Vol 75 Issue 20

Prof. Engelsma is professor of Dogmatics and Old Testament in the Protestant Reformed Seminary. Then they that feared the Lord spake often one to another: and the Lord hearkened, and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before him for them that feared the Lord, and that thought upon his name. And they shall be mine, saith the Lord of hosts, in that day when I make up my jewels; and I will spare them, as a man spareth his own son that serveth him. Malachi 3:16, 17 We humans are fascinated with records and record-books. We are...

Mr. Wigger is an elder in the Protestant Reformed Church of Hudsonville, Michigan. Congregation Activities This past summer the congregation of the Hudsonville, MI PRC met twice to consider important proposals from their council. In late May they met to approve a proposal that when Rev. G. VanBaren retires from the ministry in August, he be hired on an hourly basis to assist Rev. B. Gritters, Hudsonville’s pastor, with his heavy work load. Hudsonville’s council anticipated that some of Rev. VanBaren’s duties would be to preach occasionally, teach afternoon catechism classes, possibly lead a society, and visit the elderly. Hudsonville...

Rev. Key is pastor of the Protestant Reformed Church of Randolph, Wisconsin. As we continue our consideration of Christ in relation to the covenant, we find from Scripture that not only is Christ the Mediator of the covenant, but also the Head of the covenant. This is a truth that has raised considerable opposition and discussion through the years, primarily because of a common misunderstanding as to the nature of the covenant. When the covenant is defined as an agreement or contract between two parties, namely, between God and His people, it is hardly possible to speak of Christ as...

Prof. Decker is professor of Practical Theology in the Protestant Reformed Seminary. When in this article we concentrate on the calling of the elders of God’s church to care for the widows, we do not mean to deny the need of the widowers, nor do we mean to minimize the elders’ calling to care for them as well. Widowers mourn the loss of their wives and they are lonely. They too need to be comforted by the Word of God, and the elders must see to it that these are brought the Word of comfort. In addition, much of what...

Rev. Kuiper is pastor of Southeast Protestant Reformed Church in Grand Rapids, Michigan. It was suggested that the questions submitted in writing after the speech at First Church in April, and the answers given to them, be included in this final article on entertainment. The dozen or so questions fall into four distinct categories. A.What about vacations where we cannot worship in our Protestant Reformed Churches?” Can we observe the Sabbath while on vacation? What are your thoughts concerning vacationing over Sunday away from our Protestant Reformed Churches? What type of discipline should be taken in the Protestant Reformed Churches...

Rev. Dick is pastor of Grace Protestant Reformed Church in Standale, Michigan Some thing has just happened. A great storm. Some destructive thing. Did you hear about it? Hurricane Calvary! And awful wreckage. Do you see it? Jesus died! Jesus dead! The thing, the storm and the wreckage, is recorded in John 19 and the other gospel accounts. There it is: the great wrath wind from God Himself; then the still, lifeless body of the Lord. And His being buried. That truth—that killing, and that death—is a real test of faith. I believe in other storms. And it is impossible...

Mrs. Lubbers is a wife and mother in the Protestant Reformed Church of South Holland, Illinois. “Feed my lambs, Feed my sheep.” John 21 “I am persuaded that the use of a good Catechism in all our families will be a great safeguard against the increasing errors of the times. Those who use it in their families or classes must labor to explain the sense; but the words should be carefully learned by heart, for they will be understood better as years pass.” C.H. SpurgeonIn just a few weeks, catechism classes for the instruction of children in the Protestant Reformed...

Prof. Hanko is professor of Church History and New Testament in the Protestant Reformed Seminary. Introduction The attack against the doctrines of sovereign grace which had been made by Pelagius and his disciple Celestius were answered by the great bishop of Hippo, Augustine. But Augustine was only one individual in the church. He was its greatest thinker; he was its soundest theologian; he towered over his age like a colossus. But what he believed and taught, while influential in the lives of many others, could not become official church dogma until the church adopted his position. Would the church do...

In a letter published in the May 15, 1999 issue of the Standard Bearer, Christian Reconstruction postmillennialist Gary DeMar challenged me to a debate. This was not the first challenge thrown out to me by this leading advocate of postmillennialism. In a letter published in the March 15, 1995 issue of the Standard Bearer, Mr. DeMar wrote: Why not open the campus of the seminary of the Protestant Reformed Church (sic) to a debate on the topics of “the last days” and “postmillennialism”? I would be willing to pay my own way to participate in such a debate. How about...

This summer the Dutch Reformed Translation Society (DRTS) produced another book by Herman Bavinck in English translation. This is the second put out by the DRTS. The first was The Last Things: Hope for This World and the Next (Baker, 1996). The recent volume is a 289-page paperback entitled, In the Beginning: Foundations of Creation Theology. As The Last Things is the eschatology section in Bavinck’s hitherto untranslated four-volume work of Reformed dogmatics, Gereformeerde Dogmatiek, In the Beginning is the section on creation. The book is available from Baker Books in Grand Rapids, MI for $15.99. Baker is the publisher...