Volu 102 Issue 01

NEW VOLUME YEAR We now enter volume year 102! To God be the glory for His preserving grace. With this new volume year much remains the same, but there are some changes to note. We bid farewell to two retiring writers, Rev. M. DeVries and Rev. A. Spriensma, whose contributions began four decades ago. Thank you, brothers, for your diligent labors! We are happy to welcome back some experienced writers. Rev. W. Bruinsma is returning to write some meditations for us, his first is across the page. Rev. N. Decker is also returning to write for “Strength of Youth,” and...

But thou art he that took me out of the womb: thou didst make me hope when I was upon my mother’s breasts. I was cast upon thee from the womb: thou art my God from my mother’s belly—Psalm 22: 9, 10 Forsaken and alone, David probably sat in some cave or in a tent in Philistia while writing this psalm. He was pursued by Saul the king of Israel, fleeing for his life, alienated from family, friends and his fellow countrymen. In his anguish David pours out his lament to God, “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken...

The year of our Lord 2025 is a year of significant anniversaries. As readers of the Standard Bearer are well aware, this year the Protestant Reformed Churches observed with thanksgiving to God our 100th anniversary as a separate denomination. But this year is also the celebration of 1700 years since the Council of Nicea met in 325 and drafted the Nicene Creed. This editorial is intended to familiarize readers with the history of the Council and Creed and then lay out why this still matters for the church of Christ 1700 years later. THE HISTORY OF THE COUNCIL OF NICEA...

On January 20, 2025, President Donald Trump began his inaugural address with remarks that must have annoyed the political left while giving the political right an excitement they had not felt in a long time: “The golden age of America,” he declared, “begins right now. From this day forward, our country will flourish and be respected again all over the world. We will be the envy of every nation, and we will not allow ourselves to be taken advantage of any longer. During every single day of the Trump administration, I will, very simply, put America first…. America will soon...

Previous article in this series: July 2025, p. 366. Woe to the bloody city! it is all full of lies and robbery; the prey departeth not; the noise of a whip, and the noise of the rattling of the wheels, and of the pransing horses, and of the jumping chariots. The horseman lifteth up both the bright sword and the glittering spear: and there is a multitude of slain, and a great number of carcases; and there is none end of their corpses; they stumble upon their corpses: Because of the multitude of the whoredoms of the wellfavoured harlot, the...

Hope is a treasure beyond price. Without hope we cannot live, but having true hope, we can persevere through all things. Hope stands out as one of the three cardinal Christian graces the Holy Spirit works in the child of God (1 Cor. 13:13). Apart from God’s grace in Christ, we were lost in deepest misery— hopelessness—a state of alienation from God, which the apostle describes as “having no hope, and without God in the world” (Eph. 2:12). But now, being saved by grace, through faith (Eph. 2:8), we “rejoice in hope of the glory of God” (Rom. 5:2). What...

Previous article in this series: July, 2025, p. 369. WHY IS THIS THE PROPER METHOD? The last three articles have explained the Grammatical-Historical-Spiritual (GHS) method of Bible interpretation. This article explains why this method is the proper method. Before proceeding, remember two things. First, my argument is not that the term “GHS” is the only proper term, but that the method to which it refers is the only proper method. Some use a similar name (Grammatical-Historical criticism) to refer to a wrong method, while others might use another term to refer to essentially the same method as I am promoting....

Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time—1 Peter 1:5 INTRODUCTION Salvation is God’s work of delivering us from sin into the possession of everlasting life. Salvation is God’s greatest work: a work that He planned in eternity, that He accomplished in the cross of His Son, and that He applies by His Spirit. We have seen the various steps by which the Holy Spirit in logical order applies the benefits of salvation in this life: regeneration, calling, conversion, faith, justification, and sanctification. But everything would be in...

Previous article in this series: November 1, 2024, p. 42.   The Law Is Complete and Perfect We believe that the whole will of God and all necessary precepts for every sphere of life are taught in this law. For otherwise the Lord would not have forbidden us to add or take away anything from this law; neither would He have commanded us to walk in a straight path before this law, and not to turn aside from it by turning to the right or to the left (Deut. 4:2; 12:32). In this third paragraph of chapter 12 of the...

Previous article in this series: January 2025, p. 148. RENEWAL As we continue a consideration of the main parts of re-entry from a field of mission labor and move now into the phase of renewal, it becomes evident that the phases of the re-entry process can be divided into two main groups. The first group of phases in the re-entry process involves looking back. For example, when the apostle Paul was released from his labors in Ephesus and needed to bid the elders farewell (Acts 20), the perspective was clearly on what was being left behind in the Lord’s hands....