Vol 77 Issue 12

Mr. Wigger is a member of the Protestant Reformed Church of Hudsonville, Michigan. Mission Activities In recent news from Ghana we learn that the work on their new permanent place of worship is nearing completion.  As of mid-February, the  plastering was nearly finished on the inside of the church building and the roof was very near completion. In addition to that positive news, we also found that the council of the Hull, Iowa PRC, the calling church for Ghana, as well as our churches’ Foreign Mission Committee, have approved new volunteers to go to Ghana when the Boumas leave. They...

Writings of Thomas E. Peck. Selected and arranged by T. C. Johnson. 3 vols. Edinburgh: The Banner of Truth Trust, 1999. $79.99 (cloth). [Reviewed by the editor.] Thomas E. Peck was a nineteenth century southern Presbyterian in the school of Thornwell and Dabney. Born in 1822, he taught at Union Theological Seminary from 1860 until his death in 1893. He taught church history for the first 23 years and theology for the last 10 years. The contents of the three volumes are individual articles, sermons, and lectures gathered for publication as a collection of miscellaneous writings after Peck’s death. Some...

Prof. Hanko is professor emeritus of Church History and New Testament in the Protestant Reformed Seminary. Introduction In the last article we left Innocent III, the greatest of all popes before or since, occupying the papal chair in Rome. In this article our attention is going to be concentrated on Innocent’s theory of the papacy, his achievements, and his efforts to make the power of the papacy supreme in Europe—efforts in which he was altogether too successful. It seems to me that any effort to judge Innocent’s role in history is going to have to take into account the fact...

Rev. Gritters is pastor of the Protestant Reformed Church of Hudsonville, Michigan. recently I received a telephone call and a letter taking issue with the contents of one of my articles under the title “Shall We Dance, Rock, and Play: Or, How Shall We Judge Contemporary Worship?” I am thankful that the Standard Bearer is read and that the articles provoke discussion and comment. And I am thankful to both who responded for their stimulating comments. The telephone call was from one of the pastors of Mars Hill Church, who indicated that my representation of his church was not accurate....

Prof. Dykstra is professor of Church History and New Testament in the Protestant Reformed Seminary. In September of 2000, a conference on the doctrine of the covenant was held between the Committee for Contact with Other Churches, a committee of the Protestant Reformed Churches, and the Committee for Ecumenical Relations and Church Unity of the United Reformed Churches. At this conference, both committees submitted papers on the covenant. What follows is the paper given by the committee of the Protestant Reformed Churches. The covenant is undoubtedly one of the most significant doctrines revealed in the Scriptures. In the judgment of...

Rev. VanBaren is a minister emeritus in the Protestant Reformed Churches. You Knew it Was Bad, But… That the modern media is permeated with sex is known to any who pay any attention to this. Movies, television, videos, and now especially the Internet present this corruption in an uninterrupted stream. One is especially impressed with the seriousness of all of this when writers in the secular press speak out against the shocking prevalency of it. In an article in the Grand Rapids Press, February 7, 2001, Valerie Kuklenski, writing originally in the Los Angeles Daily News, presents some of the...

Rev. Cammenga is pastor of Southwest Protestant Reformed Church in Grandville, Michigan. In a previous article (see the October 15, 2000 issue), we treated the history of the Scotch Confession of Faith. That article appeared in the special Reformation issue, October 15, 2000. It may be helpful to reread that article for the background to the present one. In this article, we want to look more closely at the contents of the Scotch Confession. Overview of Contents The Scotch Confession contains all of the important truths common to the creeds that were written in the Reformation era. It affirms all...

Divine Hardening This letter serves several purposes. One of my purposes is to express appreciation for the editorial, “How Does Christ Speak in the Preaching of the Gospel?” in the January 15, 2001 issue of the Standard Bearer. The other purposes are to remark and to seek a better understanding for myself and other readers of the truth of the hardening of the reprobate by the preaching as mentioned in the above editorial, also the hardening of the reprobate who are not in the church in any sense. In light of my following comments, questions, and the risk of being...

In the controversy between the Christian Reformed Church (CRC) and the Protestant Reformed Churches (PRC) over common grace, a strange doctrinal distinction has surfaced. The distinction originates from the side of the CRC and is used by Christian Reformed theologians. It is the distinction between “total and absolute depravity.” The distinction concerns the teaching of the second and third points of the doctrine of common grace adopted by the CRC in 1924. This is the teaching that there is a gracious work of the Holy Spirit in unregenerated men and women restraining sin in them and enabling them to perform...

Rev. Hanko is a minister emeritus in the Protestant Reformed Churches. Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. Ephesians 6:10 As children we sang with youthful enthusiasm, “Onward, Christian soldiers, marching as to war, with the cross of Jesus going on before.” Little did we realize the implication and seriousness of what we sang. Only as we grew older did we learn that each one of us who is born in the line of God’s covenant is a recruit in the regiment of Christ Jesus, called to fight the battle of faith...