Vol 77 Issue 13

Mr. Wigger is a member of the Protestant Reformed Church of Hudsonville, Michigan. Minister Activities   The council of the Hope PRC in Walker, MI formed a new trio of the Revs. B. Gritters, C. Haak, and J. Slopsema for minister-on-loan to our sister churches in Singapore. Plans called for a special congregational meeting on March 11, at which time a call would be extended to one of these men. Since receiving their last decline, the congregation of the Lynden, WA PRC has extended a call to Rev. C. Terpstra to come over and help them. With him on that...

Homer Hoeksema was professor of Dogmatics and Old Testament in the Protestant Reformed Seminary. Introduction The first section of Genesis 6 is devoted to a description of the growth and development of the first world in wickedness, as that world went madly about filling the measure of iniquity and became ripe for the final judgment of God upon it. We must remember, however, that the Lord of heaven and earth works His own work in history, and that this work, positively speaking, is the maintenance and realization of His everlasting covenant of grace. It is the work of the salvation of the...

Rev. Kleyn is pastor of First Protestant Reformed Church in Edgerton, Minnesota. Understanding that our money is not our own, but God’s, we use it first of all for the causes of His kingdom. This use of our money comes first in priority as well as in order of actual giving. We give cheerfully, liberally, privately, and regularly. In this way we seek first the kingdom of God, also with our money. How, then, are we to use the rest of the money God has given us? Again we must use the sanctified wisdom we have in Christ. All our...

Rev. Gritters is pastor of the Protestant Reformed Church of Hudsonville, Michigan. Heartache   In my pastorate, the most heart-breaking experience I have is to witness parents lose children to rebellion. I have seen parents lose children in death. Oh, how we hurt, then. But little compares to the grief of parents whose children reject them and the Lord. They probably leave the house at age 18, anxious to get away from the parents who gave them life. Perhaps they marry an unbeliever. They spurn the warnings of the elders and leave the church, violating God’s covenant, despising their baptism....

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 on Ecumenical Relations and Church Unity of the United Reformed Churches. At this conference, both committees submitted papers on the covenant. What follows is the second part of the paper given by the committee of the Protestant Reformed Churches. The Protestant Reformed Doctrine of the Covenant The Protestant Reformed Churches view the...

Rev. Kuiper is pastor of the Protestant Reformed Church of Byron Center, Michigan. In the last article we emphasized the importance of the qualifications for deacons as set forth in Acts 6:3, 5 and I Timothy 3:8-12. Anyone installed into the office, even nominated for the office, must meet the requirements found in these portions of God’s Word. This is a matter of obedience to God’s command regarding how to behave in His house. As we continue our treatment of this subject of a deacon’s qualifications, let us remember exactly what God requires the deacon to be. I Timothy 3:8-12 reads: “Likewise must the deacons...

Rev. VanderWal is pastor of Covenant Protestant Reformed Church in Wyckoff, New Jersey. There was the greatest difference between our Lord Jesus Christ and the scribes and Pharisees. This difference could already be seen in the preaching of John the Baptist, the forerunner of Christ. John rebuked the scribes and Pharisees that came to his baptism, and commanded them to bring forth fruits meet for repentance (Matt. 3:7, 8). Since John was the forerunner of Christ, it might well be expected that Jesus would be just as opposed to them. And so it was. As this gospel account unfolds, it...

The November 2000 issue of the Calvin Theological Journal carried an important article on the third point of common grace, which the Christian Reformed Church (CRC) adopted as dogma in 1924. The title of the article is “Common Grace, Theonomy, and Civic Good: The Temptations of Calvinist Politics (Reflections on the Third Point of the CRC Kalamazoo Synod, 1924).” The author is Dr. John Bolt, professor of theology at Calvin Theological Seminary, the seminary of the CRC. The preceding four editorials in the Standard Bearer have been the SB’s acceptance of Dr. Bolt’s invitation to the Reformed community to discuss...

Rev. Slopsema is pastor of First Protestant Reformed Church in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Now when the centurion saw what was done, he glorified God, saying, Certainly this was a righteous man. Luke 27:47 What astonishing things had just taken place! In just a few hours Jesus of Nazareth, the great teacher and miracle worker whom many hailed as the Messiah, had been arrested, tried in three different courts, publicly condemned to death, and then crucified. From middle morning to middle afternoon He hung from a cross between two malefactors. And then He died, commending His spirit to the Father. Our...