Volu 102 Issue 05

For here we have no continuing city, but we seek one to come—Hebrews 13:14   On January 1 we enter another year, 2026. We wonder how many more we will see. We are, after all, pilgrims in the earth, on our journey to our heavenly home. Here we have no continuing city. In a city one abides, digs foundations and builds structures. A city is where people establish themselves, gather their treasures, seek their pleasures. And while we know the life of the city by our passing through, the fact remains, we are just passing through. Even if our lifetime...

INTRODUCTION In my previous article (see December 2025, p. 101), I pointed out that the foundation for unity in the Reformed Christian school is biblical, creedal truth. On that foundation all involved in the life of the school can effectively handle the twofold concern that can at times create division in the school community; namely, the concern to maintain the whole/institution and the concern to care for the individual student. I stated that we maintain unity in the school on that foundation by working to keep and preserve the whole without idolizing it or worshiping it, while simultaneously working for...

Dear editors, I would like to express my appreciation for the editorial by Rev. Josh Engelsma in the November (2025) issue of the Standard Bearer (“A Warning to the PRCA Against Legalism”). His article points us to the very real threat of legalism, manifested by denominational pride and dead orthodoxy, which are among the greatest dangers that conservative Reformed and Presbyterian churches face. In addition to his timely diagnosis of the problem, I also appreciated his prescription for addressing it—a continuous call for members of the church to personal faith in Jesus Christ and a deeper understanding of the beautiful...

Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers—Ephesians 4:29   “THE DEPTH OF EVERYDAY WORDS” Ten thousand…give or take a few. That’s how many words the average speaker utters each day. And according to James, those ten thousand are no mere sounds. Every word is a rudder or a flame (Jam. 3:4, 6), a blessing or a curse (Jam. 3:9), wondrous water or stinging salt (Jam. 3:11), a fig or an olive or a grape (Jam. 3:12). Every word has substance,...

For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us—Romans 8:18   INTRODUCTION Glorification is the final step in our salvation: “Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called; and whom he called, them he also justified; and whom he justified, them he also glorified” (Rom. 8:30). Glorification is the final step because there is nothing after it: when we are glorified, our salvation will be complete and we will have reached the goal that God ordained for us. Paul sets glorification before us,...

Without the grace of God, the fallen human race develops technology in the service of sin and not for the glory of God. The ungodly use new technology to commit the same sins their ancestors did but in new and alluring ways, and we are tempted to do so too. The world makes sin to abound more and more through new inventions and fills up the cup of iniquity ever more quickly (Gen. 4:16ff.; 6:5; Matt. 24:12). The rise of the world-changing technology of artificial intelligence is no different. The CEO of OpenAI recently announced the release of a new...

We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts—2 Peter 1:19   Scripture is the lens by which we ought to interpret creation. You can put an elegant book in front of a man with blurry vision, but he will not be able to make out the words until you give him a pair of glasses or some other sort of lens to help him see clearly. So too, God...

Throughout generations, God’s people have placed their trust in His unwavering covenant promises. Undeserving though we are, He promises to be a God to us and to our children. With thankful hearts we praise Him, “Yea, I have a goodly heritage” (Ps. 16:6). Even in seasons of corporate spiritual decline, He remains faithful. In such times He raises believers to care for the church with courage and sacrificial love. Their faith rises above earthly circumstances, not trusting in human strength, but in God and His infallible Word. One such occasion occurred approximately 3,500 years ago in ancient Egypt.… All was...

For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind—2 Timothy 1:7   The fear of which 2 Timothy 1:7 speaks is not the healthy reverential fear of God spoken of in Proverbs 1:7, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge.” We want that fear. May God grant that fear and that we would live with the fear of God in our hearts whereby we love and serve and worship Him. The “fear” spoken of in 2 Timothy 1:7 refers to a spirit of a fearfulness,...

The following book is reviewed by Dr. Marco Barone, book coordinator (editor) of the RFPA and member of Southwest PRC in Wyoming, Michigan The Klaas Schilder Reader: The Essential Theological Writings by Klaas Schilder. George Harinck, Marinus DeJong, and Richard Mouw, eds. Lexham Press, 2022. 608 pages, hardcover. $49.99. INTRODUCTION Klaas Schilder (1890–1952) was a courageous man with many gifts, but writing was not among those. In the dogmatic writings contained in The Klaas Schilder Reader: The Essential Theological Writings (Reader, from now on), Schilder writes as if any reader already knows what is in his mind; the reader gets...