Vol 80 Issue 11

Mr. Wigger is an elder in the Protestant Reformed Church of Hudsonville, Michigan. Young Adult Activities Members of the Young Adults Society of the Trinity PRC in Hudsonville, MI planned an overnight retreat at Maranatha Conference Center in Muskegon, MI for January 23 and 24. All from their congregation who fit into that age group were invited and encouraged to attend. Rev. J. Kortering agreed to lead two discussions for the group, one on witnessing and the other on being single and being content. The young people and young adults of Immanuel PRC in Lacombe, AB, Canada were invited to...

Grandville Protestant Reformed Church Classis East met in regular session on Wednesday, January 14, 2004 at the Grandville PRC. As is typical of the January session, the meeting was long. Classis adjourned at midnight. Each church was represented by two delegates. Also present were the church history classes of Covenant Christian High School, representatives of the Wingham OCRC, and the delegates ad examina from Classis West. Significant business was done at this session. First there was the decision of classis to admit the congregation of the Wingham, Ontario Orthodox Christian Reformed Church into the fellowship and communion of the Protestant...

Rev. Hanko is pastor in the Protestant Reformed Church of Lynden, Washington. The First Prophecy (cont.) 9.Ye looked for much, and, lo, it came to little; and when ye brought it home, I did blow upon it. Why? saith the Lord of hosts. Because of mine house that is waste, and ye run every man to his own house. 10.Therefore the heaven over you is stayed from dew, and the earth is stayed from her fruit. 11.And I called for a drought upon the land, and upon the mountains, and upon the corn, and upon the new wine, and upon...

Rev. Bruinsma is pastor of the Protestant Reformed Church of Kalamazoo, Michigan. “She looketh well to the ways of her household, and eateth not the bread of idleness. Her children arise up, and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praiseth her.” Proverbs 31:27, 28 The place of a mother in the home and family is a much disputed one. For years now unbelieving society has insisted that the role of a mother in the home is no different than that of a father. Both are equals and therefore, to be fair, they must split the labors of the...

Rev. Key is pastor of the Protestant Reformed Church of Hull, Iowa. Having discussed the truth of the preservation of the saints, we now turn to the perseverance of the saints. Preservation and perseverance—two very similar words and two words that go hand-in-hand. While our assurance rests in God who preserves us to the end, the way in which God preserves us is the way of our persevering in the faith. God preserves, we persevere. God keeps us in the palm of His hand, we continue in the way of salvation. God guides us by His counsel, we walk the...

Mr. Kalsbeek is a teacher in Covenant Christian High School and a member of Hope Protestant Reformed Church, Walker, Michigan. “And the children of Issachar, which were men that had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do, the heads of them were two hundred; and all their brethren were at their commandment.” I Chronicles 12:32 They could be right! Erwin Lutzer and John DeVries, that is, in their fourfold explanation of Satan’s strategy to deceive the nations (see SB Jan. 1, 2004). The question is: how could the mainline Protestant churches of the West be duped...

Prof. Hanko is professor emeritus of Church History and New Testament in the Protestant Reformed Seminary. Introduction The Marrow Controversy, which troubled the Presbyterian Church of Scotland in the early part of the eighteenth century, had its roots in earlier history in the British Isles. Especially it had its origins in the struggle that went on in England between a strong Calvinism and a lurking Arminianism and Amyraldianism. The confessions did little or nothing to stop the debate. The Thirty-Nine Articles of the Church of England were weak on the doctrine of eternal predestination, and efforts to add to them...

Rev. VanBaren is a minister emeritus in the Protestant Reformed Churches. Marriage — Is It Necessary? The concept of marriage has been rapidly changing. Though vows spoken often include the “until death do us part,” some 50% of marriages are dissolved through divorce long before death comes. It is said that the same is true with marriages of those who belong to churches. There are large numbers of “single parents,” single not usually because of the death of one partner, but through choice. Women will have children outside of the marriage bond. Then there is the growing pressure to pass...

Dealing with Change In response to Rev. Kortering’s remarks about change in the February 1, 2004 Standard Bearer, I would like to comment on the subject of how we, as Protestant Reformed Churches, deal with change. As Rev. Stewart did, I too write regarding the subject itself, which caught my interest, not directly to anything Rev. Kortering wrote. Not only is there a right way and a wrong way to deal with change, but there also is a right way and a wrong way to introduce change into the Protestant Reformed Churches. One example mentioned was the matter of introducing...

Assurance of salvation is an aspect of true faith. Assurance belongs to the very nature of saving faith. Faith in Jesus Christ according to the gospel of the Scriptures is assurance. Faith is certainty of salvation. A believer can doubt his salvation. He ought not doubt, but it is possible that he does. But doubt is not part of his faith. His doubt of his salvation is his corrupt, unbelieving nature getting the upper hand in his consciousness. According to his faith, whether great or small, whether matured at the end of the Christian life or immature at the very...