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It is during Jesus’ first public Galilean ministry that He calls four of His disciples to become fishers of men. They are Simon and Andrew his brother, and James with his brother John who were sons of Zebedee. This is not their first calling to the discipleship. We must remember that the Lord’s first Galilean ministry did not begin until He had completed His first series of labors in Judea. This stay in Judea is recorded in the second and third chapters of John. It is during this period that the cleansing of the temple and the Lord’s remarkable conversation...

Having inquired into the truths involved in the sacrifice by blood, let us now have regard to the different kinds of sacrifice. These, as was said (in a previous article) were five in number, to wit, the sin, trespass, burnt, peace, and meat offering. All these different kinds of sacrifice were needed to bring out the whole truth in connection with the work of Christ. They were needful to the believer as the medium for the adequate expression of the faith that was in him, of his contrition, gratitude, and praise, thus of the response of his heart to the...

In any circle, whether learned or unlearned, the above caption would certainly be condemned as being illogical in the superlative degree. Illogical because it contains two elements which, according to popular opinion, are the very antithesis of each other. Law and liberty differ as much as day and night, in fact, they are at variance, they clash. Law is the antonym of liberty. Never has human understanding been able to harmonize the two; where there is law there is no liberty, and where liberty is the law is done away with. The cause of being unable to harmonize the two...

“Coming to Jesus” is a thought which is expressed repeatedly in Scripture. In Matt. 11:28 the Lord Himself calls unto the weary and heavy laden to come unto Him and obtain rest. Also in John 7 this same thought is expressed by our Saviour, when, upon the last day of the great feast, He stood and cried: “If any man thirst, let him come unto Me, and drink.” Well known are the words in Isaiah 55 where we read of the calling of Jehovah unto those that thirst to buy without money and drink of the water of life. And...

Disappointment. I was disappointed in the articles of the Rev. Zwier under the general caption “Gods Algemeene Goedheid.” I am disappointed in the contents of the articles. From the Rev. Zwier one might expect wholesome, consistent exposition. Instead, the exegesis on the passages in dispute is decidedly superficial and arbitrary. This is written despite the fact that the author of the articles is very confident that his explanations are irrefutable while the exegesis of his opponents is largely prejudicial and frequently “inlegkunde van de eerste sort.” The adversaries of the doctrine of common grace do not exegete honestly, implies the...

The apostle was one having been brought under the quickening influence of the Spirit of God. The new principle of life presents itself to his consciousness as a law of the mind, that is, as a hallowed intelligent urge or compulsion, capable of delighting in and craving the law of God. However, the unhallowed urge of his being, he discovers, is still very much alive. It successfully launches an attack upon the sanctified law of his mind, and brings him into captivity of the law of sin. This is his great grief: “O wretched man that I am,” says he,...

Holiness, so it was pointed out, was the property of God’s priests, of Aaron and his sons. We learn this from Moses’ reply to Korah, “Tomorrow the Lord will show who is His, and who is holy. . . .” Num. 16:5. It was made plain that the character of the holiness which this statement ascribes to Aaron was symbolical. It was thus the bodily cleanliness that resulted from his being washed with water; the beauty and the purity of the dress in which he, as priest, was clad; the anointing oil and the blood of the sacrifice as sprinkled...

Perplexed, and in despair. Perplexed, but not in despair. That, in short, is the way the lines are being drawn as they mark the difference between the people that have their own god and the people that know the true God. The pressure of the times, with all the anxiety and the fear which follows, the dizzying pace of amazing events, the threats of more horrible and amazing things have brought perplexity upon all of us. How could we escape being perplexed? No matter how sanely we may think on the matters and however cautiously we may feel our way...

In view of the many rumors about the condition of Dr. Schilder after the German invasion of the old country, our Synod decided to seek official information through Washington. Our representative from Michigan, the honorable Bartel J. Jonkman, was found very willing to serve us in this matter. Already during the sessions of our Synod we received a cablegram from him, informing us that efforts were being made to get connections with The Netherlands, that, however, connections were broken, but that he would let us know about the whereabouts of Dr. Schilder as soon as connections could be established. Since...

No one can teach God knowledge; no one can tell Him anything at all. He is God. His intelligent will is the efficient cause of the existence and subsistence of things that be, Himself excepted. He created, preserves and governs all things according to His holy will, so that nothing happens in this world but by His appointment. He keeps all things so under His power that not a hair of our head, nor a sparrow can fall to the ground without His will. God makes history. The events of the day are but the realization of His eternal deliberations....