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Rev. Higgs is a minister in the Evangelical Presbyterian Church of Australia. In the first article that I wrote for the SB I gave some information concerning the early settlement of Australia, and how I perceive this to have affected us as a nation. In my last article I wrote, briefly, about the history of our denomination. Taking these things into consideration, what wonder of wonders that God should raise up the EPC as a denomination of churches! He has gathered His people from the midst of a wicked world: already this is a wonder that should cause us never...

Rev. Kuiper is pastor of the Protestant Reformed Church of Byron Center, Michigan. In the last article we considered the effect which the confusion of tongues at Babel had on language. In this article we will consider how language was affected by the fall, which will set the stage to consider in the next article how language was affected by redemption. Primarily, both the fall and redemption had a moral effect on language. Man fell; language did not. And man, not language, is redeemed by Christ. In this and the next article, therefore, we will be dealing not so much with...

Rev. Kuiper is pastor of the Protestant Reformed Church of Byron Center, Michigan. Having considered the effect of the fall on language, we must now examine the relationship between language and salvation. Two distinct aspects of this relationship must be noted: first, God uses language to save us, and second, we must use language to show Him our gratitude for that salvation. That God uses language has been demonstrated in an earlier article (Standard Bearer, August 1997). How does He use language for our salvation? He did so, first, in sending Christ, the Word of God (John 1:1). The fundamental...

Rev. Dick is pastor of the First Protestant Reformed Church of Lacombe, AB, Canada. This article was originally the devotional presented at the September, 1995 meeting of Classis West. The author has expanded the devotional somewhat to correspond to this season of the year in which we celebrate, in a special way, Thanksgiving. In I Corinthians 3:7 we read the conclusion of a farmer: “So then neither is he that planteth any thing, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase.” The farmer is Paul. He likens his work to planting. His co-laborer, Apollos, does the watering. They both are...

Rev. Kortering is a Protestant Reformed minister-on-loan to Singapore. Christmas is a time for good news. The Christian gospel is the good news about the birth of Jesus. We are thankful to God for each one of you here tonight. We want to tell you about the “good tidings of great joy.” The story of Jesus is not an interesting legend that has been handed down for many centuries. There are many such stories in our Chinese tradition. We think of Kuan Yin, or the Goddess of Mercy, the Monkey King, or the Monk Tang Cheng, and the Pig Man....

Rev. Key is pastor of the Protestant Reformed Church of Randolph, Wisconsin. This article is the substance of the opening address given by Pastor Key at an Officebearers’ Conference in Pella, IA, on March 5, 1996. “Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.” I John 4:1 The subject that we consider is a matter of critical importance. The fact that the call to discernment is issued throughout the Bible, in the Old and New Testaments, the fact that repeated warning is given concerning...

The Rev. John Pedersen is a minister of the gospel in the Orthodox Presbyterian Church. He lives in Gettysburg, PA. This copyrighted article is printed here by permission. For many in the tolerant, cultured world of evangelical religion, there is no scum more vile than a harsh, judgmental, pontificating buffoon who goes about judging whether others are “true Christians.” Such a one is seen as patently bad, and leaves a sour taste and a sick stomach in his preachy wake, cutting a smelly swath through people who have learned not to put God in the kind of box that can...

Rev. Key is pastor of the Protestant Reformed Church of Randolph, Wisconsin. We are considering the general theme of I John 4:1. It is our calling to be discerning Christians. Discernment is a calling that is critically important for all of us. We are constantly confronted with false teachings and practices that are contrary to the standard of God’s Holy Word. And error in either doctrine or life is destruction of our fellowship with God. So we are called to “try the spirits.” What Are These “Spirits”? It is a common interpretation of I John 4:1 that the term “spirits”...

Rev. Kuiper is pastor of the Protestant Reformed Church of Byron Center, Michigan. We use language every day. Speaking and writing, reading and hearing — all are instances of our use of language. Without language, we could not communicate. That we use language every day indicates that language is important. Not just how we use language is important, but language itself is important. Its importance is that by it we have fellowship with God and with fellow saints, and by it we manifest our separation from the ungodly and the powers of darkness. Or, to rephrase this last sentence with...

Rev. Cammenga is pastor of Southwest Protestant Reformed Church in Grandville, Michigan. Against the position that condemns homosexuality and that calls for the government to forbid the practice of this evil, several objections are brought. The following are some of the objections most often raised and a brief response to each. Opposition to Homosexuals Is Intolerance and Discrimination This is the most recent, and to date the most successful, ploy of the gay rights movement. By charging discrimination, not only have the homosexuals been successful in gaining protection for their perverted lifestyle, but protection against discrimination on the basis of...