Vol 97 Issue 07

Go to now, ye that say, To day or to morrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain: Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away. For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that. James 4:13-15 As we begin this new year, the inspired James speaks to us. The Holy Spirit sees our need to hear...

We concluded our last editorial (Dec. 15) with a lengthy quote from Witsius’ book Antinomians and Neonomians.1 His assessment of the controverted material was, “In the matter [of the disputation I was asked to assess], there is that [which] I approve, and what I disapprove” (161). What he approved was the antinomians’ desire and goal, namely, “that men may be called off from all presumption upon their own righteousness, and trained up to the exercise of generous piety, which flows from the pure fountain of Divine love” (161). An admirable and proper desire. But there was that which Witsius did...

[Note: In our editors’ notes for the new volume year (Oct. 1, 2020), we neglected to mention that Mr. Bruinooge has joined the SB staff under this rubric. We apologize and welcome him as a regular writer.] Yet I supposed it necessary to send to you Epaphroditus, my brother, and companion in labour, and fellowsoldier, but your messenger, and he that ministered to my wants. Philippians 2:25 When we receive praise as Christians, our first reaction is often self-satisfaction. We are pleased that others are pleased with us. We need the constant reminder that all spiritual abilities and gifts are...

A single hair is thin enough to be overlooked at a passing glance. Chances are you do not even see the few filaments littering the headrest of an armchair or floating aimlessly in the air. Hair in its basic unit is insubstantial and unnoteworthy. It was quite an impressive display of marksmanship, then, when the men of Benjamin with the left hand slung their stones “at an hair breadth,” and did not miss (Jud. 20:16). On the other hand, when a collective of single hairs populates the human head, the effect can be rather marvelous. One wonders what the head...

Thy wife shall be as a fruitful vine by the sides of thine house; thy children like olive plants round about thy table. Psalm 128:3 As Reformed, and as Protestant Reformed believers, we know how important the institution of the family is to the life of the church. And we know that it is God Himself who is the Builder of such an institution. From the beginning of time, God established His covenant with His chosen people and peculiar treasure. And He is pleased to continue His covenant in the line of continued generations with believers and their seed. His...

These men the sons of Zeruiah be too hard for me: the Lord shall reward the doer of evil according to his wickedness. II Samuel 3:39b King David earnestly sought the unity of the church of Israel. The nation had been divided; the church…split. A full eighty percent of Israel still followed a king from the line of Saul. With a heart after God’s own heart, King David waited—while yearning for the joining of twelve tribes under the one true God and His anointed king. But there were great obstacles to this unification. General Abner’s devious politicking had delayed it...

Previous article in this series: June 2020, p. 403. In our last article we gave a broad overview of the troubles brewing in the Protestant Reformed Churches (PRC) during the years we are now treating. The trial God sent our churches found its focus in the person of the Dutch theologian, Dr. Klaas Schilder, and his theology of a conditional covenant. This false doctrine seeped into the hearts of many Protestant Reformed pastors, and by them into the hearts of the sheep God had entrusted into their care. Between the years 1947 and 1953 a deep division formed in the...

What doest thou here, Elijah? And he said I have been very jealous for the Lord God of hosts: because the children of Israel have forsaken thy covenant, thrown down thine altars, and slain thy prophets with the sword; and I, even I only, am left; and they seek my life, to take it away. And the Lord said unto him…Yet I have left me seven thousand in Israel, all the knees which have not bowed unto Baal, and every mouth which hath not kissed him.” I Kings 19:13, 14, 18 These were verses from the pericope of Scripture that...

A Week in the Life of Rome, by James L. Papandrea. Downers Grove: IVP Academic, 2019. 223 pages. Paperback. $16.00. Reviewed by Douglas J. Kuiper. Christians living in Rome in AD 50 endured many earthly struggles. Flimsy apartment buildings could quickly burn or suddenly collapse. People stood in bread lines by order of social status; often the bread ran out before the destitute received any. Another struggle was to live antithetically in a city filled with unregistered marriages, prostitutes, sodomy, slave markets, bribery, games pitting man against man or beast, theatrical plays, gambling, and murder plots. Persecution—the loss of jobs,...

Trivia question Who was Grandville PRC’s first pastor? Answer to be found in the church profile. More trivia next time.   Sister-church activities From the bulletin of Provident PRC in the Philippines (November) we learn the following: Our church worship services have been canceled today due to the flooding of Provident Village caused by Typhoon Ulysses last week. The Lord’s Supper has been postponed and will be rescheduled when it is feasible to gather again in our sanctuary for worship. Our members are encouraged to remember the Sabbath day by watching the livestream, if they have an Internet connection, of...