Vol 88 Issue 08

Congregation Activities Many of our congregations hold their annual congregational meetings in the month of December. These meetings are, for the most part, usually routine, with the approval of a proposal or two, the election of officebearers, and the approval of a yearly budget on the agenda. One item of business from the South Holland, ILPRC did catch our eye however. They approved a motion to change the legal name of their church to Crete PRC, a change made necessary by their recent move from South Holland and relocation in Crete. The Choral Society of Crete invited their congregation to...

Previous article in this series: December 15, 2011, p. 138. The reader will remember that, with a view to a study of the beginning of New Testament history, we were looking first at the end of the nation of Israel in the Old, not for its own sake, but for the light that the Old sheds on the New. Of special interest to us, for this purpose, is the testimony of the prophets—particularly now, with respect to the ten tribes, the prophets Amos and Hosea. We saw that the prophecy of Amos was clear. “The eyes of the Lord God...

Previous article in this series: November 15, 2011, p. 92. And the Lord appeared unto Abram, and said, Unto thy seed will I give this land: and there builded he an altar unto the Lord, who appeared unto him. And he removed from thence unto a mountain on the east of Bethel, and pitched his tent, having Bethel on the west, and Hai on the east: and there he builded an altar unto the Lord, and called upon the name of the Lord. Genesis 12:7-8 Introduction Recall that in this series of articles we are to cover three great principles...

Previous article in this series: November 15, 2011, p. 80. The second error of postmillennialism with regard to the victory of the Messianic kingdom concerns the time of the perfecting of the victory. Postmillennialism locates the time of the perfecting of the kingdom within New Testament history—during the thousand years that precede the coming of Jesus Christ. This is the meaning of the millennium for postmillennialism: it is the consummate victory of the kingdom of Christ, the “golden age” of the kingdom. An Untimely Victory Postmillennialists affirm that the millennium will be the perfecting of the victory of the Messianic...

The doctrine of the Belgic Confession, controversial and persecuted from the days of its birth, is still controversial today, not more so than in its doctrine of church membership. This is clear from the editorial comments of Rev. Chris Connors, minister of the Evangelical Presbyterian Church of Australia (EPCA) and editor of that church’s official magazine, the Evangelical Presbyterian (EP).¹ In the July 2011 issue of the EP, editor Connors published two book reviews of the recent book by David Engelsma, Bound to Join.² One by Rev. David Higgs of the EPCA is highly favorable; one by Kevin Reed is...

Previous article in this series: December 15, p. 134. Lying to the Holy Spirit, and Conclusion Having earlier examined the sin of blasphemy against the Holy Spirit—a sin that God preserves His children from committing—we turned our attention in our last article to various sins that God’s children could commit, and must guard against. One such sin is that of grieving, or vexing, the Spirit. We grieve the Spirit when, rather than living as the sanctified children of God ought, we violate God’s law. Another is that of resisting the Spirit. This we do when we reject the Spirit’s testimony...

Normally when it comes to books and book reviews we reserve the subject for the rubric Bring the Books, or offer it as a contribution for the Protestant Reformed Theological Journal. For the two books to which we want to alert our readers, and especially the clergy, we make an exception. The two books are Wonder & Wisdom, by Abraham Kuyper, and Reformed Thought: Selected Writings, by William Young. That the first book should be the subject of some editorial comments will not come as a surprise. The author is Abraham Kuyper, and the book a translation of the concluding...

Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ. Philippians 3:8 In these few words of Holy Scripture we have a personal confession of the apostle Paul. It was written to the church at Philippi—”For we are the circumcision, which worship God in the spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh” (v. 3). In verses 4-6 Paul lists various things that most...