All Articles For Vol 94 Issue 17 6/1/2018

Trivia question Is which state of our country will this summer’s Young People’s Convention be held? Answer later in this article. Speaking of the convention brings another question: In what year was the first Young People’s Convention held? Evangelism activities Edgerton, MN PRC recently sponsored a lecture by their pastor, Rev. M. De Boer. This speech was entitled “What It Means to Keep the Sabbath Day Holy,” and all from the surrounding area were invited to come. Congregational activities Hull PRC hosted the annual Spring Ladies League meeting on Thursday, April 26. Rev. James Laning spoke on the topic “Communing...

What does it mean to be a man? In the last article (March 1, 2018), I began to answer that question by pointing out the differences between men and women and identifying the things that make men unique. I ended by saying that God calls men to be leaders. I showed, briefly, that this idea of men as leaders is biblical. I pointed to the fact that, in the beginning, God made the man first. He created Adam to be the head of the human race and the king of the creation. The woman was created after the man, out...

Sion or Zion, the mount upon which the Canaanite town of Jebus was situated, was a place with a fair and lovely climate, but it was blessed especially with the natural defenses found in its high aspect and in the three deep valleys that surrounded it. In addition, the city had a natural water source in the Kidron Valley just outside the city walls, the Spring of Gihon. Named from a verb meaning “gush forth,” the spring supplied fresh water in abundance, refreshing and cleansing the people, and providing ample water for their terraced gardens throughout the valley. King David...

In my previous article (May 15, 2018), I asked and gave what I believe is the biblical and confessional answer to the question, “Is the law part of the gospel?” We saw that there are two ways the Bible uses the word “gospel,” and that the answer to the above question depends on understanding what way we use the word “gospel.” In this article I ask, “Is the gospel part of the law?” The answer to this question depends in large part on what one means by “law.” Just as there is a broad use and a narrow use of...

Previous article in this series: April 15, 2018, p. 323. In the last several articles in this series we have been examining the perfections of Scripture. Just as God possesses certain perfections, so also does His Word. The perfection of God’s being demands the perfection of His works, and one of His greatest works is the revelation of Himself in His Word. Who and what God is necessarily impacts the nature of His Word. It cannot be otherwise. If God is weak and fallible, so also His Word will be weak and fallible. But if God is perfect and absolutely...

We have a saying, “X marks the spot.” It comes from the practice of marking an important location on a map with an “X,” something that has fascinated many a reader of tales about buried treasure. Scripture also has its “X.” It marks treasure that is somewhat hidden to us English readers, but infinitely more valuable than a chest stuffed with gold. This “X’ is not a particular word (the usual subject of this rubric), but the Greek letter Chi (pronounced much like ‘key’). Although there are few English words that begin with an “X,” in Greek, this ‘key’ opens...

The pope and hell Recent headlines have suggested, in their normal lurid fashion, that Pope Francis has denied the existence of hell. These claims have been shared widely on social media platforms, but officially denied by the Vatican. Christians would do well to show due diligence before sharing these or similar stories online. The claim originates from an Italian journalist, Eugenio Scalfari, to whom the pope frequently grants interviews. One would think that the pope would decline such interviews, especially if he desires not to be misunderstood, since Scalfari takes no notes during his interviews but instead quotes from memory...

The Belgic Confession, a Reformed creed, bears the impression of John Calvin’s theology. Soon after it was written by Guido de Brès in 1561, Reformed churches in the Netherlands began adopting it. The Belgic Confession includes a lengthy section on ecclesiology, reflecting the reality that the doctrine of the church was a major conflict between the Romish church and the churches of the Reformation. The ecclesiology is clearly Calvinistic. Article 27 of the Belgic Confession expresses the Reformed confession on the church—one, holy, catholic, and apostolic church—the truth considered in the May 1 editorial. This one body of the church...

Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Philippians 2:9-11 These verses continue the thought from verses 5-8 of the mind of Christ, who humbled Himself and made Himself of no reputation. From the state of Jesus Christ’s deep humiliation, climaxing with His death on the cross, these verses we...