All Articles For Go Ye Into All the World

Previous article in this series: March 1, 2010, p. 254. It has been some time now since our last article on this subject. We asked the question in the last article whether or not it is proper for families or confessing individuals in existing churches to move to a place of an established mission field? Our answer to this question is: yes. We recognize, however, that there are objections to this position. There are legitimate questions that arise in this connection. It is for that reason we are trying to examine the issue a little more closely. Before extolling the...

Previous article in this series: March 15, 2011, p. 271.

Those of our readers in the Midwest of the United States of America might be somewhat surprised to learn that recently, in September 2011, a Filipino religious cult bought 46 acres of land and buildings in and around the town of Scenic, located about 50 miles southeast of Rapid City, South Dakota. What will now become of the formerly abandoned town we do not know, but this news illustrates the amazing wealth that this Filipino cult has accumulated since it started in the early 1900s and its expanding presence in the world, which extends now from the Philippines to the...

Rev. VanOverloop is pastor of Bethel Protestant Reformed Church in Elk Grove Village, Illinois.

Rev. VanOverloop is pastor of Bethel Protestant Reformed Church in Elk Grove Village, Illinois. What do we say to those who give no evidence of being saved? There is no pat answer. It is not as simple as reciting four spiritual laws. There are certain truths which must be presented, although there is not just one way to present them. Of course, every unbeliever needs to know the Savior. The knowledge of Christ is the essential truth they must be taught. However, in order to know and enjoy the only comfort of belonging to the Savior, which enables one to...

Rev. VanOverloop is pastor of Bethel Protestant Reformed Church in Elk Grove Village, Illinois. A “Calvinist” is one who maintains the truths of the Reformed faith as summarized in the creeds of the Reformation. These truths have been summarized in the Canons of Dordrecht: total depravity, unconditional election, limited or definite atonement, irresistible grace, and the perseverance of the saints. It could be said that all of these truths are summarized in the truth of the sovereignty of God. A “Calvinist” maintains these truths, not because they were taught by a man or by men who were instruments of God...

Rev. Kortering is a Protestant Reformed minister-on-loan to Singapore. During our Good Friday service this past April, our seminarian, Brother Paul Goh, reminded his audience that Christianity has deep roots in Chinese history. Since Good Friday is a public holiday in Singapore, the service takes place in the morning and gives excellent opportunity to invite non-Christian parents and friends to attend. Mr. Goh had in his audience a number of aged non-Christian Chinese. Among other things, the older generation stumbles over two issues regarding Christianity. The first is that Christianity is viewed as a Western religion and therefore foreign to...

Rev. Bruinsma is Eastern Home Missionary of the Protestant Reformed Churches, stationed in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Previous article in this series: February 15, 2009, p. 229. Missions and the organic life of the church What does a godly witness in our lives at home have to do with work on a mission field? A godly witness at home is just that, a work at home. The mission work is many miles away from my witness at home. What does one have to do with the other? The answer is found in the organic relationship between the established church and the mission...

Rev. Lanning is pastor of Faith Protestant Reformed Church in Jenison, Michigan. The following is one of many letters (e-mails) that Rev. Lanning wrote to his family and friends while in the Philippines recently on behalf of the Foreign Mission Committee of the PRC. With his permission we share it with our readers here. Meeting Family Saturday, May 9, 2009 The events of today are sure to be among the highlights of our trip. But they are also the most difficult, so far, to recount. In thinking back on the day, there is such a confused mingling of joy and...

Rev. Bruinsma is Eastern Home MIssionary of the Protestant Reformed Churches, stationed in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Previous article in this series: December 15, 2008, p. 135. The church is a witnessing church. It is not just theduty of the church to witness. It is not just hercalling. The true church always leaves a witness. She does so in her preaching, but she also does this in the lives of her members. True believers will always be a godly witness in their confession and in their walk. This forms the foundation of the involvement of laity in mission work. Because the church is...