Vol 73 Issue 18

Mr. Wigger is an elder in the Protestant Reformed Church of Hudsonville, Michigan. Congregational Activities This summer the consistory of the Hudsonville, MI PRC has encouraged all the members of their congregation to put to memory the Word of God from the book of James, a part or the whole. This program, entitled “In My Heart,” had a part for both young and old. Good quality Bibles will be awarded to those who recite their chosen portion by the end of the summer, whether that is a small part of the book or the entire book. Hudsonville’s consistory’s goal was...

May 14, 1997 Hope Protestant Reformed Church Classis East met in regular session on Wednesday, May 14, 1997 at the Hope Protestant Reformed Church. Each church was represented by two delegates. Rev. C. Terpstra was the chair for this session. Classis dealt again in this session with the ongoing problems that Covenant PRC, Wyckoff, NJ has in trying to remain a congregation. At the January 1997 meeting, classis decided to advise Covenant to disband and to report their decision at the May 1997 meeting of classis. Covenant’s decision, however, was to remain a congregation. At a congregational meeting held on...

“Calvin v. Hyper-Spurgeonism: The Battle for the Preaching of the One Scriptural and Reformation Gospel,” by John Calvin and others. Lewes, E. Sussex, England: Berith Publications, 1997. 35 pp. $4 (surface mail)/$6 (airmail) (paper). [Reviewed by the editor.] This booklet is genuine Calvinism’s response to the recent Banner of Truth’s publication, Spurgeon v. Hyper-Calvinism: The Battle for Gospel Preaching. In the 1995 Banner of Truth book, Iain H. Murray wheeled out the English Baptist preacher, Charles H. Spurgeon, to defend Murray and the Banner’s doctrine that God in Christ loves and desires to save every human without exception. With astounding...

Rev. VanBaren is pastor of the Protestant Reformed Church of Loveland, Colorado. Divorce — Roman Catholic Style The Roman Catholic Church (RCC) and the Protestant Reformed Churches have one thing in common — at least I always thought so. Neither recognize the legitimacy of divorce and remarriage. A good Roman Catholic who divorces cannot remarry nor take of communion—unless the first marriage was not, in fact, a marriage at all. The RCC does not recognize a civil divorce as the breaking of the marriage bond. In a number of high profile cases some well-known Roman Catholics have had their first...

Prof. Hanko is professor of Church History and New Testament in the Protestant Reformed Seminary. Ophoff As Professor Throughout his life in the ministry, the center and most important aspect of Ophoff’s work was his labor as professor. I am compelled to look at this aspect of his work from my own perspective because it was in the seminary that I best knew him. In the first year I attended seminary, the school was rather large, with students from our own churches, interested young men and college students who audited various courses, students from the Netherlands, and students from the...

Rev. denHartog is pastor of Hope Protestant Reformed Church in Redlands, California. When we rightly understand the nature of the kingdom, we can also rightly understand what it means to seek the kingdom of heaven and its righteousness. The most common errors in understanding this great exhortation of Christ are the errors that follow from an earthly and carnal conception of the kingdom. Many imagine therefore that they are seeking the kingdom when they get themselves involved in the great social and political movements of the day, such as protest rallies against the evils of our society. These will often...

Prof. Decker is professor of Practical Theology in the Protestant Reformed Seminary. Not only are the elders of God’s church called to rule the congregation, they are also called to rule the officebearers of the congregation. This is clearly stipulated by The Church Order of the Protestant Reformed Churches. Article 23 reads, “The office of the elders, in addition to what was said in Article 16 to be their duty in common with the minister of the Word, is to take heed that the ministers, together with their fellow-elders and the deacons, faithfully discharge their office….” And Article 81 of...

Seeing the Errors in Dispensationalism I am a premillennial dispensationalist. I studied in a Bible school that upholds it. I thank God for the editorials, “A Defense of (Reformed) Amillennialism,” in recent issues of the Standard Bearer. I learned a lot of truths from the articles. And now I am beginning to see a number of errors in dispensationalism. Please continue sending the Standard Bearer. Would you send the Standard Bearer also to these pastors…? (Pastor) P.B. Tanierla Camarines Norte The Philippines

The spacious, comfortable church building of the Grandville Protestant Reformed Church in Grandville, MI was the site of the 1997 synod of the Protestant Reformed Churches (PRC). Synod lasted seven days, from Tuesday, June 10, through Wednesday, June 18. Three days were devoted to the oral examination of three graduating seniors of the Theological School of the PRC. The 20 delegates from the two classes of the denomination finished all the other business of the 100-page agenda in four days. In the pre-synodical worship service on Monday evening, Rev. James Slopsema preached on Acts 1:8, “… and ye shall be...

Rev. Slopsema is pastor of First Protestant Reformed Church in Grand Rapids, Michigan. This is the text of the pre-synodical sermon preached on June 9, 1997. But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth. Acts 1:8 These words were spoken by Jesus to the eleven apostles just before His ascension into heaven. Jesus had trained these men during his brief earthly ministry. Now it was time for Jesus to...