Vol 79 Issue 08

Prof. Engelsma is professor of Dogmatics and Old Testament in the Protestant Reformed Seminary. It is necessary, therefore, that the church and the believer know what the end is. We can and do know what the end, or goal, of God with all things is, because God has made known to us in the gospel this “mystery of his will” (Eph. 1:9). There is one end, or goal, of all things. In this one goal, God accomplishes a number of related purposes, including the judgment of the ungodly world, the salvation of the godly, and the vindication of Himself, but...

*This is the text of the speech given at the convocation exercises of the Protestant Reformed Seminary on September 4, 2002. The first installment appeared in the January 1, 2003 issue of the Standard Bearer. One of the worst threats to the true church of Christ in the world since the time of the Reformation is the present development of covenant doctrine that denies justification by faith alone. Theologians are working out the implications of the doctrine of a conditional covenant. They are demonstrating that the doctrine of a conditional covenant implies conditional justification. The conditions are faith as a...

Mr. Wigger is an elder in the Protestant Reformed Church of Hudsonville, Michigan. Congregation Activities   The council of the Southwest PRC in Grandville, MI gave recent approval for the purchase and installation of video-taping equipment in their auditorium. The equipment was installed in mid-November and used that following Lord’s Day. This addition at Southwest should prove to be of great benefit, not only for the sick and shut-ins, who can now view a worship service in their own home, but also for Southwest’s Evangelism Committee to promote church extension. It can also be used, as the need arises, by...

The Shorter Catechism, With Scriptural Proofs and Notes, by Roderick Lawson. Christian Focus, 2002. Pp. 80, (paper). [Reviewed by Prof. Herman Hanko.] Those of us who have been born and raised in the tradi-tion of Dutch Reformed theology know very little, as a general rule, of Presbyterian history, doctrine, and creedal development. We know very little of the work of the Westminster Assembly and of the three creeds they prepared. Especially in these days when our churches are having increased contact with Presbyterian churches, particularly the Evangelical Presbyterian Church of Australia, it is well that we know something of this...

Reprinted from When Thou Sittest In Thine House, by Abraham Kuiper, Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., Grand Rapids, Michigan. 1929. Used by permission of Eerdmans Publishing Co.   The night   As in reading a book you skip a part that does not interest you, so there are those who between the days of their life simply skip the nights. So a day does not have twenty-four, but sixteen or seventeen hours. They keep count of time from their rising in the morning until they pillow their head by night; but the night that lies in between does not count....

Rev. Kuiper is pastor of the Protestant Reformed Church in Randolph, Wisconsin. So you have received a letter from your council, informing you that they have nominated you to the office of deacon or elder. Perhaps the news came somewhat as a surprise, and you first had to get over the shock. Perhaps not. Either way, you must now face the question: should I accept the nomination, or not? Having already explained the roles both of congregation and of council in the election process, we now treat the calling of the man nominated for office. That is, we will do...

Rev. Laning is pastor of Hope Protestant Reformed Church in Walker, Michigan. Our fathers at Dordt said that those who deny that the believer in this life normally comes to the complete assurance that he is a child of God are guilty of introducing into the churches “the doubts of the papist.”1 Over against the comfortless lies of Rome, the Reformed churches emphasized the comfort of the child of God. This comfort the child of God can and does experience only when he is assured that he has found grace in God’s sight and that he will forever dwell in...

Rev. Kleyn is pastor of First Protestant Reformed Church in Edgerton, Minnesota. Worship of God is a big part of our lives as God’s people. In reality, the whole life of a child of God is worship. The believer is constantly in God’s presence, and the whole purpose of his life is to praise and glorify God through all he thinks, says, and does. To do that is to worship God. Worship in this sense is a full-time calling and responsibility. But when we say that worship is a big part of our lives, we have in mind our formal...

Prof. Hanko is professor emeritus of Church History and New Testament in the Protestant Reformed Seminary. Introduction   Because of Calvin’s prominence in the work of the Reformation and because of his influence throughout the continent of Europe, no single reformer was attacked so fiercely by innumerable opponents as the reformer of Geneva. And, although many doctrines of the reformers came under the furious attacks of enemies of the Reformation, and although many doctrines taught by Calvin himself were opposed by heretics of every sort, no single doctrine was more bitterly hated than Calvin’s teaching of sovereign predestination, including both...

Rev. Houck is pastor of Peace Protestant Reformed Church in Lansing, Illinois. Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and he in God. I John 4:15 This text teaches us that Jesus Christ is very God. Before we look at that great truth, let us consider what the cults think of Jesus Christ. The Mormons have an extremely heretical view of Christ. Jesus, they say, was a pre-existing spirit along with the spirits of all men. The only difference between Christ and us is that He is the firstborn of the Father-God’s children....