Vol 74 Issue 05

Mr. Wigger is an elder in the Protestant Reformed Church of Hudsonville, Michigan. Evangelism Activities The Evangelism Committee of the Bethel PRC in Itasca, IL has created a sermon tape album on a series of eight sermons taken from the admonition of Philippians 4:8, namely, to think upon those things which are true. These messages expound the great Christian graces so vital for one’s own peace and comfort. Special applications are made to youth and young couples concerning the need to adorn their lives with true virtues. This series includes “True Love,” “True Humility,” “True Courage,” “True Joy,” “True Peace,”...

Today’s Gospel and Apostolic Exhortations: A Study in the Presentation of the Gospel, by A. G. Randalls. Windmill Hill, East Sussex, England: The Huntingtonian Press, 1997. 103 pp. Price unknown (paper). [Reviewed by the editor.] Promising much, this book delivers little. It claims to be “the first book to set in order true principles regarding the way in which it is safe to address mixed congregations expounding those passages of Scripture which for too long have been misrepresented” (back cover). It intends to set forth the biblical mode of preaching, particularly the call of the gospel, against the error of...

Mrs. Kortering is the wife of Rev. Jason Kortering, a minister-on-loan from the Protestant Reformed Churches in America to Singapore. Tuesday, January 9. Conference carried on as before. I told Tracy that I would really like to meet with the women during the noon break after lunch was finished. Afternoon session didn’t start until 2 p.m. So she rounded them all up and we met in the ladies’ house. They all sat on the floor, but they brought in some chairs for Fiona, Leh Wah, and me. I made some opening remarks, expressing our thanks that the Lord had brought...

  Prof. Hanko is professor of Church History and New Testament in the Protestant Reformed Seminary. Conclusion It is hard to imagine the amount of work which Herman Hoeksema produced. But this was and is true of many whom God uses in His church. They spend themselves in the cause of the gospel and do work that indeed derives its power from heaven. Hoeksema was, above all, a preacher. It is difficult for us to understand how anyone who heard his preaching could leave his congregation. He was clear, concise, biblical, and confessional. A little child could understand him; an...

Prof. Decker is professor of Practical Theology in the Protestant Reformed Seminary. There are two questions of an introductory nature which must be answered before we discuss Articles 72, 73, and 74, which deal with the discipline of those who have committed secret sins. Those questions are: May non-communicant members (members by baptism) be disciplined? And, Is it possible for impenitent members to avoid being disciplined by leaving the fellowship of the church before discipline is applied? The latter question could be put this way: May a consistory refuse to grant a person who is under discipline his/her membership papers...

Rev. Bruinsma is pastor of Kalamazoo Protestant Reformed Church in Kalamazoo, Michigan. Marriage is an honorable state. It was instituted by God at the time of the creation of the woman. The purpose of God in marriage is to give the believing man and his wife an earthly means by which they can experience with each other the great love and friendship that exist between Christ and His church. This is that mystery which only those who are in Christ can discover in their marriage. Marriage is a covenant bond that symbolizes the unbreakable union of Christ and His church....

Rev. Dick is pastor of Grace Protestant Reformed Church in Standale, Michigan. In our first study on John 11 (cf. the Standard Bearer, November 1, 1997) we introduced the narrative, and noted the main purpose of Jesus’ raising of Lazarus, namely, that it be “for the glory of God, that the Son of God might be glorified thereby” (v. 4). We noted also that, really, the main focus in John 11 is not on Lazarus, nor his death and resurrection, but on Jesus, the resurrection and the life. Let us continue to have this biblical focus in our searching the...

Rev. VanBaren is pastor of the Protestant Reformed Church of Loveland, Colorado. “Mary, Mother of God” One of our younger readers called my attention to the cover story of Newsweek, August 25, 1997, which presented “The Meaning of Mary—A Struggle Over Her Role Grows Within the Church.” The article discusses at length the “growing movement in the Roman Catholic church (which) wants the pope to proclaim a new, controversial dogma: that Mary is a Co-Redeemer….” He thought it deserved some comment—and I agree. The article reports on petitions within the Roman Catholic Church to have the pope declare Mary to...

Read on the Web I have just finished reading the article on John Gill and hyper-Calvinism (“John Gill: Hyper-Calvinist? [A Review Article],” Standard Bearer, April 15, 1996). I want to thank you for posting this on your site and for the professor’s clear explanation of the difference between real hyper-Calvinism and what is falsely called hyper-Calvinism, that is, the denial of the so-called “sincere” or “well-meant” offer. I have not previously been acquainted with your circle of churches (I am a Reformed Baptist), but I am pleased to read of your history on this site. Thanks again for posting this...

Now the guilty party may remarry. The man or the woman who committed adultery against his wife or her husband, thus causing the divorce in his or her first marriage, is allowed to remarry and to be a member in good standing in the church. The churches that are now allowing this are evangelical, Reformed, and Presbyterian churches. They are evangelical, Reformed, and Presbyterian churches that have a reputation for conservatism and orthodoxy. These churches approve the remarriage of the guilty party. In some cases, they may require confession of the adultery that broke up the first marriage. But they...