All Articles For Editorial

Now, as I remarked, I am not at present interested in Yankee-Dutch in the literal sense of the word. I wanted to call your attention to the very real and always present peril of Yankee-Dutch in doctrine and in our practical walk of life. The first is plainly suggested by the passage which I quoted from Nehemiah. The children spoke half in the Hebrew language and half in the language of the heathen. Their language was a mixture. They knew the pure Hebrew no longer. Their speech was adulterated. Now, when our children of the second and third generation in...

(This article is a continuation of the one that appeared in Vol. 15, No. 3, pp. 52, 53. Material of a different nature had the preference and till now crowded out this closing article on the above subject. Ed.) The question remains: what may be the causes that the people of God in the world so often relapse into a jargon of Yankee-Dutch in doctrine and in walk, so that it seems so difficult for them to maintain and confess the pure truth of the Word of God in their generations? Why do we not, why can we not remain...

For in the day that thou eatest thereof, thou shalt surely die. Genesis 2:17 For the wages of sin is death….Romans 6:23 Since by man came death…. As in Adam all die….I Corinthians 15:21, 22 And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and the name that sat on him was death, and Hell followed with him….Revelation 6:8 The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death. I Corinthians 15:26 Death, death, death. It marches through Scripture like a seemingly invincible army and down through history invades life like a monster with an insatiable appetite. Once it fixes its gaze...

In one of our weekly magazines (Newsweek) we read the following: On one side of the theological fence stands William Floyd, retired New York real-estate dealer, descendant and namesake of a signer of the Declaration of Independence. Twenty-seven years ago, after reading Thomas Paine’s “The Age of Reason,” he quit Christianity and began editing a freethinking journal called The Arbitrator. He is now a member of Dr. John Haynes Holmes’ Community Church in Manhattan. On the other side of the fence stands Dr. Harry Rimmer, Presbyterian evangelist. Nineteen years ago he incorporated a Research Science Bureau, to investigate man’s origin...

In The Banner of November 16 we found the following statement by the editor: “All these issues (that are at present being considered in the Netherlands, H.H.) are foreign to our own Church, except the one on Common Grace; and this was settled at the synod at Kalamazoo in 1924. When Dr. K. Schilder was among us, about eleven months (ago?? H.H.) he sought to reopen that controversy by propagating his off-color views on that subject, but the attempt was not successful. Many of our people are wondering what the decision will be next spring. (That is, when the Synod...

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 to the Canons because the Canons set forth the Reformed doctrine of salvation. And the covenant is salvation, for God saves His people in order to bring them into the covenant relationship of love and friendship. The soteriology or salvation theology of the Canons is, in a word, unconditional salvation....

From the Scriptural passages we quoted in our previous articles on the above subject (see the issue of Feb. 15) it became evident that the false teacher is motivated by carnal considerations. He serves not the Lord Jesus Christ, but his own belly, his carnal purposes and desires, his own name and position and glory, the acquisition of filthy lucre. These purposes he cannot serve by teaching and preaching the truth, that always is contrary to the flesh, condemns it; hence, he needs the lie and. teaches it in order to realize his carnal ends. But from the same passages...

What, for a long time we feared, what, according to the reports in the last papers we received from the old country, the Dutch more and more feared, especially since the “protective” possession by the Germans of Denmark and Norway, has now become history: old Holland was invaded and overcome by the German war-machine! And we, no doubt, were all shocked and filled with indignation because of this brutal and wholly unjustified attack upon the lowlands. Without provocation on the part of the Dutch, though the German government concocted several reasons and excuses for this wanton disregard of international relations...

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 is true that God loves everyone, Christ died for everyone, and God’s desire is to save all. Assurance is also a significant issue in the doctrine of the covenant. The conditional covenant touts itself as the covenant theology that gives the most assurance. The assurance it gives (so it is...

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. This is evident, first, from the fact that faith flows out of election. Second, faith, even the act of believing, is the work of God in the elect. To call a work of God in His people a condition that they must fulfill is wrong on the face of it....