Vol 80 Issue 09

Prof. Hanko is professor emeritus of Church History and New Testament in the Protestant Reformed Seminary. Introduction A controversy arose in the Scottish Presbyterian Churches of Scotland in the early part of the eighteenth century. It has been called the Marrow Controversy. It gets its name from a book, first published in 1645, called The Marrow of Modern Divinity. Although this book, written by a man named Edward Fisher, was republished in 1648 and 1649, it never had a great deal of influence until, under rather peculiar circumstances, it became a subject of bitter debate that had to be settled...

Rev. VanBaren is a minister emeritus in the Protestant Reformed Churches. “Burger King” Religion—”Have It Your Way!” It is a sad fact that one finds a multiplicity of churches and denominations in the land. There are many confessions extant in these bodies—often expressing what we are convinced is contrary to the Word of God. Within the churches and denominations there is a trend to provide the kind of services that attract the differing age groups. Contemporary services are more suited to the young—and traditional services to those older. A number of years ago there was the rise of mega-churches—with a...

God wills the salvation of all His elect children. He also wills that all His children have the assurance of their salvation. He wills that they have the assurance of their salvation as soon as they are saved and that they continue to have this certainty to their dying breath. The assurance of salvation is an integral part of salvation itself. The will of God that all His children enjoy the assurance of their salvation is an aspect of His Fatherly love in Christ for all of them. This will of God is not absolute and unqualified, so as never...

Mr. Wigger is an elder in the Protestant Reformed Church of Hudsonville, Michigan. Evangelism Activities The Covenant PRC in Wyckoff, NJ has been busy the past several months with evangelism efforts in their surrounding neighborhood. The congregation celebrated their annual Christmas dinner on Saturday evening, December 13. Covenant was delighted to be joined by quite a few of their contacts from the area. Those who attended enjoyed plenty of good food, singing, fellowship, and games and gifts for the children. Covenant’s Evangelism Society also sponsored an evening of caroling in their church neighborhood after the evening service on Sunday, December...

Postmillennialism: An Eschatology of Hope, by Keith A. Mathison. Phillipsburg, New Jersey: P&R Publishing, 1999. Pp. xii + 287. $14.99 (paper). [Reviewed by the editor.] In no way does this volume on eschatology establish post-millennialism as a doctrine of hope. What it does establish is that the doctrine of the last things condemned by the Second Helvetic Confession as “Jewish dreams” is alive and well among reputedly conservative Presbyterian publishers and theologians. The publisher is P&R. The author is a recent graduate of Reformed Theological Seminary. In the main, the book is a cursory explanation of carefully selected texts of...

Prof. Engelsma is professor of Dogmatics and Old Testament in the Protestant Reformed Seminary. by the “intermediate state,” Reformed theology refers to the state and place of people upon their death. It is the state intermediate between earthly life and the eternal destiny of every person entered into as the outcome of the final judgment. The intermediate state is the biblical answer to the question, “What happens to people when they die?” Implied is that physical death does not annihilate men and women, who were originally created in the image of God. People do not cease to exist when they...

Mr. Minderhoud is a teacher in Covenant Christian High School and a member of Hope Protestant Reformed Church, Walker, Michigan. Article 12 of the Belgic Confession of Faith states that all creatures were created to serve the Creator. Each creature has its own place in the creation but only as it is organically connected in the one purpose of God—the glory of God in and through the salvation of His people. Therefore, to accomplish this purpose, as Article 12 also teaches, all creatures are upheld and governed by God’s eternal providence, so that we, His people, might be served in...

Rev. Hanko is minister in the Protestant Reformed Church of Lynden, Washington. The First Prophecy (cont.) 3. Then came the word of the Lord by Haggai the prophet, saying, 4. Is it time for you, O ye, to dwell in your cieled houses, and this house lie waste? That the Israelites to whom Haggai preached showed more concern for their own homes than for the house of God is not just an old problem. All too often God’s people seem to be concerned only for their own homes and families in their finances, in the use of their time, in...

The Sunday Evening “Gospel” Service Rev. Kortering’s series on “Mission Preaching in the Established Church” (Standard Bearer, March 1, 2003; April 1, 2003; June 2003; August 2003; Nov. 1, 2003) raises the issue of evangelistic worship services. I thought that SB readers would be interested in some observations on this subject by a PRC missionary laboring in the British Isles. In many churches in the United Kingdom generally and in Northern Ireland in particular, it is customary that the Lord’s Day evening service contain a “gospel” sermon. Moreover, sometimes even the morning speech is largely, or even especially, addressed to...

Rev. VanOverloop is pastor of Georgetown Protestant Reformed Church in Hudsonville, Michigan. “Then cometh Jesus from Galilee to Jordan unto John to be baptized of him. But John forbad him, saying, I have need to be baptized of thee, and comest thou to me? And Jesus answering said unto him, Suffer it to be so now: for thus it becometh us to fulfill all righteousness. Then he suffered him. And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a...