All Articles For Contending for the Faith

When Eulogius (in our preceding article we were quoting from Philip Schaff to the effect that Gregory displayed in his correspondence with his rival a singular combination of pride and humility—H.V.), in return for his exaltation of his own see, afterwards addressed Gregory as “universal pope,” he strongly repudiated the title, saying: “I have said that neither to me nor to any one else ought you to write anything of the kind. And lo!

Rev. Woudenberg is a minister emeritus in the Protestant Reformed Churches. … if by grace, then is it no more of works: otherwise grace is no more grace. But if it be of works, then is it no more grace: otherwise work is no more work. Romans 11:6 The controversy of 1953 centered in many ways in the word “conditions” and the propriety of its use regarding the covenant of grace. This is to be regretted, for that question touched only obliquely on the heart of what this whole matter was actually about, as some tried repeatedly to point out....

Rev. Woudenberg is a minister emeritus in the Protestant Reformed Churches. And he (Moses) took the book of the covenant, and read in the audience of the people: and they said, All that the Lord hath said will we do, and be obedient.  And Moses took the blood, and sprinkled it on the people, and said, Behold the blood of the covenant, which the Lord hath made with you concerning all these words. Exodus 24:7, 8 In the thinking of Dr. Klaas Schilder the covenant of grace was viewed as forensic or legal in nature, a proclamation of law. If...

Rev. Woudenberg is pastor of the Protestant Reformed Church of Kalamazoo, Michigan. For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar 08, even as many as the Lord our God shall call.  Acts 2:39 At the heart of the controversy over the covenant which took place in the Netherlands fifty years ago was the question of what happens to a child at the moment of his baptism. Between the two sides, the Synodicals (those who agreed with the decision of the synod on this matter) and the Liberated (those who considered themselves liberated...

Rev. Woudenberg is a minister emeritus in the Protestant Reformed Churches. If thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. Romans 10:9 Anyone who lived through the Protestant Reformed/Liberated controversy of the late ’40s and early ’50s will remember the debates which took place over the word “conditions.” On and on they went over the question of whether one can properly speak of conditions regarding the covenant of grace. Seldom was there much consideration as to whether these were conditions to...

Rev. Woudenberg is a minister emeritus in the Protestant Reformed Churches. For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call. Acts 2:39 The realization that the covenant view of Herman Hoeksema is, in its basic elements, the same as that of the great Dutch theologian Herman Bavinck opens up some very striking dimensions to the controversy which preoccupied the Protestant Reformed Churches for nearly a decade during the middle of this century; and it substantiates pretty much what Hoeksema always maintained, that...

Rev. Woudenberg is a minister emeritus in the Protestant Reformed Churches. In the February 26 issue of Christian Renewal there appeared the following letter by a Mr. Tim Gallant reflecting on our past writings. It read as follows: Limits of Human Reason I have followed with interest the discussion between J. Tuininga, B. Woudenberg, and other brothers from the Protestant Reformed, Liberated, and newly-federating churches. It seems to me that the heart of the issue involved with the Protestant Reformed understanding of the covenant and their rejection of the free offer has not yet been articulated clearly. It is thought...

Rev. Woudenberg is a minister emeritus in the Protestant Reformed Churches. If there be therefore any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any bowels and mercies,  Fulfill ye my joy, that ye be like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind.  Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves.  Philippians 2:1-3 Extra-Scriptural Binding—A New Danger is the title of a recently published translation of Dr. Klaas Schilder’s answer to our Brief Declaration of Principles, as...

Rev. Woudenberg is a minister emeritus in the Protestant Reformed Churches. In the July issue of Christian Renewal there appeared two letters each in its own way accusing the Protestant Reformed Churches of following “human logic.” But really, what grounds are there for that? Let’s first, however, see the letters: Apparent Contradiction Please allow me to enter the fray once more. Rev. Woudenberg, in his response to Tim Gallant (May 27), says that “Tuininga is driven to claim that to be Reformed is to be neither a consistent Calvinist or an Arminian, but both:” The reason Woudenberg comes to that...

Rev. Woudenberg is a minister emeritus in the Protestant Reformed Churches. I have manifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world: thine they were, and thou gavest them me; and they have kept thy word. John 17:6 Behind the question of the place of children in the covenant which so preoccupied the Reformed churches in the 1940s, there were several other disjunctives (propositions that appear to be mutually exclusive of each other) which had troubled the Dutch churches for many years: the question of whether regeneration is mediate or immediate (brought about by means...