Vol 96 Issue 17

Minister activities Rev. J. Laning announced on April 19 that God had led him to decline the call extended to him from First PRC of Edmonton, AB, Canada. Grandville PRC has a new trio for minister-on-loan to Singapore: Rev. G. Eriks (Hudsonville PRC), Rev. E. Guichelaar (Randolph PRC), and Rev. R. Kleyn (Cove­nant of Grace PRC). Rev J. Mahtani received the calls from Kalamazoo PRC, Unity PRC, and Hope PRC (Grand Rapids, MI). On May 3 Rev. Mahtani announced he had been led by God to accept the call to Hope PRC and decline the other two calls. May God...

“Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations: that the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ.” 1 Peter 1:6-7 In the wise and always perfect way of God, manifold trials and tribulations have touched us in the past several months. Some have watched their parent or spouse suffer and/or die from cancer. Others have dealt with the loss of a child, either...

Like that lingering smoke at the back door of church, a smelly stigma sticks to the Reformed, young and old alike. What are our well known indulgences? Drinking (see my previous article—March 1, 2020, p. 259) and smoking. What has generally become a socially unacceptable activity in the world seems to remain a norm in Reformed circles—a liberty to insist upon, along with orthodoxy. Therefore, though admittedly with some hesitation, I seek to unveil this altar of strange incense that few today dare to disparage.1 What is the appeal of this smoke? For beginners, peer pressure and the rebel image...

The minutes of the Mission Committee (MC) from 1947 through 1949 do not reveal the unrest that was developing in the Protestant Reformed Churches at that time. But there it was. There were various reasons for this unrest, but in the late 1940s much of it centered in a Dutch theologian by the name of Dr. Klaas Schilder. We took note in a previous article that Dr. Schilder made a visit to the United States in 1939. Already then he had become well known to the pastors and members of the PRC and the Christian Reformed Church (CRC). He gave...

Previous article in this series: February 15, 2020, p. 227. Introduction Picture a husband locked out of his home. He calls to his wife to open the door. She responds, “How do I know it’s not an intruder pretending to be my husband?” What will show her that the person is in fact her husband? First, it will be the way he says what he says, the tone of his voice, his way of speaking. Second, it will be the content of what he says to her, things that perhaps only her husband would say. In a similar way the...

Previous article in this series: April 15, 2020, p. 327. Man Is Not Capable of Good Per Se In regard to goodness and virtue man’s reason does not judge rightly of itself concerning divine things. For the evangelical and apostolic Scripture requires regeneration of whoever among us wishes to be saved. Hence our first birth from Adam contributes nothing to our salvation. Paul says: “The unspiritual man does not receive the gifts of the Spirit of God” (1 Cor. 2:14). And in another place he denies that we of our­selves are capable of thinking anything good (2 Cor. 3:5). Now...

In days of pestilence and its resulting trouble, warranted is the apostle’s admonition that we “be not soon shaken in mind” (2 Thess. 2:2). When tempted to broadcast our opinions on said pestilence and its effects, the caution of Proverbs 29:11 is also in order: “A fool uttereth all his mind: but a wise man keepeth it in till afterwards.” Fear and turmoil will fill the soul of the man whose nose is fixed to his newsfeed. “Perfect peace” is the blessing for the man, woman, or child “whose mind is stayed on thee” (Isa. 26:3). The mind is a...

Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth, while the evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh, when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them (Eccl. 12:1). The preceding verses contained an exhortation to those in the days of youth. Our text continues that thought and completes it. The calling is to “remember,” not in the sense of looking at what is past, which belongs to the elderly, but in the sense of holding in mind. Hold in mind, as constantly before your mind, thy Creator. Do so now, in the present, and daily,...

In the almost 100 years of the PRCA’s existence we have endured trials, but none quite like the present pandemic and the consequences. For nine weeks now (May 15), churches have been unable to assemble for public worship. The initial shock has worn off, giving way to discouragement for some, frustration and sometimes anger for others. The pandemic has forced consistories to face difficult questions, not the least of which is whether this is a question of obeying God (“Assemble for worship on my Lord’s Day”) rather than man (“Stay home!”). God leads us on very unusual paths. We may...

Q. 27 What dost thou mean by the providence of God? A. The almighty and everywhere present power of God, whereby, as it were by His hand, He upholds and governs heaven, earth, and all creatures; so that herbs and grass, rain and drought, fruitful and barren years, meat and drink, health and sickness, riches and poverty, yea, and all things come, not by chance, but by His fatherly hand. Q. 28 What advantage is it to us to know that God has created, and by His providence doth still uphold all things? A. That we may be patient in...