Vol 70 Issue 03

The Gospel According to John, by D.A. Carson. Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1992. 715 pp., $34.95. [Reviewed by Prof. Herman Hanko.] Dr. Carson’s commentary on the Gospel According to John is one of the best commentaries I have read on this beautiful and important part of Scripture. I recommend it to all our readers. Ministers and teachers can find in it a wealth of material to aid them in understanding what is a difficult book But those with no formal education in college or Seminary can also easily read the book. It is true that it...

Rev. Moore is pastor of the Protestant Reformed Church of Hull, Iowa. “For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope.”  Romans 15:4 God is the Author of the Scripture, which is a Word of power. The Scriptures are the living Word of God. They are this because they are the Word of the living God. No other book is able to lead us with authority and guide us with power as does the Holy Word of God. Thus the Scriptures become a precious treasure for...

Mr. Wigger is an elder in the Protestant Reformed Church of Hudsonville, Michigan. Ministerial Activities The congregation of Southwest PRC in Grandville, MI invited all members of other West Michigan PR congregations to meet with them for the installation of Rev. R. Cammenga on September at their church. Prof. Hanko officiated at this service. The congregation of Loveland, CO PRC extended a call to Rev. R. VanOverloop, presently serving our churches as pastor of Bethel PRC in Elk Grove Village, IL, to serve as their pastor. Rev. VanOverloop has declined the call. I take this opportunity, also, to clear up...

Prof. Hanko is professor of Church History and New Testament in the Protestant Reformed Seminary. Introduction One cannot study the history of the Reformation of the 16th century without being impressed with God’s all-wise and gracious providence over the affairs of men and nations which made the Reformation possible. History is replete with such examples, which only the blind are unable to see. One example is God’s use of earthly magistrates to protect and advance the cause of the Reformation. Although many powerful rulers in Europe were deeply involved in the history of the Reformation, two outstanding figures illustrate how...

Rev. VanOverloop is pastor of Bethel Protestant Church in Elk Grove Village, Illinois. It is a commonly held position in the church world that one either accepts or rejects Gods efforts to save. It is said, too, that the only way to do the work of evangelism and missions is by seeking to persuade the objects of that work to accept Christ as their personal Savior. It is said that everyone must be told that it is his responsibility to open his heart and to let the waiting Savior into his heart and life. Whether anyone is saved or not...

Mr. Kalsbeek is secretary of the Board of the RFPA. From Moorestown, NJ: “I just received and read my Standard Bearer for March 15th, 1993. Once again we are grateful for your keen ability to expose error and proclaim truth clearly and biblically.” A reader from Corcoran, CA who has “been tricked by Arminianism for almost 17 years” writes: “I praise God that He has sent me the Standard Bearer and you as a part of His witness, to help me to understand the truth.” Port Murray, NJ: “Thank you for publishing such an excellent, outstanding Reformed magazine.” As the...

Rev. Hanko is missionary to Northern Ireland. The following notice appeared in a recent issue of the periodical, Reformation Today, whose editor is the gentleman mentioned in the article, Mr. Erroll Hulse: Hyper-Calvinism in Northern Ireland  The very essence of hyper-calvinism is the denial of common grace and the free offer of the gospel. A magazine with the title the Standard Bearer (from Grandville, MI, USA) is a vigorous opponent of common grace. A church has been started in Larne, Co Antrim which is sending out a news sheet which propagates erroneous Calvinism. Hyper-calvinism denies the Reformed faith. Among the...

Rev. Miersma is pastor of First Protestant Reformed Church in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. God is a triune God: Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. This truth is set before us, as has been shown, in all the works of God, in all His revelation to us, and in the very language or terminology of Scripture itself. This doctrine is not founded upon one or two texts of Scripture but belongs to the whole fabric of God’s self-revelation. Distinct Personal Properties and Relations According to this revelation of God we distinguish not only three persons; Father, Son, and Holy Ghost within the...

Execution of the Homosexual Informative, edifying, instructive, and scripturally-sound articles concerning the vile sin of sodomy appeared in the July, August, and September 1, 1993, issues of the Standard Bearer. We live in a world in which men and women have been given up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their- bodies among themselves because they have exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! (cf. Rom. 1:24, 25). Editor Engelsma’s comments in the editorial of September, 1993, deserve emphasis in...

Martin Luther took a stand. Publicly he confessed the truth of the Word of God. Courageously he defended the truth against all attacks upon it. Firmly he stood his ground, maintaining his confession and routing the enemies of this confession. He did not fall silent, did not compromise, did not even waver. He took a stand although everything that a man values was on the line: reputation, livelihood, membership in the church, liberty, and life itself. He took a stand even though he stood alone. It is one thing to take a stand in the company of others where there...