Vol 90 Issue 09

Congregation Activities The congregation of the Bethel PRC in Roselle, IL was invited to join their Young People and Young Adult Societies for an outing on Saturday, January 4. Plans called for the members of Bethel to visit the Strike Ten bowling alley at around three in the afternoon and then enjoy each other’s company at the Penang Restaurant at 5:30 p.m. for a dinner of authentic Malaysian food. At the end of December an important question was put to the members of First PRC in Grand Rapids, MI: “Do you have a Bible reading plan for 2014?” To answer...

Mr. Terpstra, Librarian/Registrar at the Protestant Reformed Seminary, is a member of Faith Protestant Reformed Church in Jenison, Michigan. A Pilgrim’s Manual: Commentary on I Peter, by Herman Hanko. RFPA, Jenison, Michigan, 2012. 319 pp. (cloth). ISBN 9781936054145. [Reviewed by Charles Terpstra.] Emeritus Protestant Reformed Seminary Professor Herman Hanko has done it again! He has penned another fine exposition of a portion of Holy Scripture, this time on the New Testament book of I Peter. As he did with The Mysteries of the Kingdom (on Jesus’ parables) and Justified Unto Liberty (on Galatians), so now with A Pilgrim’s Manual Hanko...

Rev. Brogden is currently serving as a pastoral assistant in a Reformed Baptist Church in Houston, Texas, and has the desire to preach the gospel and shepherd the Lord’s people. Blood Work: How the Blood of Christ Accomplishes Our Salvation, by Anthony J. Carter. Reformation Trust, 2013. 150 pages. ISBN: 978-1-56769-314-0. [Reviewed by Stuart Brogden.] Blood work—this is a common phrase used in the medical industry. Every critical medical procedure must be based on accurate blood work. The chemistry demanded by the body relies on the right delicate balance, and the blood work reveals what that chemistry mix is, so...

Previous article in this series: September 1, 2013, p. 471. When people hear us say that an unbeliever is spiritually dead and completely unable to do good works, they sometimes ask us whether we are denying that human beings have a free will. The answer to that question depends on which human beings you are referring to, and what you mean by free. How our Lord explained freedom It is important that we speak of freedom and bondage the way that Scripture does. To be in bondage is to be a servant of sin and Satan. To be free is...

Rev. Haak is pastor of Georgetown Protestant Reformed Church in Hudsonville, MI. This article is the text of one of the six speeches given at the PR Seminary-sponsored conference, in October of last year, commemorating the 450th anniversary of the writing of the Heidelberg Catechism. The other five were printed in the November 1, 2013 issue of the SB. “I love the Lord, because he hath heard my voice and my supplications. Because he hath inclined his ear unto me, therefore will I call upon him as long as I live.” Psalm 116 In Psalm 116, the psalmist David gives...

In the news recently has been the revelation of the long-standing adultery of Douglas Phillips with a young nanny employed in his home. Douglas Phillips is the CEO of Vision Forum, Inc., a for-profit business that sells a catalog of expensive trinkets in the name of biblical patriarchy, and president of Vision Forum Ministries, a nonprofit ministry that promotes the ideas of Christian reconstructionism, homeschooling, and biblical patriar­chy. This article is not interested in the longstanding and adulterous relationship of Douglas Phillips. The scandal has exposed a movement in which Douglas Phillips is a key figure. Since he has not...

Previous article in this series: December 1, 2013, p. 104. And God spake all these words, saying, I am the Lord thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. Thou shalt have no other gods before me. Exodus 20:1-3 Introduction In previous articles in this series we examined three great principles of public corporate worship. The first was that public corporate worship is a covenantal assembly. The second was that it is a covenantal assembly carried out in a holy dialogue between God and His people. The third was that it...

Previous article in this series: December 15, 2013, p. 127. Introduction The preceding article in this series demonstrated that the Reformed confessions not only have not a word of support for postmillennialism but also repudiate this false doctrine. These confessions know only the hope of the second coming of Christ. They also present the kingdom of God as a spiritual, heavenly reign of God in the hearts and lives of elect believers, taking institutional form in the true church. The Second Helvetic Confession (1566) ex­plicitly condemns postmillennialism as “Jewish dreams.” The Westminster Standards, the creeds of Presbyteri­anism, are no more...

Previous article in this series: Janu­ary 15, 2014, p. 171. [Note: This editorial is the second part of the convocation speech given publicly for the current school year, held in September of 2013. The first installment demonstrated the biblical basis for requesting fellow saints to “pray for us.” The reasons for praying for the seminary are the three sections of the speech. The first is the spiritual nature of the work. The second is the difficulties faced. And the third is the importance of the work. In the first section, we pointed out that the work of seminary training is...

But Peter said unto him, Thy money perish with thee, because thou hast thought that the gift of God may be purchased with money. Thou hast neither part nor lot in this matter: for thy heart is not right in the sight of God. Repent therefore of this thy wickedness, and pray God, if perhaps the thought of thine heart may be forgiven thee. For I perceive that thou art in the gall of bitterness, and in the bond of iniquity. Acts 8:20-23 Simon the sorcerer was, supposedly, converted. Philip the evangelist went to the city of Samaria to preach...