Vol 77 Issue 15

Mr. Wigger is a member of the Protestant Reformed Church of Hudsonville, Michigan. Minister Activities   The Lynden, WA   PRC has extended a call to Rev. R. VanOverloop, pastor of the Georgetown PRC in Hudsonville, MI, to serve as their next under—shepherd. Rev. W.  Bruinsma, pastor of the Kalamazoo, MI PRC has received the call to serve as the next pastor of the vacant Randolph, WI PRC. Seminarian Angus Stewart was in Northern Ireland for three Sundays, beginning April 1, to minister to the congregation of our sister church there, the Covenant PRC of Northern Ireland.   Congregation Activities  ...

Charismatic Confusion, by William Goode. Trelawnyd, North Wales: K & M Books, Publisher, 2000. Pp. 400. $30.00US which includes postage. [Reviewed by Herman C. Hanko.] William Goode was an early nineteenth century theologian in the Church of England. He wrote this book in its original form as a response to, what the editor calls, the Irvingite delusion, which was a forerunner of the modern Pentecostal and charismatic movement. The sub-title of the book explains its contents: “The Modern Claims to the Possession of the Extraordinary Gifts of the Spirit Stated and Examined.” K & M Books has given us a...

Rev. Kuiper is pastor of the Protestant Reformed Church of Byron Center, Michigan. That God sets a high standard for deacons in I Timothy 3:8ff., and that God supplies His church with men who, by His grace, attain that standard, we have noticed. Now we must examine the standard more closely. What are the qualifications for the office of deacon? We ask the question for three reasons. First, because God requires His church to nominate for or vote into the diaconate only those who are properly qualified, we must know in detail what the qualifications are. Second, those who are currently...

Rev. Dick is pastor of Grace Protestant Reformed Church in Standale, Michigan. With this article I would introduce a new rubric in the Standard Bearer entitled “Grace Life.” Grace life is just for that—”the grace life.” The articles of Grace Life will aim to promote the life of conscious fellowship with God—the life conceived and nurtured by the Holy Spirit and grace of God, and characterized by grace’s work and fruit. Grace Life is written with Christian youth—say those 15 to 25—in mind. Anybody who has been one, or who knows one, might profit too. But especially for youth, the...

Prof. Decker is professor of Practical Theology in the Protestant Reformed Seminary. The doctrine of God’s covenant with His people in Christ lies at the heart of the truth of Scripture as that truth has been summed and systematically set forth in the Reformed confessions: the Heidelberg Catechism, the Belgic Confession, and the Canons of Dordt, 1618-’19. This being the case, it is extremely important that we understand what that covenant is. Best we begin by making clear what the covenant is not. The covenant of God is not an alliance or pact between God and His people in Christ...

Mr. Lanting, a member of Cornerstone Protestant Reformed Church of Dyer, Indiana, is a practicing attorney. Under tort law principles, a person who consents to another’s conduct cannot bring a tort claim for the harm that follows from that conduct. This is because no wrong is done to one who consents. Because the plaintiff consented to the church’s practices, and his active engagement with the church indicated his continuing consent, the church’s actions disciplining the plaintiff were not unlawful. Smith v. Calvary Christian Church, Michigan Supreme Court (2000).May a disgruntled former member bring suit against his church which publicly announced...

* Chapter 24 of Southern Presbyterian Robert L. Dabney’s Evangelical Eloquence. The first section of the chapter and a review of the book is found in the April 15, 2001 issue of the Standard Bearer. The section of the chapter reprinted here is instruction to seminarians concerning congregational prayer. Reprinted with permission. — Ed. 2.But, second, the pastor must look to the position in which he stands, as the leader of public prayer, to determine the manner of its performance. He is the organ of the people; not of himself, save as he is one among them. He speaks the...

Prof. Hanko is professor emeritus of Church History and New Testament in the Protestant Reformed Seminary. Introduction In our last article we introduced the subject of mysticism in the Middle Ages by describing the life of Thomas à Kempis, a late medieval mystic from Germany, who spent most of his life in the Netherlands. We also spoke of his most famous book, The Imitation of Christ, a book that continues to be read and appreciated to the present. In this article and following ones we shall discuss the characteristics of mysticism and why it constitutes such a threat to the...

More about John Knox The special Knox Issue (Standard Bearer, Oct. 15, 2000), most interesting as it was, contained several inaccuracies. Knox did not serve at Hamburg, though he spent November 1554-March 1555 in Imperial Frankfurt. The city granted asylum to two refugee-congregations, one French-English and the other English-Dutch in March 1554. In the summer of 1554, the Anglo-Dutch community, led by John Bale, called three Anglican ministers, James Haddon, Thomas Lever, and John Knox, as pastors. As these men did not answer, the church elected David Whitehead as pastor. Lever, prompted by Bullinger, eventually accepted the call and Knox...

“Who … hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son.” Col. 1:13 In two articles, in the November 15 and December 1, 2000 issues of the Standard Bearer, I introduced the great subject of the kingdom of God. The first article established that “the kingdom of God that is central in the gospel of the Scriptures is God’s reign of grace by the Spirit and Word of the incarnate, crucified, and risen Son of God.” It is “God’s reign of grace in Christ,” in distinction from God’s rule over all things by His almighty power. The second article...