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…
Previous article in this series: December 15, 2016, p. 124. Good Christian schools are required of Reformed believers according to the Church Order of Dordrecht, Article 21. Good Christian schools need good Christian school teachers. The eighteen Protestant Reformed schools will continue to seek these high quality teachers. The training…
Previous article in this series: December 1, 2016, p. 100. The need is obvious. Over 2,100 students in eighteen schools. Growth and expansion, common. Teaching positions not filled in the current school year, and more openings coming for the 2017-18 school year. The point of these articles is to stress…
Previous article in this series: November 15, 2016, p. 76. Editor’s note: These editorials on schools and teachers are, of necessity, somewhat provincial because the focus is on the schools that are maintained by members of the Protestant Reformed Churches. I am very much aware that many readers of this…
Note to the Readers: Some time ago I had plans to write a series of editorials on the need for Protestant Reformed teacher training. With that in mind I wrote this editorial, intending to follow it up with a number of articles on this subject. In the unfolding of the…
On October 31, 1517, in the not-yet-famous city of Wittenberg, a gifted but largely unknown monk nailed to the door of the church a placard. The placard contained a long list of assertions—ninety-five, to be exact. The monk/priest posted them for the purpose of provoking debate—he declared himself willing publicly…
In April of 1925, in Grand Rapids, MI, elders and ministers from three Christian Reformed Churches, recently cut off by their denomination, met to make plans for the future of their churches. The minutes of the combined consistories’ meeting indicate a significant concern. Article 9 states: The training of ministers…
But if I tarry long, that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth. I Timothy 3:15 The Bible describes the church of Jesus Christ with many striking figures.…
On June 13, the Lord willing, twenty-three delegates and advisors to the 2016 Synod of the Protestant Reformed Churches will descend upon the town of Hull, Iowa. They will come from Sioux Falls, SD, Edgerton, MN, Loveland CO, Spokane, WA, Randolph, WI, Lynwood, IL, northwest Iowa, and western Michigan. They…
Prof. Dykstra and his wife Carol have been married for 43 years. And the rib, which the Lord God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man. And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall…
So soon the second semester of the 2015-16 year is well underway, and news from “the hill” (i.e., seminary) is in order. The Protestant Reformed Seminary began the school year with twelve seminarians and one man taking a pre-seminary course (Greek Grammar). Midway through the first semester one of the…
Previous article in this series: January 1, 2016, p. 149. “…the cause of Christ is never, ever advanced by the sword.” The statement above (found in the November 1, 2015 issue of the Standard Bearer, in the editorial “Learning from the Medieval Church’s History”) is the focus of a disagreement…
“…the cause of Christ is never, ever advanced by the sword.” The conviction above is expressed in the November 1, 2015 issue of the Standard Bearer, in the editorial “Learning from the Medieval Church’s History.” As I penned that, I was fully aware that many today have a different view…
Since this issue of the Standard Bearer concerns itself with church reformers in the medieval church, it will be helpful to gather a bit of information about the period. The Middle Ages covers the period from Pope Gregory I (AD 590) to the Reformation (AD 1517). Let us recall the character of…
What comes to mind with the term “Middle Ages”? Perhaps dark and dreary lives. Perhaps castles and knights. Perhaps crusades. For church history, what may come to mind is a seemingly endless parade of corrupt popes. Surely all Reformed readers think of the apostasy and corruption in the church that…
Previous article in this series: September 1, 2015, p. 461. Missions is the work of the church of Jesus Christ. We confess that “the Son of God from the beginning to the end of the world, gathers, defends, and preserves to Himself by His Spirit and Word, out of the…
Missions is one of the essential works to which Jesus Christ has called His church. Christ’s church is the body of believers. Thus, believers, missions is your work. No, that does not mean that all believers are called to be missionaries. On the contrary, ordained ministers are called to be…
Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I…
The editorial of June 1 highlighted items on the agenda of the 2015 Synod of the Protestant Reformed Churches. Synod met in Faith PRC in Jenison, Michigan, completing its work in four full days. Decisions of this ecclesiastical gathering have been published online (prca.org) and in bulletins, so there is…
This past semester might be called the semester of doctors. It started with a laparoscopic appendectomy gone awry, resulting in an appendix that disintegrated before removal. That put one student in the hospital and produced complications for weeks that slowed his recovery. Then our fourth-year student was diagnosed with mono,…
The church belongs to the Lord. God gave His elect to Jesus Christ in eternity, who in time redeemed each member from sin and death. God rewarded Jesus by lifting Him up to be Head over all things to the church (Eph. 1:22). We confess that Jesus gathers, defends and…
Greetings to all the friends and supporters of the Protestant Reformed Theological School! By the time you read this, the first semester of the 2014-15 school year will be over, classes completed and exams administered, graded, and returned. Fourth-year student Ryan Barnhill will have returned from his six-month internship in…
His Life Aurelius Augustine was born in AD 354 in the northern African town of Thagaste, located in present-day Algeria. Although they lived a fair distance from Rome, Augustine’s family considered themselves to be decidedly Roman—hence his given name. Augustine’s father Patricius was an unbeliever. He insisted that his son…
Although it might seem a bit strange, at first blush, to devote the annual Reformation issue to a church father who died almost 1100 years before the great sixteenth century Reformation, we have good grounds for doing so. Our two main reasons are expressed well by the noted church historian…
One of the most significant covenant blessings given to the Protestant Reformed Churches is its Christian schools. God establishes His covenant not merely with believers, but also with their chosen seed. Believing parents are committed—by their own baptism vows—to instructing their children in such a way that their children know,…
Reformed churches consciously tracing their lineage to the Reformed churches in the Netherlands have a rich heritage of ecclesiastical assemblies. Our forefathers understood the importance of proper church government not only for the wellbeing, but for the very existence of the church. The sixteenth-century Reformed churches in the Netherlands were…
“The supreme and, in a sense, the only task of the Church is to preach the Word of God. But if there is a Word of God to be proclaimed by the Church, it must needs be a Word which God Himself speaks, and which He speaks concerning Himself. And…
Singing in worship to God is a highly emotional activity for the believer. Singing involves the whole being—mind and will, body and soul. Words put to music can convey joys or sorrow, praises and petitions, with feeling that far surpasses merely speaking the same words. Any believer who has lost…
Previous article in this series: March 1, 2014, p. 245. Churches of the Reformation have been zealous for Christian schools, endorsing, promoting, preaching, supporting them in any way possible. Those churches also steadfastly insisted that Christian schools are the responsibility of parents. This was the oft repeated teaching of Luther,…
The April 1, 2014 issue of the Standard Bearer will be a special issue on the Reformed tradition of singing the Psalms. The issue will include a history of Psalm-singing and will present various Reformed traditions of Psalm-singing. One article is devoted to singing the imprecatory Psalms. And we will…
The members of the Protestant Reformed Churches place a very high value on the covenantal instruction of their children. Each year the members of these churches bring up well over ten million dollars to maintain the four high schools and the thirteen grade schools. That huge sum will pay for…
Previous article in this series: February 1, 2014, p. 197. Finally, brethren, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may have free course, and be glorified, even as it is with you: and that we may be delivered from unreasonable and wicked men: for all men have not…