All Articles For The Reader Asks

The Lord’s Supper at Home I have worked for an invalid, a sincere Reformed Christian woman. The Sunday worship services were brought into her home by telephone line. On the Saturday evening before the administration of the Lord’s Supper, the elders brought her the bread and wine. Then, on Sunday morning, she ate the bread and drank the wine in her home at the same time that the congregation was partaking at church. Would this be improper administration of the Lord’s Supper? Ellen VanDenTop Lynden, WA Answer: In response to your question we point you to Article 64 of the...

Preaching the Catechism My question pertains to the proper or best method of preaching on the Lord’s Days of the Heidelberg Catechism. The question is, Is the selecting of a text or passage of Scripture as the basis for the sermon a proper or better method than basing the sermon on the Lord’s Day itself? Garrett Flikkema Lansing, IL Response: Ministers in the Protestant Reformed Churches have no choice in this matter. Article 68 of The Church Order states, “The ministers shall on Sunday explain briefly the sum of Christian doctrine comprehended in the Heidelberg Catechism so that as much...

Must the Minister Preside? My question concerns Article 37 of the Church Order of Dordt. This article requires that the minister preside at consistory meetings. What is the reason for this? Why may not an elder preside? Is not this rule contradicted by Acts 6:4? I very much appreciate the SB. It is a magazine with much in-depth teaching helpful for daily life. Harv Nyhof Holland, MI Response: Very little is written by the commonly regarded authorities on church polity about your question. Our answer would be that the minister is to preside because he is the most qualified for this...

Rev. Hanko is a minister emeritus in the Protestant Reformed Churches. One of our Bible Study groups asks in connection withI Peter 2:11-17, “When must we obey God rather than man? In which area of life may this principle be used?” In the passage of Peter’s epistle referred to above, Scripture is pointing to our calling as Christian pilgrims in regard to the magistrate, emphasizing our duty to “submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord’s sake.” The Word of God goes on to say that this includes every form of government and authority placed over us, whether...

Hanko is a minister emeritus in the Protestant Reformed Churches. A reader from Burnie, Tasmania asks whether the speaking in tongues in I Corinthians 12 and I Corinthians 14 is the same as in Acts 2. This is a very interesting question. Before Christ’s ascension into heaven, Jesus promised His disciples that “they shall speak with new tongues” (Mark 16:17). Here Jesus speaks of “new tongues” in distinction from the Hebrew spoken by the church of the old dispensation and still by the disciples in Jesus’ time. This obviously refers to the speaking in tongues on the day of Pentecost....

What about “Free Will”? I am a member of the Christian Reformed Church (CRC) in Iowa. Years ago, I made confession of faith and slowly on I changed my opinion in regard to the doctrine of the CRC. I have this question. Can you take the Bible and prove out of Scripture that man ever lost his free will or choice? If you can’t find it in Scripture where God says, “Man, you lost your free will,” then I think we were indoctrinated when young. Please answer this question because I have sent it to the Banner and never received...

Rev. Hanko is a minister emeritus in the Protestant Reformed Churches. Could you explain the moral difference between drama and oratorio?  Maybe I should explain my question. I’ve sung in several oratorios which required the chorus to sing an evil crowd chorus (e.g., “Let Him deliver Him” in Handel’s Messiah, “Baal, We Cry to Thee” in Mendelsshon’s Elijah, and “Crucify” from Bach’s Passion According to St. John. Such choruses hold essential meaning for the overall message, but they require the singer to imitate evil. (I have the same dilemma regarding effective story telling or even Bible reading.) It seems necessary,...

My question is this: In I Corinthians 7:15 the apostle Paul instructs us, “Yet if the unbelieving departeth, let him depart: the brother or the sister is not under bondage in such cases: But God hath called us in peace” (ASV). Do we understand this passage to teach that a believing spouse who is divorced by an unbelieving spouse, because of the Christian profession of the believing spouse, is no longer under marital obligation to the unbelieving spouse and is hence free to remarry? A second question which follows this one is, have the Protestant Reformed Churches ever addressed this matter on...

Before asking my question, I would like to make two prefacing remarks. First, thanks so much for the abundance of articles you have written. From them I have gained invaluable insights in so many areas of life. Second, the question I am about to ask is just that, a question. So often people assume that asking a question implies also a criticism. Rather, I am assuming that I personally fail to understand something . . . and I would like to understand it! In the April 15, 1989 issue of The Standard Beareryou had a section of WALKING IN THE LIGHT devoted...

During the past several , decades the listeners and viewers of radio and television have had the opportunity to expand their knowledge of religious topics and biblical teachings by means of religious talk shows, interviewing Bible “experts” attempting to answer difficult religious questions here-to-fore unanswered and unknown. By means of radio and television many churches, both local and far away, invite the public to “attend” their worship services, available to us all hours of the day and days of the week.