, Behold Your God (BYG), by Scottish Presbyterian theologian Donald Macleod is a passionate plea for the doctrine of common grace. Three of the sixteen chapters are devoted to common grace explicitly. A fourth consists of the application of common grace to the saving will of God and the atonement of the cross. Macleod’s defense of common grace involves the denial of the Reformed doctrine of total depravity. For common grace keeps the unregenerated from being completely defiled by sin. The Presbyterian theologian defends his denial of total depravity in three ways. First, he redefines “total” to mean merely...

Mr. Wigger is a member of the Protestant Reformed Church of Hudsonville, Michigan. Denominational Highlights On October 11, 1991, Southwest Church honored Rev. and Mrs. Herman Veldman with a program commemorating a double anniversary of the Veldmans: 60 years of marriage and 60 years in the ministry. Mr. Phil Lotterman read a tribute to the Veldmans on that occasion, and he has subsequently shared it with us. We are happy, in turn, to share some of it with you, the readers of the S.B. Rev. Veldman was born in Chicago on April22, 1908, the third son in a family of thirteen...

Mysticism: An Evangelical Option?, by Winfried Corduam; Zondervan Publishing House, 1991; 150 pp., $14.95 (paper). [Reviewed by Prof. H. Hanko.] Anyone interested in mysticism in the church will probably want to consult this book. While it is somewhat philosophical and psychological in the first part of the book, especially the last two chapters are well worth reading. The book starts out by examining very broadly mysticism as a universal phenomenon found in all religions, and it asks such questions as: Does mysticism have a common core? Does mysticism have an objective referent? Can language describe mystical experience? But at the...

Rev. Kuiper is pastor of Immanuel Protestant Reformed Church in Lacombe, Alberta, Canada. The word tradition is used five times by Jesus and four times by the apostle Paul. In addition, there is one occurrence where it is translated “ordinances” (I Cor. 11:2). It is not to be found in the Old Testament, although the idea of tradition is implied in such phrases as “sayings of old which our fathers have told us” (Ps. 78:2, 3); “the rock whence you are hewn” (Isaiah 51:1); and “the ancient landmarks” (Prov. 22:28). The Greek word is composed of a root with the...

“If any man love God, the same is known of him.” I Cor. 8:3 “For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another.” Gal. 5:13 After much prayerful study and reflection, we now take up our pen to write a few articles on what is often called the “liberty” of a Christian. A Christian, you must remember, is not “under law” but “under grace.” We are not any longer servants under tutors and governors; we are no longer living in the Old Testament time when the church...

Rev. Woudenberg is pastor of the Protestant Reformed Church of Kalamazoo, Michigan. How shall we, that are dead unto sin, live any longer therein?  Romans 6:2 When Rev. Herman Hoeksema and Dr. Klaas Schilder met in 1939, they were two men of kindred spirit. Both of them in their own circumstances had spent their lives striving against the worldliness which was overwhelming the Reformed faith, in the United States as well as in the Netherlands. In turn, they were basically agreed as to the underlying cause for this, although they tended to differ in their emphasis. Hoeksema had had his...

 Rev. Haak is pastor of the Protestant Reformed Church of Lynden, Washington. The very first words of this prophecy deserve serious and concentrated study by every believer. Why? First of all, the words “I have loved you” stand as the foundation of the entire book, as well as the ground on which God brings His complaint against His people. All of the terrible spiritual indifference, the weariness of worshiping God, the violation of God’s covenant in the married state, which were prevalent in Malachi’s day, were at heart this: insensitivity and coldness to the love of God. God’s first word...

Rev. Moore is pastor of the Protestant Reformed Church of Hull, Iowa. The occasion for this paper is the notification given to me that an acquaintance of mine had, in his words, “come out of the closet,” after having spent a good part of his life as a practicing homosexual undercover. At the time that he informed me of this, he said that he could no longer live the life of duplicity, and that if by notifying me he lost my friendship, it would still be worth it to him. However, at this time he addressed a letter of 12...

Rev. denHartog is pastor of Hope Protestant Reformed Church in Redlands, California. For a long time I had been hoping for the opportunity to visit the church in Jamaica with which our churches have been laboring for a number of years. I counted it an exciting privilege therefore when Rev. Joostens and I were sent recently to the island for the purpose of conducting a seminar for the leaders of the churches there according to the decision of Synod 1990. Synod approved the holding of two such one-month seminars each year for four years. The seminar in which I participated...