Vol 98 Issue 21

Prof. Barrett Gritters, professor of Practical Theology in the Protestant Reformed Theological Seminary and member of Hudsonville PRC There exists among some a misunderstanding about the application of Matthew 18 to cases of sexual abuse so serious that it may be fatal. There, Jesus instructs one who has been sinned against to “tell him (the sinner) his fault between thee and him alone.” It is a wrong, dangerous, and maybe fatal application of Matthew 18 to require one who has been abused sexually to confront the abuser privately before reporting the sin to anyone else, if at all. To address...

Reaching the unreached Dear Editor, This letter responds to a couple of articles by Rev. Daniel Kleyn in the October 1 and December 15, 2021 [SB] issues entitled “Worldwide preaching and the return of Christ.” “This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come” (Matt. 24:14). This sign is set alongside the rise of Antichrist and his kingdom, rightly, because when he comes to power, all mission work will cease. Thus worldwide preaching and rise of Antichrist are two clear pointers to the nearness of...

Rev. Martyn McGeown, pastor of Providence PRC in Hudsonville, MI The legislative process in the United States is complicated. First, a bill (a legislative proposal) is written. Second, the bill passes through various committees in the House of Representatives. Many bills die in committee, where they often undergo amendments, and they never reach the floor for a vote. The Speaker of the House of Representatives determines the voting schedule— he or she (the current Speaker is Nancy Pelosi) has enormous power, therefore. If a majority of the House of Representatives votes for a bill, it passes to the Senate, where...

Rev. Jonathan Mahtani, pastor of the Hope Protestant Reformed Church in Walker, Michigan The words of a wise man’s mouth are gracious; but the lips of a fool will swallow up himself. The beginning of the words of his mouth is foolishness: and the end of his talk is mischievous madness. A fool also is full of words: a man cannot tell what shall be; and what shall be after him, who can tell him? The labour of the foolish wearieth every one of them, because he knoweth not how to go to the city. Ecclesiastes 10:12-15 As the warm...

Rev. Joseph Holstege, pastor of Zion Protestant Reformed Church in Jenison, Michigan There is a euphoric comfort that comes from staring at the pale face of the “lesser light” that was set “to rule the night” (Gen. 1:16). Among the diamonds set by the Creator in the dark expanse, none is so “fair as the moon” (Song 6:10). As anyone knows who has ever laid back in a soft patch of green on a summer night, though there is one glory of the sun and another of the stars, there is still “another glory of the moon” (I Cor. 15:41)....

Rev. Daniel Holstege, former PRC missionary and now pastor of the Wingham Protestant Reformed Church in Wingham, Ontario Does the title of this article seem strange?1 This will be my last article on the covenant and missions. Since the Lord has called me from the Philippine mission field back into an established church in North America, this will also be my last article for this rubric. So to conclude both this series and my writing on missions in the Standard Bearer for the foreseeable future, I would like to face the matter of our motivation to evangelize. Evangelization is chiefly...

Rev. Ibe is the pastor of the Berean PRC in the Philippines On July 3, 2022, a conference was held at Berean PRC in Antipolo City, Philippines. The theme of the conference was in line with the controversy that has taken place within the Protestant Reformed Churches in America (PRCA)—“Conference on Reformed Theology: Doctrinal Development Since Schism.” From the time that the controversy erupted, a series of events (especially the schism in 2021) and doctrinal issues developed as well. This is one of the reasons the Protestant Reformed Churches in the Philippines (PRCP) asked her sister-church, the PRCA through her...