The doctrine of God’s covenant of grace with His people must be fully in harmony with the Canons of Dordt. Of course, it is true that in a Reformed church the doctrine of the covenant must be in harmony with all the Reformed confessions. But the covenant must explicitly conform…
Assurance was a significant doctrine faced at the Synod of Dordt in 1618–19. The Arminians insisted no man could have assurance that salvation was his unless he was told: “God loves you and wants to save you.” And, said the Arminians, that might not be said to him unless it…
In the last editorial on the Canons’ explanation of faith in Head IV, we called attention to the fact that faith is an instrument that embraces and appropriates Christ and His benefits. This faith, however, it not a condition that man can or must fulfill in order to be saved.…
Key to a proper understanding of the Reformed doctrine of salvation and therefore also of the doctrine of the covenant, is faith. How faith fits as an instrument must be carefully taught, lest one slip into hyper-Calvinism or into Arminianism. That faith is an instrument is clear from the confessions.…
The Canons’ positive treatment of the Reformed doctrine of total depravity is straightforward and relatively brief. And yet, all nine articles of the Rejection of Errors condemn errors of the Remonstrants connected with total depravity. The reason for this is simple. The Canons set forth the Reformed truth over against…
Head 2 of the Canons sets forth the Reformed truth that Jesus’ death is an effectual atonement for sin, because it was a substitutionary death and a satisfaction for the sins of the elect only. In harmony with that, the gospel never promises salvation to all who hear the preaching.…
The second head of the Canons teaches that Christ’s death on the cross was an effectual redemption of the elect. The Canons rejected the Remonstrants’ (Arminian) teaching that Christ died “for all men and every man.” The Remonstrants also maintained that not all for whom Christ died receive the saving…
At the title indicates, this series of editorials examines the harmonious relationship between the doctrine of God’s covenant of grace and the Canons of Dordt. The premise continues to be that the doctrine of the covenant of grace must agree with the doctrines of sovereign grace taught in the Canons.…
Reprobation is God’s eternal decree to leave the reprobate in their misery of sin, not to give them saving faith and the grace of conversion, and to condemn and punish them forever. This is the teaching of the Canons in Head I, Article 15. Article 15 adds that this decree…
The Reformed theology of God’s everlasting covenant of grace must be in harmony with the doctrines of grace set forth in the Canons of Dordt. That is the premise of these editorials. That the covenant and salvation are inseparable is admitted even by those who teach that the covenant is…
The Reformed, which is to say, biblical doctrine of salvation maintains that God sovereignly saves His chosen people. The Canons of Dordt set forth this truth beautifully. The Canons demonstrate that the race of man fell in Adam and every individual is born guilty and polluted with sin. Everyone is…
The reformation of the church is God’s work. God loves His church with an everlasting, unquenchable love. God’s eternal counsel with regard to His church includes not only the selection of every member, but also the entire history of the church through time and eternity. That earthly history includes times…
As the front cover indicates, our annual Reformation issue is devoted to the Reformation in Zurich. The decision to highlight Zurich is based largely on the fact that this year marks the 500th anniversary of the Reformation in this city located in the northeast side of Switzerland. In 1519, Ulrich…
In a special worship service in the Grandville Protestant Reformed Church held September 4, Rev. Brian Huizinga was installed as the Professor of Theology and Old Testament Studies in the Protestant Reformed Theological Seminary. In this issue, we print an edited version of Prof. R. Cammenga’s fine sermon on Acts…
With thanksgiving to God, we begin the new publishing year for the Standard Bearer. Since the first issue of the magazine appeared in October of 1924, this begins the 96th-volume year. Let us not overlook God’s faithfulness in providing the financial means and the writers all these years. For the…
That election and the covenant of God are linked has been noted from Ephesians 1. There, in the context of teaching eternal election in Jesus Christ (v. 3), the apostle states, “having predestinated us unto the adoption of children in Jesus Christ” (v. 5). Since in this verse predestination is…
The doctrine of election is the foundation of the Reformed truth of salvation by grace alone. The first head of the Canons of Dordt establishes the doctrine of double predestination in answer to the first point of the Remonstrants. The Arminians placed this doctrine first in their five objections (remonstrances),…
The theology of God’s eternal covenant of grace is a uniquely Reformed doctrine, that is, a product of the Reformation. It is true that theologians prior to the Reformation referred to the covenant, even as early as Augustine in the early 400s. From that time to the Reformation the covenant…
As all our regular readers know, 2018-19 marks the 400th anniversary of the great Synod of Dordrecht. This Synod was a momentous gathering of theologians from many different regions of Switzerland, Germany, England, and Scotland, as well as all the seven provinces of the “United Netherlands.” The importance of the Synod…
In this issue is a “Contribution” submitted at the request of the editors, after the family who wrote it had corresponded with the editors about the role of elders in counseling especially difficult cases. The article is printed without the authors’ names, at their request. After reading the article, it…
The Synod of the Protestant Reformed Churches met from June 11-17, completing all the work in its agenda in five days. This report on the decisions of synod can be brief, due to the reality that a rather complete preview was given in the June 1 SB and that reports…
As is the case every year since 1940, the annual synod of the Protestant Reformed Churches will convene in June. Last year’s synod appointed First PRC in Grand Rapids as the calling church for the Synod of 2019. The last time that First hosted the meetings of synod was 2001.…
The ruling body in the Netherlands at the time of the Synod of Dordrecht was the States General—a gathering of delegates representing the seven provinces that comprised the Netherlands in that day. The seven provinces were Gelderland, Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht, Friesland, Overijssel, and Groningen, of which Holland was the largest…
Welcome to our second commemorative issue on the Synod of Dordt (1618-19). This Synod is best known for its defense and development of the truth of sovereign, particular grace in the Canons. Aspects of this truth were set forth in the November 1, 2018 issue of the SB. The current…
The Canons of Dordt is an amazing document with an amazing history to match. Drawn up by the Synod of Dordrecht in 1618-19, it sets forth the Reformed doctrine of salvation, explaining further the teaching of the Heidelberg Catechism and the Belgic Confession. Our purpose is to explore some of…
Four hundred years ago, theologians—pastors and professors—from Reformed churches all over Europe were wending their way to the town of Dordrecht, in the province of Utrecht, in the Lowlands. They were coming by invitation of the Reformed churches and the States General, the governing political body of the provinces. These…
This issue marks the beginning of the new volume (number 95) for the Standard Bearer, first printed in October of 1924. These “notes” will give readers a small preview of the coming year in the Standard Bearer. Dordrecht, 1618-19 This volume year corresponds perfectly with the years of the “Great…
The Protestant Reformed Churches have been my ecclesiastical home from my birth. These churches have nurtured, fed, guided, and instructed me, and subsequently, my children and grandchildren. I love these churches and pray for them continually. It is out of love for these churches that I take up the pen…
Previous article in this series: August 2018, p. 437. Where is the true church to be found? The Reformed church confesses that the true church can be identified by three notable marks, namely, the preaching of the pure doctrine of the gospel, the administration of the sacraments as instituted by…
In an island country of some 5.5 million people, located over 8,000 miles from the nearest PRC, is a congregation of nearly 190 members that earnestly desires Protestant Reformed preachers to come to preach and teach. As all in the PRC know, at the end of 2017 Rev. Andy Lanning…
Previous article in this series: June 2018, p. 389. The Belgic Confession in Article 29 lists the three well-known marks of the true church of Jesus Christ—the preaching of the pure gospel, the proper administration of the sacraments, and the exercise of Christian discipline.[1] The necessity of setting forth the…
The 2018 Synod of the Protestant Reformed Churches convened on Tuesday, June 12 and recessed on Friday, June 22. At various times Synod recessed—once for an entire day—to allow committees to study and prepare advice. Because the actions of synod have been announced in church bulletins and can be read…
The Belgic Confession, a Reformed creed, bears the impression of John Calvin’s theology. Soon after it was written by Guido de Brès in 1561, Reformed churches in the Netherlands began adopting it. The Belgic Confession includes a lengthy section on ecclesiology, reflecting the reality that the doctrine of the church…
In the Reformed system of church government, the synod is the broadest gathering. These ecclesiastical assemblies are assigned the duty to transact “ecclesiastical matters only” and that “in an ecclesiastical manner.” Synods do the work which for various reasons cannot be “finished in the minor assemblies, or such as pertain…
I believe an holy, catholic church. This simple yet profound statement is the confession of countless believers around the world Sunday after Sunday, using the words of the Apostles’ Creed. The churches that use the Nicene Creed fittingly add “…and apostolic…” to their confession. The Heidelberg Catechism beautifully expounds this…
Previous article in this series: April 1, 2018, p. 293. Every believer has a God-determined calling in this life. Few passages in Scripture emphasize it as strikingly as the psalmist’s confession of God’s sovereignty over his life in Psalm 139. While he was yet “in [his] mother’s womb…[his] substance…
Previous article in this series: March 15, 2018, p. 269. The truth of God’s absolute sovereignty is beautiful and comforting to the believer. God leaves nothing to chance. This is embedded in the Reformed believer’s confession of his greatest comfort: “I am not my own, but belong body and soul,…
“What do you want to be when you grow up?” This question, often addressed to children or grandchildren in the range of four to ten years old, can yield some very entertaining answers. “A fireman!” “A nurse!” “I want to be a doctor!” “A teacher!” “A mommy!” It is especially…
The Protestant Reformed Churches annually observe the “National Thanksgiving Day” with a special worship service. They have bound themselves to do so by Article 67 of the Church Order, which states: “The churches shall observe, in addition to the Sunday, also [a list of eight days, and] the National Thanksgiving…
Welcome to the second 2017 commemorative issue of the Reformation. Some 500 years ago, Luther posted his 95 theses for discussion and debate, and so began the great sixteenth-century Reformation. This was God’s work of forming His seriously deformed church back to the Bible in doctrine, worship, church polity, and…
The sixteenth-century Reformation is one of the most significant events in the history of the world. Its far-reaching impact was manifest not only in the church, but on nations, cultures, governments, and economies. The world changed in 1517. These broad changes make it important to investigate the context of a…
In this issue, we celebrate the 500th anniversary of the great Reformation begun in 1517. We acknowledge that we must not be guilty of garnishing the sepulchers of the prophets, while despising the Word of God that they brought. We must not arrogantly imagine that we are the only ones…
With all thanks and praise to God, we begin the 94th year of printing the Standard Bearer. The first issue of the SB consisted of sixteen pages, containing nine articles and three poems. Four men made up the entire staff. I am more thankful than I can express that in…
Editor’s note: The decisions of the 2017 Synod have been reported to the Protestant Reformed congregations in daily emailed reports, and are available online at prca.org. Therefore, this editorial makes no attempt to be a comprehensive report. Prayer is a wonder. It is a privilege that God gives to His…
The April 15 deadline for submitting material for treatment at synod has passed.1 The material for synod’s work has now been distributed to consistories. With the exception of a few items that may come through supplements, synod’s agenda is fixed. It is a large agenda, larger than average both in…
Previous article in this series: March 1, 2017, p. 244. How, then, can this be accomplished? The “it” is the goal set forth in the last eight editorials, namely, training that will equip young adults for teaching in Protestant Reformed schools. Training that will prepare them to stand in the…
Previous article in this series: February 15, 2017, p. 220. Since the time that Protestant Reformed schools were proposed, there has been an awareness of the need for training teachers for those schools. And especially as school societies formed in various congregations and, one after another, schools materialized, teachers longed…
Previous article in this series: February 1, 2017, p. 197. The concept of an institution for training Protestant Reformed teachers was proposed in the late 1940s when the Protestant Reformed school movement was picking up steam. The congregation in Redlands, CA established the first Protestant Reformed school in 1934. Hope…
Previous article in this series: January 15, 2017, p. 173. It has been the intent of this series of editorials to demonstrate the importance, yea, even the necessity, of having some institution to provide training that will equip men and women to teach in Protestant Reformed schools. This is not…
Previous article in this series: January 1, 2017, p. 148. Believing parents understand the weighty responsibility before God to train up their children in the fear of the Lord. When possible, Reformed parents band together to establish and maintain Christian schools to assist them in this high calling. The teachers…