Vol 83 Issue 20

Mr. Wigger is a member of the Protestant Reformed Church of Hudsonville, Michigan. Young Adult Activities The “News” thanks Rev. R. Smit and a young lady who attended this retreat for providing the following summary for the readers of the SB. The Young Adults of Immanuel PRC in Lacombe, AB, Canada hosted a retreat from June 25 to June 28 in Nordeg, Alberta. The theme of the retreat was “The Voice of God in Creation,” based on Psalm 29. Psalter number 404 served as the theme song. There were in attendance 24 young adults from at least 11 churches from our...

Reprinted from When Thou Sittest In Thine House, by Abraham Kuyper, Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., Grand Rapids, Michigan. 1929. Used by permission of Eerdmans Publishing Co. (The first part of this chapter on contentment appeared in the June 2007 issue, p. 399.) Godliness with satisfaction is great gain,” wrote the apostle to Timothy (1, 6:6, Dutch version). Notice carefully the word “satisfaction.” Even as the Dutch word for “taking satisfaction in a thing,” it has the meaning in it of the wordenough. Not only in our language, but also in the original language of Holy Scripture. He who has...

Mr. Kalsbeek is a teacher in Covenant Christian High School and a member of Hope Protestant Reformed Church, Walker, Michigan. Previous article in this series: June 2007, p. 394. “And of 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  In the former articles written under the title, “Issachar vs. the Scribes, Revisited,” the point has been made that modernday Issachar should look for and be able to identify bias in...

Rev. Hanko is pastor of the Protestant Reformed Church of Lynden, Washington. Previous article in this series: July 2007, p. 426. The Sixth Disputation, Chapters 3:13-4:3 (continued) 4:1. For, behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the LORD of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch. There can be no doubt that this prophecy of the destruction of the wicked is a reference to the end of the world and the...

Prof. Hanko is professor emeritus of Church History and New Testament in the Protestant Reformed Seminary. Previous article in this series: July 2007, p. 419. As I noted earlier, the Federal Vision has its roots in the heresy of a conditional covenant. It emphasizes that it is a doctrine that has to do with the covenant, has its roots in covenant theology not only, but defines the nature and essence of the covenant. No matter what view of the covenant one may take, the doctrine of the covenant has to do with the doctrine of salvation. If the covenant is...

Rev. Key is pastor of the Protestant Reformed Church of Hull, Iowa. Previous article in this series: August 2007, p. 444. We have seen that in the sacrament of the Lord’s Supper God is pleased to sit at the feast table with us. The table of our Lord is the table of the covenant! The great and holy God takes sinners into His fellowship—not as sinners, but as those cleansed with the blood of His dear Son. Christ’s work in our redemption instills in us a desire to join our Lord in the fellowship of His love, to confess His...

* Not Anabaptist, But Reformed was a pamphlet written by Danhof and Hoeksema in 1923 as a “Provisional Response to Rev. Jan Karel Van Baalen Co * Not Anabaptist, But Reformed was a pamphlet written by Danhof and Hoeksema in 1923 as a “Provisional Response to Rev. Jan Karel Van Baalen Concerning the Denial of Common Grace.” Translated here from the Dutch by seminarian Daniel Holstege. Previous article in this series: July 2007, p. 421. The first subject Rev. Van Baalen treats in his pamphlet is the Noahitic covenant. Or rather, the subject of the brother’s treatment is not that...

Prof. Engelsma is professor of Dogmatics and Old Testament in the Protestant Reformed Seminary. Previous article in this series: June 2007, p. 397. Calvin’s Influence In confessing that election governs the covenant, as they did at the very beginning of their history, particularly in the “[Reformed] Form for the Administration of Baptism” (1574) and in the Canons of Dordt (1618/1619), the Reformed churches in the Netherlands were guided by the Reformer John Calvin. The basis of this doctrine for the Reformed churches certainly was Holy Scripture, but the Spirit used that mighty instrument, Calvin, to lead the Reformed churches in...

I am so glad to see an article in this month’s Standard Bearer(July 2007) on the heresy of the Federal Vision doctrine. I ask that you please convey to the author to remember that some of us are not of the intellectual frame and would like a ‘Federal Vision for Dummies’ type approach so that we can clearly see what this is, and how it is unbiblical and steer clear. I have been trying for several months now to find a ‘Federal Vision’ in a nutshell type of explanation, and have been faced with just a lot of big words that...

Previous article in this series: August 2007, p. 437. In the past two issues of the magazine, the editorials treated what I called the “admittedly sensitive” subject of elders working with ministers for the improvement of the preaching. The first article noted that the Reformed Church Order, the Questions for Church Visitation, and Reformed church history call the elders to take an active (not just re-active) role in the supervision of the preaching. The last editorial proposed a method by which the elders could judge one particular dimension of the preaching ministry—the content of the sermon. The editorial did not treat...