Volu 102 Issue 03

Behold, we count them happy which endure. Ye have heard of the patience of Job, and have seen the end of the Lord; that the Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy—James 5:11 Many of the saints were suffering terrible mistreatment at the hands of the ungodly rich. The rich kept back the wages they had agreed to pay the saints for working their fields. They took the saints to court to defraud them of the little they had. The result was that the saints were in desperate straits. Some were even dying because they lacked the basic necessities...

It is my conviction that one of the dangers (certainly not the only one) that the Protestant Reformed Churches in America (PRCA) must be on guard against is legalism. I do not mean this in the sense that the opponents of our churches falsely accuse us, that there is a theology of works-righteousness being taught and defended in the PRCA. Instead, I am referring to a practical form of legalism that manifests itself in a person subtly relying for salvation upon his own status or achievements, even while he confesses salvation by grace alone. I realize that, while many readers...

On September 10, 2025, Charlie Kirk, Christian, husband, father of two, at thirty-one years of age, was assassinated by a gunman on a college campus in Utah where he was publicly debating with college students. It was a day we, especially the younger generation, will never forget: shocking, appalling, a day of great heaviness.1 The suspected shooter, twenty-two-year-old Tyler Robinson, grew up in a conservative home, but allowed himself to be radicalized by a dark, twisted ideology. He felt that Charlie Kirk was spreading hate, and so in an act of hatred he murdered him. He now faces the death...

Numerous are the disagreements today regarding God’s covenant. There are different views on what God’s covenant is. Some speak of God making different covenants with different groups of people. Many say God has made both a common-grace covenant and a particular-grace covenant. In answer to the question whether God’s covenant is conditional or unconditional, some would say it depends on which covenant you are talking about. With all the distinctions people make when talking about God’s covenant, it can become confusing trying to explain all the different views. So where does one begin to write about all this? I have...

Previous article in this series: August 2025, p. 412 No doubt, the prodigal son desired fresh clothes and a warm meal. This was, in fact, at least in part, what had contributed to his desire to return home, even as he himself expressed this. Surely, though, his great desire was to once again feel and experience the love of his father. However, for the experience of that love, it was necessary for him to know that his father had forgiven him. As we have seen, in the end it was the knowledge of his sin by the work of the...

Previous article in this series: May 1, 2025, p. 287 For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required; and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more—Luke 12:48 In the previous two articles we have been considering managing money in a wise and stewardly way. The Lord has given unto us many earthly goods and with the earthly goods we have the responsibility to use them wisely and to press them all into the service of God’s name and His covenant in the midst of this world. We noted in the...

Continued from Special Issue (October 15, 2025) INTRODUCTION William Tyndale’s work of translating the New Testament and parts of the Old Testament into English was foundational to all future work of making the Bible available to English readers. It is estimated that as much as ninety percent of the Bible as translated by Tyndale is part of the King James or Authorized Version, and that one-third of the King James text is word-for-word Tyndale. His translation had the same enormous impact on the English language as Luther’s translation had on the German language. Tyndale’s first concern, however, was making the...

Jehovah has been faithful to the Protestant Reformed Churches in the one hundred years of her existence. Through all the years, He has been so good and gracious to us, and we have not deserved it at all. We have much reason to celebrate His tender mercies through the generations. One such celebration took place at Calvin University this past June. What an event that was, full of gladness and joy as we looked back on one hundred years as a denomination! Many thanks to those who organized that edifying week. [For more on that, see the September 2025 issue.]...

CLASSIS EAST REPORT Meeting September 10, 2025 Classis East met September 10 in the sanctuary of First Protestant Reformed Church of Grand Rapids, MI. Rev. Bill Langerak chaired the long meeting that adjourned around 11:30 p.m. Classis began with the routine matters of approving the credentials of the delegates, signing the Formula of Subscription by first-time delegates to classis, asking the questions of Church Order Article 41, receiving reports from the stated clerk and the Classical Committee, and appointing five committees of pre-advice. The Classical Committee, which acts on behalf of Classis East between its meetings, proposed an examination schedule...

When ChatGPT3 made its appearance three years ago in November 2022, a friend of mine (not a minister) quickly and eagerly tested its ability to make a sermon. “For kicks and giggles,” he said. ChatGPT, if you do not know, is the internet-based “software” that is called “Artificial Intelligence” or AI. Within 12 months of ChatGPT’s release, there were over 100 million users, making it the fastest growing computer application in history. And even that is old news, because on August 8, 2025 (less than one month ago), ChatGPT released version 5, described as light-years ahead of version 3, and...