Vol 97 Issue 04

When thou hast eaten and art full, then thou shalt bless the Lord thy God for the good land which he hath given thee. Beware that thou forget not the Lord thy God, in not keeping his commandments, and his judgments, and his statutes, which I command thee this day: lest when thou hast eaten and art full, and has built goodly houses, and dwelt therein; and when thy herds and thy flocks multiply, and thy silver and thy gold is multiplied, and all that thou hast is multiplied; then thine heart be lifted up, and thou forget the Lord...

In the next few editorials we will be quoting Herman Witsius and offering some comments on those quotes. Who was Herman Witsius? A renown Reformed, Dutch theologian of the seventeenth century (1636- 1708). He was a younger contemporary of the better- known theologians, Gijsbert Voetius and Johannes Cocceius—that is, better known to us. In his day, Witsius was as well known and respected as either of those men for his piety and biblical learning. In fact, what added to his reputation was his attempt to reconcile Voetius and Cocceius in their bitter differences over various issues theological and political, though...

The will of the regenerate man I read Prof. Cammenga’s articles in the April 15 and June 2020 Standard Bearer entitled “Of free will, and thus of human powers” with interest, but disagree with his teaching that regenerated man “has the freedom of his will restored” so that he, quoting the Second Helvetic Confession (SHC), “wills and is able to do the good of its own accord” (SB, June, p. 399). Man does “willingly” will sin in his second stage of his “own accord,” but Prof. Cammenga and the SHC confuse the truth of this matter by calling such a...

Despite the postponement of the 48th General Assembly (GA) of the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA) to next summer, the PCA’s Ad Interim Committee on Human Sexuality released its report in May, citing the fact that they were “commissioned to engage in this study due to pressing needs in our church and society.”1 This committee’s report is the PCA’s response to the 2018 Revoice Conference. For those not familiar with Revoice, it is not only the name of a conference but also an active organization, whose mission is “to support and encourage gay, lesbian, bisexual, and other same-sex attracted Christians—...

II Kings 14:23-27, though it gives us the only other information we have of Jonah, does not mention his commission to Nineveh. We do not know, therefore, when in his prophetic career Jonah was told to go and preach in Nineveh, but his reluctance would seem to indicate that it was later rather than sooner, that is, after he had preached in Israel with little fruit. Jonah’s reluctance to go to Nineveh must be explained in part by the apostasy of the northern kingdom. Afraid that God would be merciful to Nineveh, he must have wondered why God did not...

The regenerate work not only passively but actively. [I]n this connection we teach that there are two things to be observed: First, that the regenerate, in choosing and doing good, work not only passively but actively. For they are moved by God that they may do themselves what they do. For Augustine rightly adduces the saying that “God is said to be our helper. But no one can be helped unless he does something.” The Manichaeans robbed man of all activity and made him like a stone or a block of wood. [The next paragraph will include the second observation.]...

However, to speak more clearly, we do not mean, that faith itself justifies us, for it is only an instrument with which we embrace Christ our righteousness. But Jesus Christ, imputing to us all His merits and so many holy works which He has done for us and in our stead, is our righteousness. And faith is an instrument that keeps us in communion with Him in all His benefits, which, when become ours, are more than sufficient to acquit us of our sins. —Belgic Confession, Article 22 Faith, thus receiving and resting on Christ and His righteousness, is the...

Elders in Christ’s church have biblical and confessional warrant to oversee the congregation’s worship. Such oversight involves ensuring that the worship services are properly conducted and correcting anything that is improper. The church needs her elders to oversee her worship. These points were made in the previous article in this series (February 15, 2020). Because this oversight extends to the congregation’s worship, it extends particularly to the preaching of the gospel and the administration of the sacraments. Our Church Order in Articles 15, 23, and 56-70 indicates that the oversight of the elders includes these aspects of the congregation’s worship....

Meeting September 23, 2020 Classis West of the Protestant Reformed Churches met on September 23, 2020, in Edgerton PRC (Edgerton, MN). The meeting was capably chaired by Rev. Matt DeBoer (pastor of Edgerton PRC), who was serving in this capacity for the first time in his ministry. Noticeably absent from the meeting were elder delegates from Immanuel PRC (Lacombe, AB) and First PRC (Edmonton, AB). These consistories were not able to attend the meeting due to the restrictions of the Canadian government with respect to COVID-19. Routine reports from the stated clerk, the classical committee, and the reading sermon library...

Trivia question When the Crete, IL PRC organized in 1926 how many families were there, and in which city? See the church profile section for this answer. More trivia next time!   Sister-church activities It was decided that Prof. R. Dykstra would bring God’s word to Covenant ERC of Singapore for four Sundays in October in the morning worship services via livestreaming. “We are thankful to the audio team who are able to support the church with the use of modern technology, and Prof. Dykstra who is willing, and Marcus Wee who is assisting him from the Seminary’s lecture room”...