Vol 69 Issue 07

An Introduction to the New Testament, by D. A. Carson, Douglas J. Moo, & Leon Morris; Zondervan Publishing House, 1992; 537 pp., $24.95 (hard cover). [Reviewed by Prof. Herman Hanko.] Books on “Introduction” deal with background material on Scripture. Usually they deal with the individual books of the Bible. A good book on “Introduction” will examine the question of the authorship of an individual Bible book; it will try to discover when the book was written; it will examine the question of the addressee of a book, i.e., to whom a book was addressed; it will attempt to learn the...

Mr. Wigger is an elder in the Protestant Reformed Church of Hudsonville, Michigan.

Prof. Hanko is professor of Church History and New Testament in the Protestant Reformed Seminary. Introduction God uses many different kinds of men in the work of the church. The differences are not only those of cultural background, abilities and gifts, personality and character; they are also differences in spiritual strength and weakness. Some of God’s servants are of such noble moral character that one stands amazed at the power of grace in their lives. Some are very weak, to the point that they seem wholly unfitted for the work of the church. Some are Samuels and Gideons; others are...

Rev. Cammenga is pastor of the Protestant Reformed Church of Loveland, Colorado. The classis has the same jurisdiction over the consistory as the particular synod has over the classis and the general synod over the particular. Church Order, Article 36

Rev. denHartog is pastor of Hope Protestant Reformed Church in Redlands, California. Anyone who followed the recent political campaigns in America is aware of how the above topic became a sort of buzzword in them. Everyone realizes that America is in a state of moral and spiritual decadence. Such awful realities of life in America as the spiraling rate of violent crime, murders, rapes, assaults, and gang violence are indications of the tragic state our nation is in. The recent L.A. riots are symptomatic of the profound problems in our nation’s cities that seem to defy all solution. It is...

Rev. Lubbers is a minister emeritus in the Protestant Reformed Churches. We ought to keep in mind that our task is to ascertain the instruction of the Holy Spirit in this section of Holy Scripture. It is abundantly clear that Paul is addressing these words of instruction and exhortation to Timothy, Paul’s faithful, true son in Christ Jesus. The Holy Spirit addresses these words to the church at Ephesus and also to the church that is gathered, preserved, and defended by the Son of God through His Spirit and Word until Jesus comes upon the clouds of heaven. It is...

Prof. Decker is professor of Practical Theology in the Protestant Reformed Seminary. Is a New Reformed Denomination to be Formed? As our readers know, a goodly number of groups have seceded from the Christian Reformed Church in the recent past. As of this writing there are a- total of thirty congregations composed of 1575 families, 3649 communicants, and 6312 total members. At present these congregations are independent, but part of the Alliance of Reformed Churches (ARC). Last October an organization called the Burlington Reformed Study Center, composed of three men associated with the Canadian Reformed Churches (Liberated), organized three public...

Rev. Key is pastor of the Protestant Reformed Church of Randolph, Wisconsin. Before setting forth the truth of Scripture concerning this concept of self-esteem, I want to call your attention once again to the influence of the unbiblical idea that has been so readily accepted. I make bold to proclaim that the influence of the modern self-esteem movement has permeated even our own thinking to a degree – perhaps to a rather large degree. There has been more and more emphasis placed on self-esteem among us, and most often it is not the emphasis on proper Christian self-esteem, i.e., biblical...

Rev. Hanko is a minister emeritus in the Protestant Reformed Churches. Spiritual complacency is an ailment that creeps upon us unawares. It takes hold of us exactly when we least expect it. If anyone were to ask us, “How do you feel?” we likely would respond, “Fine, I’m in the peak of health.” But if we were to follow up the question with a bit of self examination, we would realize that we had given our spiritual health little thought. Recent soul searching we have not done. Like Israel of old we are content to say, “The people of the...

The Lord Jesus is coming. Our recent celebration of Christmas reminded us of this coming. His first coming points to the second, demands the second, and is fulfilled only in the second. The justification of God, the redemption of the church, and the judgment of this world accomplished by His coming in lowliness must be perfected by His coming in glory. This coming will be bodily and visible. At His coming, the Lord Jesus will raise the dead, judge all men and angels, and renew the creation. This will be the end of this world and its history. Christ’s coming...