Vol 94 Issue 06

Trivia question How many formerly active PRC ministers, now listed as emeriti, are there? Answer later in this column. Sister-church activities The Classis of the Protestant Reformed Churches in the Philippines met November 1. Two significant matters at Classis were (1) Meetings with the delegation of the Contact Committee of the PRCA (Rev. R. Smit and elder David Kregel), and (2) Classis declaring the PRFA (Protestant Reformed Fellowship of Albuera, Leyte) to be official mission work of the denomination. Regarding the PRFA, the PRC of Bulacan was appointed as the calling church for this mission field and was instructed by...

Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not. For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect. Matthew 24:23, 24 The Bible presents an alarming picture of what lies in store for believers as the end of the world approaches. The apostasy and persecution foretold by Scripture are indeed fearful heralds of our Lord’s return, but perhaps even more concerning are Jesus’ words in the verses that introduce this article: “if it...

Speech at the annual Reformed Free Publishing Association meeting, held in Southwest PRC on September 28, 2017. Introduction This year, AD 2017, is the 500th anniversary of the onset of the Reformation of the church in 1517. It is, therefore, a historic year, a year of commemoration. Jesus Christ reformed His church by restoring to her the gospel of salvation by grace. Since the very heart of the gospel is the doctrine of justification by faith alone, Christ enlightened and emboldened first the Reformer, Martin Luther, and then all the Reformers, including John Calvin, to see and proclaim justification by...

Previous article in this series: August 2017, p. 443. Introduction As we saw last time, the opening paragraphs of this fifth chapter of the Second Helvetic Confession establish the fundamental biblical truth that God must be worshiped through the only Mediator, our Lord Jesus Christ. They also condemn the worship of the Roman Catholic Church, which raises up other mediators alongside the only Mediator. These other mediators include especially the saints and the Virgin Mary. Over against Rome’s insistence that the faithful “adore, worship, and pray to the saints in heaven,” the SHC maintains that “God and Christ the Mediator...

Because to every purpose there is time and judgment, therefore the misery of man is great upon him. For he knoweth not that which shall be: for who can tell him when it shall be? There is no man that hath power over the spirit to retain the spirit; neither hath he power in the day of death: and there is no discharge in that war; neither shall wickedness deliver those that are given to it. All this have I seen, and applied my heart unto every work that is done under the sun: there is a time wherein one...

In the November 1 special issue of the Standard Bearer, I wrote on the Reformation principle Semper Reformanda, or “Reformed and always being re-formed.” I defined that important principle as the calling of the church always to be examining herself in the light of the Word of God, and then making necessary correction based on that Word of God. Always. There never is a time when the church may rest satisfied with herself. She must start with being “Reformed,” and then always be willing to be “re-formed.” She is active in that calling by examining herself. Thus: “ecclesiastical self-examination.” Because...

“The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be.” Genesis 49:10 These are the words of an astounding prophecy from our great God Himself! These words spoken by Jacob were a prophecy. To be sure, they were not just a dying man’s words, though it is true that Jacob was dying. And in his dying, we know from Hebrews 11 that he worshiped God, leaning upon the top of his staff and blessed the sons of Joseph. A tremendous twofold act of...